So let's get down to what's most important. The food! I start talking down and find that inside some of these cute little, decorated stalls are GINORMOUS pots that are full of creamy potatos with lardons, giant smoking sausages, cassoulets, even chilli con carne in one of them! These things are either scooped into a dish - or into a fresh baguette and eaten on the go!
My jaw dropped and drooling, I continued! One stand had giant hams, sausages, and turkeys roasting, which they were carving and putting onto baguettes! Then, they topped it my scraping cheese off of this giant cheese wheel that was under a cooker so it was warm and melty! It looked INCREDIBLE!
Another stall had fresh, bavarian pretzels and pretzel bread that were made into sandwiches! I kept walking to find a stall with giant slabs of foie gros, making fresh foie gros and fig jam baguette sandwiches! Another stall - cavair on a cracker with a shotglass of vodka! Little viande stalls, with cured sausages hanging everywhere and stacks of pates! Vin chaud! Fresh oysters with champange! Giant slabs of salmon hanging in front of a fire - for fresh smoked salmon and creme frais sandwiches! I WAS FREAKING OUT!!
And that's just half of it! The sweets was a whole another world! Tons of chocolateries, selling chocolate-covered-everything! Fruit, gingerbread, giant bricks of flavored chocolates that you can break off to create a mixed bag! Marshmallows, meringue, and of course - chocolat chaud!! C'est incroyable! Bon-boneries with overflowing bins of bon-bons, nougat, various fudges, and lollipops that are being made on site! I watched a guy pulling the candy to stretch it - like I've seen on the Food Network! Fresh made churros, falling from the machine into the fryer, covered in sugar and cinnamon, and then put fresh into these giant cones, with a side of chocolate sauce! Then of course your traditional crepes, fresh made gauffes, and sugary, puffy beignets! All topped with nutella and creme!
Literally, I was going crazy with delight! I was on a gourmet/Paris high! Aside from the food - there are tons of little shops selling cute gifts, jewlery, candels, ornaments, clothes, santa dolls, every cute Christmas thing you could want! It is truly adorable! There are all these cute Christmas carnival rides for kids! And even a live-animal reinactment of the manger! THEN - to top it all off - there is an indoor exhibit of the city and monuments of Paris in giant ice sculptors! La tour in ice!! I didn't go in because I am saving that activity for a night of Christmas fun where I ride the ferris wheel, go to see the ice tour, and get dinner and treats! Oh what fun is to be in Paris at Christmas time!
I had been worried I would really miss the Union Sqaure Christmas Market - but not anymore! I should have known better than to doubt Paris' abilities to fullfill my every desire! When the city lights go on in the night - and the whole city is sparkling, and now sparkling with twinkle lights for Christmas - there is simply no place in the world more beautiful! Before I made it to Christmas-Market fun, I went to the Petit Palais, a museum I had yet to see, right next to the Champs and the Pont AlexendreIII.
It was really beautiful inside! A huge, painted ceiling and beautiful rooms with statues and paintings! Downstairs, was the exhibit of the history of the Petit Palais, from the time of its conception for the Universal Exhibition until now! They had all these amazing photographs of Paris, floorplans for the palais, and advertisement posters for the exhibition! I was very excited to find such a gem!
As you exit, they had a giant white canvas, with post-its all over it, and pads of post-its and pens on either side! There was a sign that instructed me to write what I thought about the museum, and post it on the canvas! The canvas will hang until its full, and then they will take a photo to go in the museum forever! How fun!
So, I got to write a lasting love note to Paris! A little piece of me will always be here, hanging in the Petit Palais! And that - as you can imagine - made my day!
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