Paris at Night

One of our most difficult challenges after arriving in Paris was staying up late enough for it to become dark. This happens in northern latitudes shortly after Summer Solstice. Yes, we all should suffer so. :)

When we come back, it should be in April.

The Seine at sunset

Even after sunset, the glow continued long enough on our first night that we gave up on light switches being toggled on at Notre Dame. As Stacey notes in a separate post, we were tired from the flight and the fight to stay awake during our boat ride on the Seine.

Rue Soufflot from Place du Pantheon

As we adjusted to the long days, it became easier to remain awake. To be honest, though, Paris is luminous day or night, rain or sunshine. I think luminous is the right word. One of my struggles leading up to Stacey's Paris-themed birthday party in December was finding a calendar that seemed to reflect the qualities that sparked Stacey to wake up one morning and say we should go to Paris. The selection in local shops was dominated by something called "Paris Glitz." Paris does sparkle, but that's not where the deeper magic lies.

Eiffel Tower -- same vantage, zoomed to highlight awesome clouds

The brightest light we witnessed in Paris was the glow on Stacey's face as we encountered, in the rain on Rue Cardinal Lemoine, the plaques marking spots where James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway lived -- this, after a more intentionally mapped visit, without rain, to the apartment of Gertrude Stein earlier in the day.

Side entrance to Saint Etienne du Mont -- not midnight, but it was dark and the streets were damp.

For another post: Paris in the Rain, featuring Stacey's umbrella. She generally does not like having her picture taken. We discovered in Versailles that given a colorful prop, Stacey will ham it up for the camera. Luminous.

Notre Dame, in the night, with the lights finally switched on