Papilin

Today, I’ve put away (back in storage) the Christmas tree and all the Christmas decoration. So I decided to close the Christmas season properly and have a look at the pictures I took over the last two Christmases. The funny thing is that I was in Paris this year, and in London last year. So I thought I’d turn this in a little game – the London 2017 vs. Paris 2018 Christmas decoration contest.

London – December 2017

St Pancras International – 

Original use of flowers  and hues of red (through pink to cream) for the annual Christmas tree.

Borough Market – natural take on colours and materials with traditional green, red and pine wook

Chancery lane – 

Random picture taken during a long Sunday walk:

the perfect Christmas wreath to me

Central bar at the Royal Exchange – quite a lavish decoration with bottles of champagne replacing baubles. I found this decoration very festive

New Bond Street –

Cartier store wrapped as a Christmas gift

Somerset House – Fortnum & Mason gigantic Christmas tree

Paris – December 2018

Avenue des Champs-Elysées – all dressed in red

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré – beautiful temporary Christmassy lampposts

Montmartre – the Christmas trees and decorations escape from the windows

Place de la Concorde – Louis Vuitton dressed with exotic foliage

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré – Hermes opted for a modern decoration, stripped down to the minimum

Abbesses – a Pink Christmas in Abbesses, a summery colour for a festive season

Some of the decorations in Paris were quite refined, but in my opinion the 2018 version  didn’t match the 2017 London levels. The London decorations were maybe not as subtle but they were everywhere, very festive, and they created the wow factor.

Because of the current context in Paris, the decorations may have been reduced, but I think that for this contest, my preference goes to London 2017.