It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's December 20th and I realized that I haven't seen much of the Christmas lights in Paris. Don't call me ridiculous. It is so cold here. It really is. I have developed some wharped version of bronchitis that will not go away. Maybe it's that I have a window six inches above my head when I sleep.

Anyway Jasmin and I decided that we would meet on the Champs Elysees after I was through with work. I rushed down to the Varenne metro only to get on the train to head an announcement that they were shutting it down. Then I had to rush out, run about a half mile to get to the Invalides metro up to line 1. What a nightmare.

We met at the Charles de Gaulle/Etoile metro stop. It's directly next to the Arc de Triomphe. Quite a few my people, quite a view! However, I didn't get a picture. I have no idea why. As if I didn't have a heavy, awkwardly shaped camera hanging around my neck. But here are a few - if you look really close, you can see the arch in the background of the second one.
I've been looking for National Lampoons Christmas Vacation for my party for the kids tomorrow night. We went to the FNAC with no luck, but I did see Shrek so it wasn't a completely loss. Then we tried the Virgin Megastore and voila! It came with the sequel as well. The French title of the movie is Le Sapin A Les Boules. Do you want to know what that translated to in English? The Fir Has Balls. Don't ask.
While walking down the strip, we saw a photoshoot taking place. These are the kinds of things that remind me that I am in Paris. This girl had to play like she was drunk, so she was walking crooked and crazy, then she had to fall at the end...and the guy had to act really stunned and try to catch her. It was a grade A performance. Bravo! If you see this ad in any magazine, look for me in the background taking pictures of the photographer taking pictures of them. Hmmm.
Our appetites were quite atrocious by this time, so we walked around and saw nothing we wanted. Jasmin said "Ohhhhhhhhh! Let's have some greasy American food!" Do you really think I turned that down? We hopped back on line 1 to St. Paul. It's a bit of a trek, but the best food was waiting for us. None other than Breakfast In America. I'd never had dinner there, only breakfast. We ordered chicken nachos and a cheeseburger with fries. I wanted a Diet Coke to top it off, but it was 3,50 euros. No thanks. Yes, that's a little more than $5.00. No refills, only about 20 oz.
The food was fanastic, company excellent, weather bitter. It was a good night. It is pretty amazing here at Christmas time, I must admit.