14 Juliet

The festivities just didn't seem quite as festive this year. Perhaps it was because the holiday fell on a Sunday this year, and it usually means a 3+ day weekend to celebrate. The dances that the fireman put on the night beforehand were packed (I had to tell a french friend please not to refer to them as "fireman's balls") and the crows and pigeons around town felt slightly ill at ease as fireworks and firecrackers were lit off all weekend.

Decided to forego the parade down the Champs-Élysées in favor for a BBQ in the suburbs. However, plans were derailed by the train wreck on Friday, and the train out to the 'burbs would not be running. Scrambling last minute for something to do, I packed a picnic and headed out to the Parc de Flora for an afternoon at the Paris Jazz Festival.

They do love their jazz here in France, and most artist who get very little love in the states will draw adoring crowds in Europe. Trombone Shorty was no exception. A real New Orleans style funk jazz band got everyone on their feet and dancing for hours. No matter that he ran out of material when they called him back with rabid enthusiasm for his fifth encore. The spirt was there, and he was loved. Leave me alone, I'm a throwback and I love the Jazz Music and my grandfather and I will sit around and listen to Pre-war jazz on the turntable and he tells me about the bad old days and I actually listen. This is my music.

The Parc is also a lovely place to meander around. Lots of gardens and bees and butterflies and quiet wooded paths.

They keep a small herd of Ouessant sheep to keep the lawns trimmed. They were quite warm and just sleeping in the shade. Lazy, good-for nothing lawnmowers.

When the sun started to set, we headed off to watch the fireworks. Not wanting to be elbowed to death again this year, we opted for a posh party from a hotel room with a view in Montmartre.

The show was spectacular. What a gorgeous city.

The Fourth!

This is the second-hardest holiday to be an expat American, ranking right up there with Thanksgiving. It's just another day in France. We get our own fireworks here in 10 days, so it is something to look forward to. Plus, there are tons of American parties going on all over the city, and as I found out last year, the California Cantina food truck runs out of tacos and burgers really early.

Ages ago, when I was still a Manhattanite, I worked in a high-rise building with lofty views. Depending on where the fireworks happened that year, we could get really great views of the pyrotechnics. What was also very cool was all the other fireworks you cold see. The vista was as such where you could see lots of other shows going on in New Jersey and Long Island and Brooklyn, all going off at about the same time.



Also, I remember this particular year as the last time I rollerbladed. I was actually pretty good at it and did the West Side Highway from 59th st down to the Battery and back all the time, but this particular day I fell victim of uneven pavement and gravel on the lesser kept East River bike path and went flying, and I banged my knees up bad enough to drag the blades over to the nearest Goodwill, bloodstains and all. My doctor, months later upon seeing my still-scarred knees, congratulated me on that decision.

I would host a little unofficial party up in the office suite every 4th just as night was falling, and then we'd be able to take the elevator down and run to the subway station before the masses made their way over from the east river view, and we'd have cozy chairs to boot. Sweetness.

While I normally frown upon camera shake, I liked this:



Oh, and this building was built in the 1930's and had windows that actually opened. All the way. Like, you could hang out them. 53 stories up. They just don't make them like that anymore.

No one puts on a show like New York does.



The air gets so smoky you can get to the point where it obscures some of the show.



I hope that everyone had an fantastic 4th, filled with BBQ and booze and good friends and fireworks.

Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli Gardens was a total treat to see.

It's one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, and they uniquely have kept the rides rather old-fashioned looking, but stylized. Very steampunk. It's a place to take a nice stroll, admire the gardens and the beautiful lights that flicker on once the sun finally goes down.

They have fireworks on the weekends, but since it's light here until late, they don't start until midnight. While standing around in the cold waiting for them to start was a bit unpleasant, it was worth it. I do love a good fireworks show, and they synch their to music.