Blue Skies in Paris

It's rained every day since my arrival last week in Paris, so I actually remembered to carry my umbrella today, and of course that guaranteed that the day would turn out to be a warm beautiful blue sky day :)

The morning was gray and cloudy so when my friend and I arrived early for lunch with some other people she knew, we went to the Passage off the street Vivienne near the Bourse, or Paris Stock Exchange. Like all finance these days, trading is done online, so the streets are quiet and all the images of suit wearing, briefcase carrying stock brokers are now an historical footnote.

Galerie Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement is also historical, it was built back in the days when the only protection against inclement weather was building what would be called a mall today. Shops from booksellers to wine merchants and a tea house have been in the passages for decades and they survive both the changing times and bad weather.

Since I have a very bad sense of direction, it was a good thing that my friend worked nearby before she retired and knew exactly where we were when we exited the passage Vivienne near the nearby Palais Royal. She would bring her lunch here and eat outside when the weather was nice.

The gardens are beautiful with flowers that surround the tree lined walk ways on both sides.

By the time we walked to the Opera the skies were blue:)