Bastille Day 2014

July 14th is Bastille Day in France, a day that commemorates the storming of the Paris jail known as the Bastille back on this date in 1789.  It is a national holiday similar to Canada Day or the 4th of July in the U.S.

I was lucky to be able to spend this day in the city of Paris last year and enjoy the festivities first hand.  As you may recall, I had spent the week before taking a workshop with Jane Davenport and had purposely planned to stay a second week, knowing that one of those extra days would be Bastille Day, as I'd heard it was quite the celebration.

Traditionally, there is a huge military parade in the morning.  I caught just a glimpse of the beginning of the parade as I made my way to the Metro that day.  Security was high and there lots of uniformed military and police around, in addition to those marching in the parade.

My friend Susan and I had other plans, we were headed to the big flea market known as St. Ouen. Strangely enough, when I look back at my photos from that day, they are all of interesting graffiti and artwork we saw that day, rather than the flea market booths.

The best part of the festivities took place that evening, when I joined four of the ladies from the workshop (the others had already headed home or left town) for a dinner cruise along the Seine that culminated with a front seat waterfront view of the fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower.

What a special night we had - there was champagne and music, a delicious meal, a lovely cruise on the river on a summer's evening.  It felt more like New Year's Eve than July 14th!

Me, Susan G., Diana, Susan E and Pam

Seeing various sights of Paris from water level as the sun was setting and after dark was a real treat.

The fireworks were absolutely stunning, I've never seen anything like it. I was snapping away on my little camera, trying to capture the images.  None of them do justice to the performance but I am still pleased with the images I have and I enjoyed going through them all again today, a year later.

Missing my Paris pals tonight but enjoying all the wonderful memories of our fabulous 2014 visit to Paris!!