Paris gardening, Saturday, 19 December

Christmas Markets on the Champs-Elysees

It is the last Saturday before Christmas and just as in any city where the holiday is celebrated, it is on for young and old alike! We, being in the latter category, had an easy morning at home and then, after lunch, headed down via our local bus, to the Rond-Point des Champs-Elysees. From there, on both sides of the great boulevard and extending down to the Place de la Concorde are hundreds of petits Chalets de Noel. The style is different from those we saw in Strasbourg, but the good are much the same; the main one being food, food, and more food. At one of the stalls, we watched as magnificent sides of Salmon were cooked on boards, to be sold to eager customers. We walked the length of one side of the Champs-Elysees and returned on the other while munching on Churros. These are deep fried morsels of dough which are coated in sugar and eaten hot out of the oil.

Cooking Salmon

It remains very cold with today's temperature hovering around a bone-chilling seven below zero. Still, rugged up in overcoats with scarves, hats and gloves, wandering around Paris remains a great joy. However, it needs to be taken in small doses as there is still nasty ice on the ground and after an hour's promenade, the cold has penetrated shoes, socks and long johns to at least the knees which now share a lack of warmth one usually associates with one's nose and the tips of one's ears.

We are told the weather will be warmer next week and we look forward to days which are anticipated to reach a balmy 2 or even 3 degrees. As soon as these "Adelaide Summer" temperatures are achieved we will be going out to look at the lights at night.

In past years we have talked about "gardening" in Paris. Of course, when one lives in a flat, there is only so much one can do. Nonetheless, it is quite amazing what Parisians seem able to cultivate. Window-boxes can contain the most magnificent displays and it is not uncommon to see trees growing on rooftops and tiny balconies. Geraniums are very popular and seem to be quite hardy. It is only this last cold snap that led the "gardeners of Paris" to take measures to protect them. We noticed this morning that several of our neighbours had wrapped their plants in plastic thus protecting them from the somewhat unseasonable cold.