13th July 2012. Bastille day eve. The night is an excuse, France wide, for people to get their drink on in the name of those legends that stormed Bastille all those years ago. For les jeunes, young people, the night of the 13th is a much bigger celebration than the 14th and most of Paris spends it at 'le bal des sapeurs pompiers', the fireman balls that take place in fire stations across Paris, where the doors are opened wide in the name of donations but mostly involve drinking, dancing, and depending on the arrondissement, stripping.
One of my colocs decided to re-read over our apartment contract for enjoyment and stumbled on the paragraph specifying that we were allowed parties on Christmas, new year and la fete nationale, the 14th of July. So we all invited a bunch of friends over, noting strictly that the start time was 12am on the 13th of July. We are nothing if not cunning.
So after beginning the night with a bunch of crazy people in our apartment, we headed out to the local fireman ball in our arrondissement which happened to be in an awesome location on the canal. By the time we arrived it was already pumping and despite keeping our eye out for stripping uniforms, it failed to materialize. In fact, a lot of the firemen were actually working serving drinks! Ce n'est pas un bon facon de passer votre nuit libre selon moi!
I have no photos to show as they're all on my camera and my computers broken so my tech capabilities fall short. However, it's probably best that way.
Despite the sky getting lighter as my head hit the pillow, I woke up a couple of hours later to make it to the annual Bastille day parade. It begins at the arc de Triomphe and makes its way down the champs élysées but I choose to hang back and stay out of the crowded tourist spots, chilling on rue de rivoli until the procession made it's way there. It began with the fighter jets flying overhead, the first batch streaming red, white and blue in flurries of smoke behind them. This was definitely my favourite part as it is so freaky how low the planes can fly and totally puts you in the war mind set. They were then followed by an all out parade of every military vehicle you could imagine. Pretty sure it puts New Zealand's collection to shame, which isn't necessarily something to brag about.
It was crazy to see one of Paris' busiest streets closed down and kind of scary to see all the tankers and trucks flying down right in front of you, could totally imagine the fear of war. I left just before the end as my eyelids were beginning to glue shut and biked home through the eerily deserted streets, blocked off from cars, most people still recovering from the night before and families spending the time in cafes and restaurants. Bizarrely, it's probably the emptiest I've ever seen Paris.
Tonight I'm off to the fireworks show at Trocadero, joining the crowds to watch the feux d'artifices over the Eiffel tower.
I hope I can stay awake until the fireworks start, even the metro seats are looking comfortable right now. On a side note, today also marks my 11th to last day in this beautiful city...
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