Shades of Blue and Gray

I woke up to rain yesterday morning after hearing the drops going pitter pat all night long. It never really poured but the coolness crept in, as did my own feeling of personal dread that the grayness of a Paris winter was already upon us. So imagine my happiness last night when I saw a break in the clouds as the sun set, the sky clearing in the west. With luck, that means today will be clear and the little man on the top of the Hermes store will be prancing in the sunshine.

Why is it that we all think of London as gray but that reputation never sticks to Paris? Perhaps it has to do with the coal dust that polluted London's skies in the 19th century. Or perhaps Paris just has better PR. When you look at the data on hours of sunshine, it's true that Paris gets more sun than London: about 1,800 hours of sunshine annually for Paris compared with only about 1,500 for London. But that's not much to shout about. Seattle (a place which admittedly I've never visited) which has a reputation for being rainy gets over 2,000 hours of sun each year and Washington, DC about 2,500. Point proven but what can you do? Carry an umbrella and enjoy every moment of sun while it lasts.