We eased into the day again. With no particular reason to rush, we didn’t! It’s been nice getting a good night’s rest and then choosing what we feel like doing.

So when we did leave, we headed over to the Marche de Noël at the Tuileries Garden. We took the metro down to Châtelet and then transferred over so we could get off at the Tuileries station. The metro wasn’t crowded, nor were the streets, as compared with yesterday.

It’s another overcast day, which is great for walking through the market as the lights show up brightly.

The entrance to the market is right next to the metro exit. As you can see below, they had extra security at the gate.

This was our favorite market; it had a real festive feel to it. Lots of lights, plus games, food, shops and rides. We guessed right by waiting to go on a Monday afternoon – there were many people, but it wasn’t overly crowded.

We took a lap around the market to check things out and then circled back for a bite to eat. Sue had some delicious tartiflette, which is like escalloped potatoes with a little cheese and a little smoked ham. I went directly for the grilled sausage, knowing I would get a taste of Sue’s potatoes.

We had a really nice time at the market. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and were cheerful. Lots of holiday spirit in the air.

Departing, we decided to walk up the Rue de Rivoli to see the Samaritaine store holiday displays.

It only took about twenty minutes to walk down to Samaritaine. The air felt heavy, like rain was imminent, but thankfully it never came.

We were a bit disappointed by Samaritaine’s decorations. They were nice, but nothing particularly special.

Certainly not worth the chilly walk to get there. C’est la vie!

We crossed over the river at Pont Neuf and then snaked our way back to the hotel. While walking, we happened upon a Marc Chagall exhibition at a small art gallery.

We made it back to the hotel and both of us needed to sit and relax for a while. A little holiday music with our feet up was delightful.

Dinner was just a block away from the hotel this evening. We wanted something a little different, so we chose Agata, an Italian restaurant.

What a great choice it turned out to be! We started out with a delicious arancini, then we shared a pizza to be strategic. Strategic? Yes, the strategy was to save room for dessert. And it worked. Sue saved room for a warm chocolate soufflé while I had a ‘slab’ of tiramisu. We also enjoyed a bottle of Barbera d’Asti. Everything was perfect.

At the end of our meal, we asked for the check in Italian. They loved it and we earned ourselves a glass of limoncello to finish off the meal. Learning those ten words in every language is paying off. Cheers!

Another wonderful day, with one more left. Tonight we’ll decide what we want to do tomorrow besides dinner.