TOWARDS THE BORDS DE SAÔNE

The last days have been cold and miserable and even though blossoms are appearing everwhere I go, it doesn't feel like spring if an icy winds blows through the thin layers I am optimistically wearing. Winter (if you can call it that; we haven't had snow once in Lyon) has left me coughing, and doubting myself and my capabilities.

This is not me, and I am only understanding this today, on my warm and sunny evening walk while realising how much I am craving the sun.
The warmth. In the past few weeks I have felt such a longing to be somewhere else, in Norway or Scotland, both of which I have experienced in the summertime and I am now thinking if perhaps it doesn't have to be somewhere else but just... the sun.

We had 19°C at 5:30 p.m. today, a fact I only found out about from looking at my phone (how sad is that?!). I was immediately drawn to the outside, and as I started walking, I did not feel cold at all. What a comfortable and wonderful feeling not having to hide under coats and scarfs and hats but just being as you are, free from all layers and worries. Really, it seems like this kind of weather is giving me so much more perspective on my fears and everyday troubles. I felt at ease. Sans souci.

I live on a hill and I strolled down towards the river Saône, eagerly turning around house corners to once again hold my face into the sinking sun.
Trying to capture the warmth with my camera. But it might just be me who can feel it when looking at the photos. Something I'll happily keep on practising to change.
I pass a huge apartment building, wondering how many different lives it encloses. So many crumbling facades, shutters charmingly catching the sun rays.

Then the Saône. It's not the sea, but reflecting the soft pastels of an evening sky, it might just let me forget about the sea, and simply enjoy the calm of the river.

As the sun disappears behind the buildings on the other side of the river, I start climbing the hill again. I wonder if there are really people who prefer the winter over the summer. Surely you have been asked this question at some point. Are you a winter or a summer person? ...

What is it that we look for in these seasons? Isn't it the warmth, the colours, the freedom of a sunny day? And in the winter, we need to create those feeling ourselves, creating warmth by baking, having people around, cuddling under woollen blankets. This kind of warmth feels somehow more forced to me right now. And I long for a skipping and dancing freely in a field full of flowers kind of warmth.


Are you feeling the same way right now? Or are you a staunch "winter person" who could happily live in cold weather and dark days all year round?