WED FEB 8 - When the Parisians wake up this morning, it’s to a heavy, thick fog everywhere, making it impossible to see more than an arm’s length ahead. If you have to be somewhere, put a headlight on and see if you can make your way there.

THURS FEB 9 - For inexplicable reasons, the fog has turned bright neon green overnight. Is it still safe to move around in, what is that smell? Is that – the smell of newly mowed lawn? What a spring-like scent in early February!

FRI FEB 10 - On the third day, the fog is turning thinner, but also a bright shade of pink, like little clouds of candyfloss on the roads, and it has started smelling like cherry blossoms. Is spring arriving already?

SAT FEB 11 - Bright, warm sunlight on your face! It has dispelled the fog! The perfect Saturday weather to go to the park with a lunch basket and a blanket. The birds are chirping and nesting and mating, soon the season comes for the human inhabitants of Paris as well.

SUN FEB 12 - Chilly day with a lot of wind, we suggest you take a boat down the river or put up kites in the park. Perfect dog-walking weather today! Rent-a-dog in the Luxembourg Gardens is open, if you want to go.

MON FEB 13 - Rain all day, grey clouds and a heavy fog hanging over the Seine. It does seem like Valentine’s may have to be moved inside this year. Well, enjoy your soups and hot cocoa!

TUES FEB 14 - As if a deity is smiling down at us, the sky is free of clouds and the temperature’s rising, making it feel almost like an early spring day. Is that a leaf unfolding on the branch there? Is that a blossom blossoming? Nature is feeling Valentine’s Day as well.

MON FEB. 8-10 - The Paris city council advises against driving vehicles in this weather! Please stay on foot or indoors and don’t get lost on your way to the boulangerie.

SUN FEB 14 - In honour of Valentine’s Day, all vehicles, cars and trucks, will be forbidden to drive on the highway A4 and specifically appointed roads out of the city this day. Instead horse-driven carriages will be installed and take visitors back and forth to Disneyland Paris or into the countryside! Jump onto a carriage and get the trip of your romantic lives together!

GAGAN GALLERY, OPENS FEB 11 - Michael Gagan, the infamous, world-renowned, multi-millionaire collector of art, has opened a new branch in Paris to exhibit and sell his most priced pieces. The gallery opens in an old, shut-down butchery and most notably features original works by Edgar Degas, not before put on display to the public. The butchery itself has been redesigned by world-famous French architect, Pierre Martin, and is in itself worth a visit with its large glass panels and glass lifts, taking guests from one floor to the other.

Even if not to buy, the gallery is definitely worth a visit, and since it’s located near the Saint-Ouen, one can easily stop by the local flea market stalls selling antiques and vintage goods throughout the weekend afterwards.

YOUR UNCLE’S DUNGEON, PLACE DE LA BASTILLE - Huge, conceptual restaurant in eastern Paris. You step in and are immediately blindfolded, then led to your table where you proceed to eat in the dark. The food isn’t presented and you must taste each bit on your own, to know what you’re putting in your mouth. A waiter is at your table at all times while you eat, to provide help and guidance as you work your way across your plate. We had a pecan nut and pumpkin soup for appetizer and lamb chops for main course. Dessert was a classic panna cotta with fruits, all cooked well, but possibly only a spectacular serving due to the element of surprise, adventure and exploration.

Your Uncle’s Dungeon is one of those experiences that you might only want once in your life, never to forget, but neither ever to be repeated. It was expensive and the food might not in itself be worth the money, but the whole idea of eating without being able to see making up for whatever lacked otherwise.

Take someone you trust and eat in the dark! The restaurant is open Thursday through Sunday.

ANNOUNCEMENT, SAT FEB 11-12 - A photo challenge has been issued! People are encouraged to take pictures of their favourite sights and sites in Paris and post them on the network with a personal story or reason for that motif. The three best photos will be awarded a monetary prize of €500, €250 and €100 respectively.

ANNOUNCEMENT, SAT FEB 13-14 - In honour of Valentine’s Day, all Parisians are being given a mini-vacation, lasting Monday through Tuesday, all expenses paid and transportation out into the countryside cared for.

Is there anything more fun than waiting at the baggage reclaim for your suitcase to finally show up (or not show up, depending on your personal level of good fortune)? Yes? Think of all the things you’d rather be doing right now than standing around here, in a queue of people ready to grab at whatever comes their way that’s the right size, right colour. Imagine yourself, already at the hotel, drinking a delicious, chill cocktail. Or playing tourist at the Eiffel Tower. Or foodie in the Latin Quarters. So many options, no such luck.

Here you are; a suitcase comes rolling down the carousel, you’re sure it’s yours, the same size, same colour, same small sticker on the side, right? Well as you move up the conveyor belt a bit to reach for it, so does someone else, your hands almost colliding mid-air. You hesitate, so does the other person, so long that the suitcase you both think is yours almost continues around the bend.

What’s more fun than having to fight a stranger over your luggage? Honestly?

Is it a stereotype that the French drive like madmen? You don’t know whether it’s a stereotype, but it’s currently very true. A huge traffic jam is happening in an unruly circle around the Arc de Triomphe and you’re caught dead in the centre of it. Your taxi driver assures you it’ll clear soon, but you are just watching the taximeter tick on and on and on, counting all the euros in your wallet. Is that how your trip is going to end, pennilessness and poverty?

You’re been in the same place in the queue for twenty minutes, and at this point you just can’t take it anymore. The passenger door of the car up ahead opens and a person gets out, beginning to zigzag between cars at a standstill, honking ensuring.

That’s it, you think, this is my chance at freedom. Throwing a couple of euro bills at the driver, more than enough to cover the trip, you kick the door open as well and jump out. The driver yells after you, “you’re crazy!!” But you think, stereotypically speaking, Mr. French Person, you’re the crazy one, and run - after the other person, catching up to them after a moment.

The hotel, finally! Home, sweet almost home! No luggage misidentifications, no traffic jams, no queues. The receptionist looks up your booking number in the system and the expression on their face becomes a little sour, your heart immediately sinking in your chest. Oh no. Not this, too.

“I’m sorry, but we’ve overbooked,” the receptionist says in a perfect English, “your room is already in use and all other rooms are occupied as well. Do you want a refund? I’ll have to find my manager.”

I want my damn room, you think, but compose yourself, asking whether it would be possible that you might talk to other person who’s been given your room, to come to some sort of agreement. You have no energy to try and find another hotel at this hour. It was a big suite you’d booked, maybe it has a sofa, maybe they wouldn’t mind… Oh, hope springs eternal.

Looking at you for a long time with an unreadable expression, the receptionist finally takes pity on you and hands you the spare key. “I’ll call them up and let them know you’re coming.”

That’s all the help you’re getting.