It's Christmas!

 

It's finally here! Christmas in Paris! But you know, as nice a thought that it, Christmas in Paris is similar to Christmas in Montreal - everything is closed. Go figure. So we decided to make our way to the Eiffel Tower, one of the few things that actually IS open today. The streets are quiet, but not as empty as they were on Christmas Eve (the Parisian "Reveillon"). This morning, it's buzzing, particularly around the Abbesses metro station, where many have gathered in the park, drinking hot chocolate at the market, children riding on the carousel. It all feels very familial. We tour by the Mur des Je t'aime, trying to guess where the tourists are from by which language they pose with for their selfies. Lots of Koreans.
Off by metro we go, across the city, to Trocadero, to gaze upon the grandeur of the Eiffel Tower. And this year, the top is not shrouded in a cover of fog, even though it is a cloudy day, so we can see the WHOLE THING! Yay! However, we can see the crowds of people milling about underneath the steel structure, and realize that everyone else was aware of the Eiffel Tower being open on Christmas Day, too. We weighted the options, and decided that, even though last year's ascent was foggy, the experience was incredibly unique and awesome, and doing the climb today would just be crowded and uncomfortable even though we might get a better view. Ultimately, Mario and I decided that sometimes it is about living a unique moment, and not getting the optimal condition for visiting, and passed on climbing the tower this year.
Since we were already out and about, and it was a beautiful day, we just continued to walk. Not to anywhere in particular, just wandered. We headed away from the Eiffel Tower towards les Berges de la Seine, and walked the banks of the river, just below the city - away from the traffic but still within view of the gorgeous buildings. We passed the boats and ferries and bateaux-mouches, carrying tourists past the great sights of Paris. We walked through a garden grown on a docked barge, where birds had built nests and ducks were floating by. We ventured under a big whale, erected for the COP21 conferences and to raise awareness for all of the endangered animals in the world.

Once we reached Pont de la Concorde, we returned to street level and made our way into the twisting, turning narrow laneways of the Marais shopping district, where some of the most expensive and high-end shops are. Of course, being Christmas, everything was closed, so window shopping was a little lack-luster when the only thing left in the windows were the displays.

A brief ride on the nearest metro brought us back to Abbesses, where things were picking up from this morning. Of course, this is where the bug that had been nagging at me and sucking my energy since this morning decided to truly manifest itself, and I may have thrown up in a garbage can. Sadly, these are the highs and lows of travelling - everything is wonderful and great and awesome, until you ingest one slightly off oyster(I think). Then all of your plans get flushed - literally.
The evening remained relatively low-key, with Mario enjoying the fantastic meal we had picked out for our Christmas dinner, while I ate bread and otherwise just watched him eat. It all looked delicious - I'll just have to wait for the leftovers.