Bastille Day in Paris
We were fortunate to be in Paris for Bastille Day. The French call it La Fete Nationale. It celebrates the storming of the Bastille Prison in 1789. The prison only held 7 prisoners at the time of it's capture but it is seen as the symbolic start of the French Revolution which marked the end of absolute monarchy in France.
We have done other things in Paris that I'll blog soon but want to thrill you all by having such up to date information about this important French day!
We started by having dinner on the Eiffel Tower on Saturday night. It's always been on my bucket list to do this but I've known it's touristy and maybe not good value for money. However a tour guide leader recommended it as a way of not having to queue to go up the tower. Mostly it's booked out in advance but we managed to get seats at the last minute for Restaurant 58 at 9pm at night. There is a more expensive and exclusive restaurant higher but 58 suited our purposes well. So we got dressed up - as much as you can while traveling - and away we went. The food was good if not excellent and we enjoyed ourselves. We toasted you for your upcoming nuptials this week Jackie and Mark.
We were lucky because there were fireworks in many suburbs around Paris on Saturday night and we got to see them from the tower. They were far away but good to see. Photos would not have come out so you'll just have to see it in your minds.
It was a late night so we were tempted to sleep in the next morning but resisted the urge and caught the metro down to Champ-Elysees to watch the Bastille Day Parade. We knew it would be crowded and it was. We stood for 2 1/2 hours amongst a mixture of French people and tourists. Everyone was quite cheerful. We met a delightful young Iranian couple who are studying here. I had some animated exchanges with a French lady who had a young child with her - about 4 years old. We both spoke our own languages and I have no idea what she said but we communicated well on another level! The crowd was about 5 thick when we got there but were able to edge forward as people left and moved and the view got better even though it went to at least 10 thick later. Everyone was very good about letting children through.
I think Australians have a great sense of fairness in these situations which is shared by most - so no pushing, first there get the best views and make way for others if you can. It worked well until at one stage a Japanese man appeared from nowhere in front of me with a large camera and started taking photos. I have no idea how he got there! His wife, who was much smaller than him, was left at the back. Different rules apply I think and I suspect it's culturally normal for him. I find it interesting that I thought he was breaking rules and then realise that they're unwritten and in my head so get used to it. That's what traveling is about.
Security was tight and our bags were searched before we could go into the area where were watching the parade.
We were opposite the Louis Vuitton building. It looked like there were some spectators and also security on top. Some watched from balconies but a lot were empty too. We could have used them!
The parade started with a fly past of jets discharging red, white and blue vapour trails. Well done Bob for getting this picture - I got just sky.
My knowledge of military equipment and procedures up till today has been nil and that's been enough. However I did find the noise of the cavalcade of horses quite inspiring. I've never understood the effect it must have made over the centuries in battle when I've heard about it.
The firemen came at the end and got the biggest cheers. Why they had helmets on I'm not sure but it added to the spectacle somewhat.
We decided to eat nearby afterwards while the crowd cleared. We didn't take up this man's offer but got a pizza in a front window where we could watch passers by.
Raspberries are in season and just beautiful so dessert was easily decided.
These guys got on the train carriage as we returned home. We've seen this happen a bit where they hop on at a stop, do a quick performance, collect tips and then jump onto the next carriage at the next station. I was tempted to suggest that the one on the left used our donation towards getting new front teeth which he was lacking but decided to resist.
In the evening we went up to Sacre Couer which is very close to where we are staying in the hope of seeing the big fireworks display on the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower. It is a recommended spot because it's high and the advantage for us was we wouldn't have to fight the crowds to get back to our apartment. So off we went. We climbed a fence, like many others and sat on the grass slope just under Sacre Couer for 2 hours watching it get dark. Many had picnics etc and the activity was interesting to watch. There were thousands of people there all in different areas. We were pleased that we'd arrived in time to chose one of the better areas and at least could sit down even if the ground was uneven while we waited. However when the fireworks finally commenced we could just glimpse a few lights behind some trees. They were not visible from our area at all. I kept thinking this number of people can't be wrong and wonder if they've been higher other years - or the trees have grown - or everyone was wrong. However we bailed out and had to push through swarms of people going in all directions - some trying to get a better viewpoint. It was a bit scary for a couple of minutes because the crowd was pretty disappointed and you got the feeling you could be trampled if there was sudden movement. In retrospect we might have been better to stay seated until a lot of people moved away.
So I can attest that there were fireworks and they looked as if they'd be pretty good if you had an unobstructed view but that's about it.
And that was our Bastille Day in Paris.
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