Bastille
Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is
celebrated on the 14th of July each year. In France, it is formally called La
Fête Nationale. It
commemorates the 1790 Fête de la
Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of
the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the
Bastille fortress-prison
was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the
reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which
preceded the First
Republic, during the French Revolution.
Festivities and official ceremonies are held all over France. The oldest and
largest regular military
parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées
avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic,
French officials and foreign guests.
We were
up early and off to the train station to find our way to the Eiffel Tower this
morning. Weather was fine and
sunny! Having taken our photos, we
decided to walk along the Rue Rapp, which adjoins King George V avenue, which
would lead us to the Champs-Elysees avenue (after the parade). As we came to the Champs de Mars, there
was a cavalcade of military vehicles!
We started to take photos, only to realize that they were waiting to go
somewhere (after the parade, to exit, we thought) – there were people
everywhere! Traffic stopped, horns
honking, scooters and vespas going across lanes, horse drawn carriages and the
gendarmes de France (police)….
We stood
on the footpath for over an hour waiting to see them move off. The soldiers eventually alighted their
vehicles and people were talking to them, taking photos, a child climbed on a
tank for a photo with the serviceman’s helmet on. Unbelievable!
We began to walk along the row and came across two officers, so Kez and
I walked up to them and I said, ‘Vive la France’ – he looked stunned but shook
my hand and posed for a photo, then I told him we were Australian and he
smiled. Then David gave him a
stick pin with a kangaroo on it.
Were they impressed? They
looked it!
Finally,
the cavalcade moved off to lots of cheering and waving from the crowd. We found a boulangerie – great quiches,
croque monsieur (ham & cheese toastie) and pastries! Whilst we were sitting there, we heard
many horns and engine noises – and the military cavalcade drove past again (or
maybe it was a similar one)!
Kept
walking along King George V avenue – past the Four Seasons Hotel with two
Ferraris and a lambourgini parked out front. Experienced our first public toilet – free to use –
revolving door, automatic shut, and a full wash cycle (several minutes) after
each use! The boys got tired of
waiting so they went in together!
Kez and I just regret not waiting for the door to slide open and take a
photo! The dags!!!
Walked up
the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomph embossed with a huge French flag. Shopped in Marks & Spencer and
looked in the Disney store. Next
we went to Notre Dame and to the left bank of the river. By this time it was after 7pm and we
were getting tired so we found the metro and headed home. Later in the evening, we listened to
the fireworks which began about 11pm and watched them exploding around the
Eiffel Tower on the tv.
The most distinctive symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower rose on the
city’s skyline in 1889. At 312m
high, it was the world’s tallest building until it was surpassed by New York’s
Empire State Building in 1931.
Despite its delicate appearance, it weighs 10 100 metric tons and
engineer Gustave Eiffel’s construction was so sound that it never sways more
than 9cm in strong winds.
The bus
tour reckons the Eiffel Tower is affectionately known to the locals as ‘The Old
Lady’.
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