Yesterday after school Manon came home with us so she could spend the night. The girls were very well behaved, and Franck came home early so it wasn't too much hassle. They only had a couple of "tiffs"..over who was going to get the one pair of ballet shoes and who was going to have the Hello Kitty plate for dinner and who would have the Princess Ariel plate. Other than that, easy peasy. I met Laura, Flora, and Rozy around 8 and we climbed the 284 stairs of the Arc de Triomphe to see if we could spot any Christmas lights from the top. Of course, the Champs Élysées was a ray of lights and to put it gently this year, the lights are horrible. They are these round neon lighted hula hoops perched in the trees. There are 3 hoops in each tree, and the hoops change colors from neon green to blue to red to pink...yuck. There are small strings of mirrors hung as well which I think were suppose to reflect the light, but it doesn't really work. Maybe if I stopped comparing to last year, I wouldn't be so disappointed, because last year they were white....and dripped down from each branch like perfectly placed snowflakes. They were classic and beautiful, making any age group happy. This year it looks like a bunch of 5 year olds chose the theme.
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| Up close view. |
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| The ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde looked really beautiful, and without it, there wouldn't be much different! |
We were there just in time for the 9:00 sparkle of la Tour Eiffel, which gets me every time. I know you've seen a thousand photos on my blog...but I just can't help but share my great shots with you all!
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| See the moon? |
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| Isn't she a beauty? I just want to steal her and put her in my pocket. |
None of the other streets around the Arc de Triomphe were decorated with any sorts of lights, and I think Courcelles is much prettier than the Champs Élysées. (If I do say so myself..)
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| French flag colors anyone? |
My friends and I have decided to become pain au chocolat connoisseurs. Okay, not really, but we have decided to start comparing the best of the best of Parisian pain au chocolat. It is one of the most classic French pastries, and often gets overlooked because of the grand presentation in a tarte aux fraises or un macaron framboise. Today we went to Boulangerie Julien, which are suppose to have some of the best.
It seemed just ordinary on the outside, and I wasn't looking very forward to it because it didn't seem different than any other but with one bite I could taste the difference. The pastry was a bit more dense but it has got to be because of all the butter loaded in there. The chocolate wasn't too dark, and was placed directly in the middle of the pastry, so there were a few bites without chocolate which some of the girls hated, but I particularly loved.
The service was nice, and we were able to post up on a few stools inside facing the street and watched the rain drip from the red and gold striped awning and people splash by in the chilly Saturday morning drizzle.
After our lovely breakfast, I came home and am watching my rainy Saturday afternoon movie, The Holiday. Babysitting tonight and hopefully cooking up a big pot of soup with Taylor after Marie-Césare goes to bed. Needing some comfort food on such a dreary day!
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