I have to confess that I was a bit sad a few weeks ago to see fun snow pictures all over the blogs of my Houstonian friends. It snows so infrequently in Houston, and although I have lived there basically my whole life, I somehow manage to miss it almost every time… But God was gracious and gave us a white pre-Christmas here in Paris.
I’m not sure if you heard, but there was quite a lot of snow. So much, in fact, that the Eiffel Tower was actually shut down for several hours one afternoon – something they almost never do because that thing is France’s biggest money maker. The overhead is almost nothing (think about it: it’s outdoors, there’s nothing really to renovate, and they’ve already put in the heavy-duty elevators that take people to the top), and tourists from all over the world pay exorbitant prices all day every day just to experience the biting winds at several hundred feet in the air. Now that I’ve said that, I must admit that I have been up in the tower at least four times, and I thought it was worth it every time. But that’s neither here or there. The important thing is, we had a LOT of snow (at least on Paris terms).
It began on the morning of Thursday, December 17, with enough snow to cover balconies and cars, but not too much staying on the ground (you know how it is in big cities… enough snow to cover the ground is rare). As the day went on, however, the snow even began to stick to the ground, and it stayed for a good four or five days. Our neighborhood was so charming in the snow:
Even more magnificent was my all-time favorite site in Paris (and possibly in the world) – Notre Dame. Unfortunately, I was home sick that day (when oh when will the pregnancy nausea go away?!?!), but Megan dutifully took some beautiful pictures of the great cathedral draped in snowy white:
The following day, the Tuileries Gardens were still a snowy wonderland, and we definitely felt the below-freezing temperatures as you can see by our pink cheeks and frozen smiles:
Sunday was really breathtaking, though, as we made our way an hour and a half outside of Paris to the little town of Chartres. Though Notre Dame de Paris is still my favorite cathedral I’ve ever seen, Notre Dame de Chartres definitely made an impression. In the late 1100’s, the church on that location burned down, burning with it (or so the people assumed) the “veil of Mary” – the robe she had supposedly worn when giving birth to Jesus. Much to their surprise, they actually found the veil unharmed when sorting through the rubble, a miracle that inspired great devotion and excitement in the people of Chartres. As a result, they built almost an entirely new cathedral on the same spot (a couple of walls were still standing after the fire) in a mere sixty years – unheard of for the construction of a cathedral; most take centuries. Even more incredible is that this cathedral, finished mid-13th century, still contains 80% of the original stained glass, the greatest amount of Gothic stained glass anywhere. It was beautiful, and the town wrapped in a blanket of snow only added to the enchantment:
Finally, on Megan’s last day to visit, Tuesday, December 22, we went to Versailles, about 45 minutes outside of Paris. While by that point most of the snow in Paris had melted, Versailles was still covered, especially the chateau. I have been to the chateau three other times over the past ten years, but this was truly a new experience. The incredible gardens of Versailles, complete with hundreds of fountains and a man-made canal, were a beautiful but eerie wasteland:
Although the snow was just a few days early (it was officially all gone by Christmas), it was a welcome anomaly. And, since we don’t drive here in Paris, the only inconvenience was having to walk cautiously on the icy sidewalks – a small price to pay.
