Holiday Stress? Holiday fun!

Okay I admit it; I had some pre-Christmas stress.
The week before Christmas we had to deliver a finished proof of concept to a client for Monday. Monday evening we decided that I should fly to Chicago the next day to present our findings. Yes it was all a bit unexpected. Then, because I would be there anyway I invited myself to visit my friends in Kansas City. Except they were busy and it all became a bit unmanageable. So I changed my flight to spend the weekend in NYC. Okay this was now a workable solution.
Upon arriving back home in Paris Monday morning I realized I had a bout 2 days to get caught up on end of year work before welcoming my friend Gina arriving Friday morning. Uh oh. I was so not ready. I hadn't done my shopping. I had no food. I had no plans. What to do?
Wing it. This is becoming a tradition. Is it fair to say that anything you do often enough becomes a tradition?
Sure enough Gina is here and we are having such a good time. Christmas Eve we were invited to a local bar where the workers from surrounding business gathered and shared foor, wine and laughter.

Christmas Eve at Le Chene Rouge with Christophe

Christmas Day we attempted a walk through the Jardin de Luxembourg. However within a few minutes of entering, the gendarmes were blowing loud whistles shouting "Fermeture, Fermeture"! Of course none of the tourists understood what was expected of them, so eventually the park was emptied of all French speaking people, leaving everyone else wandering around wondering what they had missed.

As we were walking to our next stop a nice man stopped us and pointed out a man leaning against a bulding. He expressed concern that the man had been pushing against the building for some minutes already and did we think he needed help? I commented that the man in question sappeared to be stretching his calves before a run. "Oh" said our new friend very seriously, "I thought he was trying to move the building".Yup he was a funny one.

Kir at Le Petit Chalet

After a few stops for refreshments we found ourselves at Le Petit Chalet admiring the architecture, the ambience, the waiter who brought us a bottle of wine. I sent the first wine back and said quietly to Gina "Too young". She questioned me at first, thinking I met the waiter. Finally we agreed that a more mature wine was the priority. 

At some point however this wine lead us to question our knowledge of Paris. So we drew a map. Yes it was a straight line from point A to point B but one can never be too careful!


Monday was 15, sunny and too warm for our jackets. My favorite moment of the day was a rest in a lounge chair at Jardin des Tuileries with the sun on our faces.

What have I learned so far? If you are worried about how to spend your time be sure you have at least one good friend around, and then see what life has in store for you. It might be better than you could have planned.