We love a good Christmas market in my family.
Although I'm not sure we've been to any. Yes, we have been to dozens upon dozens of Christmas Markets, but how good are they? Nevertheless, though they have a tendency to come up just a bit short, the promise of glittering lights, magical little shopping villages, seasonal treats, and highly personal crafts cannot be denied. So over the years we have increasingly planned the holiday season around these market visits.
Did the markets live up to our hopes?
No.
But the dream and spectacle of the markets was enough to carry us through.
And yet, in the back of our minds was...
Europe!
So we moved here.
And it's Christmas now!
We have been to the Cannes market. Very big. Very pretty. Not the most interesting shopping.
We have been to the Nice market. Quite lovely, even grand. And yet while a bit sprawling it's not as big as it seems, and, here is the rather obvious kicker with most of these because we are in France, they are very very food oriented. This can be mixed for us, although I would like to take a closer look at the Nice Market Champagne Pavilion! But more curious crafts, homey stuff, and Winter shops would be a real treat for us as we set up a new apartment. And then, to add another curious unexpected disappointment, the Nice market is insanely security obsessed.
My first thought was they must have a reason for sealed entry to the market area through well staffed metal detector gates.
My second thought is: If you can't manage an open Christmas Market with faith in the goodness of humankind, you should just figure the whole Christian experiment has failed so you might as well cash it in.
Theoule Sur Mer, like tons of the small towns and villages and suburbs (yes suburbs!) along the Cote D Azur, is full of Christmas events, but there doesn't exactly seem to be a market here. The lights are great though, the santons creche show and sale (these are the little xmas figurines) and the music on main street is fantastic.
And there is still plenty of time for more! We hope to hit up Eze, Monaco, maybe Villefranche Sur Mer and Antibes. Who knows? We are only limited by our ambition as even the minor villages have something going on for Christmas.
And whether the markets come through with everything we desire or not, these already beautiful places, decked out in some wonderful and thorough Christmas regalia, is a treat on its own.
In that spirit, I have pulled from my vast catalog of local photos and Christmassed them up a little.
Well, maybe a lot.
But I like Christmas.
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