Nobody really talks about the weather on the Côte d'Azur because, well, the weather is usually blue skies and sunshine and that's just not really interesting enough to spend time talking about. But the Nicoise have all suddenly taken to greeting one another with ... 'isn't it incredible!' or 'did you see the snow, how deep it was?!' They say it happens every 20 years in Nice (but being the French, some contrary types say every 15 years). We awoke from our sleep to see the palm trees covered in snow. Cars stopped, work stopped, people ran into the street and threw snowballs. It lasted only a couple of days, but we will never forget the snow.
Then, as if to laugh at this crazy snow-covered world, the mimosa tree - the first early sign of spring in this region - fluffed out its can-can skirt of bright yellow flowers to celebrate Nice's annual gaudy, confetti-strewn carnival. And we all sigh happily as we know Spring, thankfully, is around that corner.
