C’est Le 14 Juillet
Not being in France for Le 14 Juillet celebration fills me with nostalgia. Our first July 14th celebration in France is such a wonderful memory for me. This French holiday, referred to sometimes as Bastille Day, provides some of my favorite memories of our summer visits to France. Our first Bastille Day experience was quite memorable and as beginners luck would have it, we stayed in a hotel a mere three blocks from the festivities.
Early in the day we chanced upon these characters below as we wandered through the Marais, wondering why nearly every store was closed! We were really newbie France visitors at that point in time! All our research had been done in books and not on the internet thus we were clueless as to what was underway. We assumed, at the time, these “min-floats” were headed for some sort of parade. I am not sure where these fellows were actually destined but it was definitely not the Bastille Day parade.
The parade proceeded down the Champs Elysées and was (and still is) strictly military, filled with pomp and circumstance. I was lucky to find a short clip on youtube of the parade from that memorable year!
Being an avid viewer of Rick Steve’s travel shows, we chose to stay in a hotel on rue Cler. He had made this sound like such an endearing neighborhood and it truly was. It also turned out to be the perfect location for enjoying Bastille Day festivities. There are several wonderful hotels on rue Cler and also the neighboring streets if you should like to plan a Bastille Day visit to Paris.
Best honey shop in Paris!
Undoubtedly, rue Cler is one of my favorite market streets in Paris. We love wandering the market stalls and visiting the petit magasins (little shops) like Mary’s Honey. The afternoon of 14 juillet, we gathered our picnic dinner from the boulangerie and green grocer. At dusk we walked the three short blocks to the Eiffel Tower where we found a little purchase of land for ourselves. We enjoyed the picnic immensely although I couldn’t tell you at this point what we ate. I was too excited to be sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower to remember what I was eating.
Waiting for the feu d’artifice
The anticipation of the feu d’artifice (the fireworks display) occupied all of our thoughts. My apologies for my poor level of photography that historic night. I was not prepared to take photos at all! However the lovely photo after mine is courtesy of Paris.fr. Clearly a professional at work!
My little photo of the Bastille Day fireworks
Thank you Paris.fr for a magnificent photo!
What is Le 14 Juillet?
Le 14 Juillet is a national holiday, when the French remember their time of Revolution. To make a long history short, the day celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison which itself marked the beginning of the Revolution. Why did the people revolt? The people of France were tired of being under the rule of a king who had absolute power and his absolute rule was without a constitution. The Revolution would mark the beginnings of constitutional monarchy in France. Much like the U.S. celebrates their separation from British rule with our July 4 festivities, the French celebrate their independence as well.
Every city in France has their own set of festivities and fireworks so ask about them at the local office of tourism. When I studied in Angers, the fireworks display took place along the riverfront. Several of us perched on the bridge across the river Maine to watch the fireworks display – another awesome memory!
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