Christmas market fun

So there are lights on the Champs-Elysees.  And there is that big, ridiculous ferris wheel they put up at the end of the Tuileries.  But mostly, Christmas in Paris takes the form of Christmas Markets.

Like their close cousin, the produce market, they are all over Paris and filled with cold sellers rubbing their hands together and selling you expensive things.

Christmas Market at....

...La Defense, the business district.  Otherwise known as "that huge hollow square" you can see from the Arc de Triomphe

Sometimes it is old hat: polished rocks and vegetable choppers/peelers/squeezers.
Sometimes the randomness is exciting: a kit to make your own 3-d greeting cards.

But really - isn't all about the food court?
When we went to Vienna 2 years ago we drank gluwine.
At Parisian markets it seems to be the raclette.

At every corner food stand, next to the 3 gigantic flat pans of cooking onions, sausage and meat, you will find about 5 of these:

thanks to www.domicuisine.be

Yes, that is a half-wheel of cheese.  And that other thing is some sort of heating coil.


After you order, they open you a small baguette and fill it with some very salty ham.  And then they go from heating coil to heating coil, scraping off the warm melted cheese directly into your sandwich.

thanks to www.domicuisine.be

I didn't get one.  But I am a fan of trying things.  And since my friend got one, I had to try it. 
Let me tell you, it was worth it.