The Rain That Wets The Idiots

Have you ever heard the expression 'the rain that wets the idiots'? That's what we had this morning. Gentle drizzle that you may think doesn't warrant an umbrella, but without one you will quickly be left soaking wet. 

As I fished around for my umbrella this morning I realised I have a small umbrella photo-collection forming in my extensive photo archives.

Ta da!

Pont Solferino + daughter + camera = my happy place.

Here is statue on the riverside by the Le parc André-Citroën.



I think the above statue may have been modelled on our son.

Street artists like umbrellas too.

Les Sages Poètes de la Rue.

And when the rain stops, the umbrellas can be closed (Levalet and Hérard).

And we are left with puddles. Very special puddles sometimes.

Drip drip drip

It's raining again here in Paris...drip drip drip.


The pavements are soaked.




Everything is drenched.




If you want a Vélib’ bike there are plenty up in Montmartre today. Usually there are none left after 8h30.

Bruce our eucalyptus tree is looking good I grant you.

But cabine fever is definitely in the wings.

Hang on a minute. I do believe the sun has come out. Better go!

Raindrops in the Loire

We're spending a week in the Loire, in a beautiful place we have been coming to for years, courtesy of a childhood friend. It's been raining, and it's cold. For a moment I thought we'd got it wrong and gone to Donegal on the west coast of Ireland where we were there last year.

Better weather due as of now. I love it here.

You can find more raindrop shots here (thumbnails) and here (slideshow)

When the sun came out

So the rain finally stopped and the sun came out. It felt amazing to see some blue sky at last, and not to have to have the lights on in the house all day long.

I walked out onto the street for the first time in what seemed like forever, without an umbrella and was faced with this. 

The sky was so blue, the crisp clear blue you get after rain, with caracature clouds.

We walked through the quartier des Abbesses, the Christmas decorations are up, though not yet turned on. The snowflakes caught the sun and sparkled none the less.

Rather stupidly, for a day when the sun finally comes out, we went to the cinema, Studio 28. Once you have promised a child that you're going to the cinema (the first time in over a year), the mere fact that the sun has come out means you can't break your promise. I had fun taking photos of the lights inside the cinema.

After the cinema we went to the park, 'Jardin Burq' a gorgeous, little known park, surrounded by amazing houses, ateliers and apartments. I took this picture a few weeks ago so the leaves are still green, but it gives you an idea of what the park and its' surroundings looks like.

The sun glowed in highest tree branches.

The windows caught the sun and reflected the surrounding trees.

When we headed home the sun was setting.

And then it started raining again.

Rain

It's been raining here in Paris. Raining, and raining. With extra rain. Yes, yes, I know we've been very lucky so far this autumn, we've had beautiful weather, lots of sun, not too cold. But now we have rain, relentless drizzle. It's getting me down. In an attempt to cheer myself up I set myself the challenge of finding beauty in the rain. This is what I came up with.

Puddles of course, lots of puddles.

Wet leaves. Yellow.

Wet leaf. Red and orange.

Gathering droplets. I think these are my favourite.

More droplets, with inverted images of the surrounding buildings.

Oh, there's a bug on this one, maybe that's why the plant is dying.

Here is Bruce reflected on the balcony decking.

A spider web catches the rain.

Wet pavement. Green light.

Wet pavement. Red light.

Green. Go!

And the rain stopped. For a bit, at least.