The first stop this year was La Roche. Overseen by Napoléon himself (or at least his statue), we had one row of châlets (stands) where you could buy things like jam, honey, meat, candles, crêpes, and vin chaud (hot wine). I braved the crowds one Saturday afternoon with the family to join in the festivities. The promised ice sculptures included a half-melted penguin as far as I could see; they also had fake snow (bubbles from a machine run by a cranky already-Christmased-out teenager) and a small parade with people on stilts in pretty white costumes...but we couldn't see much of it because it seemed the entire town was trying to cram into Place Nap at the same time.
La Roche market grade: C- (Ice sculptures are not something to attempt at 50 degrees F.)
Over the month, there was a program of winter concerts put on by various musical ensembles of the region. One was my first concert of the season with the Philhar; we sported our snazzy new tenue (attire): black La Roche-sur-Yon monogrammed suits.
Philar flute section |
Maillezais market grade: B (How could it possibly rank lower with fire eaters?)
Passage de Pommeraye |
Nantes, being what I think of as the hipster center of France, also held what was officially called - I'm not making this up - L'autre Marché de Noël. The Other Christmas Market. It was separated from the rest of the market, located on the other side of the main tramway, specifically full of locally-made goods. (It seemed like a nice idea...but we unfortunately didn't find anything worth buying there.)
Nantes market grade: B (The potion de pirate saved it from a B-. The Other Market needs better goods and a better name.)
The infamous egg |
Finally, after the last week of work, my bags were packed and I was more than ready for a little cross-country trip to the Capitale de Noël, Strasbourg. I stayed with Jasmina, a good friend from the CELTA, and basked in pure Christmas for three days. In Strasbourg, they really know what they're doing with Christmas lights, and their hundreds of châlets are a seemingly endless field of quality distractions. I got my fill of tarte flambée (my favorite regional dish), at least for a little while. And I love the giant Christmas tree in la Place Kléber; this year its lights changed color every few minutes. In stark contrast to the egg, here is Strasbourg:
Strasbourg market grade: A (The only downside is the crowd.)
Upon returning from Christmas in the U.S., I hit one last market (in a state of extreme jetlag, going on almost forty hours without sleep) on New Year's Day: the Champs-Élysées in Paris. My friends Yann and Adi and I took a walk up and down the street until it started pouring rain. They did a wonderful job with the lights this year, which seemed to sparkle even more than last year, and the ferris wheel glowed in French flag colors.
Paris market grade: B+ (Cool and all, but not Strasbourg.)
Bonne année 2016 et meilleurs voeux!
No comments:
Post a Comment