Les Marchés de Noël

A few weeks ago these little temporary Christmas villages started popping up around Paris. I've personally seen four of them and my Pariscope magazine indicates that there are at least a few others scattered around the city. The first photo is the Marché de Noël at Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the second one is at Saint-Sulpice. This gives you some indication of how seriously this city takes its street markets: seasonal or otherwise. There is a huge workforce of city employees who set up the little houses, clean up afterwards, etc.

































It's been a little strange to watch all the Christmas preparations. As I said to sis a few days ago, sometimes it feels like I'm living inside a Hallmark Channel movie called "A Grandpa for Christmas" (of which I am confident there are at least a half-dozen by that name in rotation on that channel as we speak). Grandpa lives alone in some far away place ... except in the made-for-TV production I will be played by an actor with more of an Ernest Borgnine quality ... wandering the streets of an ancient city - watching the locals set up Christmas trees, buy presents, etc. He long ago closed the doors of his departed wife's (well, she is!) sewing room. He makes dinner alone and consumes a demi-bouteille of Pinot Noir every night. Wait, check that. The Hallmark Channel would never go for the drinking alone part - but the sewing room thing is perfect.

And then through some mystical myrical loosely associated with the Baby Jesus - in our case it's the home leave clause written into my Letter of Assignment compensation package - Grandpa has an opportunity to be reunited with his long lost family and, importantly, the granddaughter he's never met. I mean, without that part it would hardly qualify as a Hallmark Channel vehicle.

But wait, there's a barrier for Grandpa to overcome before he sees his distant family in the new world. Every Hallmark Channel holiday movie has to include this part too. It needs to be some seemingly insurmountable problem imposed by villains wearing neckties who are completely lacking in Christmas spirit. Oh, and Grandpa has to be wearing a red or green sweater at this point (it's contractual). And it should be snowing. In my case, the role of the insurmountable barrier will be played by a transfer at O'Hare the week before Christmas (I'm actually kind of worried about that). But when we return from the final commercial break (Wilford Brimley selling insurance to seniors) a mysterious member of the airport maintenance staff - who may or may not be an angel in disguise - appears to provide sage advice and some type of moral lesson to Grandpa - possibly involving the Pinot. He just barely makes his connection to SFO.

Cut to the tearful reunion with Grandma (played by Morgan Fairchild), the loving daughter (played by Shannon Doherty), and the long-haired spandex-wearing rocker son (Kirk Cameron). Loving daughter places the grandbaby in Grandpa's arms, group hug, tears all around, cue the strings .... and, scene.

Or something like that.