Wow, it sure seems like I have a lot of pictures of champagne.  I guess we are drinking a lot of champagne!  This bottle is Cremant D’Alsace, now associated with our last week in Alsace and some of my favorite memories in the world.  Those are Eli’s Eiffel Towers standing there behind the glass.

It’s New Year’s Eve and the boys are playing with their new toys while the rest of us relax and plan what to do for dinner.  Sushi?  Shrimp Scampi?  A cozy prix fixe menu someplace with “chez” in the title?  Guess where we ate lunch today…

We settled on sushi.  And what a good decision that was!!!!!!

Jake and Eli are fun to eat dinner with because they like to go everywhere and eat anything.  Here we are practicing with chopsticks.

They weren’t even close to getting the hang of it but you know, you have to start somewhere. Real Japanese chefs, Asahi beer, All In Sushi in Le Marais is pretty cool.  We are All In!

And the sushi was GREAT.  Cue references to Mater and pistachio ice cream.

After dinner we went out walking through Le Marais, the historically Jewish part of town.  Just a few streets over we stumbled onto more narrow streets, bakeries with babkas hanging in the windows, and book stores owned by people named “Stein.”   Everyone wearing black, I guess that is sort of a Europe thing.  I know I could be happy in living in Europe because I like black.  Shops were closed with the holiday eve ticking closer, but people were still spilling out of bistros and bars, holding flutes and sipping beers.  Jake and Eli were having a ball, blinding each other with their scarves then leading each other down the sidewalk.  Jake, open your eyes!  Daddy is like a Human Selfie Stick.

Not far away, the Champs Elysees was hosting the real party in Paris on New Year’s Eve.  On TV we saw the colors flashing red and blue and white, and watched the drunk and almost-drunk dancing together.  I’m sure they were having fun, but for me home is always the best place to be on New Year’s, with puzzles, champagne, and family.  It really is a Wonderful Life, isn’t it.

The French tradition on New Year’s is to share a Galette des Rois.  This is a puff pastry cake filled with frangipane and topped with a paper crown.  A small trinket is baked into the cake, and the person who gets the piece with the little trinket is supposed to have good luck in the coming year.

That’s a nice tradition, but I really bought it for the frangipane.  Buttery almond paste and sugar, this is my dream dessert come true.

We almost made it to New Year’s, but somehow even with Jimmy Stewart urging us to appreciate the beauty of our lives and the gift of each day, it was not enough to overcome the Creme D’Alsace and a belly full of sushi.  Yes!  We are awake!  And just on time.  Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy New Year, Paris!!!!