14th of july, bastille day- french national holiday celebrating revolutions and be-headings and overthrowing of bourgeois establishment and giving the power to the people.in fact it's not about that at all, so it seems.
there're are concerts all around the town on bastille eve, finishing with firework displays. on the day itself (the french don't refer to it as jour de bastille at all, they just call it 14th of july) there are huge military parades up the champs elysee, the president has a wee speach and then the french airforce puts on an aerial display. it's a great song and dance. it's a great show of excess wealth and opulence. it's not terribly ecologically sound. and despite all this i was awake very early yesterday morning, as excited as a 5 year old; camera at the ready- our apartment has a great view of the air parade.
the day finishes with a bal populaire (an outdoor ball) and lots of people all patriotic and happy. normally, feeling extra patriotic and super strong, a french dude will win today's yellow shirt in the tour de france; but today he was beaten by a german (and a coupla spaniards). oh well.
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