A Paris Christmas

Christmas Tree, American Ambassador's
Residence

Chris and I have been enjoying ourselves wandering around Paris window shopping (for the most part) and admiring the holiday decorations.   Before his arrival, I had the opportunity with the American Women's Group to tour the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to France to see the beautiful Christmas tree in the grand central staircase of the lovely mansion just next door to the Elysée Palace.

The windows dressed by true French shopkeepers are often real works of art and many this Christmas lived up to those high expectations.  But the decorations at Galleries Lafayette simply outshone everything else.  The theme was polar bears (they've been very popular this year) and every part of the decoration of every window was made of white paper.  And the figures moved!  Inside, in that huge central atrium with the Beaux Arts stained glass dome, was a giant white paper tree to which white paper cable cars were ferrying polar bears back and forth from the balconies overlooking this astonishing sight.  Here's a collection of some of our photos:

The one to the left is a recreation of the dome inside the store but there are piles of white paper pencils piling up from the floor.





















Notice the bear on the right trying to scale the top of the cupboard.











This was about purses.  See the paper ones dangling from the balcony.
















And the giant Christmas tree itself.









 And Chris's grand finale photo montage.

Merry Christmas from Strasbourg

Scene along the River Ill, Strasbourg

If I could send a Christmas card from anywhere in France, I think it would have to be from Strasbourg, which looks like a Christmas village even without the lights!  The capitol of Alsace, a province that has passed between Germany and France on numerous occasions, it has dubbed itself the "Capitale de Noël".  Indeed, the old town center looks like the sort of miniature village one puts under the Christmas tree.

Galeries Lafayette Window, Strasbourg

Our Christmas traditions come mainly from Germany, brought to England by Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, in the 19th century.  And in Strasbourg, the city's rich German heritage and Christmas traditions continue, making Americans and Brits feel right at home.

Strasbourg's main square

Decorated Building Facade

A Teddy Bear's Christmas

Strasbourg Cathedral at night

The city does itself proud, with a giant tree in the main square of the old city and lights and decorations everywhere in the streets.  Candles and lights, cookies of every size and description, special foods (cakes and waffles to name but two), swags and wreaths, and all sorts of Christmas tchotchkes from votive candles on -- all are for sale in Strasbourg's famous Christmas market.  The foods in the restaurants are also noticeably more German.  Sauerkraut suddenly appears as an accompaniment to a number of dishes and the sausages are distinctly different.  Lots more beer around -- and plenty of mulled wine, a great Christmas tradition in both France and Germany.  It was wonderful to experience this very special place at Christmas time.


Thank you for following along with me this year.  I miss you all, but your support has added immeasurably to my confidence in undertaking this wonderful adventure.  My blessings to all of you for a safe and healthy New Year -- a year in which we will once again be reunited.  xoxo

Fête des Lumières

It seems like I barely got the first part of my Lyon journey posted before I was back there again for the Festival of Lights this past weekend.  Dating back to the Middle Ages, it is a celebration of light at the darkest time of the year.  Today, of course, it is much assisted by the twin marvels of electricity and electronics.  Lasting only three days from 8:00 pm to midnight, it draws enormous crowds from all over France and Europe.  Vieux Lyon and the Presqu'île are decked out in colored lights and there are light shows at various places around the two districts.

But these are light shows the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen before.  My sentimental favorite was an installation called Vol de Nuit (Night Flight), based on one of St-Exupéry's novels about a fledgling airmail service in Latin America in the early thirties.  (It was also a wonderful 1933 movie of the same name with Clark Gable, John and Lionel Barrymore, Helen Hayes and Myrna Loy -- for the old movie buffs among you.)  Well, imagine, there's this little plane looking as though it had been carved out of balsa wood and painted gray sitting on a long stretch of grass, for all the world like it was about to take off.  When the lights came on and one could hear an engine revving over the sound system, it

looked like the first photo above.  Then the lights created the effect of air streaming from the engines and the whine of the motors increased and it really seemed to be in flight.  My subsequent pictures aren't very good, but as it moved along the kind of terrain over which it flew was projected on the side of the plane -- here a fox in a forest -- and eventually there were only stars and planets along the side of the plane.

Night Flight

Light Show at Cathedral St-Jean

The facade of the Cathedral St-Jean had a major makeover.  Lights projected across the front seemed to make the stones explode in air and re-form in remarkable ways.  And there was a series of little bulbs in two bushes that mimicked someone kicking a football and a goalie making the save.  There was a dinosaur and across one of the bridges a fantastical boat of lights with the oars (all lights) sweeping the water as if there were really oarsmen rowing.  

It was simply impossible in one night to see all of the light shows.  But there were other delights as well -- for example, vendors selling mulled wine and various pastry treats all along the way.   There was in the end only so much walking this old body could do, however.  So, my friend and I repaired to a lovely cafe where I had a White Russian cocktail (I used to drink those at the Russian Tearoom in New York) and some little chocolate pastries.  All yummy.

18th century textile from Lyonnais loom

The next day, before returning to Paris, we visited the Textile Museum (Musée des Tissus), which I remembered so fondly from my visit with Lloyd 25 years ago.   The examples of silk produced on those little wooden looms are knockouts.  Here are a few.

One other note about Christmas in France -- the French can't decorate a Christmas tree for the life of them.  All the good ones are in English or American stores.  And, even though there are any number of beautiful French Christmas carols, it feels strange, though certainly welcoming, to hear Bing Crosby or Perry Como crooning Christmas ballads as you walk through the Christmas markets.  As the French would say, c'est la vie!