Chasing the Lights

The first half of this week felt a little like groundhog day as things kept getting pushed on my calendar and I failed to tick almost anything off my to-do list, partly due to the universe and partly due to procrastination. I’m surprised the notes app on my phone didn’t conk out the amount of times I opened and closed it, adding punctuation here or there to feel productive but never adding anything of value. I did however order the photo books I make for the children each year, which is both very tedious and also a sentimental journey as I fiter through hundreds of photos from the past 12 months. The days are long but the years are short as they say.

I rarely get out to the two biggest Parisian parks (I’m lazy and the Jardin du Luxembourg is so close to us) so was looking forward to exploring the Bois de Vincennes with my friend Sonja, who made sure I saw the swans, peacocks and the beautiful Temple of Love on Lac Daumesnil. She’s an extremely generous artist and each year gifts me one of her beautiful calendars, which hang proudly in our kitchen.

This year the theme is the simple joys of everyday life that the French are particularly good at celebrating and I have an extra one to give away to one of you (you can also buy them here). To enter all you need to do is leave a comment below (comments open to everyone this week) and also over on her post her substack. The winner will be drawn at random on the 2nd of December and I’ll cover international postage.

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On Thursday morning the whole city rushed outside to dance as big fat snowflakes fluttered down, melting the moment they reached the ground. I had a family booked for a gluten free food tour so gave them the option of a last minute cancellation but they bravely confirmed and we adjusted the meeting time to allow for transport issues, as the amount of chaos a few snowflakes can cause in Paris is impressive. Luckily the best gf pain au chocolat in the city was a win as usual (most of them are terrible, dense as a brick but this one is light and fluffy and also €9!) and with a few extra stops to warm up we had a marvellous time. 

I picked the kids up from school, bundled them into extra gear and let them know we were skipping activities to play outside, only to be thwarted when the park closed. Not to be deterred we went to enjoy the 1/2 centimetre of slush that had accumulated in front of the Pantheon, my little city kids thrilled by the novelty, but after 15 minutes everyone was shivering so we diverted to Café Le Rostand to rendez-vous with friends for warm drinks and crepes swimming in chocolate sauce.

On Friday morning mum and I caught the train out to the airport for a flight to the arctic circle in the hopes of seeing the Northern lights in Norway. As we taxied down the runway and soared over snowy France the plane was filled with excited chatter about our chances, almost everyone heading to Tromsø for the same reason. Upon arrival it was snowing heavily which was magical but also a bad sign, confirming what the weather app had been indicating for days. Our tour that evening had already been postponed 24 hours and everyone we asked said it was not worth trying so we headed to the hotel a little dejected, but after a quick dinner at McDonalds for a gluten free cheeseburger (few countries offer them but Norway does!) we booked something anyway, desperate to try. 

The poor guide tried her very best and we headed out under heavy snow (the drive itself was an adventure) all the way to the Finnish border where there was finally a little break in the weather, just long enough for us to glimpse a blurry streak of light. After a rather Blair Witch style evening we finally returned at nearly 4am a little disheartened, kicking ourselves for not staying home and getting a good night’s sleep, and were quite ready to write off the trip as a fail. 

On Saturday morning we explored the beautiful town, weaving in and out of local Christmas markets (so many knitted socks, mittens and beanies, Norwegian houses must be full to bursting with them), antique stores, tourist stores and of course the local supermarket, my favourite place to visit on any trip. Snow is a novelty I’m not sure I’ll ever tire of and the polar night was a surreal experience, with just a few hours of weak light each day. Due to the surrounding mountains Tromsø last saw the sun on Thursday and won’t see it again until mid January!

After dinner at 4pm (time goes out the window when it’s always dark) we pulled on all our layers for another night out chasing the lights with our guide Anders, a local blessed with all the confidence you’d expect from someone directly descended from vikings. After a short introduction we were swiftly back on the road watching intently for a break in the snow and within an hour we pulled off by the coast and jumped out of the bus, cameras ready, to capture a faint streak of colour on the horizon. The clouds quickly closed over but Anders was feeling good about the evening so we forged onwards and he was so right. On the Finnish border again we waited in the cold under a field of stars and were soon rewarded with the most incredible light show that lasted over an hour and streaked from one side of the horizon to the other. It’s hard to describe but once you’ve seen it you feel like you’re in a special club, and everyone we spoke to in town eagerly shared their experience.

I got an email late Saturday night to warn me that my whale watching boat trip on Sunday would be pretty rough and they strongly encouraged me to cancel so this time I heeded the expert warning and booked a last minute excursion to see the reindeer and learn about Sami culture instead. We rose late after a 2am bedtime and found coffee before wandering through town towards the bus station to met our group. After a 40 minute ride along the water’s edge (mostly spent repeating how pretty it is every few minutes, you soon understand why they have over 300 words for snow) we arrived to the reindeer camp and were ushered inside the warm wooden hut for some instructions. Reindeer hold a special place in Norwegian culture and in order to own or herd them you must be of Sami heritage, and our guide Maria was so generous in explaining her traditions, lifestyle, legends and beliefs. 

We spend a wonderful hour feeding the reindeer under the snow, posing for photos (it’s quite hard to get a selfie with a reindeer fyi) and admiring them as they snuffled up their food, brusquely moving each other out of the way with their antlers. Then it was back up to the hut for reindeer stew (there was also a vegetarian option for those like me who couldn’t quite bring myself to try it), tea, cookies and hot chocolate. With an early flight Monday morning we hit the hay at a reasonable hour but it felt like we were missing out on another chance to see the lights so I slept fitfully and woke multiple times to look out the window just in case, sad that our trip was already over. It's such an incredible place to visit and there are a few things I learnt along the way so I’ll try and do a full write up for anyone interested.

Have a great week,

- Emily

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Real Life Tromsø Photo

Babe where are your PANTS??