All things grey and wet

I walked up the hill to the Sacré Cœur this morning, in the rain. Why? Well I just felt like it. When I go on walks like this, with a view to taking some photos, I often don't know what I'm looking for when I start out, and then I establish a theme along the way. It rapidly became apparent that today's theme was going to be 'all things grey and wet'. There's no denying that it's easier to take good photos on a clear sunny day. This was going to be challenging. 

As I walked around the back of the Sacré Cœur, the noise of water falling around the base of the church from spouting gargoyles was quite overpowering. Water was gushing out from their mouths, rather like this...

...and this. They suddenly make much more sense when you see them in action, which you rarely do as you  don't tend to look up when it's pouring down with rain.

Grey was easy enough to find.


The sky was grey, with added grey.

I found a few puddles with reflections of the Sacré Cœur. Grey, and wet.



And then, as I approached the Place de Tertre, I spotted a burst of colour against the grey. A penguin having a rest.

Grey

So our sublime Indian summer seems to be officially over. Hours huddled on park benches watching the kids play in the freezing cold loom ahead. Suddenly it's cold...and grey. Sigh.

I thought it was fitting to gather together a 'grey' collection. Actually this dog I saw a few weeks ago - in the glorious sunshine - first made me think of a grey series. This dog, assuming he's still alive (snoozing on a zebra crossing in Paris is not advisable) is huge.

(excuse the 'modesty patch' - idea taken from Dooce - it's for the best)

The Sacré Cœur changes colour with the seasons, from bright white on a hot summer day, to blanc cassé on a sunny winter's day, to grey...on a...grey day.


Here's some delectable grey decay.


A balloon.

A flying horse.


A shop front.


The grey concrete of the Tando Ando meditation space at UNESCO is a lovely soothing grey.


These trees down by the Champs-Elysées are amazing. Look at those wrinkles. I imagine elephant knees probably look like this.




I always feel melancholy at this time of year. I think this guy I saw last week knew the weather was going to change soon.