Bastille Day in Paris

“Hey Siri play that one Kanye & Jay Z song from Watch The Throne”

As I was waiting for my bag at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, I noticed an incredibly attractive woman waiting for her bags as well. Curly brown and blonde hair, caramel complexion, comfortable, travel appropriate but form fitting athleisure gear, with earbuds in her ears…so I didn’t bother to say anything to her. 

I grabbed my bag and started to order an uber, following the arrows on the ground pointing to the passenger pickup area. Once I got outside I realized this was not the area that the app had instructed me to walk to, so I turned around, went back in and walked another 7 minutes or so to the correct pickup area. 

As luck would have it the belle from baggage claim was sitting there waiting for a ride as well. I tapped her on her shoulder and told her I liked the tattoo of a treble clef on her shoulder, and asked her about her other tattoos. My uber having arrived, I put my bag in the trunk and before I got in the car, my new crush said “Enjoy your trip!” 

“You too…unless, you live here?” I said.

“Yea, I live here.” She smiled.

I spent the entire Uber ride to my hotel hoping all the women in Paris were as gorgeous as her. Ah, to fall in love in Paris without even having to leave the airport…

As things worked out, my first full day in Paris happened to be Bastille Day, similar to the 4th of July, it's a day to celebrate the French republic. I had dinner reservations at Les Cocottes with plans to try and see the fireworks display at the Eiffel tower afterwards. I took an Uber and got pretty close to my destination but ultimately had to walk a few blocks since roads were shut down close to the Eiffel Tower. I hope the uber driver eventually made it out of that terrible traffic.

Streets of Paris on Bastille Day

My dinner was quite lovely. I had classic bistro food like escargot, roasted chicken with pasta, and an incredible baba au rhum, a tasty, boozy rum cake topped with the creamiest chantilly cream. A glass of wine with dinner (as you do when in France) and some extra rum to sip on with dessert and I was ready to go see some fireworks.

I spent the next 2 hours or so walking the streets around the Eiffel Tower since access to the Champs de Mar was closed off as the area had reached its capacity. It’s the kind of thing where people go early, fight for a spot, have a picnic and a nap and then wait to see the fireworks show up close. I ended up walking along both sides of the Champs de Mar, stopping for a drink at a crowded bistro, and eventually finding a spot to stand and watch the fireworks show pretty far back, next to a monument for the war of 1870. 

Even at a distance, the fireworks and drone show from the tower was amazing to see. It was so colorful, so intricate and grand. And just walking around Paris on a warm summer night surrounded by thousands of other onlookers, Parisian and tourists alike, was an experience in and of itself. 

After the fireworks finale, I walked for about a mile or so and was eventually able to snag an Uber back to my hotel to get some sleep as the next day would certainly include lots of walking and sightseeing cause, ya know, when in Paris.