Christmas in Paris

Happy New Year everyone!

It feels great to be sitting at my computer again and getting back into the swing of things.

I couldn't tell you before for fear of publicly announcing our absence over the holidays but...

Jim, Jack and I spent Christmas in the City of Lights with my brother, my sister and her family.

We stayed in the 18th arrondissement near Montmartre...the area made famous by Moulin Rouge, the Sacré Coeur basilica and by the many well-known artists who lived there in the 19th and early 20th century.

Our "house", which slept all 9 of us comfortably, was at the end of this plant-lined street...

It seemed that, in addition to our hostess who was a photographer, there were other artists living on our "street" as well.

We arrived early on Christmas Eve and noticed immediately the lack of visible signs that it was Christmas time. I had heard that Christmas in Paris was understated but I was surprised at how understated it really was.

In comparison to the States where we are bludgeoned with the consumerism that has become "Christmas in America"...

The lack of shopping fervor, bright lights, Christmas music, tinsel, wreaths on cars, trees on every corner...was palpable.

Frankly, this little yarn-bombed tree with its candy-cane stripe was the perfect decoration...

A little yarn...an unexpected place...*sigh*

Since it was Christmas Eve, many places were closing early so that Parisians could spend the evening with family and friends enjoying their Christmas Eve feast...the Réveillon de Noël...a highly anticipated culinary event.

So we set out on foot to explore our neighborhood...

And to climb the hill toward Montmartre and Sacré Coeur...

The streets were quiet. Yet, as we climbed, there were definite signs that it was Christmas timebut the decorations were subtle and tasteful like the trees outside this restaurant...

And many of the windows of the bistros and brasseries were painted quite skillfully...

When we reached the top of the mount surrounding Sacre Coeur, there was a Christmas market...

With stalls selling foods, wines and all sorts of goodies...

It was a festive atmosphere...sipping spiced hot wine while walking around...but the emphasis of the market wasn't overtly on ornaments like the German markets. And there was most definitely an emphasis on food.

Christmas food in Paris is a whole other blog post so I'll save that for later. Suffice it to say that the food was phenomenal in both taste and in appearance.

I was beginning to like this version of Christmas.

Later that evening, we all went to Notre Dame Cathedral to attend Midnight Mass.

By showing up three hours early, we were able to get seats only five rows from the front. Unbelievable.

Lucky for us, the Cathedral was prepared for a crowd seated for three hours before Mass, so they showed a movie on the history of the cathedral from 10-11, and from 11-12, a Children's choir sang carols in French until the grand Mass began at Midnight.

It was magnificent.

We didn't get to bed until 3am but it was worth it.

Not only is Notre Dame a stunningly beautiful Cathedral, but so are the hundreds of other churches, chapels and basilicas that seem to be scattered on almost every street corner throughout Paris.

And each one was resplendent in Christmas glory...

With a creche on display in every one.

Each more beautiful than the one before.

We found ourselves popping in to as many churches as possible to see and visit their creche.

And my brother Mark lit a candle and said a prayer in every one...

So after only one day, I had a sense that Christmas in Paris was much less commercial than the American counterpart. That it was a religious day. That the focus was on family, friends and food.

And it was the discovery I made the next day on an early Christmas morning walk in the neighborhood that drove the point home.

I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

I can't wait to hear about your holidays and your New Year's resolutions. I'll be around to the blogs as soon as I can.

Bonne Année!