Skip to main content

Good Weekend to Be French

What a weekend to be in Paris!

On Saturday we celebrated Bastille Day (not called that here, it's formally "la Fête nationale")  by catching a glimpse of the military parade and air show at the Champs Elysees.

The weather is glorious, if a little hot and humid, so the whole city was out waving flags. We didn't get a great view, but we loved walking around the city with so many of the roads closed to cars.

That night, we braved the crowds and headed to Pont de Grenelle (an easy 15 minute walk from our apartment) where we have a great view of the Eiffel Tower, for the fireworks at 11pm.

(We looked in to going up onto our roof, but didn't feel brave enough to knock on the door of the 5th floor neighbor or use the rickety scaffold.)

We should have listened to Alice and headed toward the Trocadero, because our view was lousy and the crowds were getting rowdy. We hightailed it out of there before it was over. We saw some video the next day, and it looked like an awesome show. We'll know better for next time.

Then we had the World Cup Finale to cheer on the boys in "Bleus" on Sunday. The World Cup is my absolute favorite sporting event (I love soccer) and it was fun to be in a European city for the tournament and all the hoopla.

Even more fun to be here for the CELEBRATION. WORLD CHAMPIONS HERE IN FRANCE. We talked about heading out to watch the game at the Eiffel Tower or Trocadero, but we decided if I really wanted to see the game, my apartment tv would have the best view.

And we'll now spend the rest of the night listening to cars going by, honking their horns and yelling. An easy price to pay for victory.

And tomorrow the girls and I will head out to get the commemorative t-shirt. As Leah said "isn't it great to live in a country that won the World Cup?" Yup, it sure is.




Related posts: 
More Paris travel posts
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Family Room: The Accent Wall

Wall: Before Ever since I started to think about decorating this house -- way back in October -- I knew I wanted to do a dramatic accent wall in the family room. The room is huge with two-story ceilings. There are six windows on one wall and four more flanking the fireplace -- so this room could definitely handle a dark, rich color. A few design magazine, sites and HGTV shows later, navy blue stuck in my head. Like one design show I watch advocates, look to the clothes you wear often to help decide color -- which for me and Dave is denim. And we both have soft navy sweatshirts that are common weekend wear. Navy it was -- decided in December. So, each night since we moved in while watching TV I'd stare at the beige wall, that is slightly inset, and imagine it was navy blue. And I'd itch and wish to paint it. Now, with the new media cabinet arriving on Friday, it's finally time! Once we moved out the furniture pieces we no longer will need, we reoriented everything ...
Post a Comment
Keep reading »

Top 5 Spots in Tenerife: La Ortava and Hotel Mencey

3. La Ortava A charming old town in the valley above Puerto de la Cruz. In my memory, it was green and lush, but in reality it's a small village populated by ancient buildings and nice locals. The Casa de los Balcones is a popular tourist spot to pick up local lace and your own little balcony. We walked up and down the hilly streets, and discovered two stunning public gardens and a nice coffee shop. We also watched fancy-dressed wedding guests entering an old church. The bride, I'm sorry to report, was very, very late. View Down a Twisty Street in La Ortava The Famous Tourist Trap - Casa de los Balcones  Jardin Victoria With Quite a View! 4. Hotel Mencey and Parque Garcia Sanabria In Santa Cruz, the small city we used as home base, we stretched our budget a little to stay at the historic Hotel Mencey. It was a comfortable, well-maintained hotel in a great location. I love a hotel will a lot of common spaces to relax in, and this one had a bunch, all with beaut...
Post a Comment
Keep reading »

Thinking Spring...

Thinking Spring ... and testing out this new collage photo editor . These are from last Spring. I was taking pictures of where the daffodils were coming up (for next Spring) when this cherubic creature stepped into the garden.
1 comment
Keep reading »