Bastille Day the French Way!

Oh My God! What a weekend! All I have to say is that it was pretty amazing....okay, actually that's not the only thing I have to say, which is good for all of you!

On Saturday my friends and I got up early (read: 7 am) and headed off to Versailles. It's really easy to get to Versailled from Paris, because one of the RER trains that goes right through the center of Paris leads straight out there and only takes about 45 minutes. We got to Versailles around 9:30 am, and wandered around the chateau and grounds all morning. I was slightly dissapointed with the chateau, because I seriously remember it being more open the last time I was here 3 years ago, and I couldn't have sworn we wouldn't have been able to see more. Also, this time when I walked through the Hall of Mirrors (where the Treaty of Versailles ending WW2 in Europe was signed) you wouldn't have known it was the Hall of Mirrors unless you had read the little placard in the room before it. The last time I was here, we walked through the whole room that was atribute to it and then into teh Hall of Mirrors. However, the gardens were even cooler than I remembered! We walked right outside as they were turning on the water, and so we got to see them start up and go on for awhile. They turn off the water during the afternoon, so it was cool to be there in the late morning so we could see it. We ended up walking all over the gardens, and then out to the queens part and all the way around, probably a good couple of miles. Gabriell and Katie also decided to rent a rowboat on the Grand Canal for a half-hour, while they were waiting for Jessica and I to get out of the Chateau...we walk out and see them, and suddenly it starts POURING! So Jessica and I go sit in a cafe and watch them get absolutely soaked while rowiing...it was pretty hilarious.

Saturday night was spent making dinner at Jessica's apartment, and then crashing when I got back to my place because I'd been up so long. It was a pretty good day all in all.

Sunday I went on a CEA excursion to faire des acro-branches, aka tree-climbing. It's actually a huge sport in the US, which makes it funny that I'm doing it in France. It was like rock climbing, but with branches and rope ladders instead of handholds. I ended up getting some pretty bad blisters on my hands, but it was totally worth it and a lot of fun.

And of course, Monday was Bastille Day!!! I am so excited that I was able to celebrate Bastilel Day like a true french person. I started off the morning going to the Military Parade down the Champs-Elysees. President Sarkozy was there, and he went down the street in an open car to wave at everyone. Then there was the procession, which started with fighter jets with streams of blue, white, and red behind them, and then older jets all the way back to WW2 era twin prop and single prop planes. Then the military of foot, as well as the police (which are part of the military here). Finally there was a HUGE stream of tanks and other huge assault vehicles, it was pretty sweet.

And then later my friends and I went to the Eiffel Tower to stake out spots so we could watch the fireworks later that night. We got there and it was a zoo!! There were so many people later, it was later estimated that there were 500,000 people there last night! Thankfully, a few of our firends came earlier and had staked out a spot for us all, so we hung out all afternoon, reading and playing cards and other stuff. It was really cool, when I was reading my book I was just lounging around and my eyes wander and I am staring straight up at the Eiffel Tower. It was so surreal and amazing. And they also had a huge concert area, and there were some pretty big french singers there, as well as James Blunt, who I like listening to. The fireworks were so awesome! It wasn't really like the fireworks at home, it was a whole fireworks and light extravaganza! There was music and fireworks and lights all over the Tracadero, and there was a tribute to Quebec (founded 400 years ago) and another tribute to Pavarati. It was so cool...definitely worth hanging out all day for it. But then of course they were finished and there was 500,000 people all going for the closest metro station. So my friends and I just walked for about 30 or 45 minutes (there were still so many people on the streets and absolutely no way to get into a metro station as they were all crowded) and eventually found a pretty empty metro station off of the "strip" of stations that everyone was trying to get into. By the time we got home, it was 1 am...and of course I had class this morning at 8:30!


But I definitely wouldn't have traded that experience for sleep at all!!

Anyways, I have to go to the Monoprox now!

Lesley