8 Jan 06, Galette des rois

On New Year's Eve, we had some drinks and snacks at Mdm Dartois' place. The kids enjoyed munching on the snacks. For the countdown, we drove around Paris - mainly to the Place de la Concorde and Eiffel Tower areas. Timing was perfect, we arrived at Concorde just before the stoke of midnight, in time to soak in the celebrations.

Today, being the first Sunday after the New Year, we did the French tradition of Galette des rois, which could possible have its origins from pagan times. Basically, an almond tart is served and there's a lucky charm within the tart. The person who gets the piece of galette with the charm gets to wear the crown. HY was the lucky one today. For more details see http://www.askoxford.com/languages/culturevulture/france/galette/?view=uk

While on the topic of celebrations, did you know that the Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on 7 Jan, according to the Julian calender? For more info, read http://www.shagtown.com/days/christmas.html

By the way, the tulips on the table were from Rob when he came over for laksa lunch yesterday, together with Mao.