Paris in the Rain

When it rains in Paris there are two emotions that run through you:

1. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
2. That's OK; we're in Paris


Nowhere in the rain is pleasant. But there are few places in the world that can keep it's charm in a downpour. Paris is one of them (another is Kenya after a 2km trek up hill in mid day heat).

After catching a morning free of rain, and taking advantage of it by grabbing some pastries from Brioche Doree and heading to breakfast beneath the Eiffel, we spent a few hours wandering around the area.

Shirt and Jeans from Newlife | Sketchers from Schuh | Handbag from LYDC

It's definitely worth getting up a little earlier for a mooch around the city's most recognisable landmark, before the coach loads of tourists arrive, if you find the right spot it can feel like you've got the place to yourself - if you ignore the armed soldiers currently patrolling around.

 

We spent some time around the Trocadéro Gardens, Mr M waiting patiently as I tried stretching my photography skills - which are still very much on the amateur side but they're getting better....slowly.

Anorak chic ^ 

Once the rain appeared it was all about finding somewhere to stay dry and there are fewer better places than amongst the glittering mountains Lindors.

We picked up an extra travelling companion then, driven mad by hunger, we made a whistle stop tour to a gyros place for gyros and savoury pancakes (yes, I think cheese in pancakes is as good an idea as chocolate spread in pancakes),

before moving onto a place I made Mr M promise me we could go to the night before - Amorino.

Famed for their rose shaped gelato cones Amorino makes some of the nicest gelato I've ever had. You can choose as many flavours as you'd like in three sizes. This one is the petit:

I went for Chocolate sorbet, Framboise, Straccetellia and vanilla. If you go and choose only two flavours please promise me you'll go for the chocolate sorbet and the framboise? It is a match made in heaven.

The petit cone is more than enough but that didn't stop me from having the classique on the second visit!

Filled with gelato we moved on to finding solace from the rain in one of Paris' most famous book stores: Shakespeare and Company.

Definitely in the top two of my favourite things to do in rainy Paris the warm glow of the bookshop pulls you off the grey, damp streets and wraps you in a giant literary hug the moment you walk through the door.

Floor to ceiling bookcases line the walls and are only broken up by the "No Photography" signs. With a sigh I begrudgingly stowed away my camera and took the opportunity to absorb the books.

I love a book shop like this one, nothing beats the feeling of being surrounded by books, knowing that thousands of stories, adventures and journeys are hidden away around you just waiting to be found. It sounds ridiculously cliché but it's very true, and when you walk around Shakespeare and Company and suddenly remember that you are in Paris, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, you can't help but get butterflies.

On the top floor of the store there is a room dedicated as a library for people to hid away from the world in. It's a real British ex-pat dream.

While I wandered around I came across a couple of snugs that I just couldn't resist taking a quick snap of.

Little notes lined the walls, covering every nook declaring their love for the city, for books or for the expression of writing. It was a marvellous sight seeing all of those wishes, dreams and messages laid bare for all to see.

In the short time we spent in there it gently blew some wind back into my sails and got me thinking about my relationship with writing, and that's what a good book shop is all about, isn't it?

We left the store empty handed after the first visit, but after the second you bet your ass I left with a book: H.G.Wells to be precise - well, it would be wrong not to buy a book written by a British author from a British book shop in Paris wouldn't it?

A pretty perfect way to while away a few rainy hours in Paris. I'd love to know if you've been here too, and if you have been what did you buy?