O Tannenbaum!

A year ago I wrote of the ten Christmas seasons I spent in Paris. This was my time 'between marriages' and so the last thing I wanted was anything too Christmassy.

Paris wasn't bad in those days, basic seasonal decorations only and not too over-the-top. The only problem was that on Christmas Eve one stuck out like a sore thumb at a table-for-one in restaurants offering an over-priced 'festive menu'.

My solution was to buy the fattest paperback book available at the station bookstall and retreat to the Coffee Shop of what used to be (I think) a Sheraton Hotel next to Gare Montparnasse for a dinner without the seasonal excesses or price-tag.

All this to explain why the photo of a Christmas Tree of books resonates with me!

So today for a Brit it's merely Christmas Eve, the major merriment is for the morrow. But for friends in France and Germany today's the day.

Joyeux Noel!

Fröhliche Festtage!