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Mon Dec 25. Paris.

Paris is actually a very good choice if you want to spend Christmas by yourself in a non-celebratory fashion.  Today seemed almost like a regular Monday. Although a lot of stores were closed, there were bakeries and grocery stores open as were flower shops and occasional other stores; garbage collectors and street cleaners were at work; cafés and restaurants had their usual customers. No Christmas music blaring out, no Santas wandering around. 

I walked to the Church of England/Anglican church for morning service. Predictably located in a very posh neighborhood near the Arc de Triomphe, but unpredictably in the basement of an ordinary apartment building. It was the one time when I had to choke back tears; the people I have loved and lost come back in the familiar hymns and prayers and the ache of separation is revived.

St. George’s Church before the service - the small space filled up completely, and there were three priests officiating with all the “bells and whistles” of high Anglicanism - incense etc- a contrast with this simple small modern space!


Rather than another long walk, I took the métro which has a stop right by my building and made myself a nice lunch, then walked back to yesterday’s Eglise St Eustache for a second organ concert.  I particularly liked the soft, gentle “la nativité” by 20th century French composer Philippe Langlais. It is a short piece - you can find it on Spotify if you use that site.  The organist, Marle-Ouvrard, pulled some quite extraordinary sounds from the organ as he played some other modern works. 

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