Parisans don't call it Bastille Day, they just call it July 14th, much like our July 4th, or as close as they can get. Dates were changed a few time for the Paris trip and it just so happened that we were able to celebrate with France on this wonderful holiday. Bethany, John Ryan, Coco and his girlfriend all joined us at the Eiffel Tower for fireworks and music. It was over the top! This is my top highlight! The fire works started low and small and by the end were shooting out of the Eiffel's top. Heidi helped me take a few pics that came out clear. Afterwards we booked it to the metro and were part of the mob trying to get on the trains. People as far as you could see, leaning into eachother. We watched police try to keep the crowd in order and heard a few shouts and then we heard through the crowd that the police had opened up the gates, no tickets needed. This helped move things along. The trains were stuffy and full of quiet, tired people. You'd think even the Parisans would be tired enough to forego the PDA, but oh no! I had front row seats to a young business-dressed couple performing Oscar-quality gum swapping, but without the gum. They were in their own little world. It was 1 a.m. when the trains closed and we found ourselves standing outside a metro hailing a cab. A French woman split the cab with us and helped us communicate to the cabbie. We were home close to 2 a.m.
Bastille Day commemorates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the storming of Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising.
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