July 14 is Bastille day, with activities and celebrations going on all over the city. It must have started with a long fireworks show last night - we could hear it from our hotel but not see anything. This morning featured the famous military parade, from the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysee, to the Place de la Concorde (a huge square where temporary grandstands have been erected). We'd been told that the best vantage point for us non-VIPs was along the Champs Elysee, so we headed off via the Metro soon after breakfast. We got there about 9am, but the crowds were already 4-deep, so we had no real hope of seeing the hundreds of marchers, but got good views of the fly past, and of the big military equipment. Ann also got a good video of the President as he was driven past.
The Military Parade is nothing like our Anzac day parade, which is a thank-you to those who have served, and an acknowledgement of loss, and features veterans marching. This was a celebration of military might and success (hmmm...), and featured all the different branches of the current military. And it was *huge* - speeches and music over a PA system started around 9.30, then a band on horseback escorted the President (to cheers and applause from the crowd). Then nothing for half an hour - the marchers were all assembled in front of us, but no movement. Finally, 3 planes trailing red, white and blue smoke launched the fly past, and that was impressive - wave after wave of different aircraft, all flying in formation. The final trio of planes (the middle one upside down) signaled the start of the street parade, and that continued for nearly 2 hours! The last part was waves of helicopters, again all flying in formation. It certainly made a huge spectacle!
The afternoon was spent resting, and we're hoping to see the fireworks from the Eiffel tower later tonight, so let's hope the weather holds out for us.
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