Boxing Day, Saturday, 26 December

There is no public holiday on "Boxing Day" in France. Normal Saturday services, including postal deliveries, resumed. We spent the morning doing routine chores and taking care of some matters on the computer and then went for a long walk around Montmartre. Paris is always full of surprises. We turned down one street only to find ourselves in what must be the fabric district. Shop after shop with cloth of all different sizes, shapes, quality, colour and variety. We turned another corner and found ourselves on the street where Tati is located. Until now we had been getting there by bus or Metro and suddenly we found it was only ten or fifteen minute walk from our flat.

In the afternoon we went to M. Vaucanson for a glass of champagne to celebrate Virginia's birthday. Well, M. Vaucanson does these little goute (tasting or afternoon tea) with considerable elegance. Apple tarts, those elegant French Macaroons which are flavoured little meringues sandwiched with delicious paste, super chocolates ( and, by the way, France has just been named as having the best chocolates in the world) were followed with some lovely champagne.

Progress has also been made on the use of prenoms. Mme Rosen is now Virginie, M. Rosen is now Bruce and M. Vaucanson has been gradually becoming Rene. And all that after only four years!

Everything, as they say, is relative. Now that temperatures have climbed up to a hardy 2 or 3 degrees above zero, we feel as if summer had practically reached us. Fortunately we have not yet decided to throw off our clothes and try swimming, but it does seem quite pleasant after the very cold weather to which we were subjected for the previous few weeks.