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Christmas in Paris: Marché de Noël
One of the things I most wanted to experience when planning to spend Christmas in Paris in 2016 was the Marché de Noël – Christmas Market – on the Champs-Élysées. Imagine, hundreds of metres at the foot of that grand avenue lined with little chalets offering all sorts of wonderful Christmas treats. And the majestic Arc de Triomphe overlooking it all! I had read all about it and couldn’t wait to experience a true, European, Marché de Noël. That year, the market ran from Place de la Concorde to the Champs-Élysées roundabout, overtaking the boulevards on both sides of the avenue. Savoury Snacks Above all else, the market is a…
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Christmas in Paris: City of Light – Part 2
A gentle snow is falling as I write this. The view outside my window makes it look as if someone is sprinkling icing sugar over my neighbourhood. Slowly it’s blanketing the ground with a fine layer of white, as if decorating a cake. Christmas is definitely in the air! So what better time to continue my Christmas in Paris: City of Light tour? Luminous Place Vendôme If you’ve read my post Christmas in Paris: Window Shopping, you will remember that much of it focused on the Place Vendôme area. So let’s return there for a bit. This time we’ll take a look at the decorations on the exterior of some…
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Christmas in Paris: City of Light – Part 1
Paris is known as the ‘City of Light’ due, originally, to its leading role during the Age of Enlightenment. More recently it claimed this name by becoming one of the first European cities to adopt gas lighting. And each year at Christmastime it reclaims it yet again when its streets glow with yuletide splendour. I was fortunate to spend Christmas there recently and stayed in a lovely little apartment just off the wonderful market street of Rue Cler in the 7th arrondissement – borough.The days are short in Paris during this festive season. Here, the city is wrapped in a blanket of darkness by 4:30 in the afternoon. So it…
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Christmas in Paris: Window Shopping
Paris is one of the most incredible shopping cities in the world. Its grand avenues are lined with designer clothing and jewellery boutiques, luxury department stores and delectable pâtisseries. And at this time of year, their window displays become sophisticated and whimsical holiday vignettes. Given this, window shopping is a wonderful way to pass some time when spending Christmas in Paris. Cartier Red I found many of my favourite windows in Place Vendôme, home of the Ritz Hotel, as well as many of the luxury jewellers. Cartier was a particular favourite of mine. Their windows provided delightful, miniature, Parisian streetscapes highlighted with their signature red. One even included a scene…
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Vimy Remembered
November is upon us now. The days grow shorter and the skies grey. It is a time to remember. In Canada, we commemorate the many who fought and sacrificed their lives for the wonderful freedoms that we enjoy today on November 11th, Remembrance Day. And Vimy Ridge has come to symbolize this nation’s remembrance. I feel blessed to have had the good fortune to visit this site of such great courage and sacrifice. Located about 100 kilometres inland from the Normandy coast in northern France, Vimy Ridge, is the site of what is considered one of Canada’s greatest victories during World War I. In just four days, beginning on Easter Monday,…
