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| Photo by Cameron Greentree |
Thanksgiving went well (we hope) ... with turkey to spare, but there’s no need to linger in the
past. There are places to go and sparkles to see. They don’t call Paris the "City of
Light" for nothing.
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| Photo by Elke Jaarsma-Blom |
Yes, the American tradition of holiday decorations appearing
before Thanksgiving is now becoming a French tradition. The elegant and
multi-character productions gracing and animating the windows of Printemps
(Dreamy Christmas Getaways, a journey to 11 countries) and Galeries Lafayette
(Rock and Roll Christmas) have been up for weeks now, inaugurated by Vanessa
Paradis and Karl Lagerfield with a gala celebration. And the newly designed
holiday tree-ring lights on the Champs Elysées came alive this past Wednesday ("switched on" by Audrey Tatou), as they reflected and shimmered off hundreds
of mirrors dotting the tree branches. Designer Christmas trees will be displayed at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild (from 2 December to 7 December), and are then auctioned to raise money for cancer research.
La grande roue at the west end of the
Tuileries is spinning magically, lighting up the night sky. The wooden chalets
for the marché de noël are built and ready to go (patterned after
the Alsatian markets such as Strasbourg and Colmar). The ice skating rinks at
Hôtel de Ville and Trocadéro will open around December 16. There’s
also a fun fair stuffed into the Grand Palais from 15 December to 2 January.
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| 2010 WICE Holiday Sparkle Team |
Get your cameras ready and join us for the Holiday Sparkle photo expedition on 5 December, where we hit the highlights (Christmas Tree at Galeries
Lafayette, store windows, Place de la Concorde, and Champs Elysées. You'll also learn about night photography and the magic of slow shutter speeds
while using vin chaud as fuel for the
creative soul.
Or join the holiday wreath-making workshop or the holiday cooking class (coquilles Saint Jacques and Bûche de Noël).
Here’s to a happy holiday season!
Marché de Noël: Visit the Champs Elysées, Saint Germain
des Prés, Saint Sulpice, Gare Montparnasse, Place des Abbesses, Gare de l’Est, Place de Nation, La
Défense, and Trocadero.
Other beautiful illuminations: Bercy Village, Avenue
Montaigne, Place Vendôme
(Note: The photos in this post were taken during last year's Holiday Sparkle expedition.)