Home for Christmas: Part II, Winter Wonderland

On a winter's day. -27 C. The blue light, a magic moment. Fresh snow on the ground.

A hare has left her footprints on the snow. I choose another path. There's enough space for all of us. 

The little birds fly to meet me when I return. Some a bit furtive, others very trusting. Nature's little marvels.

The life here is so simple, yet magnificent. Can't help but feel blessed.

 

 

 

 

 

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

 

Hyvää joulua! God Jul! Buriid juovllaid! 

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël!
 

 

 

Home for Christmas: Part I, Helsinki

Christmas holidays!

 

As usual, I've started my tour through Finland by a weekend in Helsinki. Over the years I've grown quite fond of our smallish capital, with its mixture of East and West, modern and old architecture, cosy and classy cafés, vibrant streets and fashionable design districts. And the sea, of course, all around.

Day one: shopping and sightseeing and meeting up with old friends.

After a tasty dinner in my favourite Nepalese restaurant, Mount Everest (just a few steps from the central railway station), I accompanied my friend across the city centre - good for digestion and also a great opportunity to play the tourist and snap some photos!

The Finnish National Opera

Next to the Opera House, the Töölönlahti bay area and Hesperia Park, perhaps the most beautiful park in Helsinki.

A small castle or an ancient church...? The National Museum of Finland,
built in imitation of the different architectural styles.

The imposing Parliament House, Eduskuntatalo, at Arkadianmäki.

The central railway station with its statues called Kivimiehet, the Stone Men, is probably one of the best-known landmarks in Helsinki.

 Day two: Christmas carols and more friends!

In the afternoon, I headed to Tuomiokirkko - the neoclassical Finnish Lutheran Cathedral dominating the Senate Square, Senaatintori, in Kruununhaka - for a bit of Christmas carolling with a couple of friends of mine. At the same time it started snowing big fluffy snowflakes. What a perfect timing!

 

 
Kruununhaka is the heart of Helsinki. It is one of the most beautiful areas in Helsinki and an absolute must for a visit. Besides the cathedral, you'll find there the National Library, the Helsinki City Hall, several university buildings, the Presidential Palace, the House of the Estates, etc. On the downside, it's also one of the most expensive and touristic quarters in the city centre, but I guess that's the price to pay for such an amazing display of neoclassical architecture.

Christmas market on Senaatintori.

As always, it was lovely staying in Helsinki, but on Sunday evening it was already time to hop on the night train and head to the North. 

Next stop, Rovaniemi!

A weekend in Picardy: Saint-Leu

Here's the last set of photos from our weekend trip to Picardy...

 

On our second day in Amiens we did a tour on the quaint streets of the old industrial quarter of St-Leu. Bordered by the canals, it's also called the Venice of the North. Very picturesque and perfect for a leisurely stroll, especially since the sun was finally gracing us with its presence.

The local hero and the defender of Picard traditions, Lafleur, stands guard at one of the many parks in the neighbourhood.

The quarter of St-Leu consists of colourful little houses, a plenitude of cafés and restaurants (especially by the canal), a university and an old mill house which - unfortunately for us - was still under renovation, like many of the houses too. 

St-Leu is still very much an authentic and down-to-earth neighbourhood but, what with all the works and renovations going on in the quarter, who knows, it may well one day become The favourite lieu of artists and other bohemian chic people alike...

 

 

After our promenade, we just couldn't leave Amiens without tasting the local speciality: ficelles picardes. Ham, mushroom, onion and cheese in a béchamel sauce... It's quite simple and  may not look like much, but even my cheese-hating hubby had no trouble finishing his plate!

Weekend in Picardy: Marché de Noël

 

Here are some more photos from Picardy! 

 

The impressive cathedral isn't the only reason to go and visit Amiens. 

Amiens also has an enormous Christmas market - the biggest in Northern France.

There was two kilometres worth of Canadian maple syrup, miniature car models for collectors, woollen bonnets and scarves and mittens, wooden toys and puzzles, amber jewellery, all kinds of candles and candle lanterns and even hand warmers in the form of teddy bears and local beers and so on and so on. Fortunately, quite a lot of the goods on sale are still made by artisans, even though there are many others, that are - sadly enough - less than unique.  

 We stayed in a small hotel just a few steps away from the railway station and Tour Perret, an impressive apartment building which was designed in 1942 by Auguste Perret, a specialist in concrete construction and rational style.

 

We did find some nice Christmas gifts at the market and in the boutiques Amiénoises, but that's still a secret, so shhh!

Merry little Christmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Let your heart be light

From now on,

our troubles will be out of sight

 

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Make the Yule-tide gay,

From now on, 

our troubles will be miles away.

 

Here we are as in olden days,

Happy golden days of yore.

Faithful friends who are dear to us

Gather near to us once more. 

 

Through the years 

We all will be together,

If the Fates allow

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.

And have yourself A merry little Christmas now. 

DIY: Boîtes maison

 Photo: Des Petits Hauts

I like wrapping up presents. It's probably the best part of the process, apart from actually presenting the gift to that someone precious, of course. When you've finally found the (hopefully!) perfect presents, it's nice to sit down and take some time to make beautiful packages. 

(And, admittedly, it does sometimes take quite a while
if you've got something not so straightforwardish to wrap up...)

When I was little and Santa still brought me my presents, it was always great fun trying to figure out what each package was hiding inside its paper wrappings. I grew to be quite an expert in the area - still hard to fool me nowadays! How else, with all that elvish blood in my veins...

Photo: Des Petits Hauts

If you - like me - are in the middle of the process of wrapping Christmas presents up, 

here's a cute idea I ran into while surfing the web:

DIY gift boxes

You can find the instructions (in French) and the illustrations as well as the models to download and print here.

A weekend in Picardy: Amiens Cathedral

Last weekend we decided it was time for a change of scenery;

and so off we went to Picardy and to the beautiful city of Amiens.

It was the first time I visited Amiens and I have to say I completely fell under the charm of this old industrial town. I took quite a few photos during our two-day visit: here is the first bunch of them!

 

Situated by the river La Somme, Amiens is well-known for its magnificent Gothic cathedral, which, by the way, is the tallest complete cathedral in France and on the list of the Unesco World Heritage sites. The cathedral is also huge on the inside - the biggest in France - and it's filled with impressive sculptures and intricate ornaments.

 

The cathedral was built during the 13th century and when there were restoration works done on the Western façade in the 1990's, the amazing original colours were discovered. These colours are now projected back onto the cathedral during a light and music show which we were lucky enough to witness on Friday evening.

The show lasted for nearly 40 minutes, but it kept us in its hold until the end, 

despite the freezing wind!

Who ever said Middle Ages were Dark Ages had obviously never set their eyes on the cathedral of Amiens...

Christmas is in town

  They're here: the trees and the lights, the carousels and the colourful stalls, 

not to mention the vin chaud and the grilled marrons. 

 

Caen is getting ready for Christmas. 

 

No December without a Christmas market. The marché de Noël in Caen isn't as big as its cousins in Strasbourg or in Colmar, but you can still find nice ideas for gifts there. Or just enjoy the atmosphere - and a crêpe.

 

 Just next to the Christmas market, the town house and the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, aka Abbaye aux hommes, have also got their Christmas decorations. Even though there's no video show this year, the view in the night time is simply stunning.

There's no way to deny it, the French do have a knack for impressive things.