Noël comes anon.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Okay, so it doesn’t look like the typical Northwest Christmas season. There’s no snow, the sun is still shining. And even though I have succumbed to my winter routine of the twice daily cup of peppermint tea, it's not all that cold here in the south of France. Morning jogs are still possible and people still sit and read in the park. However, based off how bundled up the locals are, this is their version of winter.

Weather aside, the Christmas spirit is rampant. Aix-en-Provence is known as the city of markets yearround, and it does have the wonderful Christmas markets to prove it. There is a main shopping strip called Cours Mirabeau. It's one of the streets connected to that beautiful Rotonde Fountain I've mentioned before. It's impossible to feel grinch-like walking down that street, lined with trees strung with Christmas lights, the sound of children laughing flowing from the kiddie rides and the smell of candied apples and waffles simmering in the air. The actual vendors are pretty neat too. There is a wide variety of gift ideas. There's the typical Provençal gifts, the stand with the massive gingerbread cakes, a magic shop (which always has a crowd of people), and a photography stand with gorgeous pictures of Aix and the surrounding region.

I really lucked out with markets though. Not only have I lived in Aix and had the opportunity to stroll through some of the most famous market places in France three times a week, but I also had the opportunity to go to the Christmas Capital of the world: Strasbourg. This city on the border of Germany has world famous Christmas markets and is dripping with touristy holiday cheer. It's really quite magical. Like going to Disneyland. I don't know what it is about electrical Christmas lights, but they just make you feel like you're in a fairyland. Yes, as my more eco-savvy friends would point out, it is a complete waste of energy. But ready for my Mastercard answer? That feeling you get when you look down an avenue strung with beautiful holiday glow is priceless!

Strasbourg is a city in the Alsace region of France. This has a lot of really interesting history, since it has been passed between Germany and France several times, and has also been conquerred by the Huns and the Swedish. Christianity was brought there by Irish monks. It is also the seat of the European Union. So it has tons of cultural influences and is quite a cute place to visit. It was here that the Gutenberg printing press was invented. Perhaps because I grew up in Spokane, through which the Spokane river flows, I have a thing for cities with rivers. Naturally, one of the factors in the aesthetic appeal of Strasbourg is the river that surrounds centre-ville. It's so pictoresque! I love the bridges.

We also visited Colmar, well known as the birthplace of Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty. This had all the Christmas charm as Strasbourg, but with fewer tourists and smaller. There was a fantastic museum there though called the Unterlinden. It took us hours to go through. There is so much there. I think the most prominent for me was the collection of early Christian paintings depicting stories of the saints and the life of Christ. They are chock-full of symbolism, and I'm appreciative for the audio guide that pointed it all out. One instance, there was a definite trend that many of the paintings had a golden background. This symbolizes timelessness. The number of symbols used to express the Virgin Mary's purity bordered on being excessive (lilies, unicorns, gardens, fences, pink, and many, many more). I am a sucker for symbolism though, and my personal favorite was in a painting of Christ on the cross. At the base, there was a lion and her cubs. Medieval tales tell that lion cubs are stillborn and are resuscitated when the mother lioness breathes on them. It represents how Christ's sacrifice is like that life-giving breath. One painting that really stuck out to me was La Melancolie by Lucas Cranach. He was buddy-buddy with Martin Luther, and this work is about his ideals. It was based not so much on melancholy itself, but on how one avoids it.  

I'm not sure how to gracefully close this entry, but I would like to return to the subject of Christmas. I am grateful for how long the Christmas season is. To me, the weeks leading up to Christmas are usually more fulfilling and exciting than Christmas Day itself. I've also learned, you can only feel a certain amount of holiday spirit basking in the glow of Christmas lights, munching on Christmas goodies, singing carols, making gingerbread houses (or Speculoos holiday creations in my case), and in gift wrapping. I don't mean to say those are bad practices. I am quite fond of Christmas traditions, but Christmas means so much more. I don't want to disrespect the meaning by making a corny concluding note, but I hope this holiday season we will be able to turn our thoughts to the reason for all this hubbub. It's more important to spend time with your family than fretting about the gifts for them. Take those quiet moments to contemplate the greatest, one-sided gift of all, directly from Heavenly Father. Try to go outside of yourself and rather give of yourself. "Love is spelled T-I-M-E." 

God bless! And Merry Christmas!

A Taste of Paris.

I consider myself to be very blessed to have my first taste of France be outside of Paris. When I would tell people I would be studying in France for a semester, most assumed I would be in Paris. “Oh! So the Eiffel Tower!” “When you go to the Louvre…” and many other assuming comments would ensue. There is a valid reason for these presumptions and I mean no irritancy in mentioning them. When speaking of France, there are two regions: Paris and everywhere else (which is called Province, not to be confused with the specific region of Provence, where I live). I do not know exactly how, and what I do know about the differences are mostly secondhand. But I will say there are some more obvious variations between the people, the standard of living, food, and various other aspects. I am appreciative to have been dropped in Aix-en-Provence. People think of Paris first and the rest of France as more of an afterthought. Since I was in the Provincial area first, it’s easier to think of it all as France as a whole, Paris just being a large chunk.

"Eiffel Tower. That's French."

Although there really is a lot more to France than just what’s in Paris, the famous City of Lights is worth all its fame. There really is an incredible amount of history and monuments and discovery to be made there.  It’s daunting, and I could only be there a couple of days. It was just enough to get my feet wet, but I am very grateful for the experience. Before you roll your newspaper up to smack me, please understand that I only had a weekend to spend in Paris. I am painfully aware of how much I did not see. If I did not visit your favorite place or appreciate something enough, here is my apology in advance. 

I must admit, it was really a bizarre experience to finally be in Paris. I overfantasized it in my mind (with the help of Hollywood and history books), so it almost seemed like it wasn’t a real place. But I assure you it is. It’s as much a city as Washington is a state. I think I would be missing the mark if I said this realization was a disappointment. Relief would be closer to the truth. It’s amazing to have my realm of existence connect with the greatness of a city like Paris, but my mind could not grasp at the importance of the experience. I had to keep reminding myself, “This is a big deal. A really big deal.” 

So what did I see? My first night, I saw the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Luxor Obelisk, and the Champs d’Elysee. Again, all this is very surreal. The Eiffel Tower is the Rudolph of the Paris Sleigh in that Parisians would turn up their noses at it and laugh and call it names. But when it attracted tourists they decided to keep it around. The Luxor Obelisk takes the place of where a guillotine was once erected and is the oldest monument in Paris, aging over 3000 years old. I believe it was given as a gift from Egypt to Paris and I heard a story that every year Egypt writes a letter to France asking for their obelisk back so their ancient Luxor Temple can be complete again. I do not know the truthfulness of this, but I would believe it. That would be such a French thing to do.

Musee d'Orsay

The next morning I spent in the Musee d’Orsay. That is a museum situated in an old train station, well known for its impressionist collections. It was such a strange feeling to stand before Degas, Manet, and Caillebote originals. I didn’t feel specifically phased by it until later because many of those paintings have become so common place, such as Renoir’s Two Girls at a Piano.

Blue Waterlilies, Monet

I was actually quite surprised by the Renoir paintings. When I studied them in an art class in high school, I remember not being terribly impressed (pah, pun) by him. But in person, I was captivated by how he painted light in a way that it seemed like some of his paintings gleamed, or had a peculiar glow about them. But I think my favorite paintings were Chysanthemums and Blue Water Lilies, both by Claude Monet. I hesitate to show them in my blog because on the screen they really aren’t as striking as in person. The internet just can’t do them justice, but trust me they’re amazing. The flowers in Monet’s Chysanthemums really pop out, almost 3-D. There are also beautiful sculptures that are really just amazing to me. 

Chrysanthemums, Monet

Next, we walked along the Seine River, past the Louvre, across the Pont Neuf (the New Bridge), to the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris. It was quite interesting and I was very fascinated by the symbolism and quirks, such as the headless Saint Denis. I loved the rose windows, one of which represents the New Testament, and another the Old Testament. It wasn’t my favorite cathedral, but I understand its contribution to Paris’ nickname of “New Jerusalem.” From there, we walked back, past the Louvre’s pyramids, through the Tuilleries, to the end of the Champs Elysée. There, a large holiday ferris wheel was waiting for us. As it became dark outside and the Paris lights illuminated, we had quite a grand view of the City of Lights. It’s beautiful, I promise you. 

My final day in Paris, I was kind of in shock. I really had no idea what to do because there’s so much. I was overwhelmed. After I walked to see the Eiffel Tower in the daylight, which isn’t quite as glamorous as its glitzy nighttime counterpart, I caught up with my Parisian tour guides who took me to Basilique de Sacre Coeur. I was surprised to learn that it was just finished in 1914, so it is fairly new and white. The stained glass windows were very blatantly modern and the chapels were dedicated to saints, the most prominent being Saint Luke, Saint Joseph, and Saint John. It was beautiful, and just outside the entrance is a wide view of the city. 

I also visited the Church of Saint Chapelle. It’s really quite small, but in the upper chapel, there are thousands of scenes depicted in stain glass windows that are insanely tall and reach the ceiling. They cast a splendid purple glow in the room, and it’s really beautiful. 

Eglise de St-Etienne

The final stops were the Church of Saint Etienne and the Pantheon. The church was relatively small, but really gorgeous. I think it’s one of the prettiest churches I’ve entered in Europe. The Pantheon was more of an afterthought, and was even more of a rushed experience since we got there as it was closing. I honestly couldn’t remember what the significance of the Pantheon was, and upon entering I was even more confused. It was once a basilica intended to rival that of St. Peter’s in Rome, but was switched to secular use for Victor Hugo’s funeral and is now a national monument. There is also history than that, but I’m a bit confused by it and don’t want to give false information. There are tons of famous people buried here, including many prominent figures in the Revolution and writers. Along with Victor Hugo, there is Voltaire, Alexandre Dumas, Marie Curie, Jean Moulin, and Emile Zola. There are also gorgeous sculptures of Joan of Arc, Saint Genevieve the patron saint of Paris, and many others, all seeming to depict power and victory. 

St-Chapelle

You may be wondering why I didn’t enter the Louvre. It’s not that I didn’t want to. Quite the opposite. I really would love to spend a significant amount of time there. And simply, I knew that if I went in, I would never come out. 

I initially struggled with going to Paris. I knew I should, but that was the only reason. You can’t go to France without going to Paris. And I kept thinking it probably wasn't all it was chalked up to be. I lacked the motivation, and eventually just forced myself to buy the tickets there. However, I learned a lot from going to Paris. For instance, the wonders of the world are real and tangible. But just because they exist, doesn’t mean they sparkle or are magical when you experience them first hand. And Paris isn’t just a place you “check off” your list of must-see places. There is too much there to explore and learn and touch and experience. I now understand the adoration of Paris. It’s much, much more than just a tourist hotspot. Although yes, for sure there are those who go just to have that Facebook picture with the Eiffel Tower, that doesn’t have to be me. Just because you’re a tourist doesn’t make you like one of the cattle driven from monument to monument. It is possible to break through the tourism and establish your own, personal, individual fascination with those monuments and historical places you’ve been told your whole life are so important and amazing. I have a strong desire to go back. I must go back. And I look forward to that day when I can really splash in the splendor of Paris, instead of just getting my feet wet. 

View from atop the ferris wheel.