Christmas Eve...

I went to mass... catholic mass. Kind of unusual for a non religious girl like me, but as we walked into the Notre Dame Cathedrala Christmas Eve mass was starting so we stayed and watched. Mass was in French so of course I could not understand, but I enjoyed the music and the chanting and the feeling of being momentarily connected to a bit of religious and cultural history. Of course I was also awestruck by the immense size and architectural detail of the building. It is so hard to perceive how it was ever built in the pre-industrial era 600 years ago.



Christmas surprises... Last night Matt and Amos were out all night at a concert. In Paris the metro quits running at 1 AM or so, but the clubbing and concerts often go past that time so it is not uncommon to simply stay out all night and catch the morning metro home. Since Matt and Amos were dead to the world, Sarah and I planned to explore alone. First stop was out for coffee. On the way back we heard a loud "Hey" and who was standing on the sidewalk but Matt's friend's Nate and Ben. Nate lived with us for a semester last year so he is like family. He's doing a study abroad in Spain, and came up to Paris to stay with his friend Ben for Christmas. I sure didn't expect to run into him on the street!!! (Que up "It's a Small World") So after hugs and coffee and breakfast we went downtown to shop, adventure, and see the cathedral. And throw a few Paris Christmas snowballs!



We later caught up with the now rested boys, and went out for Christmas eve dinner. Who would have ever thought I'd be spending Christmas Eve in Paris, eating Moroccan food with my kids and three of my sons college friends. It is a small world, and a fun one!!!