The parade is not an American parade with floats and bands; it is a formal military parade with tanks and horses. All the same, it is exciting and draws enormous crowd. I took a lot of pictures--in fact, I think I went mostly for the photo opportunities. Click through and see if I did a good job! Don't forget that you can click the pictures to enlarge them.
Bastille Day selfie
The best of approximately a dozen "flag in the Arc" shots I took
The people atop that building pay astronomical mortgage rates for this view of the parade.
Getting ready for the kickoff
French Republican Guard
Look over the center of the plane's left wing and you will see François Hollande,
the President of France, wearing his new glasses.
The crowd was huge.
The flyover is the best moment of the parade.
Plenty of vehicles.
And lots of tanks.
(Camera in the center is framing another person's camera screen
in some kind of infinite regression of parade photography)
People were piled up at every side street and taking pictures everywhere.
Once the parade got under way I started walking down the Champs-Elysées to see what I could see.
This lady was pretty excited.
Parade view from Fouquet's is also a winner.
Republican Guard horses have a checkerboard pattern brushed on their hindquarters.
People are serious about this parade business.
"I can play a tuba on horseback. What are you good at?"
Charles de Gaulle
I passed this gentleman, noticed his paratrooper insignia, and stopped to speak to him. My dad was a paratrooper in the 50s so I'm a fan of guys who jump out of planes. It turns out he is a parachutiste and also a doctor. All that while looking about 16 years old. Props to the French military, by the way, for their infinite patience and good humor at being chatted up and photographed.
At one point I passed what was obviously the holding area for VIP cars. Maybe Daniel was in this car?
I headed toward the Pont Alexandre II . . .
. . . and ended up walking through a brocante (flea market) where among many other things you could buy "artisanal popcorn according to the Texas tradition." I'm not sure it was Texan or artisanal, but it was good.
The grandstand at the Place de la Concorde
About 5 guys hanging from a cord attached to a helicopter. This is called la grappe and according to the Frenchman who proudly explained it to me, France is the only country that does it (Draw your own conclusions. Heh.) "C'est beau, la France, non?" he asked me. "Oui," I agreed, and added, "Et surprenante!"
Buildings dressed up for the holiday
After the parade is "Franciliens Acceuilent leurs Soldats" (Paris Welcomes its Soldiers): members of the military and their vehicles set up in various places around the city to meet and greet the public. This is at the Opéra Garnier.
Presumably the cape gets him tons of women.
"Right. RIGHT! Not your right, my right!"
He claimed that 3 guys can fit in there and it's amphibious (see the little propeller?).
So that was Bastille Day. I walked way too much and came back to Cité U. tired but pleased. It was a fun experience and I already have some ideas (mostly to do with getting better pictures) next year. Now the "Concert de Paris" is on TV, to be followed later by fireworks, so I'm going to watch while getting ready for bed. Joyeux 14 juillet à tous et à toutes !
What amazing pictures! I felt like I was there. And I loved the photo of the artisanal popcorn Texas style…..in Paris….things that make you go "hmmmmm"
ReplyDeleteThanks! Isn't that funny about the popcorn? Popcorn isn't as popular in France as in the U.S. so I really do wonder where they got the idea.
Delete