Noël! The Christmas market opened this weekend and we walked over on Monday evening to check it out. We arrived before dark so we could experience both the daytime and nighttime looks.
No surprise – it’s definitely more fun at night. More people, the lights are sparkling, and the vin chaud (warm spiced wine) hits the spot.
What was a surprise? The bag check and metal detector wanding by police in order to enter. An unpleasant reminder that people do stupid stuff in France, too, not just in the U.S….
A large walk-through Christmas tree greeted us inside, ready for photos:
It was followed by a big model village, over 4 meters (13 ft) long. It turned out to be Jerusalem, with a crèche at one end. That must have taken some serious time to build!
The holiday wares were displayed in individual wooden cabins. There was lots of jewelry and some things I don’t associate with Christmas…like air plants.
After sharing a duck confit sandwich, drinking some vin chaud, and buying some traditional pain d’épices (spice bread) for later, we headed off to see the decorations in the rest of town.
These grotto-like statues are popular in this area. They definitely look better at night. I thought the first one I saw (in the daylight) was in need of maintenance. But after seeing several more, it’s apparent it’s an aesthetic choice. At least at night it doesn’t make me itch to reach in there and pull a few of those weeds….
Beyond Our French Adventure 