We've been told by several people that the French resist the idea of Halloween because it's...well...not French. Every once in awhile we'll pass by a store that has Hallmark-like, punch-out black cats or smiley jack-o-lanterns, but other than that we were on our own to celebrate. We couldn't find any pumpkins or gourds so the girls decorated the house with drawings of pumpkins and graveyards. Tennie made a life-size bat that she cut out and hung in the hallway. Our plan today was to trick-or-treat by stopping by all the candy/chocolate shops along Old Town's walking street and let the girls pick out a sample of their choice from each shop.
Unfortunately, we've been having very Washington-like rain the past few days (the locals are so apologetic and assure us that it isn't
normal) so the girls decided to trade warmth and dryness for their costumes. When we got to the walking street the rain had stopped and there were kids in costume everywhere darting in and out of the shops! Turns out trick-or-treating is only done on this street, and candy was given out by the shop owners. It was really festive and fun. I kept wondering to myself where in the world they got their costumes since I hadn't seen a hint of Halloween anywhere. Then we passed a little shop that had a wall of Halloween costumes and decor. People were buying costumes on the spot, throwing them on and walking next door to trick-or-treat. We kept to our plan and sampled a lot of yummy artisan candies and chocolates, but the girls got a few extra pieces when they tried out the French Bon bon ou un sorce (candy or spell). I was curious about what the shop keepers thought about the Americans walking in and being the ones not in costume!
Unfortunately, we've been having very Washington-like rain the past few days (the locals are so apologetic and assure us that it isn't
normal) so the girls decided to trade warmth and dryness for their costumes. When we got to the walking street the rain had stopped and there were kids in costume everywhere darting in and out of the shops! Turns out trick-or-treating is only done on this street, and candy was given out by the shop owners. It was really festive and fun. I kept wondering to myself where in the world they got their costumes since I hadn't seen a hint of Halloween anywhere. Then we passed a little shop that had a wall of Halloween costumes and decor. People were buying costumes on the spot, throwing them on and walking next door to trick-or-treat. We kept to our plan and sampled a lot of yummy artisan candies and chocolates, but the girls got a few extra pieces when they tried out the French Bon bon ou un sorce (candy or spell). I was curious about what the shop keepers thought about the Americans walking in and being the ones not in costume!We ate dinner at a cozy Creperie then headed home. We stopped by our villa's caretakers (who live upstairs) and they had prepared a little bag of goodies, made us homemade pizzas, and gave us gift cards! I'll introduce them here soon. We had our annual Halloween family dance. After an overload of candy it is a good way to get some of the excess energy out! It is always loud and wild and the girls love it. Tonight they begged to go out to the pool house, turn out the lights and tell scary stories. When Geoff started a story by scratching the wall Adele, who had been the loudest proponent of the story-telling, begged him to stop and tell stories of when we dated instead...which we did. In a country where Halloween supposedly isn't celebrated, it will definately stand out as one of our favorites!
1 comment:
Direct Quote from Nina as soon as your blog popped up..."What the heck?What is Geoff doing???!"
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