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| Can you spot the Gingerbread Man at the Christmas Market? Even though the picture is a bit blurry, I love the people's reactions to Stéphane holding a Gingerbread Man on the Champs-Élysées. |
What started as a simple expedition to take a picture of the big Christmas tree and ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde quickly turned into "Project Gingerbread Man" when Stéphane and Sara decided that we needed a real Gingerbread Man to pose in a photo that I was taking for Joseph the Butler. By the end of the day, the Gingerbread Man had been spotted at the Christmas Market on the Champs-Élysées, in front of the Eiffel Tower, having tea at the Shangri-La, riding the metro and hiding on a pedestrian light. It was all a good-spirited effort to help Mrs. H's class in North Carolina, who are currently looking for the Gingerbread Man. Here's the letter that my daughter Sara wrote to the fourth graders:
“Bonjour” from Paris Mrs. H's class!
A little birdie [aka Joseph the Butler], who’s friends with A and Grandma S, told me you’ve been looking for the Gingerbread Man. I, too, have been looking and looking and looking. I looked for him on the plane yesterday when I flew from New York to Paris. I looked in the airport when I arrived but only found my parents. I kept looking for him out of the window when we drove home, but no Gingerbread Man.
Right when I was about ready to give up, I looked up from the car to take a picture of a famous monument… when there he was! “Wait, Gingerbread Man” I called out. But the Gingerbread Man was too fast. He ran away saying “Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man”. As quickly as I could, I snapped a picture. And can you believe it, I caught him just in time. Here’s a photo. Do you recognize the famous monument in the background?
Later that day, I went for a walk by the Seine River. I was sad that the Gingerbread Man had run off so fast and that I didn’t get a chance to tell him I wouldn’t eat him. I told myself I should be happy that at least I caught a glimpse of him in a picture… when, lo and behold, there he was again! I think he thought I couldn’t see him because he was trying really hard to blend in to background. Can you spot him in this second picture pretending to be another famous monument in Paris?
I decided to approach him really slowly and pretend like I didn’t see him there, pretending to be a mini-Eiffel Tower. Moving as cautiously as I could, I went closer, and closer, and closer… Just when I was about to say “Gingerbread Man, I promise I won’t eat you” he jumped off the shelf and disappeared. From a distance, and ever so faintly, I could just hear him say, “Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man”.
Good luck with the rest of your search!
Sara