13th & 14th of July

Last night was lovely. Such an experience. The fire station looked beautiful, with balloons and streamers and lights and decorations everywhere. The amount of people there was unbelievable no matter where you looked or where you turned there was dancing, singing and champagne popping.

The firemen were all serving beer and champagne in their uniforms.

 (very fancy here in Paris by the way)

One of the most interesting things is that type of people that were there - the ages ranged from about 3 years up until well probably 75 years, the type of person was just as varied. Such a neat experience to be surrounded by so many different types of people celebrating all together. I think my favorite part of the night - aside from the champagne, which was legitimate champagne actually from the Champagne region of France- was all the crazy French 80's music. There was a band that played all night long - they were actually very good, but the music was hysterical. They played everything from Joan Jett to Maroon Five to Michael Jackson to Diana Ross, to Earth Wind and Fire to French music that I have been told was VERY popular in 70's and 80's. Watching everyone sing and dance and jump around was a sure fire way to put a smile on my face. Today now was not so exciting. Tried to hit the parade and the weather took a turn for the worse. Thunder, pouring rain, and lightning all morning and most of the afternoon. So the picnic I had packed is still sitting in the fridge and honestly I spent most of the day in sweaties on my couch!! Haven't had a day like that since I have been here. So I guess the parade and fireworks will have to be a next July thing : ) One Bastille Day tradition was a good start for me.