Oh To Be In Paris For Christmas

 photo by Meg Mitchell

A great neighbor knocked on my door at noon today

and asked me to join her for lunch at our local

Tibet restaurant.  After spending 3 days at home 

kicking a cold to the curb, getting out of the

house sounded just what the doctor ordered.  

My friend Jane is a lovely person who also 

happens to be a very talented artist.

I should feature her on one of my blog posts ... 

and I will.  One aspect of our conversation 

was about fulfilling life dreams.  I stumbled

over that question because I have been so 

busy just getting through the days lately

that I haven't thought about what new things 

might excite me again.

The rest of the afternoon as I spent precooking meals 

for the Christmas holidays, the question kept 

going through my mind.  As I continued to go

through my checklist of things to do before 

Christmas, I decided that it would be wonderful 

for one Christmas to be somewhere else

and Paris would be a good place to start.

Two years ago I did visit Paris three weeks before 

Christmas but it was a shortened trip because 

I had sold my house and needed to get back

home quickly to complete the deal.

What might my Paris day look like?

Of course, no matter what time of the year,

Les Deux Magots is always a wonderful place to just be.

Walking down the beautifully decorated streets.....

Having lunch at Le Petit Zinc ....

And then at 4:00 in the afternoon, a stop at 

the local Luduree Cafe for a tea and an eclair.

 At dusk, walking along the Champs de Elysee and

having your heart just stop to see all the trees along

that beautiful boulevard dressed in lights.  Maybe,

to even walk down to the Place de la Concorde and

ride the ferris wheel.  Oh, how thrilling!

And then to come back to my rented apartment that has

a loft for my bed.  This was my favorite apartment in

Paris of all the places I have ever stayed.  I remember 

climbing up to my bed and looking out the large windows

and seeing the Arc de Triomphe in the distance.  I fell 

asleep listening to beautiful French Christmas music.

That is my dream for next Christmas.  

This time I won't cut my visit short.

What is your dream?

(All photos by Meg Mitchell)