It's been about a month of winter and there has been only a half day of snow, and three weeks of rain. For those of us who grew up on snow days and sled riding during our Christmas break, the dark and dreary days of Paris is a drag. It's a good thing this city is pretty, because the weather we've had so far this winter is not at all appealing. I won't complain too much though, because the rain does help the city sparkle more with the help of the Christmas lights that adorn the trees of the grand avenues. Because the French know how to decorate with panache, Paris does not lose it's charm despite the weather,
With the week off between Christmas and New Years, Thomas and I decided to spend this time being touristy in Paris. Since today is also my birthday, we decided to start our count down to Christmas today. To be exact, we started yesterday evening when Thomas surprised me with a bottle of champagne and macarons (not a bad way to ease into another year).
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| Champagne and macarons (from Thomas) and french chocolates (from a neighbor) |
Sometimes we forget to enjoy the city we live in. I lived in Washington, DC for 15 years and there were still things I wish I had done (seeing the US Constitution in the National Archives for example). It is easy to think that opportunities to discover the city are infinite. That has proven not to be incorrect. We wanted to make sure we took advantage of living in Paris. This evening was a great start. For my birthday, Thomas booked a dinner cruise on the Seine which took us by some of the iconic sites of Paris - the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, and the Louvre. The sites were beautifully illuminated, and the dinner itself was both delicious and romantic. Sometimes those types of cruises can be a bit trite, but we found this tour to be the perfect way to start off the holidays in Paris.
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| Boat tour starts at the Eiffel Tower. |
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| Go on the tour at night to see all the monuments aglow. |
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| Being on the river gives you interesting perspective. |
It is also the season for Christmas Markets. There is a fairly large market along the Champs Elysee, but small markets pop up all around the city. I guess I should not have been surprise to see one near the Eiffel Tower given its touristy location. This particular market had mostly edible treats - cotton candy, crepes, oysters, and vin chaud or warm wine (I've been told that warm wine is a traditional French holiday beverage, but it does not sound appealing enough to try). Along with Christmas Markets, ice skating rinks also appear around the city. We'll be going to one at the Grand Palais on Monday. This one at the Eiffel Tower was adorably small.
Walking around the Christmas market after the boat tour was the perfect way to end my birthday. Everyone we passed looked so happy. The Christmas Spirit seemed infectious.
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| Christmas Market |
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| Ice Skating Rink |
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| Eiffel Tour Carousel decorated for Christmas |
