It's Specialty Food Time at the "Paris Village de Noel" - Christmas Market, Champs Elysees, Paris, France

The first Christmas market in Paris opened a week early this year, along l'avenue de Champs Elysees. On a very cold night, my daughter and I decided to check it out. It's the usual stalls of things for the season's gift giving or for personal use, but then the aroma of the food stalls beckoned us to come closer...dinner it will be in lieu of shopping.

Our walk began after hearing mass, and right about the the cross-section of avenue Montaigne and rue Francois 1er,...

we had to make a decision...a turn left on the avenue would lead us to the Pont d'Alma for a magnificent view of the Tour Eiffel, while a turn to the right, which is what we took, was going to get us to the ...

Rond Point de Champs Elysees (a 6-way intersection)... the beginning of the Christmas market. We underestimated the cold temperature and found it rather cold. The first practical choice was to get warmed up...

with a glass of vin chaud! It's warmed wine with spices...but in 5 minutes, the drink was cold!

So many people are out here, shopping and dining this weekend. Here are the food options:

different types of sausages...including Merguez, Andouille, Boudin, Saucisse de Toulouse...serve on a baguette with pom frites (French fries).

How about this tartiflette, a dish made with potatoes, reblochon cheese, cream, and lardons (French bacon), and with diced or sliced onions. 

This was my choice...a Norwegian specialty...more healthy than the rest: Salmon that is grilled, sandwiched between 2 smoked, wooden slabs...

served with salad on a baguette, and topped with fresh cream.

A restaurant was set up for oysters, as this is the season for it. I had to keep away from this as I could get a severe allergic reaction just by getting a whiff of the seafood scent. I could see from the peoples' faces how deliciously good they were.

My daughter opted for a barquette of pom frites, topped with tartar, curry and snack sauces...that came out a bit spicy.

Maybe I'll have a Gyro sandwich tomorrow....here known as kebab royal, decadently served with a salad and with sauces of your choice...and optional is a side order of pom frites.

There was not much time for dessert as our toes were freezing by the time we had walked the whole length of the Christmas market. Maybe tomorrow, we will check them out. We noticed new items tempting us to sample them. I'll tell you about those soon.

It's time to turn around, right here by the stop light before Place de la Concorde and go home to get warmed up.

It's a treat to be able to try these specialty foods without having to prepare them myself. Once in awhile will do it for me, as most of these I have removed from my list of foods to eat, daily. I think I am becoming more of a gourmand and less of a glutton!

We are back at the rond point, and soon we will be back home...just another 10 minute walk. Good night!