Christmas and New Years in Paris!

Happy New Year to everyone! I apologize for being so late in writing this - it's been a very busy month for me.

This was the first year I haven't been with my family for Christmas. Every year since high school, my entire extended family goes down to Florida to be with my grandma. It's our once-a-year family reunion and spending Christmas in Florida has become such a tradition that walking on the beach on Christmas Eve doesn't seem strange anymore!

This year, I stayed in Paris and my boyfriend (Ben) came from Zurich to visit me for two weeks. We had a wonderful time! Unlike the US, where stores start the Christmas season the minute Thanksgiving is over and often times much sooner (I've seen Christmas decorations in some stores before Halloween), Europe doesn't seem to hit you over the head with the commercial aspect of Christmas. I was in Zurich in early December, so I got to see Christmas in both Switzerland and Paris this year. Starting December 1st, Christmas lights went up all over both cities. Zurich is especially beautiful at Christmastime, I think.

Bahnhofstrasse in Zürich

A Human Christmas Tree in Zürich!

             

Champs-Elysee in Paris

The cities also had Christmas markets set up where you could buy handmade gifts, although they had more commercial items than I had expected. The Christmas markets also had vendors selling hot wine, hot chocolate, and hot roasted chestnuts (which are sold on the streets her throughout the winter) to put you in the Christmas spirit and warm your hands while you shop.

     Christmas Market in the Zürich Main Train Station

Outdoor Christmas Market in Paris on the Champs-Elysee

                                

Notre Dame on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Ben and I went to Notre Dame for an 11pm concert. It was completely packed inside, so we had to stand at the back of the cathedral. There was a choir singing Christmas carols and an organist who both accompanied them and played solo works. The organist was the best part of the concert - he sounded absolutely amazing and played fantastic pieces. Unfortunately, the programs we were given didn't say anything about the music, so I have no idea what he played. Whatever it was sounded awesome!

Inside Notre Dame on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Day, Ben and I exchanged gifts. This is a picture of our little tree with homemade ornaments (plus a little mouse ornament my mom sent me).

In the evening, we cooked dinner with a friend who was house-sitting for a wealthy American businessman and this apartment was ridiculous. It was HUGE - way bigger than any house I've ever been in. It had about a million rooms and all sorts of interesting artwork and sculptures and other things he and his wife had collected from their travels, many from Africa. We made duck breasts and ratatouille - a thoroughly French Christmas dinner! Oh, and Ben and I were introduced to Simon's Cat:

Check out the cartoonist's YouTube channel if you don't already know about these wonderful shorts!

 We also got to spend New Year's Eve in Paris, which was quite an experience! We don't usually do anything on New Year's Eve (we couldn't remember what we did last year, but we're pretty sure we fell asleep before midnight), but we decided since we were in Paris, we had to go to the Eiffel Tower at midnight. First, however, we went to a party for a little bit at the apartment of a friend of a friend. The theme of the party was to wear something sparkly, so since we didn't have any clothes that fit the bill, we made our own!

We had a great time and met a bunch of other Americans (and musicians) living in Paris. Since the party was on the opposite side of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, we decided to leave the party at 10:30pm to give us ample time to get across the city.

It was absolutely crazy trying to get to the Eiffel Tower on the metro that night at that hour. When we got to the station where we had to change trains, it was completely packed with people. It seemed a train hadn't come in awhile (they typically come every 2-3 minutes) because when one did arrive, everyone on the platform started cheering, as did the conductors in the front of the train! It was so completely packed with people, though, there was no way we could get on. Some people managed to push their way on, but we decided to wait for the next one. We ended up letting 5 more trains go by before we realized that if we wanted to get to the Eiffel Tower, we were going to have to be packed like sardines into a train. Trains stuffed to the brim with people isn't unusual in Paris, especially during rush hour, and I've ridden on trains like this many times. But this was outrageous!

It took at least 3 times as long to get to the Eiffel Tower as it should've because at every stop, more people tried to push onto the train, even though there wasn't room. When we got on, we were right inside the doors. By the time we got to the stop at the Eiffel Tower, we had been pushed nearly halfway across the car, even though hardly anyone had gotten off. Once we got to the stop, everyone started cheering and pouring out of the train. I've never seen so many people in my life. Going through the metro station and up the stairs was an enormous sea of people. Everyone was very well behaved, but the crowd really pushed you along. Good think I didn't trip and fall!

We got up to ground level literally 5 minutes before midnight. We didn't have long to wait until the Eiffel Tower lit up with sparking lights and people started setting off fireworks over the Seine.

Trying to get home was just as much of an adventure as getting there. We decided to walk a ways away from the Eiffel Tower in the hopes that it would be less busy. Eventually, we got tired of walking and just went to the closest metro stop to where we were, which was still packed with people. It took us over two hours to get home (which is normally a 20 minute trip). There were people doing handstands and other acrobatics in my street when we got back and a party going on upstairs. It was definitely a holiday season to remember!