What's French for napping?

Morning came on quite quickly on January 1, as it probably did for everyone. We took it easy getting up as we didn't have anything planned. We thought it best to include a day whose major activity would be napping.

That's not to say that we did nothing. We stepped out into the cold Parisien morning (yes, it was before noon) and hopped the Metro to the Invalides station. Coming back above ground provided quite the site, with the golden dome over Napoleon's tomb on one side and the Grand Palais on the other, with barely any people to spoil the view. It was deserted. We thought this was a good sign and made for the temporary Monet exhibit at the Grand Palais. Apparently no one was out and about because they were all in line ... it was at least a three hour wait. We decided against that and ducked into another temporary exhibit showcasing 125 years of the jeweler Bvlgari. The pieces were ostentatious and showy. Liz Taylor had apparently loaned the exhibition a good chunk of her personal collection and you could see that subtle and under-stated were not in her vocabulary. That's not to say the pieces were garish, there were a great many really cool ones. The other thing that struck us was the size. Necklaces and bracelets were tiny, almost like they were made for children instead of adults.

We went back to the hotel and had a good long nap before heading back out to scout the Christmas markets at the Champs-Elysees and the Eiffel Tower. There was nothing overly special about either, it was the same sort of thing you would see in a Christmas market just about anywhere. There was a much larger preponderance of roasted chestnuts, though, which is a taste and smell that neither Fiona nor I enjoy.

We had a quick, non-descript dinner at one of the local brasseries and sacked out for the night - after checking the darts results, of course. Phil Taylor has been defeated! And van Barneveldt also soundly beaten. Looks like there will be a new champion this year. I think I'm starting to pull for Adrian 'Jackpot' Lewis, but it is hard to see anyone beating the Flying Scotsman, Gary Anderson, who has been destroying everyone in his run-up to the final. It would be nice to see the man who beat the Power at least advance to the final - the Welshman Mark Webster, because you just have to like a guy that plays world class darts yet still keeps his day job, doing plumbing 2-3 days per week.