Christmas fail!

Mostly fail, anyway.  Today's mission was to visit the main sites for Christmas markets and lights in the city.  There are lots, and, as I mentioned last weekend, they were pretty much all going up this past week.  After doing some diligent internet research I compiled a list of places that were to be open and decorated today so I could take some pictures and report back. 

Firstly: what is a Christmas market?  Traditional French Christmas markets originated in Alsace, an area of France that is on the German border and over the years has been traded back and forth between the two countries.  So these markets often have a bit of a German flair.  They sell lots of small gift items, snacks, etc, all with a Christmas theme.  It's all very festive, as you'll see.

My first stop was the market closest to me, next to the old St Germain-des-Pres abbey.  As I approached I was excited to see the small white stalls set up, neatly lining the street.  Getting closer, though, I noticed that they looked rather empty...

...and yes, it seemed like they had just been constructed today.  The sellers haven't come yet, and the abbey's lights aren't done.  Boo.  Ah well, I had several more stops to make, and the surrounding streets had some pretty lights too.  Here is Les Deux Magots, one of the most renowned Parisian cafe/restaurants, all dressed up.

Next up, I had read that there was a smaller Christmas market in the square in front of St Suplice church, just a few minutes' walk away.  As you can see below, there is no trace of anything around the church.

Architecturally,St Suplice is kind of odd; I don't really even know what to call the style.  It's very big and has excellent acoustics, but in my opinion is rather sterile.  Anyway, you can see, the square is quite empty.

At least across the street the town hall of the 6th arr was a bit festive.

After being disappointed again I made my way across the river to the place Vendome (for some more info on that check out my post on the 1st arr).  It has a "walk through an enchanted forest" theme with the lights, which are rather simple but pretty, and whiter than they show up in these pictures.

They go all around the square, with those trees set up intermittently.  

A close-up of one of the "branches."

Pretty!

For some reason I thought La Madeleine, a significant church in this area, was supposed to have some pretty lights as well - although since looking back over my research I realize I must have made that up in my head.  I went there, though, only to see nothing of note.  There is just a giant cross hiding behind one of the pillars in this shot (you can see one of the arms).

Already a bit tired of walking around in the rain at this point, I cheered up thinking that my next stop was the Champs Elysees, where I knew there would definitely be a lot of things to see.  I got a little lost figuring out how to get there - I don't go to this area often, afraid that breathing the air there might cost a few euros - and ended up coming out of a little road right next to the Place de la Concorde. 

I was a little confused while walking down that little road, as there were police stationed at both ends, blowing whistles at pedestrians who were walking in the street, despite the fact that it was blocked off to cars.  I saw another pack of police when I emerged into the circle and suddenly I realized why: the large building just to my right is the president's Paris residence.  If I were Sarkozy, given his approval ratings, I might be a touch paranoid living next to the place where the French once beheaded their king.

Anyway, the first thing I saw was this, the ferris wheel at the end of the Tuileries gardens!

And while this might be a strange observation, because a giant glittering ferris wheel is sort of by definition ostentatious, I was struck by how non-ostentatious it felt.

A little father down I came upon the beginning of the Champs Elysees and its Christmas market, the biggest one in Paris.  It really is huge - both sides of the boulevard for about half a mile.  The stalls sell all types of little knick-knacks and gifts: cards, stuffed animals, jewelry, scarves, dolls, porcelain items, handmade/carved trinkets, music boxes, even specialty knives.  About two thirds of the stalls are that type of thing, the other third are food items.  They sell roasted chestnuts, mulled wine and cider, Alsacian sausages, fries, sandwiches, sauerkraut, Belgian waffles, crepes, and, bizarrely, churros. 

I guess I should mention at this point that all I'd eaten today to that point (about 4:30pm) was an apple.  So all those things cooking made the air smell absolutely divine and I soon had to buy some mulled wine.  And then a crepe and some fries.

Here is a chestnut stand.

On the other side of the street was a large tent full of some sort of attraction for kids.

The stalls, with their distinctive peaked white roofs and pretty lights.

It was so crowded down the length of the whole boulevard it was hard to get through at all.  I imagine it's just a bit easier to make your way down the sidewalks here (it was the first weekend) than it is to get around Times Square on New Year's Eve.

The middle featured a bunch of attractions and little rides for kids.  Here is the trampoline:

I'm not really sure what this is, as it wasn't running when I was there, but it appears to be a sleigh attached to a zipline.

 

Moving on down the street the market ended and there were some light displays.

You can see the Arc de Triomphe in the distance.  Those circle-y lights change color.

I walked down the length of the Champs Elysees to see what was around but there weren't any more displays.  So I made my way back to my general area, going to the Hotel de Ville (city hall) to see if their stuff was up yet.  Every year they put up an ice skating rink in front of the building but it's been so warm I wasn't sure if it was there. 


When I got there I could see they've started constructing it, but this was all that was to be seen for the lights:

Near that is Notre Dame - I hadn't really seen the tree yet and I was pretty excited.  Here it is:

Uh.  I've heard it compared to the one in Rockefeller Center and all I can say is...no.  Not even close.  It's cute, but kind of looks like a bigger version of your average home's tree.

So although I was thwarted in most of my attempts to see the big Christmas sights, there are always the random streets that are decked out.  One near me is pretty, and has lights strung down the middle of the street.

I passed by a Hermes shop and their windows were VERY elaborate - I don't normally go this way, though, so I don't know whether they do more for the season or what.

And a some others:

(PS - most of you probably know, but you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)