Rain | Rain

Yesterday we were outside watching butterflies in the garden. Today it is pouring down rain. It feels like a good day to be tucked inside the house listening to the swoosh of passing cars as they drive down wet pavement.

On our first day in Paris it was raining too, so we rolled our suitcases over the drenched cobblestone streets, up and over curbs and through patches of mud until we found a place to rest. Jet-lagged but overwhelmed with the beauty of the city, we made our way toward Notre Dame Cathedral, squeezed together like siamese twins with only a small travel umbrella for shelter.

Desperately in need of warmth, we ducked inside a café’ mere steps from the cathedral for a breakfast of ham and cheese baguette and café’ au lait. It was cold and grey outside just like today, but Paris is always beautiful, no matter the weather.


We couldn’t check into our hotel for several hours, so we trudged through the streets for several hours, hovering near Notre Dame to take shelter in its shadows when the sun eventually appeared. We found an old bookstore and got lost among its shelves for awhile, then found a heated patio for lunch: another ham and cheese baguette and a pot of hot tea.

A little French girl was playing in her slick blue raincoat near the massive church, kicking her legs at both puddles and pigeons until both scattered in the air. She didn’t seem to notice me taking a hundred photos of her, too preoccupied dancing with her feathered friends.



The skies had mostly cleared by the time we arrived at our hotel in Rue Cler, with its breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower beyond our bedroom window…

Outside the window this morning from my perch on the living room couch, I can see a lemon yellow house with white trim and the edges of several evergreen trees brightening up the foggy sky. But what I wouldn’t give for a mug of café’ au lait and another glimpse at Paris, even in the rain.