It's a month until Christmas. ONE MONTH, PEOPLE! RED ALERT! And Paris is starting to show the signs of the season. A couple of weeks ago, Georges told me that Printemps and Galeries Lafayette had set up their decorations and windows. (GL photo from 2011)
Then, I noticed that every McDonald's I saw had their standard white fakey-fake trees with white lights in front of their restaurants; same as last year and the year before that. I didn't bother taking any pictures because, you know, BORING.
The other night, Georges and I had dinner in the neighborhood at our favorite raclette place, and they had their decorations in place as well. Which consisted of a small white fake tree in every window with blue, white and purple balls and flashing lights on a bed of white cotton.
I've noticed something in my years in Paris: the Parisians aren't always so big on traditional Christmas decorations. They're more into things that look new and modern (or just plain freaky), including for some odd reason, real trees spray-coated with fake "snow" -- which might be red, purple, blue, or orange instead of white. Why? WHY would you want that in your home?
I was beginning to despair that it would once again be a Tacky Noël in Paris. Hey, remember THIS, from my first December here? I still have flashbacks of those gaudy disco reindeer. I'm more used to seeing lights and decorations like THESE (from my mom's home and neighborhood)
Then, yesterday afternoon, I was walking to the bus stop at Place des Ternes, and saw that the terrasse at the Brasserie Lorraine (a wonderful restaurant, by the way) had been replaced with a small forest of glittering REAL trees:
It was elegant and festive, and wouldn't drive the customers into seizures while they eat. Bravo!
Still, who am *I* calling "tacky" -- me, an American, from the home of Overdone, Crazy-Tacky Christmas Light Displays?
This week, weather and time permitting, a friend and I are going to cruise the Christmas market on the Champs Elysées. I'm hoping this year they might have some new vendors, something original and fresh. Last year, there was the most depressed-looking Santa sitting in a giant fake snow globe where parents could bring their kiddies in for a photo opp. I hope THAT has been replaced, at least.
But there is no escaping it: the holiday season has arrived in Paris. I'm not even sure we'll have time to get our own decorations out of storage: I'll be away for two weeks until the 18th, and we leave on the 21st to go to my sister-in-law's in Saint Raphael through the New Year, so is it worth setting up a tree and decorating for all of 3 or 4 days? I'm thinking: NOT. And I don't feel like a Scrooge for saying so, either. Maybe I'll buy some tinsel garland just to hang around the apartment, for the Garçon's sake and to put us all in the spirit.
