My Years Without A Santa Clause - Pt. 2

See 12/14 Posting for Pt. 1

While I’m here in Paris, we’ve found alternative ways to appease my Kringle senses until returning home to Chicago. Beginning in November, Christmas Markets, or Christkindlmarkts, open in many countries across Europe including Germany, Sweden and Austria. The outdoor markets have universal appeal with their roasted nuts, sweet cookies and specialties such as hot-spiced red wine and cider. And with beach season still an after thought, I can forego my gay sensibility to avoid the unhealthy and instead indulge in such specialties as Krainer sausages and Baumkuchen – a tasty treat we stumbled across in Salzburg with multiple layers of pastry goodness sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. But as we learned this year, it's better to forego France's version of the market and return to those more influenced by the Germans. Cotton candy has no place at a Christmas markets.

In addition to traveling and surrounding myself with the sights and sounds of Christmas, we deck the halls of our Parisian flat with what little traditional decorations we can find in Paris (most trimmings are pink, orange or purple with feathers and glitter). We string colored lights on a live tree that costs 10 times more than one from Home Depot (but stands only four feet tall). Worst yet, the Parisian tree dries within two weeks because of its shaved stump that’s stuck in half log for balance. You can’t water it. You only can watch as it shrivels up to a crunchy representation of its former self.

Luckily, my partner prepares for us a Christmas Dinner – with a Parisian twist. With the absence of cream of mushroom soup, he’s forced to improvise in order to satisfy my trailer trash tastes for holiday standards such as Green Bean Casserole. Fromage blanc, a creamy and somewhat tart cheese that resembles blended cottage cheese, is a satisfactory substitution with the addition of a dry mushroom soup packet and skim milk. It’s not perfect, but it’s as close as it gets in Paris.

We’re expected to remain overseas until then end of 2007. Which means I have another holiday season in Europe. But with next year's Christmas in Germany, the experience should be completely diifferent. But just in case, I have on order the complete set of Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr.’s Christmas classics. I’ll do my best if there is indeed another year without a Santa Clause.