Joyeux Noël in the Midi-Pyrenees

Cozy country cottage that is Scout approved

Since we were staying in Europe through the holidays again, we wanted to find some place that was Christmas-y.  We wanted to find a small European town with the old world feel, snowy fields where we could hike with our beagle, and a small cottage with a fire place.  Thomas and I had originally thought about going to the German Black Forest for the holidays.  However, the complications of renting a car in Paris and driving to Germany which has stricter rules and regulations made us change our plans.  Both countries might be in the same union, but it is surprisingly difficult to find a rental car in Paris with all the specs required in Germany (specifically snow tires which are required by German law, optional in France, and only available on rental cars in Lyon or closer to the border).  Given this complication we decided to stay in France. The question now was which part.  In the end, we found a charming little cottage surrounded by working farms in the foothills of the Pyrenees.  No snow, but it was a great location.  It was within a short drive (less than an hour) of fortresses, medieval castles, hikes, and even wineries.  It was also about a two hours drive from the mountains and ski resorts, and hiking trails are everywhere (even one that passed right by our house).

Joyeux Noël à tous!

Christmas 2012 was quiet.  We woke up in time to attend Christmas morning mass at St. Louis church located in the town square.  Normally their services are standing room only and their homilies a little political, but mass was a little different from the usual that day.  I think most of their regular attendees were out of town visiting families.  The church bells had stopped ringing before we arrived to the church door (usually a sign that they have started). I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only were there seats still available, but we were not the only people to arrive late.  The service and homily centered around the story of the nativity.  It is one of my favorite stories.  It's familiarity  facilitated the translation from french.  

Afterwards we tried to bring a bit of the US here in France by having an American breakfast.  I found Aunt Jemima's pancake mix as well as syrup at the grocery store- in the International section of course.  Hash browns are usually an easy find, but unfortunately bacon remains elusive.  Blog after blog proclaim the fact that American bacon can be found here in France.  The latest blog I read directed Americans in France to ask for de la barde.  So at the Super U (our local grocery store), I went to butcher and asked him if he had any barde... b-a-r-d-e.   I often spell things out because I know my accent can be an obstacle to international understanding.  After trying to pronounce it a few ways and then spelling it, the butcher finally understood and said he would go in the back to see if he had any.  After a few minutes, he came out with what looked like raw pig skin. Nope. No thanks.  With that, our quest for bacon continues.  We had to settle ham, which is tasty, but it is not bacon.

That evening, after skyping with family, we had our Christmas meal - lobster, homemade crab cakes, green beans and potatoes.  Thomas and I are not great cooks. However, fresh ingredients in our weekly markets means that we don't need a ten page ingredients list or fancy sauces to make meals that stimulate and satisfy our taste buds.  We just need a few good, quality ingredients. I frankly don't have the patience for a recipe that has more than five steps or takes half a day to prepare.  Our Christmas meal took forty minutes to put together and most of it was waiting for things to bake in the oven.

Back in the states, the days leading up to Christmas would involve lots of shopping and the day after Christmas would be spent taking advantage of those after Christmas sales.  That is one tradition I am glad we left out of our celebrations this year.  I spent a couple of hours on amazon finding books on French history, language, and culture - perfect gifts for our family who will travel to France next year.  I found a well reviewed history book - The Black Count by Tom Reiss - on the NYT 100 notable books of 2012 -for my history buff brother-in-law.  It is a biography of the Alexander Dumas' father who was not just a general in Napoleon's army but a son of a slave to boot.  It is said that his adventures were the basis for some of the stories his son wrote.  I also found a Rick Steve's book on the European Art and History, because you get more out of travel if you appreciate the history behind the sites you are seeing.  And of course a french book or two for the family, because when in France one must parler français.  You will miss so much if you walk around your english speaking bubble.  Shopping online meant that with only a few clicks, I could shop, wrap and ship the gifts.  They were under the tree at my sister's house in four days.

The day after Christmas, instead of shopping, we took the beagles for a long walk through the Parc de Saint Cloud.  We had the park to our selves today.  Scout was allowed to go off leash so she could wander and follow the scents like a good beagle.  We walked a good two hours today.  That is why the beagles slept for the rest of the afternoon.

There was neither hussle nor bussle during Christmas this year.  It was spent enjoying the quiet of our town through walks around the neighborhood and parks.  There was no frenzied shopping.  There was just a trip to the market where the vendors had a little extra time to talk.  There was no fighting holiday traffic but instead a hike through meandering paths that wound up and down through a wooded park where during the two hours we saw only four people.  I understand why Thomas prefers to stay home for the holidays. It does give you time to relax.  Although, I do miss the family.  I wouldn't mind a little bussle every other year.

Hike always starts at the farm where Molly gets to greet her friend.

Scout exploring the woods.

Scout, exhausted.

Molly is out for the night.

Christmas Eve

What does an erstwhile anglophone, newly anointed francophone couple do on Christmas Eve?  We go to Grand Palais to go ice skating of course.

The Grand Palais was constructed for the 1900 Worlds Fair. The architecture of the building combines a classical stone facade and grand sculptures with intricate iron work.  The building itself epitomizes the blending of modern and historical that is Paris. The Grand Palais continues as an exposition hall and  museum.  In fact we saw the Edward Hopper Exhibit there last month.  And to the delight of the Parisians they have turned the nave of building into an ice skating rink.  The vastness of the nave with the high vaulted glass ceiling made for a unique and festive experience.   The skating brought back fond memories of Rostraver and South Park skating rink of my childhood days.  I also revealed to everyone my hidden desire to be Michelle Kwon on the ice.  Not because I had any skating talent, but because I liked the idea of gracefully gliding over the ice like an elegant winter land princess.  Between the little kids and families of holding hands across the rink, there wasn't much room to do any gliding. It was mostly bobbing and weaving around parents holding up their toddlers upright and kids who had no control of where they were going, they were just going until they fell.  I will just have to settle for not falling once today.

The ice skating made us hungry, so went to the Christmas market on the Champs Elysees.  We ate Saucisse Toulouse which reminded of Polish Kielbasa (showing my Pittsburgh roots here).  Then we strolled along the market taking in Paris at Christmas time.

Le Grand Palais de Glace

Crowds on the ice

  

Action shot of Thomas on the ice

After a brief nap, we took a stroll through our neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights.

Garches City Hall

Joyeux Noël à tous.

Maligayang Pasko sa lahat.

Merry Christmas to all.

Looking for Christmas

I've been scouring the internet the last few days looking for Christmasy things to do around Paris. While all the neighborhoods in and near the city are decked out in all their noël finery, I still wasn't getting the full force of the season's spirit like I usually did back in the states.  I have come to the conclusion that what Paris is missing are my dear family and friends.  This time of year has always been a time where I would head back to Pennsylvania, hang out with the family, including my super cool and energetic niece and nephew, and visit with  friends that I've known since grade school. My husband and I would also organize a dinner of two with friends in DC before everyone headed back to our respective parts of the US.  We send our Christmas greetings to them all, and thank whoever invented the internet, video skpe, and factime.  It makes living across an ocean seem a little less far.

A Blue Christmas, just like Elvis sang it.

Since most of the few people we do know in France are off visiting their families, I am enjoying the holidays here with my little family - hubby and the two beagles.  We bought a little Christmas tree at the market.  We even found some Christmas lights at the Castorama (DIY store).  We still sometimes look at pictures on the package instead of reading the french words, so the lights turned out to be blue and blinking instead of what we assumed (white and constant).  Lesson learned- words are important even if they are french.  We went back to the store to buy a proper set of lights to keep with tradition.  In addition to the tree, we've made Christmas cookies, and checked out the Christmas markets around town. We have also been trying to do touristy things this week.  Today we went back to Versailles.  It turned out to be only a 15 minute drive from our apartment, which gives us another reason to like our town.

Chateau Versailles

Versailles is not just the famous royal chateau and garden, but it's also a fairly big town.  It has a sizeable market, one that is at least five times bigger than ours here in Garches. Looks to be a little less expensive too (Thomas is convinced that the prices in our market are marked up because people in the town are rich).  We wandered around the market, through town, and eventually ended up in Versailles' garden which is free to the public.

The weather was cloudy and being winter there was not too much diversity of color, but that just made the formalness of the gardens much more striking. By formalness, I mean sculpted shrubs and statues. The Versailles palace is grand. It is definitely a place to visit at least once. The formal gardens are as beautiful as they are expansive. It is quite possible to find some quite corners despite the thousands of tourists crowding the main palace.  The gardens are definitely a place to visit over and over again.

Versailles Market - not only is it bigger, but it is more frequent than ours in Garches (3/week vs 2/week)

Even the market gets into the Christmas spirit.  Check out the huge wheel of cheese on the left.

There are also indoor sections of the market.  Garches' market is only in the open square.

Inside the Church of Notre Dame - Nativity Scene

The light has come into the world.

Versailles Garden

Versailles Garden

Wintery Wonderland French Style

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).  

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. 

Boat tour starts at the Eiffel Tower.

Go on the tour at night to see all the monuments aglow.

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.

Christmas Market

Ice Skating Rink

Eiffel Tour Carousel decorated for Christmas

The Holiday Season is Upon Us

The municipalities have started hanging their Christmas lights throughout the Paris region.  Stores are slowly bringing in their holiday items.  Le Bon Marché's Christmas display is delighting passerbyers in the 7th arrondissement.  Unless you are living in a cave, you cannot miss the fact that the holidays are upon us.

Thanksgiving and Christmas this year will be spent here in France. While exciting, I will miss spending time with family and friends.  Around this time last year, Thomas and I were planning what to have for Thanksgiving dinner and deciding when to have our Christmas party.  Here in France, because they don't really celebrate Thanksgiving and they don't really have an autumn, I feel a bit cheated out of a full, festive, family oriented holiday season.  But maybe the US has always prolonged the holiday season a bit too long. I heard Christmas decorations were up before Halloween.

We are trying to get into the holiday spirit. Thomas and I went to the Christmas Market at the American Church.  Lots of crafters (my mom would have fit right in).  It was small, but we did manage to find some Christmas cards.  They were also serving Filipino food, of all things, so Thomas and I had pork adobo, lumpia (egg rolls), and leche flan (the Filipino version of creme brulée).  That's about as close to family/home I am going to get around here for now.

Thanksgiving will be spent at a restaurant this year. A nice restaurant near La Place de la Madeleine, but there will be neither turkey, nor pumpkin pie, nor stuffing.  Even when I was in West Africa, the peace corps volunteers managed to assemble a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  There is no excuse for us to not have it here in France.  I will start planning now to have this stuff on our Christmas menu.

Other random item for the day:
We ended our Paris excursion at La Bon Marché épicerie (fancy grocery store).  Their American section included chocolate syrup for 8.5 euros (~11 USD), Newman's salsa was 7 euros (~9 USD), and croutons were 5.40 euros (~7 USD).  They did have canned pumpkin and the British section had Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.  We can definitely make pumpkin pie and my favorite holiday dish - green bean casserole, but I might have to spend a week's salary on the American meal!