Though I've lived in France during different parts of my life, this will be my first time during the Christmas season. That being said, this month will be FULL of traveling, seeing amazing people and of course lots of Christmas cheer !
To start...
Chambéry : Nov 26
Just a few days after
Thanksgiving, I kicked off the Christmas season in Chambéry ! It's a ski town not far from Annecy and Lyon; a little bit bigger than Thonon. We explored the large market that stretched across two parts of town.
There were so many cute stalls with Christmas knick knacks, regional specialities, sweets and even maple on a stick from a French-speaking Canadian vendor - ha ! I bought some
macarons (of course !) as well as mulled wine (
vin chaud) and some gorgeous mixed berry praline bread to take home to try -
miam !
Our train back wasn't until after dark, so we got to see the Christmas market at night as well; what a great experience.
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| Posing by the market with my hot chocolate - it was a bit chilly out ! |
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| One of the markets on boulevard de la Colonne |
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| A cute street in Chambéry at night |
Thonon : Dec 3-4
After traveling 3 weekends in a row, it was time for a much needed weekend at home:) And wow, Thonon didn't disappoint !
It felt like the whole town of over 34,000 people came out..okay, maybe I'm exaggerating but just a little ! It was wonderful. There was a Christmas market during the day with a small concert of musicians and dancers. But by far the most entertaining (
and oddest) tradition was the march of the large bird !
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| The five-meter tall bird, controlled from the inside like a puppet, walked down la grande rue |
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| Not sure how the bird says Christmas...but the drum line did ! |
Now I've tried looking up this tradition (
les éclaireurs), but with no luck. Anyways, it's this huge, 5-meter tall bird that's controlled like a puppet. It's feet clacked down the cobblestone streets followed by a very festive drum line.
On Sunday, we saw Santa's village with his cottage and mailbox outside so kids can write their letter to Santa -
too cute ! The smell of fondue guided us to our next stop: an even larger market (
foire d'hiver). Though it was cold out, with our apple fritters and mulled wine in hand, we stayed warm:)
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| "Hi Santa !" |
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| Foire d'hiver |
Happy holidays and safe travels !
bisous,
Lyndi
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