I've never been in France for Christmas, but I've heard some stories, including the fact that everything is closed. In the U.S., you can usually find a gas station or grocery store open, although I try not to go to any stores on Christmas Day. And Chinese restaurants are always open on Christmas.
As we've celebrated today, with all of our children coming home to gather around the tree and open presents before a trip to Earl's sister's house for Christmas lunch, I kept imagining how different our celebration will be next year if we're living in France. I still hope our children will join us. We'll see what happens.
The closest thing I have to a Christmas picture is this colored-light reflection of stained glass.
Grace took this photo when blogging friend Linda Mathieu met her and gave her a tour of Montmartre, including Sacre Coeur. The light reflecting off the stained glass windows on these columns look like those new Christmas lights which shine on houses and rotate around in red and green.
And here's another shot from Grace from the viewpoint of Montmartre, showing the far-away Eiffel Tower.
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