Mom and I got a taste of a winter wonderland on the first full day of our travels to Paris.
We were going to have a “Day of the Dead” on 12/22: a morning at Père Lachaise and the afternoon at the Catacombes.
Nothing says Christmas like dead people!
When we arrived at the Catacombes, they’d already sold out of all of their remaining tickets for the day. C’était tant pis. We made a new plan and headed towards Notre Dame instead.
The line going in was really long. I recommended checking out the outside for a bit, since there’s plenty to see on the outside as well.
I’m not much for lines at the touristy destination in Paris. There’s so much to see and do instead of waiting!
We took our tour of the exterior of Notre Dame. I checked with Mom to see if she wanted to get in the line to go in, and she said no. She we decided to start walking towards the Louvre.
We did some window and souvenir shopping on the way (faire du lêche vitrine en français) on the way. I bought some scarves that I’ve already been enjoying. Mom got some things for friends.
The view along the Seine was lovely. The full moon has been building (tonight is the full moon!)
We cruised by the front of the Louvre and checked it out a bit. It was pretty dark at that point. We walked through the Jardins Tuileries towards the big ferris wheel. We thought about riding it, but it wasn’t something we had our hearts set on and 15€ was too much for a casual interest.
After we passed the ferris wheel, we were pleasantly surprised by a winter wonderland: a Christmas festival that ranged from the ferris wheel down to Champs-Élyseés. There were plenty of Christmas lights, lots of Santa hats, beaucoup de vin chaud and other Christmas-y drinks, and vendors selling those last minute holiday presents. We even saw Santa’s sleigh ready to pass over the Paris sky!
We continued down the Champs-Élyseés towards the Arc de Triomph. We decided not to go up.
We’re getting our good view of Paris tonight during dinner at the Tour Eiffel!
We got dinner nearby instead, and then headed back to the apartment.
There’s no snow. For that I’m very glad. But we still got our taste of a winter wonderland à Paris.
C’est très bien!
I hope you’re having as nice a Christmas as we are!