On an overcast and gray day, I took the RER (Réseau Express Régional) out of central Paris to the suburb of Bourg-la-Reine. From the train station in Bourg-la-Reine I humped my gear the mile or so to the Parc de Sceaux (pronounced “Park de So“).

The Parc de Sceaux is a less-well-known masterpiece of landscape design by André Le Nôtre, the seventeenth century landscape architect of Louis XIV responsible for the gardens at Versaille, the Tuilleries, and other famous formal French gardens.

As I explored the area, my concern was that the looming clouds might turn to rain, making photography difficult. But as I approached the long channel of water that radiated across the width of the gardens in a cross formation, the clouds parted and the sun emerged, making the reflections just so…beautiful!