Après Le Déluge (of Snow), Paris

A little reference to one of my favorite French poets, Arthur Rimbaud and his greatest work, Après Le Déluge (see my post). If you have not heard, Northern Europe had a major snowstorm a couple of days ago. On Tuesday the Eurostar trains had to be suspended as severe weather in Northern France and Belgium forced operators to close sections of the railway. The snow caused major disruption in Paris, with authorities urging the seven million daily public transport users to stay at home. Several major roads around the capital remained shut. We got in Monday and I thought it would be fun to show some pictures.

It started on Tuesday during the day with a light, dry snow.

By nighttime it had turned into a full fledged blizzard with big wet flakes.

The snow melted pretty quickly, this is the same street on Wednesday afternoon.

On Avenue Georges Mandel there was still a slushy snow and snow on the cars.

If you look around, you can still see traces of the previous nights snow.

The retaining wall of the Passy cemetery and the bas relief commemorating the soldiers who fell in WWI was in the shade and still had some snow.

There was still some very slippery slush at the Trocadéro.

There was some snow at the Eiffel Tower, particularly near the fountains.

The Place du Trocadéro seemed a little quiet and cold.

Down the street however, spring has already begun with hardy little flowers pushing their way through the snow.

And if you just look up, the trees are beginning to blossom. That is the story told in Rimbaud's Après Le Déluge and of the last big storm (I hope) of the winter in Paris. The snow really didn't last long and it has begun to warm up. More photos of Paris in the spring to follow.