A little over a week ago, winter made a roaring comeback in Paris – just before the official start of spring. The snow, la neige, started falling late Monday night and big flakes kept coming the entire next day. When I ventured out Tuesday morning to go to a meeting, Paris buses were still running but by afternoon hardly a vehicle was out on the streets. It was beautifully festive – everyone in cafés was greeting each other with “Joyeux Noël!” and “Bonne fin de l’année!” as if it were December – yet the city had that lovely ‘muffled snow quiet’ quality at the same time. On my way to the Right Bank, I happened to pass by Notre Dame cathedral which had just started to collect a coat of white.
And the Pont de l’Archevêché just behind Notre Dame looked like its railings might teeter over under the weight of both the love locks and the snow!
All told, Paris got a hefty 3 inches of snow in the center of the city, more on the western side and in the northern suburbs. I went to dinner at some French friends’ apartment in the 16th arrondissement Tuesday night and waded through 5 inches or so of the white stuff on the way home. That was nothing compared to Normandy where a couple of feet of snow ground everything to a halt. Still, on Wednesday, there was a nice blanket of snow on French cars and motorbikes up and down Paris streets.
While stomping around Paris in the snowstorm was fun enough, I think my favorite part of it was coming upon this artist painting en plein air – in the middle of snowflakes and very cold air. However, he was so intent on capturing the view of this narrow Left Bank street that he seemed to hardly notice the weather.
I watched him work for a bit wondering if flakes of snow were mixing in with his paint. When you look closely at his canvas and at the actual scene below, he seemed to be putting the real essence of the setting into his tableau. But I am sure when he looks back on creating this work of art, he will not be able to forget le challenge of winter painting on March 12, 2013.
If you’ve never experienced Paris in the snow, it’s definitely something to shoot for. In an instant, the whole city feels like a party is happening, almost as if it were Christmas. And Paris seems to do her best to please even in crazy weather – you’ll never know what you’ll see or experience. Being there at such a moment might even inspire you to leave a Paris love note as some adoring fan did…Paris, je t’aime!
