So, the Christmas season has officially begun here in Paris.  Since there is no Thanksgiving, this is normal for France.  This past Friday, the Christmas Market opened on the Champs-Elysees and there are over 200 of these little ‘chalets’ that line both sides of the street all the way to Place de la Concorde.  This was early on Friday before all of them opened, but people were still out and vendors that were ready got a jump on those who weren’t.  Now, you can see 15 feet down the sidewalk because it is jam-packed with tourists.  People come from all over the world for this and you can sample food from all over the world; although this is tiny compared to Strasbourg’s Weihnachtsmarkt.  This little shindig lasts from mid-November to just after January 1st.

There are all kinds of crafts stands and I thought this guy with his miniature musical instruments was just too cool!  These are very well done and very detailed.  I was looking for a mini Matthew McConaughey playing the mini bongo drums, but sadly, no such luck.  🙁 

There are also jewelry, scarf, handbag, ornament, and various other craft stands; something for everyone!

Hello, chocolate heads!  These are awesome!  They are dark, milk or white chocolate with a marshmallow cr�me center and you can get them coated in nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, salted caramel bites, etc….  Of course, you just immediately go run 6 miles to burn all of the sugar off, but totally worth it!

Now that’s a pan of food!  I tried the chili con carne and it was scrumptious.  I’m going to try the sausage with sauerkraut next weekend because that just looks yummy too!  And you get such a big serving that you have enough for 2 meals.  Awesome, an entire day’s foot for 8 euros.  Sweet!

Um, cheese anyone?  Yep, those are real, huge blocks of cheese.  And they give out samples all the time.  Not that I’d know, really, I’ve only been in the sample line 15 or 20 times.  That’s not a lot, right?

And right next to the big cheeses….the big blocks of chocolate!  Oh my gosh, my head is spinning!  Why did it take me so long to find such a magical place?  I think I need to be a teacher, so I can have Christmas break off to travel to Paris every December. 

This is just a tiny amount of sausage and various links they go through every day.  Just watching them prepare the food is incredible and it tastes fantastic even though it’s make in huge bulk amounts.  These guys need to cook for the chowhalls in the military…our servicemen and women would be ecstatic!

How cute is this little guy?  He was a tired little pony when I took this snapshot.  He was falling asleep as I pet him.  They have pony rides for the little ones, so cute!  I was kind of jealous that I’m too big for pony rides now.

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas Market in Paris.  I’ve walked up and down that street every day since it opened and I still love it.  Oh, did I mention the hot wine they sell that you can take with you while you walk along the street?  The red wine is lovely, while the white wine should be banned, it is that bad.  Ugh!  I know, I’m living a tough life, right?  Until next time….

Mary

Location: Paris, France