Bastille Day 2014

The French love a good celebration.  Tom and I love helping the French celebrate.  Bastille day in Paris is great.  The city throbs with excitement.  How can it not with jets and helicopters flying overhead and every type of military vehicle on the streets.  It's the biggest block party imaginable.  We put on our best walking shoes and joined the millions of people crowding the Champs-Elysees.

The parade starts with nine fighter jets trailing the french colors red, white and blue.

French colors flying at the beginning of the parade.

I won't bore you with the many types of airplanes and helicopters flying by.  Suffices to say it is exciting to watch.

The horses are beautiful.

The doggies are not always well behaved but certainly fun to watch.

There were many military vehicles on parade.  Not one had a scratch or a spec of dirt.

 Following are pictures of some of the uniforms.  There are too many to include here.  Each group has a different color and style of hat.

French Foreign Legion

Airforce

The firemen are the most popular of all.  They are cheered as they marched by.

In the evening we went out again for the greatest fireworks show.  They are displayed around and on the Eiffel Tower

After having experienced the metro in the morning trying to get to the parade, we knew better than to take the metro back to our hotel.  Too many people were trying to ride it.  Instead we walked for over an hour to return to our hotel.  I can't even imagine how many miles we walked that day.  It was definitely worth it.

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PARIS 2014

I can't resist.  After all, this is Paris!

Statue of Voltaire in a garden

 Wherever you travel now people are covering the bridges with locks symbolizing their eternal love.  It has become a thriving business for enterprising street venders.  Unfortunately, this isn't good for the bridges.  The chain link can't handle the weight of all the locks.  The result is that the metal the locks are attached to pulls away from the handrail.  There are areas now where the locks are removed and sold boards are being put up instead.  That isn't nearly as attractive as the original design.  The practice of attaching locks will have to stop.  We were in a city where the local government placed metal trees across the bridge.  People attached their locks to those trees.  They were interesting and attractive without being destructive.
  

Locks on a bridge in Paris.

We had never visited the Eglise de la Madeline.  We returned one evening for a concert.  We heard Vivaldi and then an Opera.  I'm not much of an opera fan but the two singers were so good I managed to keep my eyes open the whole time.

After many false starts Madeline Church was designed as a temple to the Glory of Napoleon's army.  It was finally consecrated as a church in 1842.  Chopin's funeral was held there October 30, 1849 and Mozart's Requiem was sung.

Eglise de la Madeline

Eglise de la Madeline.

Impressive ceiling in Eglise de la Madeline.

I think this should be the second car on Rabelo for our guests to use:-)

Wall art we discovered on a walk.

Art covering the walls of a restaurant.

I find the architecture in Paris to be beautiful.  Wherever we look there are wonderful old buildings.

This guy didn't look so happy.

No matter how many times we return to Paris there is always something new for us to see and another area to explore.  It is a beautiful city for walking, and walking, and walking.

I am always interested in hearing what YOUR favorite activities, restaurants, sights are.  Please let me know.  We will be returning to Paris very soon.

We always enjoy hearing from you so keep in touch.

ON OUR WAY TO PARIS...

This is typical of what we see in the small villages.

We never know what we will encounter next.  We certainly didn't expect the army.

French Soldier on Patrol

Is France at war?

They are laying down a temporary bridge.

We tied up one night in Champagne sur Vingeanne and went for a walk.  We heard the most awful sounds coming from across the canal.  Little did we know there was a family that kept hounds!  Imagine our surprise as 40 or more hounds went streaking by on the towpath.  A young family were taking their dogs for an evening stroll.  We felt for the poor fisherman when the dogs ran up and surrounded him.  I think I would have had a heart attack on the spot.

Family walking their hounds.

The challenge we occasionally face in getting on and off the boat.

We took Rabelo to her new home in St Jean de Losne.  Her permanent mooring has 130 foot of waterfront with a large lawn to mow, a shed, and lots of plants to keep under control.  It’s a jungle out there.

Tom couldn't let Julian have all the fun so he helped mow the lawn.

Goose infestation next door.

One night while Tom and I were eating dinner in our dining room we looked up and saw a swan watching us thru our window.

St Jean de Losne from a distance (our home port)

Once we had cleaned up our new yard and relaxed a bit it was time to visit Paris.  Every time we return to Paris we find new things to see and places to eat.  We tried a great sandwich shop for a late lunch called Cosi, at 54, rue de Seine.  The focaccia is made fresh and the creative fillings are tasty though a little skimpy.  The apple crumble for dessert was delicious!  The next day was Sunday, which means most places are closed.  In spite of the rain we walked the whole day.  We checked out La Valette as a future mooring for Rabelo.  They will allow us to stay 7 nights!  That will be a great place to tie up when Rabelo returns to Paris.  We saw that a major storm was brewing.  We knew there would be thunder, lightning and torrential rain.  Just before the deluge we ducked into a crepe restaurant.  Huddled under an awning we watched nature’s show and enjoyed a wonderful crepe.  We must return to the creperie.  For dinner one night we ate at Verjus, where we had a fantastic 7 course dinner.  They have only one menu and unless there is something you can’t eat (then they will try to accommodate you), everyone in the restaurant receives the same meal.  We will be returning there.  It was a treat!  Another night we went to a chain restaurant that is known for their mussels.  That will warrant a return visit as well.

Our friends Tess and Bruce had spoiled us by bringing Fauchon chocolates from Paris.  Tom and I had to find Fauchon and treat ourselves to some more chocolate.  That is GOOD chocolate!

Always keep your eyes open and camera ready.

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