The summer weather has been quite erratic for the last 5 years in July and August. Talk to any Parisian, and he/she will tell you that the last 5 years have been "rotten" in terms of temperatures and sunshine. (April and May provided our summer weather this year.)

Anyway, yesterday we had a little shower, and someone posted this interesting view of it on YouTube at the Lamarck-Caulaincourt metro station (where Amélie left the blind man after giving him a tour of the market).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0E_S3zRoTM

We are leaving for Paris in a week, I hope this is not a sign of things to come!

Whoa-a-a! Little shower? You certainly are amusingly understated, K. That makes our wet week there in June seem like a little Spring sprinkle.

Wow!!!!! That's all I have to say. Thanks for posting that.

Are you KIDDING ME?!? That looks more like someone hit a fire hydrant! And I love the guy who walks into the video without an umbrella!

Yowza! I also love the girl who walks up the staircase with her silver shoes on!

It's raining again tonight, but not quite as hard. I feel sorry for the outdoor movie program at La Villette -- they haven't had much of a chance to show what was on the program so far.

I love to be in Paris even if it is raining.

It's nothing - it's just a scratch.

Good grief! Kurouac, I was expecting some pictures you had taken during a gentle shower. No doubt most people were soaked through to their skin by the time they arrived home or whereever they were going. And I agree with StCirq, the girl in the silver shoes was interesting, she seemed so relaxed, lol. Thanks for sharing the video.

I remember once when I was coming to Paris in July and thir were some problems due to the heavy rain, I think there was flooding. I landed at that stupid terminal where you have to get on a bus to go to the main area and everyone got drenched as no one was prepared for a monsoon. That wasn't that long ago, it was just last year, as I recall, and there were worse floods down south. Luckily, I wasn't going into Paris but just connecting to Marseille where there wasn't a problem.

Living in the Southeastern US where thunderstorms are common and EPIC, wow...that is some RAIN!!!! Hope it is not like that in November!!

A Parisienne never loses her aplomb.
(girl in the silver shoes)

Had to re-run the video for the girl in the silver shoes . . . .

The first thing I thought of was Rimbaud's immortal Après le Déluge.

Being as how Paris is mostly paved over and there is no open ground to soak up the rain this is probably a common event on the hill of Montmartre.

Something to consider if you are someone who schedules every minute: late planes, late trains, late buses, no taxis.

But it certainly is a sight to see! Reminds me of afternoon downpours in New Orleans or Florida, though we had one last week on our trip to Maine.

Summer.

Obviously, the sun was shining again within 30 minutes.

Something similar happened on our trip to Paris in '99. I also experienced the waterfall down the steps thing at a game in Fenway Park. I had to sit on the stair railing to avoid being swept away.

HI K,

I'll bet that cleaned things up nicely.

What rain?

Didn't you notice that (probably American) tourist in her white trainers sticking out like a sore thumb in that most fashionable crowd?

Furthermore, I doubt that this video was shot in Paris, France after all.
Several ladies wore blue jeans, and we know Parisians only wear black slacks.