Rainy Day Castles

When Snow Patrol's Eyes Open album was released in the spring of '06, I was studying abroad in Paris. One of my best friends and I lived with the same host family--well, host mother--and we spent a lot of time wandering around Paris and the surrounding areas. One of the places we went to was Vaux le Vicomte, a castle about an hour and a half away from Paris by train, if I remember correctly.

It had been raining on and off, but the past couple days had been warmer. We were used to travelling light around the city, and weren't thinking too much about preparing for the weather. We blithely hopped aboard the train and headed out.

We had both seen Snow Patrol in concert the year before, and were definite fans--we bought the cd as soon as it came out, and took the music with us on our outing. I remember very clearly sitting in that seat, gazing out the window at the lush, green French countryside as the weather got grayer and wetter, listening to the entire cd through on repeat. Set The Fire To The Third Bar was not their single, but it was my favorite on the cd, and its haunting, melodious tune set the mood for my entire day.

When we got there, it was drizzling... and as we arrived at the castle, the drizzle became true rain. My friend and I only had thin sweatshirts against the cold and wet, and as we walked around the grounds it became clear that that wouldn't be nearly enough! We had the bright idea of buying ponchos at the gift shop--ponchos that were just cheap, clear plastic and nothing much in the way of protection at all.

And then it really started to pour. For me, coming from Southern California, the springtime downpours were a revelation in water. The rain would just pound down on everything, flooding the air, the mist yellow in the streetlight. My friend and I loved it. Everyone else had sought shelter but we wandered around the castle gardens, getting soaked to the skin, splashing around like kids and generally acting ridiculous. There was a huge statue of Hercules, perched on a hill at the far end of a lake, opposite the castle--it was at least half a mile away, but we were determined to get there. After that long walk we returned for a candle-lit walk around the castle, dripping all over the carpets.

Whenever I hear that Snow Patrol song I think of that day, of the unexpected but amazing experience the rain gave us. It is one of my clearest memories of my time in France, and I can remember all the little details. I think it's because it's one day I can remember being absolutely happy and content with my life--and whenever I hear that song, I feel an echo of that feeling.