We started the month by putting up our tree in the living room window and decorating it. Then we strung the blue lights we had, on the hall ceiling, along with the stars we had bought in Cologne. This was the month of Christmas markets and we planned to see all the ones within easy reach. On the last day of November, we took a train to Paris to see the different markets that they held. While there, we checked in with our lawyer and friend Haywood. We try to see him at least twice a year, although we don’t necessarily require his services very often. It’s always good to see him and lure him out for a lunch – which he rarely does. After arriving in Paris, we checked in early and were able to get into a room in advance, which was nice. We walked to the Tuileries Gardens and around their Christmas market. It’s the biggest because they have at least 8 large rides, including a giant Ferris Wheel, plus arcade games, in addition to the market. Although we took pictures, it is much more colorful at night.
We took advantage during our walk to other markets, to window gaze at all of the decorations. It never fails to thrill us.
Unfortunately the next market we went to, near Notre Dame, wasn’t to open until the second week of December and the other in Saint Germain only had half of the vendors open. The Notre Dame Cathedral was lit up and, as you know, being reconstructed. By this point, the temperatures had dropped and the wind had a bite to it, so we headed back and turned in.
The next day we took a car to the restaurant where we were meeting Haywood. It was a nice place within walking distance of his office and the food was excellent. It’s always great to see him relax, plus we got to see his new office and actually met his staff of three.
After leaving Haywood, we took a car to Versailles. The place is immense and gilded to the max. Room after room, stuffed with priceless paintings and sculptures, ceiling murals that were breathtaking. Elizabeth Vigee-LeBrun is one of two female painters which I adore. The portraits of Marie Antonette were mesmerizing for me because of the artist, not necessarily the subject. In fact by the end, I was suffering from an overdose of royalty and opulence. The only disappointment with the museum was that they relied heavily on light from the windows for the artwork. The multitude of expansive portraits and landscapes, could not be viewed well and some were in dark spaces, barely discernible.
These works will never be fully appreciated without proper gallery lighting and the technology is such that it would not harm the materials. It’s really a travesty and I’m clueless as to why this has remained so. I’m not trying to be a snob but I felt robbed that I was in the presence of great work, yet viewing it all in glaring window reflections or often in the dark. Still, I have to stress that I was very happy to have seen it at all.
Next we headed to the Versailles Opera House to see The Marriage of Figaro and THAT was an unbelievable treat !! Full costumes, with great sets and the singing superb. The whole cast was fabulous and Robert Gleadow was utterly delightful as Figaro. It was a treat to be seated right behind the maestro who acknowledged us during intermission and apologized for being in the way. We assured him we were having a wonderful time of it. We were spent when we emptied out at midnight and dead in the head by the time we hit our pillows. But what an incredible evening. It really was magnificent.
The next day, after a nice leisurely breakfast, we went out again to window look. It snowed just a bit as we were going into the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann – a famous department store which has a massive center stained glass dome. We walked around, had a glass of wine at a bar on the edge of the interior in which they had erected a huge holiday decoration and at the 1/2 hour, would have a small light show. It was another great day of walking through Paris shops and seeing the holiday decorations. Paris is about an hour’s train ride from Lille, which is why we’ve done the trip most often within a day. It was nice to spend time wandering about, knowing that we could rest at a hotel instead of hurrying to make a train back home. We never take the time and it was great to have the opportunity.
The next jaunt we took, once back in Lille, was to Arras in the late afternoon to see their Christmas Market and had a great time of it. Fortunately, despite predictions of rain, it only drizzled some and sleeted a little. By timing it for the late afternoon/early evening, we were able to see it’s lights before returning home. It was weird going into the market as they had divided the lines for females and males. It turned out because they were not only checking bags but giving everyone a body pat down, using women for the female line and men for the male line. At every market they had staff checking each entry for a vaccine certificate but this just seemed over the top and odd. Still, the market had all of the wonderful foods; broiling sausages, smoking fish, crisp hot waffles, pastries and soft pretzels – along with all of the holiday gift offerings.
G had to have a procedure at the hospital, where they use dye to check the arteries for any narrowing. It was the first major treatment we’ve experienced and he was a bit nervous. It made for a long day as we arrived at 7:30 am and left at 3 pm. I was stuck in the lobby because they wouldn’t let me in any further, despite my vaccine certificate. They even didn’t want me IN the lobby but I refused to go home. Three terse exchanges with the door guard of “Non” – “NO I’M NOT LEAVING” – NON – NO – NON – NO. And finally after a face stare down, he pointed to a chair where I would not be out of his sight and said – THERE! STAY! I thanked him politely and did just that. G was a floor apart. He was able to use his phone at the beginning and at the end of the procedure. We were texting each other information, including pictures of where we were situated. They served him a lunch later, which he sent a shot of and I sent a picture of what I’d packed for myself – strips of ham, strips of cheese and walnuts. He had coffee, small baguette, croissant, yogurt and apple cider. Very nice, he said.
We texted about how the whole process went. When he came out he wasn’t tired since he had been able to nap, so we walked back home. It’s only a 30 minute walk and he was appreciating the cool fresh air. The lab results showed no narrowing of the arteries, which was the best. Other than being told not to use his right hand where they accessed the artery for the dye, he recovered quickly.
I must have experienced some kind of impact that I wasn’t aware of because I did something that I’ve never done before. I fell asleep in bed while on my computer, holding a glass of water. That’s a first. I was fine, the bed was soaked and my computer – well, lets just say that the manufacturer doesn’t recommend you water your laptop like a plant. A trip to Apple verified that the computer was dead and after 250 euros because it was under warranty, they replaced the motherboard, monitor, keyboard and most everything else, and I was back in business. Had to put that on the list of things not to do, along with running with scissors or playing with fire.
The next Christmas market we visited was in Douai in the afternoon, except that upon arriving, we found there actually was no Christmas market in town. A conversation with the tourist center revealed that although they boast of several vendors and rides on their website, they are all parceled out to outer lying areas with activities on a variety of different days. The one for this day was a 40 min hike or a 6 euro bus ticket to it. We came to the decision to have lunch instead and take the train home early.
Since we also make cookies for our neighbors and friends this month, we thought they might be tired of them. I researched and found 6-7 flavored popcorn recipes to try. Armed and ready, we spent a day in the kitchen, trying our hand at a few of them. Over the next few days, we made Parmesan-basil popcorn- subtle and savory, kettle corn popcorn- subtle and sweet but not sticky like we have had before and peanut butter popcorn- sweet and bold flavored, salt and vinegar, dill popcorn and a caramel popcorn with honey roasted nuts. Satisfied with all of the recipes, we finished with three sweet and two savory.
I’m sorry that I didn’t take pictures of the popcorn containers, which is quite unlike me. We spent another day bagging, packaging, tagging and delivering the popcorn gifts. I have included a picture one of the neighbors took of our delivery and sent in a thank you text to us. Each neighbor in the building got packages as well as three cafe’s that we frequent and have gotten to be friends with the staffs. We were really quite pleased with the results and got lots of texts thanking us for the yummy treats, so they must have liked them. Or they were being very polite.
At mid month, G signed us up for a language course that starts in January. Our online results are dismal and we hope to have better results in person and in town. We went to our own Christmas market, which is always fun, and picked up their delicious hot sausage sandwiches to go, for our dinner.
At home we found that our downstairs neighbors left a Panettone bread on our doorstep, wishing us a good Christmas. It was a great surprise! We really do live with a nice group of people in this building.
The next market we went to was in Brussels – it was the largest market we’d seen yet. None hold a candle to the ones we enjoyed on the cruise along the Rhine in 2015. That trip through German markets had vendors selling unique items and home crafts. What we have been seeing in the French markets are the same catalogue items – candles, nativity scenes, jewelry, hats, scarves, kitsch – all identical. But we enjoyed walking around and the weather was very pleasant for the low 40’s. We ate bratwurst rolls, enjoyed a beer and even found an ornament that we hadn’t seen before. Brussels is an absolutely beautiful city. The last two markets on our list are both a two-hour train ride away but by the third week, we’d decided that we’d had our fill.
As the month progressed, it was filled with baking, shopping, wrapping presents and of course playing holiday music. I also worked on a meal for G who mentioned wistfully that he was missing Mexican food, as that is the one good cuisine lacking here. I made Spanish rice, pot pinto beans and grated cheddar cheese. I’d picked up a package of flour tortillas that turned out to be spot on. I made an enchilada casserole with chicken, onions, pinto beans and cheddar cheese in a red chili sauce, soft tacos with refried beans, Spanish rice, cheese and plain Greek yogurt which tastes to us like sour cream. He was in heaven. Wish fulfilled!
I decided to make star sugar cookies, although it was a bit clumsy because our mixer died a month ago and the food processor wasn’t quite as handy. We plan to get a more substantial mixer replacement so that it lasts but haven’t had time to pay attention. After baking, I strung together a bunch of the stars for Fool’s bar – one of our three favorites. We’d noticed their tree was lacking in ornamentation earlier this month and decided to donate. After dinner, we trundled over and while G ordered cocktails, I hung the whole strand on the tree – zig zagging. Remi – one of the owners- made sure to count them. He was going to keep track to make sure none were eaten !! Too funny.
Then we went to Golden Square to deliver the last bag to Valentine. He is the only staff left who we know. He loved the cookies and told us that he was taking a management position at an upscale restaurant around the corner. We toasted to his new opportunity and wished him the best success. We discovered this week that Marie, one of our favorite people at Cafe Society, has decided to leave at month’s end, so we dropped off a tin of cookies for her to enjoy too. It’s not surprising that people are assessing what they want to do in the coming year, but we will miss seeing Marie and Valentine. They’re part of our little community.
Returning home, we recognized that the temperatures had been dropping significantly. It had dipped below 30 some nights and rarely got above 40 during the day. Some days were in the low 30’s with wind gusts that made it feel ten degrees cooler. No snow but we did see frost. It led us into making plans for our holiday meals. We decided to try a steak restaurant we’ve not been to, on Christmas Eve. For Christmas dinner we’d found a marinated, rolled, bone in, pork loin roast recipe that seemed perfect to try. We even went as far as to plan a lobster dinner for New Years Eve, which was really surprising since we often don’t know what we’re going to do until the last minute.
Of course this month, we followed the latest news on the Omicron spread, how fast it’s going and how impervious it is to vaccine’s. In case we haven’t stressed this, on the big trip we took last month, on of our all train trips and on each and every foray outside of our front door, we are caution to the extreme. Double masked at all times, we carry small bottles of hand sanitizer in our pockets and use it liberally before and after we’ve been in a building, stopped for a beer, touched a hand rail. Back inside our own door, we scrub up to our elbows and we change out our disposable masks after three wearings. We may not write about it but it is a constant factor in our every day living. We’ve decided sadly after the new year, to self quarantine again – it’s just too scary to risk it. But one worry is our three-day-a-week language class starting in January. We’ll wait to see how many people are in the class and if we can sit far away from the rest, with our masks on. Still, we did have a wonderful break between lockdowns with our big trip east to countries that had good numbers and allowed travel – plus the little Christmas markets we’ve visited in nearby towns this month. Praying that some day we’ll see this wind down and that people aren’t biting or hitting each other over it.
The store called to let me know that the newly constructed computer was ready for pick up. I started to reboot and rework the settings but frustration set in quickly and I cowardly handed it over to G. I can wade through a great many complex issues but the computer ones make me want to jump off the balcony. He takes it all in stride and patiently listens to my rants over my inability to get the machine to do what I want, quickly. Or ever. Or at all. Did I mention that I get frustrated with it? If I didn’t depend on it so much, I’d be tempted to water it again and be done with the whole mess. Sigh.
Christmas eve and Christmas day were leisurely days, both filled with wonderful foods and video chats with family and friends. The pork roast dinner turned out very well and it’s a recipe that we’ll be making again. We got it off the internet cooking site by two Hairy Bikers. In case you’re interested: https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/stuffed-roast-pork
As expected, the post Christmas week was a quiet return to regular life. Laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning took center stage. Thankfully everyone we know in the US are healthy and safe, as we move into a new year. And as always, we wish the same for all of you who read our travels.
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