Some of you may know, but I had another flare or iritis. Since this affects my eye and vision, blogging was put on the back burner. I have been on the mend though and I am ready to get back into the swing of things! First, big shout out to the French healthcare system that has given me superb care and has been relatively easy to navigate despite the language barrier.
Anyways, for the
La Fête Nationale I was determined to watch the fireworks (feux d'artifice) on the
Champs de Mars which is a length of grass (and other bits) that lay at the feet of the Eiffel Tower. The fireworks are set off from behind the tower and also incorporate a laser light show installed on the tower as well. So, you might imagine that the Champs de Mars is quite the popular place to go on Bastille Day. J and I got there early to have a picnic and stake claim to a piece of grass. Here are a few pictures to show the crowds grow:
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| Early in the afternoon. Just a few peeps so far. |
As you can see, it was a beautiful day! The picnic we put together and a day in the sun was a good time in itself.
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| Here's J channeling his inner Baba! |
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| Things are starting to fill up! |
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| Oh, it's going to get even more crowded than this! |
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As it got more and more crowded it eventually turned into standing room only. The crowd was mostly friendly and never got pushy. We had plopped down next to an Australian couple that have lived in France for several years now. They were super nice and we shared our cheeses because that's a French thing to do. I would recommend making a pit stop to the port-a-pots before it gets too crowded though. I had to leap tippy toed to get back to our spot when I made a last minute dash! Also, as a warning, none of the markets near the Eiffel Tower are allowed to sell any booze on the 14th, so bring your own or buy some at a premium from the "entrepreneurs" roaming the champs. I successfully bargained with a nice "business" man for a bottle of bubbly. This was a pretty big achievement for me because not only was it in french, but I am horrible at haggling (a national pastime in France).
The firework theme was "
Liberté, égalité, fraternité" (liberty, equality, brotherhood). Now, here are some gratuitous firework shots, cue the oohing and aahing:
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| The French embracing their new gay marriage equality! |
The fireworks lasted forever, I thought it was the grand finale three separate times. I could easily bore you with about a hundred more pictures! I'll save it for a slideshow when I come visit the states. I did find it amusing though that 80% of the music that accompanied the fireworks was American. Including a piece of music that could only be more incongruous then hardcore gansta rap (which is played surprisingly often in the grocery stores), any guesses? Try
this. HA! Oh people of France, you make me smile! Overall, it truly was quite a fantastic sight and beautiful night. I feel really lucky that we were there and that I can share a little piece of it with you all.
Stayed tuned for more to come as I catch up on a back log of posts.
~ L
