Bastille Day in France

Bastille Day is an important national holiday celebrated in France every July 14. It commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison that led to the eventual dissolution of the monarchy and the establishment of France's first Republic. My cousins and I were lucky enough to be travelling in France that day! We *kinda* slept in the entire morning, thus we missed the festivities held on the Champs Elysee. We heard that there's gonna be a fireworks display in the evening, so we're going to see that instead. As we headed off the the Trocadero, we caught eye of military vehicles parked near the Opera. We stopped by to take pictures, of course.


Front: Steve, Me, Kathy, Pierre.
Back: Jacques and Jean-Claude. Haha


Salut!

The fireworks weren't going to start until 10 in the evening, but we figured that people are going to go in droves so we might as well start early. The subway route to the Trocadero was confusing as I try to recall it. And I couldn't forget the distance that we walked to get to the place where we could camp out and wait. It was made more difficult because many roads and bridges were closed. After hours of walking, we finally we found a comfortable spot on a sidewalk to sit. We got a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower:


Nice.. leaves..

Due to boredom, we had no choice but take pics.


Clarice, Steve, Kathy


7 hours later ... still no fireworks. This is one of the very few pics where the four of us were together. Thanks to the nice lady who took this pic <3

One thing I learned about the French is they're always on time! At 10pm sharp, the first signs explosions of light began. Due to our obstructed view (see above) we had to find a more strategic position to take good pics. It was hard to take pics of the fireworks because the camera needs to be set on a slow shutter and I was standing on my feet with no support for my arms. The results were mostly blurry pics. Shame. Here are my most decent shots:









Admittedly, I was not able to appreciate the fireworks coz I was busy focusing on my camera. Fortunately, I took some videos which I'll upload soon.

As if our way to the Trocadero was chaotic, nothing prepared us for our way back! Everyone was crowding into the subway!


People everywhere! Arghhh

My cousins said that Bastille Day was our most exhausting day of walking. Indeed it was. I think I lost 5 lbs that day alone lol. Bastille Day was tiring, but it wouldn't have been an enjoyable day without Cleng, Steve and Kathy. You guys rock!