Parislog 83
December 6, 2006

I continue to be stunned by the micro size of the elevators in the apartment buildings. I know it is because they were retrofitted into buildings built before the thought of an elevator had crossed anyone’s mind. So in fact, one has to give credit for the fact that it was managed at all. I took a photo of my elevator to give you an idea of what I am talking about. It was really hard to do because it is so small. I threw my keys onto the floor so that you could get perspective. I have actually been in an elevator that is even smaller than mine where really one person is all that it will comfortably hold even though it is marked as for 2. Mine elevator is registered for three people.
We have a couple of old-fashioned Christmas markets in town. Apparently this custom comes from the Alsace region near the Alps and has been slowly expanding out into the rest of the country. It is a rather lovely custom though, so I am glad to see it. It is a street market that holds many booths of original items for gifts rather than items made by big businesses. Of course, the more industrial items have found their ways into this venue anyway. For example, I saw a booth of the same cheap jewelry made in China that one can find in all the cheap good shops on all shopping streets.