This is the very first photo I took in Paris. It was about 8am and we'd dropped our bags at the hotel (too early to check into our room) and were headed out to walk, an attempt to adjust to the local time.
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The building is gorgeous, but the boxwood balls — in between the arching windows — are what really caught my eye. At the time I assumed they were fake, but studying the photo up close I think maybe not. They're all just a little different in shape and color variation.
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This fountain, Fontaine Saint Michel, was just across the street from our hotel. The water in all the fountains, city wide, was turned off during our visit (why? I have no idea), normally the winged dragons at the base would be spouting water. There was an empty sort of public square in front of the fountain and performance artists would take over the space at night. We could hear their music in our room.
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The folks in the foreground (below) are standing in the "performance" space. The building on the left is the one in the first photo above. The white sign that reads ALBE HOTEL is where we stayed. The rooms were small but well appointed and the staff was wonderful. I highly recommend it.
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Plus they have great plants in the lobby! I never managed to take a photo indoors, this is outside looking in. Note the reflection of the pizza signs in in the glass. Not necessarily what you think of when you think of France, right? (Nutella was also everywhere...at times I felt like I was back in Italy)...
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This is the view from the window on the staircase of our floor (the 6th, the top!). I couldn't help but think of the Tin Man when I saw those shiny pipes (although of course they're not tin).
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And the view from our room, looking straight...
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Looking to the left...
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I took a close up that glassed in area on a cloudy day, hoping to see plants inside. Oh well, at least there were lots outside.
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And looking to the right...
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Yep, that's the Seine, not too shabby eh?
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We were only treated to beautiful blue skies on day one of our visit. There were a few blue sky moments sprinkled throughout the time we spent in Paris, but no other full-on sunny days. Instead there were grey skies and rain, which of course upped the flooding. See that walkway on the far right below? We walked it on day one, a few days later it was underwater.
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Another first-day photo...
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Interesting planters with netting for the plants to climb up. I'd love to see this again in a couple of years.
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This photo was taken five days later. We'd walked right next to those boats earlier.
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Seven days later the walkway we'd previously used was now completely underwater.
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Here's a little information I found online (source): The river rose to 5.82 metres on Sunday (1/28), more than four metres above its normal level, causing continued headaches for commuters as well as people living near its overflowing banks. Around 1,500 people have been evacuated from their homes in the greater Paris region, according to police, while a similar number of homes remain without electricity.
Tourists also suffered with the capital's famous Bateaux Mouches rivercraft out of service, and only emergency services authorised to navigate the waterway. The Vigicrues flooding watchdog expects the river to peak at between 5.85 and 5.95 metres before dawn on Monday, not quite reaching the 2016 high of 6.1 metres, when priceless artworks had to be evacuated from the Louvre.
The December-January period is now the third wettest on record since data collection began in 1900, according to France's meteorological service. A main commuter line, the RER C, has halted service at Paris stops until at least February 5, and some expressways that run alongside the Seine have been closed."
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We ran into issues with the RER C line closures as well as a flooded (ankle deep is all) train station and road closures on our way to the airport.
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Andrew tugged on those metal circles when we first strolled along the river walkway, we were comparing them to our Portland horse rings, which are much (much) smaller.
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Our last evening found us on the oldest river crossing, Pont Neuf. I'd spotted the so called "love locks" on other bridges but here they definitely hit maximum density.
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They went on like this all around the side of the bridge.
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Looking over the edge there was evidence of a removal effort in the past.
![]()
Looking out beyond the mass of locks was this, Square du Vert-Galant, under water.
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Here's an image from wikimedia showing what the square (triangle?) normally looks like. Quite a difference!
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Mahonia as a pond plant, wonder what it thinks about that?
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We followed the steps down from the bridge to the lower level.
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Must be lovely when you can actually walk out there...
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Weather Diary, Jan 31: Hi 48, Low 39/ Precip trace
All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
The building is gorgeous, but the boxwood balls — in between the arching windows — are what really caught my eye. At the time I assumed they were fake, but studying the photo up close I think maybe not. They're all just a little different in shape and color variation.
This fountain, Fontaine Saint Michel, was just across the street from our hotel. The water in all the fountains, city wide, was turned off during our visit (why? I have no idea), normally the winged dragons at the base would be spouting water. There was an empty sort of public square in front of the fountain and performance artists would take over the space at night. We could hear their music in our room.
The folks in the foreground (below) are standing in the "performance" space. The building on the left is the one in the first photo above. The white sign that reads ALBE HOTEL is where we stayed. The rooms were small but well appointed and the staff was wonderful. I highly recommend it.
Plus they have great plants in the lobby! I never managed to take a photo indoors, this is outside looking in. Note the reflection of the pizza signs in in the glass. Not necessarily what you think of when you think of France, right? (Nutella was also everywhere...at times I felt like I was back in Italy)...
This is the view from the window on the staircase of our floor (the 6th, the top!). I couldn't help but think of the Tin Man when I saw those shiny pipes (although of course they're not tin).
And the view from our room, looking straight...
Looking to the left...
I took a close up that glassed in area on a cloudy day, hoping to see plants inside. Oh well, at least there were lots outside.
And looking to the right...
Yep, that's the Seine, not too shabby eh?
We were only treated to beautiful blue skies on day one of our visit. There were a few blue sky moments sprinkled throughout the time we spent in Paris, but no other full-on sunny days. Instead there were grey skies and rain, which of course upped the flooding. See that walkway on the far right below? We walked it on day one, a few days later it was underwater.
Another first-day photo...
Interesting planters with netting for the plants to climb up. I'd love to see this again in a couple of years.
This photo was taken five days later. We'd walked right next to those boats earlier.
Seven days later the walkway we'd previously used was now completely underwater.
Here's a little information I found online (source): The river rose to 5.82 metres on Sunday (1/28), more than four metres above its normal level, causing continued headaches for commuters as well as people living near its overflowing banks. Around 1,500 people have been evacuated from their homes in the greater Paris region, according to police, while a similar number of homes remain without electricity.
Tourists also suffered with the capital's famous Bateaux Mouches rivercraft out of service, and only emergency services authorised to navigate the waterway. The Vigicrues flooding watchdog expects the river to peak at between 5.85 and 5.95 metres before dawn on Monday, not quite reaching the 2016 high of 6.1 metres, when priceless artworks had to be evacuated from the Louvre.
The December-January period is now the third wettest on record since data collection began in 1900, according to France's meteorological service. A main commuter line, the RER C, has halted service at Paris stops until at least February 5, and some expressways that run alongside the Seine have been closed."
We ran into issues with the RER C line closures as well as a flooded (ankle deep is all) train station and road closures on our way to the airport.
Andrew tugged on those metal circles when we first strolled along the river walkway, we were comparing them to our Portland horse rings, which are much (much) smaller.
Our last evening found us on the oldest river crossing, Pont Neuf. I'd spotted the so called "love locks" on other bridges but here they definitely hit maximum density.
They went on like this all around the side of the bridge.
Looking over the edge there was evidence of a removal effort in the past.
Looking out beyond the mass of locks was this, Square du Vert-Galant, under water.
Here's an image from wikimedia showing what the square (triangle?) normally looks like. Quite a difference!
Mahonia as a pond plant, wonder what it thinks about that?
We followed the steps down from the bridge to the lower level.
Must be lovely when you can actually walk out there...
Weather Diary, Jan 31: Hi 48, Low 39/ Precip trace
All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.