Photo by Erica Simone
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday , December 24, 2008
Paris, France
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Dear Parler Paris Reader,
I've stayed home in Paris almost every Christmas since having moved here. So many friends and relatives head this way while they have vacation Stateside, that someone has to take care of the "inn" I've affectionately called "Hotel Leeds."
Warning to all those who contemplate owning an apartment in Paris: you will discover friends and relatives you didn't know you had! Oh, it's not so bad. In fact, it can be downright wonderful that they all come to you and you get to just enjoy the City of Light like a tourist.
This year, my daughter pried herself out of her new West Village "pied-à-terre" to spend three weeks with her mother and her boyfriend of more than five years. Her long-standing junior and high-school friends have been dropping by to say hello, showing off their bulging pregnant bellies or new jobs and their perfected English, now that they're using it regularly in their adult lives.
This week we "rendez-vous-ed" for lunch with friends from Germany who came in for just one day (!) to visit Paris with two exchange students from Chile they are hosting this year...and again with a friend from Chicago who also came for just one day (!!), only to return again the next morning to the Windy (and very cold) City for Christmas Day. Paris is a 'magnet' for a "Bonne Noël!"
So, what does one do in Paris on Christmas Day?
While most Parisians are opening their gifts, slicing into a turkey or ham and pouring up the "Vin Chaud," Jews and non-Christians are heading to the movies and then a Chinese dinner. It's tradition! Most of my daughter's friends from her school days in Le Marais are of mixed nationalities (making for an eclectic and quite beautiful group of young French), so they're happy to join us at the big round table (seating 12) at our favorite Asian restaurant in Belleville, "Lao Siam" (number 49, rue de Belleville).
But if you're not so inclined as to take on the tradition of non-Christians, and prefer something a little more in the Christmas spirit, let me make a few suggestions for great things to do in Paris on Christmas Day:
Visit the Christmas markets: http://www.sortiraparis.com/
Visit the department store "vitrines": http://www.cityzens.fr/Go see a sexy review...The Crazy Horse, the Moulin Rouge, the Paradis Latin, the Lido...all have Christmas "spectacles": http://www.pariswelcome.net
A few museums are open (!): The Aquarium Trocadero (http://www.cineaqua.com/), The Centre Pompidou (http://www.centrepompidou.fr ), The Musée de la Magie ( http://www.museedelamagie.com/ ), The Musée de l'Erotisme ( http://www.musee-erotisme.com/ ), The Wax Musée Grévin (http://www.grevin.com/ ), the Musée Jacquemart-André ( http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/jandre/ and of course, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Judaïsme (http://www.mahj.org/ )
What could be finer than to be at Notre Dame for midnight mass or on Christmas Day?: http://notredamedeparis.fr/
Take a ride on the Grande Roue Ferris Wheel at Place de la Concorde: http://www.paris.fr/
Or skate on one of the three city-sponsored ice rinks!: http://www.paris.fr
Get a great view of the city. Both the Eiffel Tower and the Tour Montparnasse are open for ascending!
Eiffel Tower: http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/index.html
Tour Montparnasse: http://www.tourmontparnasse56.com/
And where to eat? One of the big brasseries! Brasseries Flo Brothers...or Frères Blanc will have their doors open. Visit http://www.flobrasseries.com/ or http://www.blanc.net/ for a listing of their locations all over Paris.
And if none of those suit you, head for a movie and a Chinese restaurant! You'll find all the non-Christians there enjoying the Christian holiday!
Adrian Leeds (with Erica Simone)
Editor, Parler Paris
P.S. We want to know what you're thinking! Please email us at Parler Paris to let us know what how we can improve our newsletter starting in 2009: What kinds of information would you like more of? Are you getting what you want and need to know about upcoming events? What would you change? What would you not change? If you're a loyal reader, why? And if not, why not? Help us make Parler Paris everything it can be...and more in 2009. Click here now to email us your brief, but to-the-point explanation: info@adrianleeds.com Many thanks and Happy Holidays!
P.P.S. Reminder: I'll be at La Pierre du Marais Saturday afternoon with Victoria, of "Divine Feminine Touch," to learn the "Joy of Sex-y!" Hope you can join all us gals in learning the trade secrets from a woman who knows how to get a man and/or make yourself happy (!)...it's sure to be an absolute blast! Scroll down for more information and to reserve your ("G") spot or visit http://www.frenchpropertyconference.com
