How is California rain different from Paris rain?  It is quieter, it is wetter, it makes bigger puddles.  No, that's not true, remember the downpour en route to Shakespeare & Co, on November 15th for the reading. That was an adventure, wading through rivers on the Bd St. Michel.

In Paris there is always somewhere to shelter, under a tree, in a café, under the overhang of a building.  You can slip along the walls like a rat.  Here, nothing for it, but to tie the strings of your hood tight under your chin and make a dash for your next destination.  And there are fewer destinations.