It's a big weekend for France. The usual big parade in Paris on Saturday and then the World Cup on Sunday. I see the bookies are giving France a 65% chance to win. I think anything could happen. Of course, I would like to see France win but what an amazing feat it would be for the small country of Croatia to win and they haven't won it before.
And after all these years I still feel a litle guilty getting special front row viewing for the Bastille Day Parade the one time we saw it. We got talking to some Americans on the Metro who were heading to it as well and it just turned out they had these special passes and they shared them with us. I think the father was in the diplomatic core. It didn't quite seem fair that we could see better than most of the French!
And the Tour de France is on as well. We were in Paris one summer when the final round of the Tour de France came in. It was quite exciting to see.
I thought this was very interesting. From The Good Life France about Bastille Day
"It’s a day for celebration, fireworks, parades, flea markets and of course food – long lunches and late dinners in the sunshine. French gastronomy has a lot to do with Bastille Day actually. The day marks the storming of the Bastille, a dark fortress in Paris which was stormed by a mob on July 14 1789 to get the weapons and to free the prisoners held there. It was the start of the French Revolution which oversaw the end of the guild system that controlled the food industry. It meant becoming a baker or butcher got easier, plus cooks and servants for the nobility chefs lost their jobs so they opened restaurants and started cooking for everyone and contributed to the art of fine dining that is a French way of life."
Vive la France!
