Ask an Expat: Biking in cold weather and Paris in the Spring
japra | Oct 29, 2009 | Comments 12
The ladies of Den Haag are very elegant.
LucyLucia wondered: Are there special “biking outfits” that people wear when it gets cold? You know, like special water proof insulated pants you put over regular pants? I don’t know why this fascinates me, but it does!!
I am sure those coats will get thicker as we slide into Winter. I’ll share more bike photos soon.
LucyLucia, as far as I know, people just wear regular coats (probably with LOTS of layers). The thing I see am seeing right now (and keeping in mind it’s only October and we’re in the 40s-50s) is the addition of boots. High school girls are wearing Uggs, others are wearing gorgeous leather boots. It’s giving me a serious case of boot envy. Hmm. I sense a shopping trip in the near future ;-)
In the rain, people just tend to bike along normally. Well, some people use umbrellas while biking (?!). I’ll try to get pics next time it rains, which will probably be tomorrow–LOL!
Paris, August 2008. View from the Centre Pompidou.
Chris of Prism Trail! asks: First question: is this music/Disney/1.5 day trip FABULOUS?! How cool!! And are you visiting the Montparnasse area any time in April?
Chris, Roxi’s trip to Paris Disney rocked! She loves performing and this was a really cool venue for her. And I was glad that she could still enjoy her time at the park, you know, even though she’s a teenager and stuff. ;-)
As for April in Paris, I wasn’t planning on it, mais j’espere que oui!! I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I was last in Paris. And here we are… within day-tripping distance! Well, ok, a bit of a long day trip, but STILL. By the way, we’ve stayed in the Montparnesse area too–at Le Meridien last year. C’etait tres beau.
~
My bloggy friend Julia had a question for Roxi. I’m sorry, Julia, but I wasn’t able to corner her this week, but we’ll try again for next Thursday.
Ok, that’s it for this week. Any questions for me? Just stick ‘em in the comments and I’ll give them a go next Thursday.
PS I saw this romantische komedie yesterday “Alles is Liefde”. [Edited to add: here's another longer trailer with more talking.] I watched it first with English subtitles and then just had the audio on while painting. Without the subtitles and visual cues, how much did I understand? Oh, maybe 0.05% — ha ha! I wonder how long it will take for me to really understand Dutch?
Filed Under: Blog • Expat Life • Featured
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
I can’t wait to see more bike pictures – especially with umbrellas – I’ve never tried that!
I still haven’t figured out how they navigate the traffic on a bike and holding an umbrella. But I have seen people texting whilst on a bike. BAAAAAAD idea. I’ll try to get more bike pics up soon, friend.
Love the bike photos and love April in Paris!
Jane, I think I’m going to have to persuade my family to go to Paris in the spring. Well, it won’t take much for them to agree. All I have to say is, “What do you think…?” ;-)
Oh, I love that yellow mac! I might have to buy something yellow and bright now! (Not long – I have hips).
Emm, I thought that woman looked so lovely. I wish I were as stylish as she!
I thought you were very stylish and cosmopolitan when we met!
I thought you were too. And I loved your shoes (and was amazed you could walk around all day in them)! I wish we had taken a photo together. I think I was too excited (and a bit shy) to ask. But next time, ok?
A Dutch romantic comedy…how neat is that? Thanks for sharing. I love Paris, I’d like to go back one of these days. I suppose bike riding would be possible there in the winter if there’s not a lot of snow.
Christine, I don’t know if you can rent Dutch films where you live, but keep an eye open for it. It gives you a good idea of what it’s like to live here :-)
And no, we don’t get a lot of snow here.
That yellow coat with the hat is just fabulous. Thanks for answering my question! I just have to think then, that everything (work, grocery, home) must be really close together. Well it is a pedestrian city, right? I imagine myself biking in all weather to my work (22 miles away and across the Mississippi – mind you – so that would be impossible)and I picture arriving wet, cold, frozen, tired and hungry. I think the Dutch are made of sterner stuff.
Lucylucia, I wouldn’t say it’s a pedestrian city, but yes, especially compared with America, things are relatively close. It takes me 15 minutes to bike to the centre of town, 15 minutes to the “big” grocery store (LOL), 3 minutes to the little grocery store, etc. I would definitely say that the Dutch are hardy folk, though. They think nothing of biking miles and miles each day. When we rented this house, the realtor told us that Roxi’s school was within biking distance. So before school started, we all biked down there. It took us a little more than 30 minutes! Well, it was a windy day, but I just couldn’t see Roxi biking to and from school, especially with all of the after school stuff she does. Plus the weather is often rainy and cold. OK, we’re just wimps! But to be honest, we hadn’t been on bikes in almost three years when we moved here. LOL!