Busy in the mountains

X-mas plans have changed...

Change of plans... our Christmas in Naples has been cancelled due to Italy going into lockdown as of Dec 24th. Before we knew it, our family of four were on the last plane back to Paris transiting through a completely deserted airport.

Long gone are the days of pre-Christmas holiday travel stress when easyjet canceled flights at midnight on Dec 23rd or Alitalia doesn't deliver your suitcase until 4 days after Christmas and you've been wearing the same clothes throughout the all the festivities... yes, we've had our fair share of Christmas travel adventures!

This morning I was out and about early to avoid the Parisian crowds... orata, gamberi, tortellini, panettone, dolcetti for the Italian tradition... turkey, cranberry sauce, mince pies, christmas pudding, mistletoe, poinsettia and lots of Christmas glitter for the Anglo saxon celebration. 

Luckily I had secretly popped out to buy a proper Christmas tree the week before... all it took was Expat Girl expressing a wish to have a tree that reaches the ceiling... how could I refuse... I know, it is not really sustainable... but then again we have been stuck inside for most of this year. This was my treat!

So, we are now in business for Neapolitan Natale tonight and British Christmas tomorrow! I'm just wondering if I can sneak in a French "Bûche de Noël" into the menu.

Tanti Auguri di Buon Natale! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

First time we'll be spending Christmas in Paris

Deserted Napoli airport on Dec 23rd

Woman on a mission early morning Dec 24th

A little culinary indulgence at La Grande Epicerie

Our local market in full swing

Thank Goodness for Marks & Sparks, where else would I find all the British Christmas goodies?

Who knew that Mistletoe was called Gui in French?

Paris in the fall

Closed until further notice

As of last Tuesday all of the capital's bars have been closed as Paris upgrades the alert level to the maximum due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Restaurants and bistros will be allowed to stay open if they put new sanitary measures in place, which include registering the contact details of customers and closing at 10 pm. 

Some of us still venture out to have lunch with our closest girlfriends or dinner with couples whom we are close to, sitting on the terrasse tucked up in woolen sweaters and winter coats as to avoid eating inside. However, the insouciance of enjoying un flûte de champagne during Happy hour has definitely disappeared and the sad thing is we don't know for how long.