It's beginning got look a lot like Christmas!

It has begun to look like Christmas for a while here. The Christmas market is at Perrache and has all sorts of yummy things to eat along with toys and gifts and all that jazz. Shops have their window decorations up and there are Chrissie tress up in front of stores...and someone has decorated a tree at uni in the court yard.

I guess it is even more Christmasie because le Fete des lumieres/ the party or festival of lights is this week (Dec 7th- 11th). The whole town will be lit up with lights of different colours. There will be candles on December 8th (I hear you crying 'That's you birthday! Hooray!') because that is the day that the plauge stopped at Lyon and didn’t kill everybody...and also cos it's my birthday! To celebrate, people place candles on their window sills. So people have been getting ready for that for a week or so at least. There have been trucks and crates with lighting equipment everywhere. And slowly I have seen the changes- there are now blue lights on the bridge to Vieux Lyon, Green globes have been installed at Bellcour, purple and red along the river and the two most notable things- a giant Ferris wheel decked out in lights at Bellcour and the church on the hill the Fouvriere is bright purple with some serious spotlights! So the shops have put up their lights too which will be for Christmas and le fete des lumieres! Everything is pretty cheery in town!

P.S. I am inviting people to my Birthday party on Saturday. My theme is 'un touche de rouge'... I wanted to 'go jungle' but its a bit hard when no one has any costuming resources so a colour that works for both guys and girls was the end result! Going to look for balloons and streamers tomorrow...cheap balloons and streamers!!!

......it's now stuck in my head!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go;
Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Toys in every store,
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben;
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen;
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go;
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well,
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.