I know that it still may be early to talk Christmas for those of you who are just about to gather around the family dinner table for turkey and cornbread stuffing and pumpkin pie. But since I won't be taking part in the traditional Thanksgiving meal this year (unless of course someone wants to airmail me a Thanksgiving feast by Thursday, which I in no way would object to), I believe I have a special right to start my Christmas season just a tad bit earlier. And with the help of the city of Montreux, this should be no problem at all. Christmas lights have been dangling over streets for about two weeks now, and almost every store window has an array of all things red, green, and gold to further convince everyone that the holiday season is indeed here.
I, personally, have no problem with this whatsoever because it all just gives me an excuse to start listening to Christmas music a few days earlier. And since this is the first frosty and bundled Christmas season I've had in four years--a little different than sunny San Diego, I'd say--I'm loving every moment of the pre-Christmas spirit in the chilly air and on the decked out streets.
This evening, while I was out strolling lakeside on the way back from the market, I inevitably walked through the beginnings of le Marché de Noel (Christmas Market) that begins this Thursday--perfectly enough on Thanksgiving day. Right now, the market is more like a skeleton of what it will be, but even that was fun to see. There is an entire Christmas village complete with Santa's Workshop and a BIG ferris wheel--so not what I expected considering that nearly everything is substantially smaller here. Most of the market is blocked off right now anyway, but I walked by many of the little wooden chalets that line the main street of town and on the opposite side up against the lake where vendors were decorating with tinsel, rich colored fabrics, pine cones, snowflakes, lights, wrapping paper and anything else shiny and glittery that screams, "Come and see how much Christmas spirit I have! Look! My tinsel is shimmers more than hers!!!"
And all of this under the spell of hot wine, warm Christmas sweets, and twinkling lights? It's a Christmas lover's paradise! And maybe by the time Christmas actually does arrive, I'll have made friends with some vendors, picking up my free cup of steaming hot wine after work every afternoon. Hey, a girl can dream, right?
And just because I like sharing, here are some happy Christmas photos to get you in the spirit too!
Thursday fruits and veggies market in Aix-en-Provence at Christmas time.
Canopy of lights at le Marché de Noel on the Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence where we frequented the vin chaud (hot wine) stand almost everyday.
The annual Grimsley Christmas Party and the loves of my life in traditional caroling attire (a.k.a. every item of clothing you brought and a bottle of peppermint schnapps in each pocket for warmth).
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