My Paris Apartment

The company where I get my on-line cards also puts out an Advent calendar each year that I can download to my computer.  This year the calendar is set in Paris.  I have never been a Francophile (mostly because I think the language is stupid) but the calendar is a fun distraction - especially on these foggy days.   Every day starts w/ a vignette about activities around Christmas (this morning it was a bunch of teddy bears skating).  Each day Santa is hidden somewhere on the background Parisian street - waving from a window, drinking cocoa at an outside bistro, in a boat going up the Seine, etc.)  The background is larger than my computer screen so I need to move up/down side-to-side to see all of nooks where he might be.   Click on him and his pic is added to a virtual photo album  There is a blue star on one building which will take me into my virtual Paris apartment complete w/ a view of the Eiffel Tower.  It too is larger than my screen so I need to scroll side to side to see everything.   I can personalize the room by changing colors on furniture, walls, woodwork, drapes, pillows, rugs.   Each day there is another package in the apartment and clicking on it reveals a new game to play, puzzle to put together, or something to add to the apartment decor.  I can pour coffee out of the coffee pot and pop the cork on the champagne.   The tree is, of course, decorated by me also. I made the paper snowflakes hanging from the chandelier.  There are books on shelves I can 'open up' to read about landmarks or the French carols that play in the background.   The apartment is supplied with a cat and dog: they appear in different places and occasionally the dog begs for a treat.   A clock keeps my correct Northwoods time and dongs out the hour, sunrise/sunset occur pretty much when it does here, and even the moon is shown in the correct phase.  I may be a bit too invested in this virtual world though.  Before I go to bed at night, I put out the fire in the fireplace and turn off all it's lights.