14 juillet--Bastille Day

Today is Bastille Day. People here just call it le 14 juillet, July 14, just like we usually say "the 4th of July" and not "Independence Day." It is the French national holiday and of course commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789 but also a holiday called La Fête de la Fédération that was celebrated first in1790. In Paris there is a military parade, fireworks and a concert in the evening, and public dances hosted at many of the fire stations around Paris. They are also doing something called  "Parisians Welcome Their Soldiers" where service members participate in meet-and-greet events around town. We saw a group of sailors with a model submarine meeting the public at Place de l'Opéra.

Our plan--it was Dr. Kirk, Dr. Hochschild, and me--was to spend a little time in the Louvre (admission is free on July 14) and then see the flyover that is part of the parade. We got to the Louvre around 9:30 and the line was already all the way around the courtyard! So instead we moseyed through the courtyard, taking a few pictures, to the edge of the Tuileries and then sat down at a café right along Rue de Rivoli. By accident we ended up in the perfect spot: we saw the opening flyover, which was magnificent, then drank some coffee and relaxed, then got to see some of the parade come past as it broke up. It was not too crowded and we had not had to wade all the way down to the Champs-Élysées. But come to think of it, I should try to go down there this week and take a few pictures while the tricolor is flying in the Arc de Triomphe. The highlight of sitting in the parade's wrap-up area was seeing a whole line of soldiers march down the sidewalk in dress uniform, through the café tables and spectators, with their bayonets fixed to their rifles and their white-gloved hands covering the bayonets so that no one accidentally got stabbed. Secondary highlight: watching the huge military vehicles (tank...tank...truck...tank...) pass by, interrupted at one point by a tiny Renault Clio belonging to the fire department. Local equivalent of tiny Shriner cars in our parades.

We could probably have seen a bit more of the parade if we'd stayed, but Dr. H. and I decided to seek out Paris's one and only Chipotle for a Bastille Day celebration lunch. Apple's Maps application performed as expected (imperfectly) but we got there, cheerfully overpaid, and ate Chipotle looking out over the Boulevard Haussmann. It was just like our Chipotle except no fountain drinks--only bottled drinks, so I had lemon fizzy water. I absolutely do not seek out American places when in France--have not been to Starbucks or McDonald's since arriving--but I love the incongruity of a Chipotle down the street from the grands magasins. I'd love to know what Paris thinks of Chipotle. There were some French people in there with us but I think they were outnumbered by Americans.

On the way back we were crammed into an RER with the half of Paris who had been doing the same things we'd been doing.  (The other half took Tour Guide Josh's advice and stayed home to watch the parade on TV.) We returned just in time for a quick nap--or blog post--before a game of pétanque that is coming up at 4:00. A chance to hone my skills before the next réunion des Boudreault.

À bientôt!