A little over a week ago was La Fete national, also known as Bastille Day which commemorates the beginning of the French revolution with the storming of Bastille on july 14 1789 by the Parisian revolutionary. What an incredibly cool day to be in Paris. Parisians as well as tourist crowded every street and square. National pride was evident. The day was packed with festivities beginning at 9am along the Champ Elysees with the largest military parade in Europe. Unfortunately we missed the parade since we were on a train coming back from Normandy.
Walking through the Tuileries Garden was quite a festive scene. There is a small fair of sorts set up every year during the summer and it was in full swing. After a few pics and some ice cream we walked on. Lance and I grabbed one of the few last spots of grass available on the Champ de Mars and waited for the free concert performed by the Orchestre National de France and the Choeur et la Maitrise de Radio France to start. I didn’t understand a word of what they were singing but it was beautiful nonetheless. At 11pm the most incredible fireworks were fired from the Trocadero, this year the theme was War and Peace to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War 1. The firework show lasted a magnificent 35 minutes. In the mist of the loud booming of the fireworks, John Lennon’s Imagine played over the stereo and I was floored. It truly was a magical moment for me, here I was in Paris on Bastille Day with the Eiffel Tower before me lighted with the colors of the rainbow and fireworks of the same and my favorite song plays and everyone starts singing along. Wow!
the tuillerie garden
the seine
the crowd below the tower
The tower glowed every color of the rainbow
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