Christmas in Paris

This is now our second December in Paris, though this year we won't be celebrating Christmas in France. On Monday we leave for the United States, my first trip back in over a year (though Melanie was home for a few weeks just last month). We'll spend roughly a week in Wyoming, with Melanie's family, then fly to Colorado for a week with mine.  Autumn and Mike are going to join us, though they will be arriving late and leaving early due to school, work and other commitments.

Taking a Walk

A couple of weeks ago I decided to take a walk, and maybe catch a little holiday spirit. Here are some photos I snapped:

The Place Vendôme is just a few blocks from our apartment

Here's a painting (from about 1816) of the famous square

The street I was on, Rue de la Paix, connects the "Place Vendôme" to the Opéra de Paris. (The street was built in 1806 and was initially named "Rue Napoléon".)

Many of the brasseries and restaurants decorate for the holidays

As I continued my walk I saw a lot of street decorations

I braved the crowds to take in the window displays at the famous Galeries Lafayette

This window display had a kind of steam punk feel to it

This display was really beautiful... my picture doesn't do it justice

The Christmas Market

Last week, Melanie and I visited the huge Christmas market at the Champs-Élysées.  It doesn't seem like a year has passed since we were here with Mike and Autumn.

You can see the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the street

One of the many food stalls at the Christmas Market

You can buy just about anything here: gift items, meat, cheese, mulled wine, hot beer, and much more!

Naturally, they also have hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts, and lots of other delicacies

The shops go on and on. We even found an ice skating rink, and a haunted house with zombie Santas!

Office Christmas Party

Last year the Pretty Simple Christmas party was held at the office, but this time the venue was an amazing Paris wax museum called: "Musée Grévin".  We had an great time, and the tapas-style food was surprisingly delicious.

We got to take a tour of the museum before the party started. Here's Barack Obama!

This is the famous American jazz musician, Louis Armstrong, one of Melanie's favorites!

Famous French chef Paul Bocuse. We ate at his restaurant earlier this year! (Twice, in fact.)

The main room where we had the party was full of wax figurines. (That's Ryan Gosling at the bottom of the picture.)

I'm excited to see my family back in the United States, but I definitely think I'll miss Paris. Melanie and I love it here and I'm sure we'll be overjoyed to return after the first of the year.