I was writing in my journal last night, and at the top of my entry I wrote, "Christmas Day, 2008, Paris"... Wow... Still gives me a thrill to see that, regardless of the fact I've done a heck of a lot of traveling in my life. But, in all of that, this year is only the second Christmas that I've spent outside the US. (The first was 1968, and I was in Bombay, as it was known then... THAT was very strange, let me tell you!)
Anyway, Christmas here is, as far as I can tell, not as big a hoo-hah as in the US. There are displays, and trees, but not the oh-my-god-it's-everywhere-and-growing-like-King-Kong sort of presence that I see pretty much everywhere in the US (at least in the areas I observe). There were a fair amount of things closed on Christmas Eve, but also a fair amount of stores and restaurants open. And, yesterday, on Christmas Day, there were some stores open (not many, though). The Princess and I went to dinner at a friend's house, out in the western part of Paris. We rode the Metro all the way to the end of the line, and then got on a bus. We felt terribly adventurous! The dinner was lovely, and we (the three of us) knocked off a bottle of champagne and a bottle of wine. Yum... He (my friend) also tried his hand at making a Christmas pudding. It was not too bad -- his first attempt, and there was lots of dried fruit soaked in whiskey, so how bad could it have been? We got home relatively early, watched "Rebecca" (the original) on a DVD, and I passed out.
This morning, it was really cold out. So, being smart ladies, we woke up, turned over and went back to sleep until 11:00AM! Yikes! But, as my daughter advised me, we're on holiday so why not? We finally hauled ourselves out, and hit the Galleries Lafayette (again), to pick up a pair of gloves for my daughter that she had seen previously, and was brooding about. They are long gloves, which she wanted, in a lovely mossy green color, of the most delicious thin, luxurious leather. Yummy! Being a supportive mom, I also bought a pair of gloves (kind of an outdoorsy-type fabric, with fur cuffs) and a gold-color chain belt. I toyed with buying some perfume, but my inherent cheapness kicked in, and I decided I'll just wait to buy at home. I don't wear perfume as much as I used to, and I still have quite a collection, so why spend the money? I did see a gorgeous black suede handbag there, only (!) 250 Euros, but I shoved my hands in my pockets and kept walking. If I'm still hallucinating about it, I may go back and fondle it, and see if I can justify it in any manner whatsoever.
Then, we wandered down the street to the Printemps department store, and went to have lunch in their cafe. The dome of the cafe is gorgeous -- all stained glass, and worth the trip and the hideous amount we spent on lunch. And we didn't even have wine with lunch! However, I did talk the Princess into having a cup of hot chocolate, which was from Angelina's (they serve it at the Printemps cafe). The chocolate was as decadent and wonderful and orgasmic as I remember. And I don't even like chocolate. I had an espresso, myself, but then filled up my little cup, twice, with some of the hot chocolate. I don't know how any one person could finish off a whole pot of that stuff -- it's deadly. They serve it with a little bowl of whipped cream; you put a dollop on top of the chocolate, and it melts and basically you then just slap it on your hips and be done with it... No, seriously, it's insanely good.
To wind up our excursion today, we went to the H&M right across the street from Galleries Lafayette. Yes, we know that we could visit an H&M store pretty much anywhere, but this one is in PARIS, for goodness' sakes! And, amazingly enough, we each found something to buy! Given that apparently every piece of clothing in H&M is in Extra-Small, this was amazing. The Princess got a beautiful grey wool jacket, a nice little cream-colored cardigan and a foo-foo nightie. I found a black quilted zip-up jacket that looks quite snazzy on me, if I do say so myself. We agonized about buying some of the lingerie there, and I almost succumbed.
I was looking to buy a nice pair of dress shoes here in Paris, but I haven't seen anything I'd really wear. It's not that I'm averse to paying a hideous price (well, I am, but would be willing to some distance if I could find something), but the styles are just not what I could either walk in, physically, or what I would be caught dead in. In addition, some of the more outre styles look great in a display pair of shoes (usually like a size 6-1/2), but when you translate that to my size (9 or 9-1/2), not so much... Disappointing...
On Christmas Eve, we did make it to the Louvre. Oh what a wonderful, wonderful place it is. There are photos on my flickr.com photostream (not many, but a few). We really enjoyed it. Every time I'm there, I am just gobsmacked at how BIG that place is... They've done a nice job on the exhibit regarding the history of the Louvre, from medieval times to the mid-19th Century, to the present. I found it fascinating. We saw the Winged Victory, the Nike, the Mona Lisa, and the Venus de Milo. The museum was very crowded, but not as bad as I imagine it could be in high season. There were lots of Asian tourists (mainly Japanese, as far as I could tell) and a fair amount of other European tourists (lots and lots of Italians) (or, well, those were the only ones I could hear!), and some Americans/Canadians. Didn't hear many Brits. We also wandered through the shops under the Louvre, and found a Starbucks! I was very surprised to see one at all. We both ordered something, and the coffee was AWFUL. If there was coffee in that latte, I'll eat my hat. And there were no plastic cups there with "Starbucks/Paris" on them at all... For my collection, you know... Rats! We had dinner at a local restaurant, one with a Cuban theme. Their interpretation of chips and guacamole was interesting. I had two margaritas, and was on my butt.
Tomorrow, we are going to go to Sacre Coeur, and possibly wander the Rue de Rivoli (we were going to do that today, but it was too cold and we got too late a start). Tomorrow is my daughter's last day in Paris, so we want to wrap up the trip nicely. Perhaps a nice dinner out, too. Tomorrow is also my 28th wedding anniversary, so I'll be a bit sad, I'm sure. The daughter will have to smack me good, no doubt, to get me out of my blues. Sunday morning, I'll go on the Metro to the Gare de Lyon with her, and put her on the airport bus. Then, I'll need to get myself organized, as I go home on Monday. A long plane ride with a cold ought to be a lovely adventure. I may need to buy another box of mouchoirs!
Tonight, we're going to watch the remaining episodes of "The Tudors". Nothing like a little light history and some heavy-duty bodice-ripping to cheer us up! And, I swear, tomorrow I'm turning the alarm on so we don't sleep until noon.
I hope each and every one of you had a great Christmas Day, in whatever fashion you chose to spend it.
Cheers!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment