April in Paris — Not the April I Know!

French President Emmanuel Macron A deserted Canal St Martin Parisian Postcards – by Lina Nordin

There is something severely amiss with Paris. And I’m not talking about Covid-19. Although, I can’t help but think that it’s an indirect blessing in disguise that is causing the unseasonal, uncharacteristically beautiful weather.

Normally, April in Paris, according to WeatherSpark.com, is in the 56°F to 63°F range, rarely falling below 47°F or exceeding 75°F. Cloud cover is essentially constant with 55 percent of the time overcast. The chance of a wet day over the course of April is essentially constant, remaining around 23% throughout the month. Average rainfall during April is essentially constant, remaining about 1.4 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 2.6 inches or falling below 0.2 inches. That was then, but that’s not what’s now.

I am here to tell you that this April in Paris isn’t the April described by WeatherSpark, nor is it an April I’ve ever seen. Just check out the month’s chart on Weather.com. Thirteen out of 18 days in April have been full sun, not a cloud in the sky. Nine of those are above 70 degrees Fahrenheit and a few days close to 80 degrees!  What is wrong with this picture?! Besides global climate change, the only other excuse for such madness is Covid-19 and the absolute lack of pollution! The charts online prove it! See aqicn.org/map/paris/ and compare this March and April with last year’s! Could this really be the reason that the skies are blue, the clouds are gone, the temperatures are warmer, the air is fresh and actually breathable, all while wearing masks that suffocate us?

The biggest problem is we can’t spend enough time outside to fully take advantage of it. Talk about frustrating!!! We finally get the weather in Paris I can enjoy…and can’t. This sucks!
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French President Emmanuel Macron is quite a guy. At least, I think so. The French continue to complain about him, but when asked if they would trade him for Donald Trump, of course you know what the answer is…”Non!”

The Financial Times is asking leading commentators and policymakers what to expect from a post-Covid-19 future. Here’s what Emmanuel Macron had to say, “off the cuff” — an exposé of his intelligence, maturity, and profound thinking:
ft.com/video/  or next-media-api.ft.com/renditions/  (both have English subtitles).

Now, I ask you…would you trade what you just heard from Emmanuel Macron for Donald Trump’s words during a press conference from April 17th: “Thank you. Thank you very much. I just had a great conversation with the leading faith leaders of our country. It went extremely well. We learned a lot. I learned a lot. And we’re working on some things that are very interesting and very positive. I thank them all for being on the call.”

Side note: “President Donald Trump — who boasted over the weekend that his success in life was a result of ‘being, like, really smart’ — communicate at the lowest grade level of the last 15 presidents, according to a new analysis of the speech patterns of presidents going back to Herbert Hoover.” See the article in Newsweek from January 2018.
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Money and Real Estate in the Time of Coronavirus

Friday, April 17th, I made a “live on Zoom” presentation, hosted by WICE as part of their LockDown Talks. After a dynamic start in 2020 in the real estate market in Paris and Ile-de-France, the Covid-19 health crisis constitutes an unprecedented shock for the market, the consequences of which are still largely unpredictable. Adrian discussed how the industry is dealing with the crisis now and what the professionals’ predictions are for the future, as well as her own visions. For those of you who missed the event, you can watch it here! (It takes a few moments to get off the ground, so have patience!)
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Sunday afternoon, Oliver Gee from The Earful Tower called me on Zoom to ask me what life is like during the lockdown, and more specifically in Le Marais, where I live. By the time you read this, the podcast may very well be available, so be sure to visit his website to link to hear it.

Oliver’s making quite a name for himself these days. Not only is his new book out, “Paris On Air” (it’s out in paperback, and it’s a great read!), but The Earful Tower has just been touted as one of the top 10 travel podcasts by Stephanie Rosenbloom in the New York Times in “Traveling by Ear: 13 Podcasts for Wandering Souls.” (I’ll bet Stephanie gleaned her title from Oliver’s “Earful.”) She wrote, “Yet thanks to some imaginative podcasts, you can still explore the world. Soon you’ll be hearing birdsong in Tuscany, rain falling in the English countryside, and wind rustling trees in Paris as you ride a scooter along the Champs-Élysées.”

Meanwhile, during the lockdown, Oliver’s new bride, Lina Nordin, is painting pretty postcards every day during the lockdown. The couple is decidedly busy! Oliver calls her project “Art Attack!”

Parisian Postcards by Lina Nordin.

Every day, Lina has been sharing a time-lapse video of her watercolor paintings and her 5,000 strong Instagram following has been going crazy for it. One day it’s Audrey Hepburn, the next it’s a look at the artists of Place du Tertre in Montmartre. Today it was the “bouquinistes” of the Seine.

Be sure to follow Lina on Instagram and buy one of her prints for as little as €20 on her Etsy shop.

A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds
Adrian Leeds Group

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