Bastille Day 2008

My first Bastille Day Celebration was in 1966 when I was living in Paris working au pair and filled with the enthusiasm of youth. I stood with the crowd on the Champs Elysee watching then President Charles de Gaulle ride in the parade, a towering figure above everyone around him. Later that night I danced with the party-goers at the Hotel de Ville.

This year was more subdued with the added perspective of age. My brother and his daughter arrived in the morning of the 14th to celebrate with me on the last leg of their trip to Egypt and Rome.

They were booked into a hotel near the Eiffel Tower, so I took the Metro in to meet them and we went back out to Montreuil to join my friends at their favorite cafe where there was a free buffet and a local all-girl band. A real Parisian celebration far from the tourist mobs. My brother and my niece went back in time for the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, while I stayed on at the party.

Paris & Beyond

Finding a budget hotel in Paris at anytime can be a tad difficult, but on a Friday night before the Bastille Day celebration it has a great potential for failure. Many small hotels at double the price I wanted to pay were already full so it didn't look hopeful at the start. But my persistence paid off and I found a single room for under 35 euros in a classic old hotel that evoked the inner spirit of Paris.

Narrow corridors, up a winding staircase through a corner door and I entered a room with a shuttered window overlooking "les toits de Paris." I was tempted to stay up all night reliving my memories from the '60's, but my drooping eyelids soon overcame that temptation. Early the next morning I went out walking through the streets, watching busloads of arriving celebrants for the holiday, and greeted by the aroma of freshly baking bread that is so totally French. A morning espresso and an internet check got me in touch with my friends and I headed off to Montreuil to connect with them.