Bastille Day

Initially, we thought about planning our destinations around major events in each city, Wimbledon in London, the running of the bulls in Pamplona, or Tour de France somewhere in France. Our timing has been terrible and we have successfully missed or will be missing every event we have an interest in being a part of. However, we were able to make it to Paris in time for Bastille Day (or as the French say, La Fête nationale and commonly Le quatorze juillet). 

Some of our favorite people, Kimmy and Chris, are living in Versailles with their unbelievably amazing daughter Lilah (I’m obsessed) and met Ryan and I at our Airbnb in Le Marais along with Julie and Richard who were staying in a different part of town.

Side note: I absolutely recommend staying in Le Marais when visiting Paris. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements and is within walking distance of most of the major city highlights. The neighborhood is everything you hope for in Paris. The cobblestone streets are lined with markets, cafes, boutiques, and the people watching is fabulous. I literally squealed with delight when we rounded a corner and stumbled upon the Louvre and then the Eiffel Tower for the first time. And no, I am not ashamed to admit this. 

We set out with our backpacks and picnic blanket with a plan to leisurely stroll past Notre Dame, through Saint Germain and end up at the Eiffel Tour to watch the fireworks, which had not been on display since 2000. The weather was absolutely perfect, and a wonderful reprieve from all the rain we had encountered thus far. We spent the next few hours collecting picnic items from local vendors, gushing over Lilah and stopping for a few cocktails. 

The crew outside of Notre Dame

The streets were surprisingly quiet, considering the holiday, and we started to wonder if the 6 Americans would be the only people in Paris celebrating (it doesn't hurt that the French flag is red, white and blue and we all felt a little homesick on the 4th of July). However, the closer we got to the Eiffel Tower the more people we encountered and the energy permeating from the crowd was contagious. We arrived at the Champ de Mars (the park in front of the Eiffel Tower) approximately 5 hours before the fireworks were scheduled to start to ensure a spot on the already crowded grass. I know this sounds brazen, however I could not imagine a better setting to celebrate the independence of a country I have no affiliation to. 

Ryan and I at the Champ de Mars, smothering Lilah with love (she has a crush on Ryan)

 We joined in the general euphoria while we ate cheese, guzzled wine, ripped through baguettes, and smeared pesto on everything and anything. We were just finishing up our macaroons and truffles when the live classical music and opera started around 9:30pm. I am not romanticizing the setting, it was truly once in a lifetime amazing. The crowd continued to grow and we used our best defensive skills to maintain the small patch of grass we had claimed as ours. We even joined forces with our neighbors to make sure we didn't lose our square inches and chanted what I assume were profanities at anyone who stood in our way or tried to wedge themselves near us.

Our patch of grass

This is the crowd before it really started to fill up!

The sun set about an hour later and both the crowd and anticipation grew as everyone eagerly awaited the start of the firework display. The French National Anthem came on around 11pm and it still amazes me how incredible it feels to be swept up in the pride and emotion of a unified country. The entire crowd came to their feet and sang along until a series of fireworks flashed across the Eiffel Tower, "1914", "2014" and ""Vive la paix" (Long live peace). The firework show was set to the theme War and Peace, and given the current climate of the world struck a chord. Additionally, I am such a sucker for live music, fireworks, the Eiffel Tower, and good friends. My heart was so full.

Ryan took this picture of the Fireworks, pretty good eh?

We swayed to the music and sang aloud to the Beatles 'Imagine' until the show ended and the crowd (between the 6 of us we estimated anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 people) started a bit of a pilgrimage towards the nearest Metro stops and neighborhoods. I have to give Kimmy and Chris a ton of credit here as they had to trek back to Versailles and due to overcrowded buses and holiday transit schedules didn't make it home until 2:30am. Not to mention Chris had just flown in from Chicago and was high level functioning on less than 4 hours of airplane sleep. 

I could not imagine a more perfect start to our stay in Paris.

Fun Fact: Bastille Day isn't actually France's independence day. July 14 commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution with the storming of the Bastille.