at Jardin du Luxembourg – Do I abhor gloomy weather? Is it despicable? This one picture may just have fundamentally changed all that I believe, when it comes to weather…….
Can a city cause you to question the very foundations of your belief system? Can it change your outlook, fundamental elements of your personality and the perception of what makes you happy, how you look at beauty? I have found that Paris has the power to cause a shocking unlocking of gleefulness in me – and, in conditions I would have never, ever believed – in Gloomy, Rainy weather. Can I stand it?
Humorous, thoughtful Paris
I am a person who firmly believes that nothing is really beautiful when the sky is grey and all is awash in rain. My mood will darken and perceptively so, as the cover comes. It is like someone has stolen my ability to perceive astutely.
All of this was revealed to me as I considered my photos of the days after Provence, when we returned to Paris and before we returned to the US (notice I didn’t say home). Now, 3 weeks later, I can recall the happiness of these moments, catching each visual – and they cause me to yearn to return right back to that moment, place and…. weather. Now, one qualifier here – I am one who can perceive the rising of the barometer all the way through to my bones and so, perhaps, my thoughts are colored here by this approaching change in atmosphere, to the improving side. But, in my times in Paris now, I can truthfully say there has been some gloomy and downright cold weather. But, I have been not only not deterred by this, but downright invigorated. I found myself drawn in by these conditions and actually sought to study them. The bicycle shot in the grouping below was actually dubbed “Perfectly Paris” when I first took it. It is haunting, beautiful and telling all at once.
so yes, these were the outcomes:
I want to do this!
More proof that enjoyment of beauty and feeling happy is not “nice” weather dependent, at least not in Paris:
Paris for me, is what may be characterized as a dreamy city. I could never tire of going or living here. Before, as I considered my sentiments about this last trip, I would have put a huge qualifier into this statement. That would have been, “well except maybe that reportedly, the weather is gloomy a lot of the time”. Some even say it is worse than London. That in and of itself would have been enough to say, well, I just can’t live there.
But, this is a city that is so inviting that the weather concerns are outweighed by the allure, the beauty and the opulence. This indeed is a spell. (Could it be because I am finishing this up on Halloween?) What I have found about Paris is that I am drawn into its allure, in spite of its often moody weather. Here is a city that is indeed beautiful, even in the gloom.
The big question that comes to me now is: Did they know this when they built it? Were the people responsible for present day Paris design, brilliant enough to envision that they would indeed conceive of a place that reveals its inherent beauty, in fact shines, even in rain and overcast?
I have begun a little study and have seen many depictions now of the images of Paris before the period of Barron Haussmann. This is just to familiarize myself and to make sure I remind myself that it was not always as physically beautiful as it is now. The poverty and the ruin that was Paris before this period was raw, real and decrepit.
For most of my life I have not considered myself to be a city mouse. I was familiarly ensconced in the country, where I live now and where I could dig in the dirt and plant and enjoy my flowers and sit in the sun. Paris is a city that has taught me, more so than New York and some others, that you can sit in the sun AND enjoy the flowers IN the City. I don’t really want to compare Paris to any other place – it is just not fair. Let’s just take Paris for what it is and how it makes me feel.
I have never considered myself to be a person enamored of opulence, preferring more simple beauty. In fact, I am a person who dresses, lives, cooks and eats fairly simply. But, I have found that I am invigorated, energized and stimulated by the vision of opulence, particularly in the landscape. My soul instantly responds. And, if today’s Paris could be summed up in one word, it would be, for me, opulent. Walking around in Paris and scanning the landscapes, buildings, the strong sense of design, of angles, arches, ………….. just makes me feel like singing. I get a huge rush from the amazingly strong, but understated power of the design of this city. And, of how the people here have just folded themselves into it, in patterns of basic enjoyment.
I am always curious about the effect that travel has on people. I find myself considering the things that make people happy when they travel. Some people like to sit on a beach. Some like to be in the snow and cold. Some like to hike in the mountains or in the canyons. Some like to be far away from civilization. I have found that I am in love with inspiring cities, most-especially old ones. Not really new ones. I love to sense the energy, to scan wide swaths of iconic architecture and to view people inhabiting – particularly in their everyday lives – just going to and from work, doing daily errands…… I live with impressionist streetscapes in my head. Of course I am not the first one to do this. Camille Pissarro did many a famous study of this scene.
Camille Pissarro’s Boulevard Montmartre Matinee de Printemps – sold for $32 million at Sotheby’s in 2014
Well anyway, enough of the blah, blahing – Let’s just let it all speak for itself – Here’s my album from the windup of our days in Paris:
At Jardin du Luxembourg:
Espaliered Apples at Jardin du Luxembourg
The rest of the lessons titled “How to Fall in Love with Paris”:
Lesson #1 – Flowers:
even the leaves are artfully arranged in bouquets in the storm drains…….
Lesson #2 Cheese Shops – I was absolutely obsessed with this charming little shop and returned here nightly to peer into the window and smile at the cheesemonger – I so envied him:
who has a ceiling like this in their cheese shop?
Lesson #3: Eat Your Way to Happiness (proving all of Psychology absolutely wrong!):
the foot long eclair!
at the neighborhood favorite, Brasserie Stella
the cheese course etc at Comptoir:
Lesson #4: Parisian Hot Chocolate is the cure for all ills:
Lesson #5 – Fashion Week “Lives” in Paris:
Lesson #6: Don’t Try to Photograph the Eiffel Tower at Night from a speeding Cab:
Lesson #7: You Don’t Need Any More Lessons After This:
Shops that were closed and I never got back to:
Of Arches and Angles:
Lesson #8: Write a book here:
As I sat and drank my hot chocolate shown above, I spotted this place. I decided it was the perfect home for me – a place to write a book. Until then……..
The End.