(Looking outside the window, I see the gray sky and the branches of trees, mostly brown also with brown leaves, slowly swaying with the wind and I hear the sound of lazy rain, with some of the raindrops making a metallic sound as they hit the windowpane. Every now and then, a slight rumble of a thunderstorm can be heard from a distance. I play “Last Christmas” by Wham and “All I want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey and then the lines of a poem come to me.

Allow me to share with you these words and some random photos of Christmas I took in some areas of Paris during my walks around the city these past days.)

2020 is an unusual year

It took more effort to feel the Holiday cheer

The festive atmosphere that usually filled the air,

Was tinged with a bit of sadness, anxiety and despair.

“Is it December yet?” You asked a month before.

Perhaps, Christmas time would have different things in store,

But five days before the year ends,

There are still the same problems and things to mend.

But every day offers a new beginning–

A fresh perspective, a new way of seeing and doing.

May the new year usher the lovely things that you have dreamt,

And bring to reality the hopes and dreams that are meant. ❤

One of the best ways to spend the Christmas morning is a relaxing walk by the Seine, sharing a breakfast biscuit (but not a cup of hot tea ^_^) with a pigeon, and seeing this lovely view of an old lady surrounded by pigeons and seagulls.

Avenue Champs Elysees garbed in bright red festive lights.