Christmas Day

I spent the Christmas holidays in Paris, France with two other single female missionaries. It took almost all day on the 24th with buses, trains, airplane and figuring out the Paris metro system, but we all arrived safely at the charming studio apartment on Rue de L'Avre. We had time to unpack, rest a bit, and then get dressed up for the Christmas Eve program at Notre-Dame. We arrived there a bit early and caught the end of a mass. Hearing the beautiful music from the choir in that Cathedral was a nice treat. Our program was geared to the "non-catholics". It was a power point show, with English subtitles, using images from art to tell the story of Jesus' birth. It was a great way to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

On Christmas morning we slept in late. Linda Guest made Anita and I breakfast in bed for our Christmas present and we exchange gifts. It was a beautiful day: brisk and cold, but the sun was shining. So we showered and headed out to do some exploring. Shockingly many things were open. We walked down the Champs Elysees through the Christmas Markets and had time to go home and freshen up before our "Illuminations Tour" that evening.
This was definitely a highlight of Christmas! We took a bus to the Seine River and had a night cruise seeing the bridges and the buildings along the river all lit up at night. It was a bit chilly but we decided to sit outside on the boat, which was worth the view.
After the boat ride we drove around the city on a double-decker tour bus seeing the major buildings and streets with all their holiday decorations while listening to basic information about them. I listened in Italian to see how much I could understand. I was surprised that I caught a lot of it. It was also fun to hear many people on the bus speaking Italian. It was a strange feeling to have a language other than English be a comfort to hear.
Then our last stop was a restaurant on the Champs Elysees for a 3 course french meal. It was a quaint restaurant, that we later sadly discovered was a chain and several were located around the city. Oh well, that night was fun and the staff was quite welcoming! My first Christmas Day in Europe was definitely a joyous one!