Mosquée de Paris

This morning, Dana and I met up at the Mosquée de Paris.

 

It is the spiritual center for the Muslim community in Paris and includes religious, educational, and commercial sections.  It was built in the Hispano-Moorish style in 1920 and the minaret stands nearly 100 feet.

Inside the complex is a beautiful patio with mosaic on the walls.

Quiet Days Follow Christmas....

After a lovely two days of Christmas, both Rick and I woke up with upset stomachs.  Initially we feared it was food poisoning. I was quite disappointed because I really like the restaurant that we had eaten in the night before.

But late in the evening on the 26th, Chris and Dana both started to feel bad, so we have come to the conclusion that it was a little bug.

Unfortunately, Rick had to fly back to Seattle, early Tuesday morning, not feeling entirely well.  But lucky for him, he was flying business class.

Tuesday night Chris was feeling lousy (we didn't even see Dana), so we had a quiet dinner in the apartment and watched "The Blind Side". It was projected onto my TV from Chris' iPhone.  So cool! And it was in English.  I need to figure out how to download English movies onto my iPad.

Today, Wednesday, Chris and Courtney got up and packed for Prague.  They are flying to Prague to visit with friends of hers from her old days of teaching there.  And I'm proud of them, because they were taking the metro

 all of the way to the airport, which none of us has yet had the courage to do.  I think it helps that they were traveling very light, and I haven't heard a word from them, so I'm assuming they made it.

I spent the afternoon cleaning, re-organizing, and doing laundry (as usual!).  It's very quite in my little apartment, and I've gotten used to having lots of people around so it seems a bit strange.  But Dana is on her way over, and Rick flies back on the 30th.  Allison and her boyfriend, Billy, fly in on the 30th, and Courtney and Chris return to Paris on the 30th.  Wow! It will be busy then! But the kids all have apartments that they have rented so it won't be too crowded.

We had good news from home on Christmas!  Hans and Becky became engaged!  We are so happy!

Now it's time to get ready for New Year's Eve!

Christmas Day in Paris!

Christmas Day started with bacon and scrambled eggs with shaved truffles.

And although the weather wasn't as nice as Christmas Eve, we set out for the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower.

We took the metro to the Champs Elysees............

And we were very surprised at the number of people on the street AND the number of shops that were open....

Unfortunately Louis Vuitton was closed, but the windows are great fun...............

And Laduree, known for their exquisite macarons, was open and busy............

We strolled up to the Arc de Triomphe, and then back down and turned on Avenue Montaigne (past all of the gorgeous designer shops.  Then we stopped for a much needed snack with a view of the Eiffel Tower............

Then it was a not so short walk across the bridge to the Tower.......

There was a Christmas Market, that provided the necessary hot spiced wine for some of us.....

And since the weather was cooperating and we were in no particular hurry, we continued to walk...

Back up the river to the Place de La Concorde....................

and through the Jardin des Tuileries,  where we took advantage of a carrousel without a line....

And we got home in time to have a little rest, and get dressed for dinner at a friendly little Italian restaurant, called Sopranos, that is in the neighborhood.

Delicious food and excellent wine.

All in all, a very special Christmas in the City of Lights.................

Christmas Eve in Paris!

Christmas Eve was a sunny day in Paris. 

Courtney and Chris, adjusting to the time change, were up pretty early and went out to wander a bit.

Rick and I met them later in the morning for coffee.....

And then we all walked to Marche' d'Algire to pick up some fresh oysters and other last-minute necessities.

We stopped for onion soup for lunch................

And then went home to prepare for the evening..................

Dana came over at around 4 p.m. and the festivities began!

Notice Chris' Santa Claus sweater. I told him he couldn't wear it out of the apartment.

We ate oysters, gambas, and foie gras.....................

 

Opened presents..........................

Admired some pretty serious bling!

Had Boeuf Bourguignon and Green Beans, and a sweet selection of desserts.....

And the Michigan cousins admired the view before the end of the evening!

Courtney and Chris Arrived!

Courtney and Chris arrived at the apartment at about 7:30 last night, after an arduous trip.  And Chris' cousin, Dana, came over soon after.  Dana is living and working in Shanghai for a Danish company. She was in Denmark on business, but when she heard her cousin was spending Christmas in Paris she decided to come and be with family. We hadn't seen Dana in over a year, so it was great fun to hear about her exciting life.

And after dinner, we went out for a glass of champagne.

You would think these two Michigan kids would be used to the cold!

Dana has her own place, but Chris and Courtney are staying here with us.  It's a little bit tight; like being on a sailboat with a bunch of people.

We're on our way out to get the last trimmings for the Christmas Eve dinner!

Christmas Lights and Department Store Windows!

Tonight was the night! I've been waiting for a mild dry evening to go look at the Christmas lights in the city centre. 

Apparently I was not the only one that thought this was the perfect time, because there were mass crowds, but it was still fun.................

We went to the Champs-Elysees first....

I love those broad sidewalks!

We turned off the Champs-Elysees onto the Avenue Montaigne, where a lot of my friends are located:
Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Nina Ricci. (a personal favorite)............

And the further we walked the better view we had of................

We sat in a cafe' for a glass of wine at the end of the Avenue Montaigne and we were just in time to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at 6 p.m.

And then a short metro hop to Boulevard Haussman to see the grand department store windows...........

Au Printemps (thank you, Karl Lagerfeld!)

And Galeries Lafayette had great windows too, but such a crowd it was difficult to get close (and by the time we got there, we were both tired of the crowds)

So we hustled down to the Opera Garnier and caught the metro home in time to have a great dinner with the salmon we had purchased at our marche'.

Rick Was a Winner!

On Wednesday night we decided to walk over and see what that King Kong carnival was all about..........

I was not about to get into one of these bubbles and spin around the pool, but you have to know that Rick wanted to.............

I was more interested in the slot machines.................

And Rick found a gun...............

Apparently it's been awhile, because the guy had to help him load it....

He missed the first shot, but picked off the other three balloons....

And he won......................

And I ended up carrying the prize around for the rest of the evening.

How cute is that? Rick won a frog in "Frogland"!