novembre.

with the crisp snap of the air, the appearance of christmas lights and advent calendars, and the smell of roasting chestnuts in the streets, i can feel the impending christmas season. with the lack of thanksgiving to officially kick off the holiday season, it seems the french get a head start. and from what i understand, christmas is a pretty big deal around here. the streets are already decked out with overhead lights and decorations. i'll admit being irritated by the appearance of christmas decorations in US stores before halloween, but here i'm actually really excited. nancy has a huge parade with st. nicolas and fireworks the first weekend of december. nearly every town or village has a marché de noël or christmas market with food specialities, books, decorations, and other treasures which usually start in november and run through christmas. i also love the process of choosing gifts for people, and this year, living with 6 kids and 2 great parents, i've got a lot of work to do.

i also found out the hard way that photographs are illegal in french cemeteries. yesterday was jour de toussaints {all saints' day}. It's traditional to visit the graves of loved ones and place flowers. since it isn't widely celebrated in the states i was rather intrigued by it. i walked over to the large cemetery de notre dame which is near my house. it was a beautiful, sunny, fall afternoon and i brought my camera. after i snapped one shot, i was quickly told by one of the guards that pictures are illegal. luckily he let me off with just a warning. there was an older woman walking behind me and after the guard drove off she asked me if he had told me not to take pictures. i said yes and she seemed shocked and thought it was ridiculous as i did. she said ah well, they're just graves, what's the big deal? i passed her again on the other side of the cemetery and she shot me a little smile. at least someone is on my side.

{rue henri poincaré}