Bastille Day

Friday, July 14 is Bastille Day. This is roughly the equivalent of the Fourth of July in France. It is a public holiday, which means no work and a three day week end. Most everyone else headed out of town for extended trips. Joe, Wade, Patrick, and Andrea took a plane to Istanbul. Gabi, Irma, and Lucia went to Spain for a wedding. Chris and Jill went to Normandy. Theresa and I stayed in Strasbourg. I was too lazy to make plans and Theresa was too tired to argue.

Actually, staying in town was a good option. Strasbourg, and I assume all the villages, throws a public party for the 14th. Not during the day, mind you, because people sleep late and spend the afternoon barbecuing. In the early evening, though, the streets started to come to life. The sausage and kebab and beer vendors drag their trailers into the streets again. They put up a band-stand in Place Kleber and held a public dance. (I was told that public dancing is the tradition for Bastille day. I was promised waltzes and tangos, but in Place Kleber all I got was disco circa 1979.)

The red, white, and blue of the French flag could be seen everywhere, as seen in the intro picture taken in Place Gutenberg. Around 10:30 pm they put on a very good fireworks show in the skies over the old fortified bridge in the Petite France quarter of town. Lots of families with their kids came out as an end to a long day of food and relaxation. If not for the funny language, it could have been the Fourth of July in any town in America. It felt very familiar. It was good.