Last we left off in Paris, I was in the metro speeding away from the Arc de Triomphe. Three stops later I resurfaced on the Champs Elysees near the Grand Palace. To my delighted surprise, I popped up right smack dab in the middle of Paris' Christmas Market - Marche de Noel. I was a bit disoriented as it was completely unexpected. But the best part was after a moment of getting my bearings the time hit 5:30pm and all the street lights popped on. It was truly a magical moment - I was so enchanted. All the trees lining both sides of the Champs Elysees were strung with icy blue lights in a tulip shape. The part my photos could not capture was the rods of lights in the trees that would randomly go off in a streak of lighting. Beautiful.
The market itself was long lining both sides of the boulevard for several blocks. It had more elegance than the german counterparts. And I found the elusive white Gluhwien that Janie & I were searching for. A few of the vendors made some small talk with me. All the young man making my Grand Marnier crepe could say was "Obama?" I laughed and said "tres bien, it's very good." My favorite was the gentleman working the sausage and cheese stand. He asked me where I was from and when I indicated America, he asked "New York or LA?" Seattle...and he indicated he had no clue where it was. A nice reminder of how our experiences shape our view of the world. He gave me some healthy sized samples of cheese. I was grateful when a large local crowd came up to buy up his wares. As I wondered away from the market through Le Jardin des Tuilleries toward my hotel, I enjoyed trying to capture the beauty of this December evening. The large ferris wheel was beautiful. I have an irrational fear of being stuck at the top of a ferris wheel. I blame it on my neighbor who rocked me and his son really hard at the top of a fair ferris wheel when I was really young. Suffice it to say, I did not go on by myself. Best not to have a panic attack in front of total strangers especially when you can't speak the language! Besides in the weather I'm not sure how the views would be. There is a small carousel in the garden that I enjoyed photographing all the while wishing my nieces were there. As I exited the garden I was tickled to see a street lined with chandeliers.
After successfully navigating to my hotel and thawing out, I grabbed the pocket camera and headed to the metro to the Trocadero to overlook my fav Le Tour Eiffel. The Eiffel Tower was lit in blue in 2008 to celebrate the chairman of the EU being french. It was lovely as ever and still socked in at the top. The two times I saw the tower glittering was when I was not in position to capture a good photograph. I wandered over to the base of the tower to take an evening cruise on the Seine. As fate would have it an entire school district of teenagers had a field trip on the same boat that evening. I can tell you that the qualities that make teenagers teens are the same regardless of the language. It was entertaining to say the least. We were moving way too fast to get any good pictures, so I moved in from the open air deck to be undercover and listen to the audio guide. I've always wanted to take a river boat cruise on the Seine and spent the hour gloriously soaking it in. By the end of the ride I was a Jeannette-sicle, so I bid Le Tour Eiffel goodnight and headed back to the metro and my toasty hotel room.
Till next time Paris, it was the perfect ending to my trip.
Merci!
POSTCARDS from Paris at night
Beautiful pics!
Posted by: Kathy | January 09, 2009 at 02:20 PM
Thanks!
Posted by: Jnet | January 09, 2009 at 04:52 PM