I had La Duree macaroons the last time we went to Paris and just knew we had to have some again this go round. They really are delicious and much different than even the French style ones we have here. They say it’s in the origins of the ingredients (ie French flour) and maybe they are right! Either way, I love them.

Not only are they pretty, but they are delicious too. There are La Duree locations all over Paris and even around the world, although the only one in the States is in New York.

It’s not just about the product either – their packaging is to delightful. Beautiful bags, tiny perfectly sized boxes for scrumptious treats, and pretty paper to accompany all of it. I wish I had stopped eating it so fast to take a few more photos :-)

The first time we went we bought macaroons and took them with us, and the second time we managed to squeeze in and get a table in the tea room. I really couldn’t get a good sense of whether it was only tourists that do that or not, but there was a lot of French going on around us so it didn’t seem that way. The tea selection was actually really wonderful and we enjoyed the one we had very much.

Have you ever had La Duree macaroons or been there? What’s your favorite flavor?

We really weren’t quite sure what to expect for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Paris. Here in Charleston, Christmas day is usually a ghost town as everyone spends time with family and friends, but not so in Paris!

This is the Christmas tree at the Galeries Lafayette, which was not only open but appropriately chaotic for the last shopping day before Christmas. Since many museums and monuments were not open that day, we decided the best people watching was probably going to be in the department stores, and Paris has some neat ones. Definitely check out the Galeries Lafayette for the beautiful interior space.

After that, we headed to Le Bon Marche, which has a gourmet grocery store called La Grande Epicerie. We stocked up on food because we weren’t sure what would be open the next day.

I LOVE going to grocery stores in other countries and places – it’s so enlightening to see real people going about their day as well as what’s available product wise. On this grocery trip, I was rather astonished to actually witness a chicken getting its head cut off…you would never see that in an American grocery store. But in reality, you know it’s fresh and unprocessed that way, don’t you?!

We had planned to spend Christmas Eve at Notre Dame, thinking we would go to the midnight mass. While wandering around in Ile de la Cite that evening, we realized there was quite a line and crowd at the front of the cathedral, so on a whim we went in. Best. Decision. Ever.

If you think you’re going to get to Notre Dame even at 9PM for a midnight mass, think again. We attended the 8PM mass and barely got seats. Promptly after that was over, some people left but most people shuffled around looking for better seats. They then showed a movie about the cathedral and gave a choir performance. It was standing room only the entire time.

Logistics aside, it was an incredibly moving experience. The first time we went to Paris, we caught the tail end of an organ performance and I never forgot how beautiful it was. Since that, we have always tried to go to a mass or vespers service just for the beauty of the music, the smell of the incense and candlelight, and the quiet time to admire the beautiful space. Spending Christmas Eve there was an experience like no other.

And then, when we emerged from the Church, we realized just how lucky we were to have gotten in and gotten a seat…

We were just in time to welcome Christmas while crossing over the Seine. Incredible.

We indulged a bit in a late morning on Christmas and then headed out to see what the city had in store. Interestingly, the Eiffel Tower is actually open even on Christmas Day. We came up to it the long way, walking all the way up from the Champs de Mars, to get the full effect, and thoroughly enjoyed the people watching. There were lots of people out and about but it wasn’t unpleasantly crowded by any means.

The closer we got, the more the sun came out, which is a much rarer thing than you realize. It was probably the sunniest moment we had the whole trip.

We actually found quite a few restaurants open, so we had a quick bite, and then headed to the Champs Elysees.

THE PEOPLE.

We popped up near the Arc de Triomphe and were astonished to see the masses of people walking the Champs Elysees. That picture hardly does the crowds justice. Even more impressive, many of the stores were open! Coming from a Southern town in the US, it was quite unthinkable to be able to buy anything in a store on Christmas Day.

At this point, the weather had turned even colder, cloudier, and rainier, and the crowds were a bit overwhelming. I get tired of having to dodge people every time I take a step (another reason I love my little home town!). So we decided “Christmas dinner at home” was the best idea after we had people-watched ourselves out.

If you read last week’s post with tips for European travel, you’ll know what a huge fan of renting an apartment I am. This is a great example when it saved us a lot of money — for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day meals, most of the good restaurants in Paris had a prix fixe option that was in the 100E+ range. Of course, most of those also required reservations.

We had decided well in advance that we didn’t particularly want to do that, and I’m glad we did. It was a lot of fun to have a tasting meal of sorts with the cheeses, meats, desserts, and other items we’d gotten during our grocery store run. Try the restaurants on a day when they aren’t charging so much extra for the holiday.

So there you have it – Christmas in Paris! It wasn’t boring like many of the articles I read had warned – quite the opposite in fact. Don’t get me wrong, stuff was definitely closed, but the city was alive with people and festivities and plenty of places were still open.

What was your Christmas like?