Christmas Is Upon Us-Parisian Style

I believe again. I believe Santa Clause exists. I believe little elves work in Santa's factory and help put together all of our presents. I believe in Christmas again.

I'm not necessarily a fan of Christmas. My favorite holiday is hands down Thanksgiving. I think this is because I'm an adult. I know what I'm getting for Christmas, and most of the time, I don't even want nor need anything.  At home, we eat  dinner together on Christmas eve and then watch movies. Nothing special. I think the next time I'll probably enjoy Christmas will be when I have a family of my own. NYE is not much better either.

Nonetheless, up to this point, NYC had set the bar for what Christmas should be like. NYC is, without a doubt, a magical place around Christmas. The tree located at the Rockefeller Center, the ice skating rink or the window displays on Fifth Avenue can easily brighten your day. That's a pretty high bar, if you ask me.

However, Christmas in Paris is the real deal. There is a Christmas market or Les Villages De Noel located in Champ Elysse. It is a magical place. There are dozens of booths along the main road leading to the Arc de Triomphe. Did I mention it is a magical place? A Santa Clause here, a reindeer there, an elf over here. It makes you feel like a kid again. Most importantly, everyone is in a happy mood there. I vouch for that. Kids running around, enjoying the small mechanical zoo. Adults eating churros with Nutella, and other adults sipping on hot wine. Magical.

It goes without saying that Paris also cares about their environmental footprint. There is a wind turbine installed in the center of Champ Elysse and many solar panels that one could only assume help create all the electricity needed to power up all the  Christmas lights. Very thoughtful of them. Good job, Paris!

The City of Lights Remains Dimmed

The last time I lived through a major tragedy was in 2001, when El Salvador was struck by three big earthquakes that killed almost 1000 people. That was a natural disaster. Today in Paris, we mourn all the victims who died at the hands of ISIS. This is a terrorist attack.

It is very difficult to comprehend what happened here last night. It has been reported that 127 people have been confirmed dead with almost 200 more people injured. To think that 127 families will receive news that their loved ones were murdered while they innocently attended a concert at Bataclan or shared drinks with their friends at Le Petit Cambodge is heartbreaking. But to me, the hardest thing to understand is that the shooting that took place at the local restaurant in the 10th district is just around the corner from my regular bar. My friends and I go there every weekend and throughout the week, religiously. I was supposed to meet a few friends there last night, but I was asked to babysit at the last minute. After I heard the news last night, I couldn't sleep. The calls and messages started to pour in (which I appreciate it) and then it was very hard to close my eyes. It was also very hard to stay at home when I could have been out there helping people in any way.

Now, I sit here, and I try to imagine my family's reaction if they had received some horrible news like the families of those 127 victims-- it is impossible. It is impossible to understand the pain and suffering all those affected by this tragedy are going through. Moreover, It is also impossible to put into perspective the hate someone must have in their hearts to want to kill so many innocent people. I woke up this morning knowing that Paris was not a safe place anymore. This is an opinion shared by many Parisians at this time.

I decided to go into the city today to see what it was like after last night's tragedy. Paris was unrecognizable. There was so much pain and sadness in everyone's face. You could also feel it in the air. Many restaurants and businesses were closed as per the  declared "state of emergency"by Francois Hollande, President of France. The borders have been closed also. This is to prevent anyone from leaving the country. The city that once shined bright is now a dark place. The Eiffel Tower is closed. Its lights are off in honor of those who died. The booths at the Christmas market in Champs-Elysees are all closed. There is far less people wondering the streets, but there is heavy presence from the French military and the police department. Paris has dimmed its lights today.

#PrayForParis

Memorial outside of  Bataclan Theatre. 

A Day in Paris

Blogging from: Vaucresson, France.

I woke up this morning around 9am. I slept at Lisa's place last night. Finally some grown up time! This place is more calm and not so hectic as the rest of the city. That part of the city is called Alfortville. I believe this is just outside of Paris. Left Lisa's place around 10 and there was something in the air that just made me want to walk around. When you look past the amount of people, the cars and restaurants, you can really appreciate how beautiful this place really is. I think my favorite part about the city is how those buildings from the 1800's are still standing. It is such an innovative city yet, there is still that vibe that makes you want to imagine how it was like to live in Paris during Louis XIV's reign.

Anyway, after walking a good 50 minutes, I ended up in a town called Mairie d'Ivry. This is the first stop of the Metro line 7.  I hopped on the metro to head over to the center of Paris, which is somewhere around Louvre. Once in the city centre, I decided it was time to get some breakfast. As you might imagine, coffee was on the menu. On a unrelated note, Salvadorans tend to drink lots of coffee throughout the day, but the amount of coffee French people drink is unprecedented. I grabbed an espresso and a croissant from a local shop. This is heaven! I wonder around Louvre for a few hours. I have walked around these streets what seems to be hundreds of time already. I was staying at a hostel just around the corner from the museum. However, I am still amazed at how magnificent everything is.

A quick history lesson here, the Louvre museum is located in the Louvre Palace, which was the residence of Philip II in the 12th century. The structure has been demolished a couple of times and also, for a short time, Napoleon Bonaparte renamed the museum after himself. It was called Musée Napoleon. Nonetheless, the museum itself has been opened since 1793. Although, the glass pyramid is a relatively modern structure, the buildings that house the art work are hundreds of years old.

As I was saying, I was craving some more history so I thought about going to the museum. Louvre is the most visited museum in the world so you can imagine the long lines in the morning. Today was no exception. After seen the long lines, which I believe were a couple hundred people waiting for the place to open, I got discouraged and decided to just keep walking. I walked down to McDonald's found under the museum. There is small mall under Louvre where you can find a small structure of the original Louvre Palace from the medieval times. Though it was a beautiful day out, I could not pass up the opportunity of getting free wifi. The struggle is real here!

After catching up on my email and the news, I continued my journey. This time I headed to Champ Elysees. For lack of a better term, this is where the rich people live in Paris. This is also where you find the Arc de Triomphe. I like and don't like this place. It is a very modern area. You can easily find stories for every social class here. What I like most about this area is that it is one long road with many stores, hotels, apartments, and at the end of the road you find the Arc de Triomphe, which connects many other small roads. It feels like a great price after walking for so long. Nonetheless, this area is very busy. There are so many people and cars around this part of the city. It is still beautiful.
I check my phone and I realize that it is almost 4 pm. I decided that I would end my day with some Mexican food and then head home. I have tried several mexican restaurants around the city, but I am yet to find a really good one. Mexican food in the U.S. is so much better!. I take the metro line 8 to go to this small Mexican place called El Nopal. It is a to-go place. There is no place to sit unless you would like to sit on the curve, which is what i do all the time. Not only is Mexican food not good in Paris, but it is also expensive. This place, however, is relatively cheap. I have three tacos and some guacamole. Ehh it's good enough, I guess.

 I finally decide to go home, so I take metro line 14 to St. Lazare metro station. This is one the biggest metro stations in the city. It connects to the suburbs of Paris and other parts of France. The train I must take to go back home is line L. It runs every 30 minutes. I am in luck because the train will be departing in 7 minutes. I grab a bottle of water from a vending machine while I wait. After a few minutes of waiting, we depart the station to go home. On the way out of the city, you can see the Eiffel Tower from a distance. I always make sure to sit on the side of the train closest to the window so I can see it from the train. As the train keeps moving, the tower becomes harder and harder to see...and then it disappears....