A inch or two of slushy snow brought Paris to her knees yesterday. It was a mess. Fat gloppy snowflakes made sidewalks sloppy and slippery. The gutters were lakes, the streets rivers. The Eiffel Tower closed at noon. And the traffic. Well as the monitors in the subway system pointed out, "
En raison des chutes de neige, l'ensemble du réseau bus est paralysé." Yes, that's right. Total paralysis. A couple of the metro lines and the under-any-circumstances ultra sensitive RER A had major problems. And out in the suburbs, it was gridlock. At 4:00, regional traffic authorities announced that circulation was "
impossible." And by 5:00 p.m., early for rush hour, there were 308 kilometers of traffic jams in Ile de France.
For me, the pain was minimal. One of my kids was on a field trip at the Pompidou Centre, making the ride home just a quick trip on the subway. The other ended up going home with a friend for an impromptu midweek sleepover. I put on a pot of lentil soup and called it an early night. Now to deal with the aftermath.
4 comments:
I saw snow when I arrived in Paris and it was snowing like crazy when I left with major delays at CDG. Paris is beautiful in the snow, but yesterday was a bit much.
Take photos... stay warm! Thanks for the update.
Bises,
Genie
Can you imagine the panic and gridlock if it ever snowed in Paris the way it does in Montréal? One shudders to think.
I was definitely paralysed at home. Cancelled all Wednesday errands and playdates.
But wasn't it glorious to see the sun today on the glittering snow?
La Mom
An American Mom in Paris
I've decided that the snow is only beautiful when you have the luxury of watching it from indoors and don't have to go anywhere. I almost fell a handful of times, some over-excited kids pelted a hard snowball at me and the metro ride home was so packed I had someone's hair in my mouth the entire ride. I'd say, you're lucky!
In truth, I much prefer the aftermath - the gorgeous sunny day that follows a mess like that!
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