It’s Christmastime in Paris. It’s about 40 degrees, and there are festive lights all over the place. They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here (no pilgrims, no indians), so it’s a jarring shift from Autumn to Christmas! The Champs-Elysees is all lit up, and there are Christmas markets selling hot mulled wine and chestnuts roasted on a (tiny) open fire. In fact, I was there for the “tree-lighting.” Of course, my point of reference for this phenomenon is the gigantic christmas trees with bulbs that get illuminated and serenaded at the outdoor shopping mall. It was a bit different here, with the streets completely filled, and modern, electrical swirls ascending naked deciduous trees. Slightly anticlimactic, but a famous French actress was there (Audrey Tatou - from Amelie), so it was quite the event. All of us Americans are getting ready to go home and be with our families for Christmas. I think that I would be a bit more nostalgic about leaving in 5 DAYS if I weren’t coming back. I had a dear friend who lives in Spain visiting in town this past weekend, and saying goodbye to her on Saturday night made me realize how much I’m going to miss the wonderful friends I’ve made here in Paris. Either way, I will probably cry for at least four hours of my 30 that I will spend traveling and sitting in the airport on layovers. But I will say that I can’t wait to be on my couch reading good books, watching White Christmas, and baking banana bread!
