Quatorze juillet et l'anniversaire de mon blog!

Quatorze juillet

This shot was taken in 2008 on a two-week

solo trip to Paris.  I waited for what seemed hours against

the barricades on Champs-Élysées for the procession.  

The parade was fabulous but the preparations

were even better.

It is not a coincidence that I chose this date

for the beginning of my blog six years ago.

Virginia Jones (Paris Through My Lens) guided my 

entrance to blogging and I will be forever grateful for

her help and lasting friendship.

Thank you all for your support

and comments over the past six years.

Avenue des Champs-Élysées

75008, Paris

Un defile militaire

Military Parade

Avenue des Champs Elysees

Quatorze juillet

The avenue was lined from the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde

with a display of the French military and its territories, an amazing spectacle!

Avenue des Champs Elysees

75008, Paris

Five Year Anniversary - Paris and Beyond!

Quatorze juillet

This was my first post five years ago when I started my Paris and Beyond photo blog under the guidance of Virginia Jones. In the five years of posting daily, I have met many wonderful people from around the world.  Many of those I have met in person and have traveled to faraway places to see them.  In the beginning I was not sure that I could keep up a daily post with a very full-time job and business travel.

Thank you to all who have followed me and have reached out to me.

Tomorrow I start year six....

(Merci beaucoup, Virginie!)

Avenue des Champs Elysees

75008, Paris

Le Défilé Militaire - des pompiers

Les Sapeurs-Pompiers

One of many groups in the Military Parade of Quatorze Juillet...  

On the eve of the Bastille Day celebrations the pompiers have parties 

all over Paris that do not end until the sun comes up.  

All of the arrondissements have Bals des Pompiers 

and by some count it may be as many as 60 (!) in Paris and the near suburbs.

Have you been to one?

Avenue des Champs Élysées

75008, Paris

 

Quatorze Juillet! - Bastille Day

Military Parade

of Bastille Day

2008

The parade involves around 7,000 soldiers 

(5,000 on foot, the rest are crew members or cavalrymen), 

300 vehicles, 240 horses and more than 80 planes and helicopters.

And, a celebration for me as today makes 

4 years of daily photos on Paris and Beyond

without missing a day!

A special thanks to all of you who follow my blog 

and to Virginia (Paris Through My Lens) 

who helped me "birth this baby" four years ago.

Avenue des Champs Élysées

75008, Paris

 

Le Défilé Militaire

Republican Guard Cavalry Regiment

Military Parade

(quatorze juillet)

The uniforms were perfect, 

from the elegant helmets to the rich leather boots.

The horses were exquisitely groomed and trained.

There will be 250 horses in the celebrated parade on Monday

Le Défilé Militaire du quatorze Juillet

Avenue des Champs Elysées

75008, Paris

Le défilé du 14-Juillet

Quatorze Juillet

2008

The many regiments line up an hour or two 

before the march down Avenue des Champs Elysées.

2013

In all, 4,800 troops marched in front of the presidential stage Sunday, 

along with 241 horses, 265 vehicles and 58 planes.

Bringing up the rear was an array of 35 helicopters, 

used in wartime and for civilian missions. 

Precision parachutists landed 

in front of the presidential stand to close the parade.

The military parade of 14-Juillet

Avenue des Champs Elysées

75008, Paris

 

Quatorze Juillet - La Fête Nationale!

The Gates of Invalides

All of Paris is dressed in the bleu, blanc, et rouge of the French flag.  

The crowds and the traffic are impossible, 

but the pleasure of being there in the streets 

for the great national celebration is worth it.

Vive la France!

Invalides

75007, Paris

Paris and Beyond - 3 years, 1109 posts

Thank you for following, for your feedback,

and for sharing in my love for Paris (and beyond)

Un Bon Soldat

The uniforms of the French military are quite elegant for the 14 juillet, and it was a wonderful opportunity to photograph many individuals as well as the "regiments." As this soldier walked past me to join his battalion, I requested a photo. He nodded agreement and I quickly snapped.

I imagine maman would be proud to see her son in his fine uniform.


Le Quatorze Juillet
2008

Le Quatorze Juillet!

I remember thinking that so much of France's military equipment was being paraded down the Champs Élysée that we should hope there was no immediate need on the globe for assistance. The tanks, the humvees, the trucks, the so-large-I-cannot-imagine what they ares, the horses in finery, the planes, the firetrucks... all of the personnel. The length of this wide avenue was full to overflowing. It was magnificent!

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Today is a special day for me as I started my blog one year ago today. I drove to Birmingham to see Virginia, and the two of us "birthed this baby" so its birthday would always fall on Bastille Day. I will be forever grateful to her for her guidance and wonderful sense of humor as we laughed our way through "delivery."

Thanks to all of you who read my blog and who have, through your own blogs and comments on mine, enriched this experience, sharing a bit of your world with me. I was not sure that I could post 365 days in a row, but it is now just a part of me. Merci beaucoup!

Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris

Although the parade for 14 juillet is not until tomorrow, tonight begins the Bals des Pompiers, the firemen's parties held at each station in Paris on 13-14 juillet. There is much partying in the streets and it is one of the most festive events in Paris.

I wonder if these guys partied all night long... probably not.

Quatre Juillet

Okay, this is a Paris photo blog and truly this is a Paris photo, but it is quatorze juillet and not quatre juillet. I was thrilled several years ago to travel to Paris alone for Bastille Day primarily to see the view above. I stood on the barricades for several hours and almost missed this shot as the planes moved overhead so quickly.

I hope that my French friends do not mind that I borrowed this photo to wish everyone in the USA a happy Fourth of July!


Avenue des Champs Elysées

Il est très sérieux

One more photo before we leave le quatorze juillet -- There was a whole batallion of these guys with big guns, some with bayonets. I have never seen so many tanks, trucks, and weapons in a row, ever! The uniforms range from the simple as seen here to the elaborate. This guy was the only serious one in the crowd waiting for the parade to begin. Maybe he was Big Cheese's lookout.

From what I saw, every soldier, sailor, wheeled vehicle, horse, weapon (tout) that is part of the French military was there on Champs Élysées. The crowd was well behaved -- bien sûr, with all of that weaponry present!

Hail to the Chief!

The procession begins with President Sarkozy who stands tall (?) as he rides down the Champs-Élysées, la plus belle avenue du monde. Obviously, this year's weather does not match the blue skies of 2008 -- I stood alone making friends at the barricades for 4 hours to see the parade from Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde. Quelle bonne fête nationale!

Inspection for Bastille Day

The last minute inspection before Sarkozy and the procession on Champs Elysees -- The colors and variations of uniforms is mind-boggling!

I am excited to join the community of photo bloggers and all the amazing French/Paris blogs I enjoy! Thanks, Virginia, for your mis-guidance (JB, you too).