Happy Bastille Day!

Today is Bastille Day, the day France celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison at the start of the French Revolution. It is a holiday like the 4th of July here in the U.S., with a day off from work, fireworks, and parties held well into the night all over the country. I wish I could be there today, hanging out at La Terrasse, a cafe near Paris's Rue Cler neighborhood, seen in the photo on the left, having a couple of beers before making the rounds of the city. 

Of course, the best way to get around Paris is by foot, although if you are in a hurry or tired, the Metro will do just fine. There is a Metro stop right around the corner from La Terrasse, which my sister Susan and I used extensively when we were in Paris back in May of 2019. I took a number of photos of various entrances to those Metro stations, including the one in the photo  on the right, although for the life of me I can't remember where it was located. Was it a real entrance or just a nostalgia piece from days gone by?

And what better place to visit in Paris on a pleasant afternoon than the streets and walkways along the River Seine, parts of which are lined by book stalls like the ones in the photograph on the left. Books - and for that matter newspapers and magazines - seem to be still very popular in Europe, while here in the United States bookstores are having a hard time competing against the likes of Amazon and other online outlets. 

The highlight of Bastille Day is gathering in the Champ de Mars, bringing along a picnic dinner, and waiting for the fireworks to go off over the Eiffel Tower. Now that would be fun. Of course, it would be crowded as hell, the hotels would be priced at a premium, and finding a seat at one of those cafes afterwards might be problematic. Also, the last time I saw Paris (that's a song, right? Am I violating copyright laws?) the Eiffel Tower was surrounded by glass security walls, as seen in the photograph on the right. In previous visits, the Eiffel Tower was open to the Champ de Mars and you could walk right beneath it on your way to the park. These security precautions take a bit of the magic out of it all, but I would still have liked to be there. Perhaps next year, or the year after, or sometime. Dream on.