Fete National

I just celebrated my first Bastille Day here in France.  It was quite an experience!  The day started with my friend Hacheme and I getting ice cream in the Latin Quarter.   Mine was shaped like a flower, and tasted like one too (Rose and Violet!)

Later, we met up with our other friends Niraj and Bethany, and we happened to run into a local band playing mostly French songs.  However, Bethany and I burst out laughing when they started playing "La Bamba".  Definitely not French!  He got the Spanish words right, but sang them out of order.  Pretty funny.

 

Happy French people dancing.

 

Then, to further our experience of the French National Holiday, we went to get Vietnamese food.  Mine was wrapped in a huge banana leaf.

Finally, it was time for the fireworks at the Tour Eiffel.  We passed many bridges over the Seine packed with people ready for the fireworks.  But so far it didn't look too bad.  Perhaps there wouldn't be too many people after all.

People on the bridge, waiting for fireworks

Some people even had their own private music on a river boat that would float past the fireworks.  Now that's the way to do it!

Could we be invited to that party?

Finally we reached our bridge, chosen because a) it was close to the Tour Eiffel, and b) because of its proximity to the metro, which I hoped to hop on before it was overrun with people.  This bridge was much more crowded than the previous bridges! 

People packed to see fireworks!

But the view was fantastic!  We watched the fireworks, and even had a neat foreground.  

The Tour Eiffel was dark most of the time, but lit up near the end.  It was amazing!

 

I had a bit of a dilema.  The fireworks started at 11 PM, and would end at midnight, but the last train home was at 12:30.  I would have to figure out a way to beat the crowds to get home.  Since the firework show was supposed to last an hour, and my plan was to leave 45 minutes into the show, jump on the metro before everyone else, and get home with the last train home.  But my plan was spoiled!  I was watching this spectacular sequence 35 minutes into the show:

 

 

The fireworks ended and we looked at each other.... was that the finalie?  I think that was the finalie.  Uh oh.

So we part ways, and Hacheme and I run to the end of the bridge to reach the metro station.  But it was too late!  About 5000 people were in a mob trying to get on, and security was only letting people get on in packets.  Time to last train home: 45 minutes.  Things did not look good. 

Hacheme said he was going to go ask what was going on.  He walked off, and I lost him!  After a few failed phone calls and being jostled in the mob a bit, we found each other again.  He said he didn't think we would be able to get on the metro from here.  To plan B: walk halfway across Paris to Notre Dame, and get on the metro there.

So we begin walking fast.  Then plan C appears: a random metro that no one appears to be taking.  We run down the stairs, and get on the first train we see.  Then I pull out my map and figure out where we are, and where to go.  Time to last train home: 30 minutes.

Ok - we can do this!  We can take the 12 to the 6, then get on the RER home.  Wait, the 6 goes right by the Tour Eiffel, and will probably be swamped with people, so take the 4 instead!

We get off at Montparnasse and literally run through the station.  Nothing like running through the metro at midnight!

Jump on the 4.  There is hardly anyone on it!  We must be ahead of the crowd.

Finally reach Denfert Rochereau.  I look on my iPhone - 5 minutes until my train!  We run through the station.  I look at the screen as I run by.  Ahhh!  It's the time of my train!  But the train is one minute late.  Run!

We run up two flights of stairs, and I feel like my lungs will explode.  I see Hacheme slow down ahead of me.  I round the corner and see a train speed up.  Noooo!  We missed it!

Oh wait, I realized that that was the train in the other direction!  Yes!  Then my train pulls up!  I made it!  I won't be stuck in Paris!

There was hardly anyone on the train - so our plan C worked - got us ahead of the crowd and got us past the blocked metro stations and onto my train.

I don't know why they didn't extend the trains to later that night... it made for an exciting end to my night... and I was very happy to collapse into my own bed!

The Joy of Cheese

Yummy moldy heaven cheese

One of the fun things about being in France is being able to sample the wonderful assortment of cheeses.  In the US, there is cheddar, mozzarella, Gouda, Swiss, and maybe a few others.  In France, even in our tiny tiny grocery store, there is an entire row devoted to cheese.  There must be 200 different types.  I often have fun picking a cheese at random to sample it alone, or if I'm more adventurous, in my cooking.  One of the best types is this one, which is probably the most unappetizing thing I have seen: a blue wheel, covered in a thick layer of fuzzy blue mold.  But cut off the mold, and white, creamy heaven is inside.

Welcome to Paradise

Cotton hats!

One of the things I love about Paris is sometimes, you go into town with no plan in mind, and you just happen to run into something awesome.  There are so many things going on in Paris, especially during the summer, that this actually happens quite often.  Last weekend, Bram and I were having lunch in a cafe in Paris when we started hearing drums, which no, is not common for Paris.  We left the cafe and looked around.  There were more people than normal on the Champs Elyse, which is really saying something.  It turns out we ran into the middle of the Carnival Tropical de Paris, a giant parade featuring people of all cultures in their traditional dress, dancing up and down the Champs Elyse and playing drums.  There were people from mostly tropical places, such as Africa, the Caribbean, and Brazil, but there were also groups from Japan, Eastern Europe, and even a group that looked like they were from Texas!  With the excess of people, there was such an energy in the air, as even the crowd danced along to the beat of drums in the Parade.

Check out those braids!

Brazilian feather lady.

The Queen of the Tropical Carnival, bedecked in leaves and flowers.

One of the more energetic groups dance to drumbeats, provided by Coca Cola.

This picture has everything, from super tall woman, some gorillas, and a guy who mistakenly wandered into the Parade route.

A super tall scary ski mask guy.

Representing the Dallas Cowboys in Paris?

These women danced with fruit balanced on their heads.  That takes talent.

Peacock Man, a lesser known superhero.

The Champs Elysee is normally packed, but with the Parade, it was even moreso.  People were lined up 10 deep trying to see the Parade, when others were lucky enough to find places on benches, phone booths, or bus stop shelters.  So most of these pictures I got by holding the camera over my head and aiming.  Talented, no?

A carnival is not complete without a Chinese Dragon.

Looking back down the Champs Elysee, along the parade route.

 

And now, a couple of videos so you can get at least some feel of what the atmosphere was like, as we danced to the drums with crowds of Parisians.  

 

Delphi and the Oracle

Pretty photos from moving bus.

From Athens, we made our way across the mountainous terrain of Greece.  Greece is actually one of the most mountainous country in Europe.  (Do you know what the first is?  It's Albania.)  There were mountains everywhere, and the drive was quite beautiful. 

This was our destination: Delphi.  The Ancient Greeks thought it was the center of the Earth.  A great oracle resided there, and it was probably the holiest site for the Ancient Greeks.

There were lots of beautifully preserved ruins there.  It's actually listed as a UNESCO site.  

Behind the columns from ancient times, were more "modern" crosses, from the early Christian era.  

Delphi overlooked an amazingly beautiful valley.  

Delphi was the center of the earth, or naval of the Earth.  Hence, here is the world's naval:

The Earth's belly button

Various cities would build "treasuries" to hold gifts from families or individuals as thanks for a message from the Oracle, or to hold the spoils of war.  Of course, the one for Athens was the largest.

Athens - always outdoing everyone else

On the walls, freed slaves often came to write their stories.

More equations!  Wait, I mean words...

The main temple was where the Oracle sat.  The oracles were always single women, either young maidens or older women.  They would talk in a trance, in words that could not be understood.  (Now, archeologists think that there was some sort of natural gas leak that made the women fall into a trance as they breathed its fumes, very similar to a Simpson's Episode.)  In order to translate, men would listen to them, and then write down what they said on tablets.  These tablets were often vague, and could be read in more than one way.  Of course, this makes their jobs easier, but also shows people that the future is uncertain, and that even mere mortals have control over it. 

A museum contained various finds from around Delphi, including gifts left by the people who journeyed there. 

A sphinx

On the way back to Athens, storm clouds were beginning to brew.  A preview of the next day.  

Yeah, we got stuck in a torrential thunderstorm the next day...

We drove through a little mountain town... known for it's skiing!  Of course, we saw it in the summer.  We didn't see much of it, spare for the little roads that our tour bus got stuck on. 

(Apparently width of road - width of cars parked illegally on road is less than the width of tour bus.) 

So that's the end of our Greek Honeymoon.  Hope you've enjoyed my many posts.  :)

The Ruins of Athens

All flights lead to Athens.

Our final stop on our Greek tour was Athens.  So back to the mainland!  We left through the little airport of Santorini, which had 6 gates, but only used 2 of them.  (In fact, there was no gate 1 or 2, and gate 3 had a snack stand permanently built in front of it).

Athens was a very interesting city.  There were ruins everywhere.  Of course, the most commanding was the Acropolis, built on a high hill overlooking all the city.  It could be seen from pretty much anywhere.  

Ruins were everywhere within the city.  In fact, there are so many, that for a long time, Greece did not worry about preservation of study of its own ruins (a task left up to groups from Germany, France, etc).  Only in recent times did they begin to treasure all of their ruins - true treasures indeed!

This is Hadrian's Library, in the middle of Athens.

Overlooking a Temple and an old church, with Athens in the background.

We made the hot hike up to the top of the Acropolis.  It was a hot walk, but well worth it. 

Up in the nosebleed seats.

Finally, reaching the Acropolis.

Hot and sunburned, we stop for a picture.

Hot and happy.

Cool pillars!

The scrollwork on the columns was quite impressive!

Proof: the Acropolis was built out of legos!

So that's why it's still standing after all these years!

In the open air theater, in the shadow of the Acropolis.  Important people sat in the front row.  Their chairs came complete with backrests. 

Excavations are still underway.  In fact, it took Athens quite a long time to build their own metro.  They had to stop whenever they encountered an archeological find, which was quite often.  These are under the Acropolis Museum.

More ruins, in the middle of the city.

Walking around the Plaka at night, home to many tourist shops and nice restaurants.

Greece is also in the middle of a lot of political turmoil as well.  Every night, they closed off the streets in front of the government buildings so no one could get too close.  In the background of this picture are signs of the protests.

More strikes than France...

Shopping ala Athens.

We also wandered through an antique flea market. 

Even more "modern" buildings have nice motifs.

We had an awesome view from our hotel of the Parthenon. 

Some of the ruins still had intact mosaics.  Amazing that they exist after all these years.

Yet more ruins.

And something to leave you with: ancient Greek bathrooms.

Pass the TP

Athens was our last stop, however, we did go on a road trip to nearby Delphi.  That will be in my next blog post.  So, as they say, see you in Delphi.