Bastille Jour (July 14th)

(Bastille Day) 

Except the French don't call it that 14eme de Juillet, think of it as France Independance day or July 4th ten days later. I am rambling a bit .... Viva la France!

We kick started our proud French Day with waking up late and catching the tail end of the military parade.

Tank!

So Military parade not half as fun as The Gay Pride Parade ... not even a quarter as fun.  It was a very interesting experience The military vehicles rolled down the street in close to silence at times, not much cheering or clapping.  We were too late for the horses and guys with pointy Napoleon hats and swords, but were in time for the tanks, armored jeeps and... dump trucks? 

Swarms of people.

After a french picnic of a baguette, cheese and ham in the park, which seemed to be completely void of frenchmen, we stumbled upon some military in front of the Panthon a few blocks from our apartment.

Military band

We stood for a while and enjoyed a medley of Michael Jackson classics such as Thriller and Billy Jean and then some Gaga.  But there wasn't just music there were toys too...

Please not the child behind the big gun.

All the military vehicles from the parade had driven out into the community for show and tell and touch.  There were about four different war vehicles civilians were allowed to climb on and play with.  So I .... got on a tank!

I'm on a tank!!!

There was no order, no lines if you just hoped on where you could find a spot, the soliders even gave you a hand up or lift down as needed.

Note the awesome beret.

Driving a Tank!

We had a little time to kill before our evening Bastille Day event so we checked out the canal and surrounding area down in the hip 10th, think of it as the Brooklyn of Paris.  Saw more tanks chilling as jungle gyms for the day.

A poor man's Seine.

After a crepe snack, seemed appropriate given the day we headed down to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fire works along with the rest of Paris.

Sooo many people. 

 I do not know how many people were there my only guess it was measured in tens of thousands.  The crowd at the military parad wasn't as impressive any more.  We brought a blanket to sit, what a laugh when we arrived 45 minutes there we were jockeying a place to stand... sit... HA.

Getting Ready...

BOOM!

The theme of the show was 70's and 80's but we were surprised to hear 70's and 80's Disco Music.  The show opened with "It's Raining Men" and ran the gamut of "Do the Hustle" "YMCA" "Last Dance."  Surprisingly no Cher. 

There were a few french songs but mostly English songs, which we found quite funny.  I was really excited by the pictures our little point and shoot was able to capture.

So Pretty.

The crowd disembarking after the display was unreal, I can only imagine that is what it is like after the ball drops in Time Square.  Traffic did not move as people cover the street in every direction.  

Fun Day ... Viva La France!