Tuesday 2 August 2011

Bastille Day and the Bourgone

My penultimate weekend in France was yet another 5 day weekend thanks to the jour ferié that is Bastille Day. The 14th July, for those who don't know, is a celebration of the storming of Bastille prison in 1789 which started the French Revolution. The day is a public holiday so no school for the girls, no work for the parents and therefore no work for me. So after a lazy day I went out in the evening to see the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. We went to Pont des Arts to watch them thinking that would be a great viewpoint. The bridge was packed with people who obviously thought the same. We were all wrong. Although we could see more than half of the Eiffel Tower, most of the fireworks barely came above the half way point which meant we spent half the time kind of unimpressed. Aren't fireworks meant to go super high in to the air? It was a nice atmosphere however, if what some what tame. Hey, it is Paris. The evening was also my last evening with some of the girls and I had to bid farewell to a few of them, not knowing when I'll see them again. I suppose it's a good excuse for a reunion in Paris..
The next day the family and I set off for Burgundy to stay with some of their friends. It was not the wine area of Burgundy like we went to before and it was amazing what a difference in landscape it was. It was stunning greenery all around, forests, mountains, lakes. It was incredible. We attempted to go wild mushroom hunting again but unfortunately this time we weren't lucky. Too early in the season or maybe there hadn't been enough rain but whatever reason there were none. One afternoon we spent playing pétanque or French boules. And Romain and I won! Yes, first time lucky I think. It's pretty addictive, I see why old men get so into it.


This was to be my last weekend with the family and it was such a lovely way to spend it. It was totally relaxing and I had loads of fun with the girls. Just one more week to go...

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