Bastille Day takes place every year in France on the 14th of July (le quatorze juillet) and is a celebration in honor of the revolutionaries who freed France from the corrupt and totalitarian King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Parisians kick of the celebration on the 13th when select fire stations and mayor's offices throw big parties open to the public. We joined friends for dinner at our favorite little local restaurant, Le Dernier Metro, and then headed the firehouse down the street from our apartment in the 15th arrondissement. The line was long but once in, we enjoyed bright lights and loud dance music entertaining the crowd!
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| Squished in the crowd with friends Sarah and Jon |
The following day we decided to head to the Longchamps horse-racing track in the nearby Bois de Boulogne. Arriving at the metro stop (Porte d'Ateuil) there was a free shuttle to take people to the track. We found a great picnic table in the free, grassy picnicing area, and watched the horses as they whizzed by!
As the sun started to descend, we headed over to the Champs de Mars to watch the fireworks explode over the Eiffel Tower. We were slightly disappointed that this year's theme was "Broadway Musicals" and almost every song accompanying the fireworks display was from an American or British musical. The final song was New York New York and somehow that took away from the excitement of the celebration of FRENCH Independence day. We still enjoyed the show, however, and were happy to celebrate this national holiday in the country's capital, just down the street from our home.
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