Fête Nationale.
I woke up super early and hopped on the metro, despite being out last night for Le Bal des Pompiers.
I reached Champs Elyseés at 8 something in the morning.
There, I waited for Jasmin and Lizette.
See?
I told you guys.
I'm either too early or too late.
I got in a conversation with a French man while I was waiting.
Well, not really.
He started talking to me really fast, and I struggled to understand what he was saying.
I'm pretty sure he was recommending that I sit up on something to see the parade better.
Now, I would have said I don't speak French very well and asked him to slow down, but I mean, it's Fête Nationale. It's his day to celebrate his country. The least I could do is let him speak French.
And honestly, I wasn't sure how he would take it. Didn't wanna tick him off.
I realized soon his daughter was sitting nearby, so it's not like he would've went off on me. Anyways, I was still looking at the metro exit waiting to see Jasmin and Lizette when he asked me another question.
At this point I really had no idea what he was asking, so I just went with "Oui."
Then he said something to his daughter about what we were talking about and how I answered yes.
I mean, dang.
I was really lost, y'all.
Anyways, eventually Lizette and Jasmin showed up, and we went to find a place to stand.
That was, well, ineffective. To get to the gate closest to the parade we had to pass security. They just looked through my bag and said a few things in French, but it took Jasmin and Lizette longer.
They had water bottles, and just like a UF football game, you couldn't bring those things inside.
But eventually we were all inside standing by the gate closest to the parade.
Could we see anything?
Hahahahahahahaha.
No.
No, we could not.
Just ask my knees, who were not having fun after I spent the majority of the time doing a futile combination of jumping and tippy toeing.
Just ask my knees, who were not having fun after I spent the majority of the time doing a futile combination of jumping and tippy toeing.
The parade hadn't started yet. A troop of soldiers in green hats waited in their ranks. It looked like they were all black. I wondered what that was about.
I found out later they were Malian soldiers whose presence symbolized the French government's resolve to counter terrorism.
Soon, the parade started.
I quickly found out it was a military parade, but some interesting things happened nonetheless.
I saw a bunch of uniformed folks. It looked like they were running and playing instruments at the same time.
What?
After a second (and probably some jumping/tippy toeing), I realized they were on horses.
It was epic.
But the best part was the planes. They flew right over our heads in different formations, one blasting a stream of bleu, blanc et rouge smoke over the sky.
Seeing that made waking up so early in the morning worth it.
Officers from a bunch of different branches paraded in their various uniforms and colors. Soon we learned which groups the crowds liked and who they apparently had some type of beef with.
When one group marched by the crowd chanted "Police Politique" over and over.
And uh, it didn't seem like a compliment.
And uh, it didn't seem like a compliment.
One guy was escorted out of the crowd. We still don't know why because the chants didn't stop when he left.
When I say we couldn't see anything I mean it. The people in front of us must of ate their Wheaties or something. I had to extend my hand into the air and blindly push a button to take pictures. Even then, my camera got as much head as *insert rapper*. Despite having to jump every few seconds to see anything and leaving before it ended, it was still good to see a parade at Champs Élysées on Bastille Day.
I mean, how can you not smile hearing a bunch of French men proudly belt out "La Marseillaise"?
So after that, we tried to find a church to go to. It was a Sunday.
And by we tried to find a church, I mean Lizette tried and Jasmin and I blindly followed.
I have never met anyone with such a great sense of direction. She's like a human map.
On our way, we saw these huge tanks like the kind you'd see in some AC 360 special on CNN zoom past.
Too cool.
But the weirdest thing for me was knowing that if Lizette, Jasmin and I went to another site for the parade we might have gotten a glimpse of François Hollande.
Crazy.
Living in the United States (which is so big), it's hard to wrap your mind around being a metro ride way from catching a glimpse of Obama on the Fourth of July.
But hey, I was in Paris.
Like Lizette said, I guess it's like the equivalent of being in D.C.
Anyways, the church Lizette and Jasmin wanted to go to was closed, so we decided to go our separate ways and meet up later.
I got home and I honestly can't remember what I did.
I talked to my host mom a little and made plans to meet some of the group at the Eiffel Tower to see the fireworks later.
It's no joke, going there on Bastille Day. Preview staffer-esque API worker said she got attacked just sitting down over there.
Just sitting down.
Like, really?
Anyways, it's known to get a little crazy at the Eiffel Tower, but it was Bastille Day. I wanted some excitement.
But then, I got another text. Not everyone in the group was going to the Eiffel Tower. Some were going to have a picnic on the Seine and watch the fireworks from there.
I was torn.
So I decided to try to do both.
Always a good idea in such situations (insert sarcastises).
I decided I'd save the Eiffel Tower for last so I could see the fireworks from there, so I hopped on the metro to try to find where the group was at the Seine.
And it took a while.
I got lost.
Comme d'hab.
In fact, I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance at one point, and I was "this close" to heading in that direction to meet the rest of the group over there.
But I knew about the optical allusion, if you guys remember my predicament on the way to Arc de Triomphe.
The Eiffel Tower could have been a lot further than I thought.
I don't know, I guess I just felt I should keep looking for the others' spot on the Seine.
Lizette, the master of all locations ever, helped me find my way to them over the phone.
I finally found them.
And it was great.
It wouldn't have been too wise to head over to the Eiffel Tower tout seul to meet the others later. In fact, Mikaela warned me it was so crowded I might not be able to find find where they were.
I decided to just end my Bastille Day at the Seine.
And I'm glad I did.
In the end, I didn't "turn up." Bastille Day wasn't the crazy, Paris scene I anticipated, but it's still a fond memory.
Just chilling on the Seine with friends, talking about random things and playing a random word game.
It felt good.
Soon the fireworks came, and we watched from the river. Just thinking about it really makes me miss France right now.
The fireworks were impressive, but some of us didn't stay for all of them.
Me, JD, Emily and Kelly headed for the metro.
I never end up on the same line as everyone else. I think it's because I was the only student assigned to the suburbs.
It was another one of my metro rides alone to Malakoff, Plateau de Vanves.
I should have slept when I got home, but I doubt I got much.
And lucky for me, I had to get up early for class the next day.
P.S.
i
c
t
u
r
e
s
On our way, we saw these huge tanks like the kind you'd see in some AC 360 special on CNN zoom past.
Too cool.
But the weirdest thing for me was knowing that if Lizette, Jasmin and I went to another site for the parade we might have gotten a glimpse of François Hollande.
Crazy.
Living in the United States (which is so big), it's hard to wrap your mind around being a metro ride way from catching a glimpse of Obama on the Fourth of July.
But hey, I was in Paris.
Like Lizette said, I guess it's like the equivalent of being in D.C.
Anyways, the church Lizette and Jasmin wanted to go to was closed, so we decided to go our separate ways and meet up later.
I got home and I honestly can't remember what I did.
I talked to my host mom a little and made plans to meet some of the group at the Eiffel Tower to see the fireworks later.
It's no joke, going there on Bastille Day. Preview staffer-esque API worker said she got attacked just sitting down over there.
Just sitting down.
Like, really?
Anyways, it's known to get a little crazy at the Eiffel Tower, but it was Bastille Day. I wanted some excitement.
But then, I got another text. Not everyone in the group was going to the Eiffel Tower. Some were going to have a picnic on the Seine and watch the fireworks from there.
I was torn.
So I decided to try to do both.
Always a good idea in such situations (insert sarcastises).
I decided I'd save the Eiffel Tower for last so I could see the fireworks from there, so I hopped on the metro to try to find where the group was at the Seine.
And it took a while.
I got lost.
Comme d'hab.
In fact, I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance at one point, and I was "this close" to heading in that direction to meet the rest of the group over there.
But I knew about the optical allusion, if you guys remember my predicament on the way to Arc de Triomphe.
The Eiffel Tower could have been a lot further than I thought.
I don't know, I guess I just felt I should keep looking for the others' spot on the Seine.
Lizette, the master of all locations ever, helped me find my way to them over the phone.
I finally found them.
And it was great.
It wouldn't have been too wise to head over to the Eiffel Tower tout seul to meet the others later. In fact, Mikaela warned me it was so crowded I might not be able to find find where they were.
I decided to just end my Bastille Day at the Seine.
And I'm glad I did.
In the end, I didn't "turn up." Bastille Day wasn't the crazy, Paris scene I anticipated, but it's still a fond memory.
Just chilling on the Seine with friends, talking about random things and playing a random word game.
It felt good.
Soon the fireworks came, and we watched from the river. Just thinking about it really makes me miss France right now.
The fireworks were impressive, but some of us didn't stay for all of them.
Me, JD, Emily and Kelly headed for the metro.
I never end up on the same line as everyone else. I think it's because I was the only student assigned to the suburbs.
It was another one of my metro rides alone to Malakoff, Plateau de Vanves.
I should have slept when I got home, but I doubt I got much.
And lucky for me, I had to get up early for class the next day.
P.S.
i
c
t
u
r
e
s
What's everyone trying to take a picture of?
This
Trying to capture the tanks. They were going fast OK.
Le feu d'artifice at the Seine!
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