Archive for the 'Events and Outings' Category
July 14, 2011
la fête nationale – the national celebration, France’s “Independence Day”; known in the English-speaking world as “Bastille Day”
le 14 juillet – the 14th of July (the French national holiday)
les soldes – the sales
je pars en week-end – I’m going away for the weekend
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Happy 14 juillet everybody! I’m currently working on a new post about the summer soldes that I’ll be publishing soon, but for those of you who are new to The Vanishing Point and interested in learning more about this French national holiday, be sure to check out last year’s posts, Le Bal des pompiers and La Fête nationale.
I’ll be catching the fireworks display tonight at the Eiffel Tower, one of my favourite summer events in this beautiful city, then je pars en week-end to the seaside town of Deauville. I can’t wait to hit the beach!
Hope you all have a great weekend!
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Posted in Canadian Expats, Events and Outings, Expat Life, France, French culture and traditions, French holidays, Paris, summer | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 14 juillet, bal des pompiers, Bastille Day, Canadian expats, culture, expat impressions, expat life, fête nationale, fireman's ball, firemen, France, French culture, French language, French traditions, French vocabulary, Paris
August 19, 2010
Store Window, Montmartre, Paris
les vacances – vacation
une fermeture – closure
la Mairie de Paris – Paris City Hall
un embouteillage – traffic jam
le supermarché – supermarket, grocery store
une fermeture exceptionnelle – unexpected or extended closure; an “exceptional” closure, outside of the regular operating schedule
l’Hôtel de Ville – City Hall
la plage – beach
les quais de la Seine – the quays of the Seine
******
Do you remember the creepy opening scenes of the film 28 Days Later? They caused a stir among critics and sent a chill down the spines of audience members everywhere because they depicted, in very realistic fashion, the always-bustling London landmarks, Westminster Bridge, Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street, utterly devoid of human life. The simple, surreal absence of people in such famously and characteristically overcrowded spots was eerier than anything Jerry Bruckheimer could have pulled out of his bag of over-the-top tricks.
Well, those famous scenes are kind of what Paris feels like in August. Public spaces that are normally bursting to overflowing with people now appear vast and empty. While passing through the central métro station Châtelet the other day, I could have sworn I heard the opening theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly playing as a piece of tumbleweed drifted by.
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Posted in culture, Events and Outings, Expat Life, France, French culture and traditions, French holidays, les vacances, Paris, summer | 1 Comment »
Tags: August, August in Paris, Canadian expats, Canadians in Paris, culture, expat impressions, expat life, fermeture exceptionnelle, France, French language, French traditions, French vocabulary, les vacances, Paris, Paris expat, Paris Plage, Paris Plages, summer, summer holidays, summer vacation
July 22, 2010
“My “14 juillet” souvenirs
la fête nationale – national celebration
le 14 juillet – the 14th of July
le bal des pompiers – fireman’s ball
un pompier – fireman
un defilé – parade
le parfum – flavour
une gueule de bois – hangover (familiar)
un bonnet – bonnet, cap, head covering
une bavette – flank (steak)
papoter – to chatter
le feu d’artifice – fireworks
******
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A mere four hours after getting home from the July 13 pre-fête nationale Bal des pompiers, just as I was finally drifting off to sleep, my phone rang. It was my friend Floriane, with the wake-up call I had requested. She had received a V.I.P. invitation to watch the big defilé along the Champs-Elysées at a very special reception being held in one of the offices above the grand boulevard, and she had invited me to be her guest. “Coucou Darlene, tu viens de te reveiller ? ” (“Hi Darlene, did you just wake up?”) she asked me sweetly, obviously bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, having had the good sense to skip the bal the night before. “Euh… non…” I fibbed. “J’arrive…” (“I’m coming.”)
I dragged myself, slowly, painfully, out of bed, cursing military parades and their early start times. Why? Why start a parade at 9:00 a.m.? What was wrong with a 1:00 p.m. parade? Or even better, a 4:00 p.m. parade?
Thirty minutes and two large cups of caffeine later, I left to meet Floriane. Having consulted Google Maps the night before, I knew that the address was a fifteen-minute walk or a mere five-minute Métro ride away. I had also checked the RATP (the Paris métro) site the night before and knew that my nearest subway station wasn’t closed, so I was all good. Or so I thought.
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Posted in Events and Outings, Expats in France, France, French culture and traditions, French holidays, Paris | 2 Comments »
Tags: 14 juillet, bal des pompiers, Bastille Day, Canadian expats, Canadians in Paris, Champs-Elysées, défilé, expat life, fête nationale, fireman, fireman's ball, firemen, France, French culture, French language, French traditions, French vocabulary, holidays, military, national celebration, parade, Paris, Paris expat
July 22, 2010
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Photo courtesy Mélina.
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la fête nationale – national celebration
le 14 juillet – the 14th of July
le bal des pompiers – fireman’s ball
un pompier – fireman
une caserne (de sapeurs-pompiers) – fire station
un don – donation
une voyageuse – female traveler
“C’est gentil, merci.” – “That’s kind of you, thank you.”
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******
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Marshall: Wow, you’re creating a holiday.
Barney: Why not? Everybody gets one – mothers, fathers, Bastilles…
– “How I Met Your Mother”
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Most people I know back home have heard of “Bastille Day”, although my guess is that many would be hard-pressed to define exactly when and what it was. In fact, July 14 is la fête nationale de France – their version of Canada Day, if you will. Somewhat oddly, it’s known internationally in English-speaking countries as Bastille Day, even though in France, it is either referred to as le 14 juillet (much like Americans refer to Independence Day as “the 4th of July”) or simply, la fête nationale. It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, a huge feast that was held on July 14, 1790 to celebrate the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille in 1789, considered to be a major turning point in the French Revolution.
Now, talk of a national holiday generally tends to conjure up images of the kind of pomp and circumstance befitting a dignified patriotic celebration. And while it’s true that le 14 juillet is observed over here with much fanfare, parades, concerts and fireworks—the stuff you’d typically see in other countries during similar sorts of celebrations—the French also have another somewhat lesser-known tradition linked to la fête nationale that is quite unlike any of the customs associated with our own national holidays in North America. In typical French fashion, it flirts with the hedonistic; a backyard barbecue, it’s definitely not. I’m referring of course to le bal des pompiers, which really deserves to be touted in travel brochures as a genuine tourist attraction right along with the Eiffel Tower, at least for us voyageuses out there.
Every July 13, the night before the official patriotic celebrations begin, France’s finest open up casernes all over the country and throw les bals des pompiers for the general populace. The parties usually run both July 13 and 14 from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m. and entry is traditionally free, although dons of any amount are gratefully accepted at the door, with all proceeds going towards improving the conditions of workers. Oh yes, my lady friends back home, you heard me right – on July 13 and 14 all over France there are parties hosted, staffed and filled with firemen. Dancing. All with cute French accents. Don’t you wish you were here?
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Tags: 14 juillet, bal des pompiers, Bastille Day, Champs-Elysées, culture, défilé, fête nationale, fireman, fireman's ball, firemen, France, holidays, military, national celebration, parade, Paris, traditions
July 9, 2010
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Girl, uninterrupted
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la grande roue – the big (Ferris) wheel
la plus belle ville du monde – the most beautiful city in the world
se tenir la main – to hold hands
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******
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“Et on se prend la main, comme des enfants…”
(“And we hold hands, like children…”)
– From the song “Comme des enfants”, Cœur de pirate
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On the last day of June, my friend Dylan and I took in a beautiful summer sunset in Paris from the top of la grande roue in the Jardin des Tuileries. There couldn’t have been a more perfect evening for it. The light spilled out across the city like liquid gold, tinting everything it touched with a little bit of magic. And even though I’d been here two months and had already seen the city from a myriad of angles, I found myself catching my breath all over again and marveling in disbelief at how very lucky I was to be living here. It seems like every day I discover another reason why Paris really is la plus belle ville du monde. Continue reading »
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Tags: Fête des Tuileries, Ferris wheel, France, Jardin de Tuileries, La Grande roue, Paris, Roue de Paris
June 15, 2010
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la Ville Lumière – “The City of Light”; a common nickname for Paris, in reference to the ideas of the city’s philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment (and, some say, to its early adoption of street lighting)
un quartier – neighbourhood
se retrouver – to meet up (with each other)
Quel truc de ouf ! – “What a crazy stunt!” *
faire un pique-nique – to have a picnic
Et si on se faisait un pique-nique? – Why don’t we have ourselves a little picnic?
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******
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“This afternoon I will go to les Champs Élysées. They have transformed it to a big garden for the week end.”
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I squinted groggily at the message on my cell phone, the words on the tiny LCD screen slowly swimming into focus. Roused just seconds before from a near catatonic sleep by a lo-fi version of the Beatles’ Revolution (theme song and ring tone for Orange, my service provider), I wasn’t yet operating at a fully-cognitive level. The wheels in my brain screeched loudly in protest as they sluggishly kicked into gear. I blinked again, still processing, then sat up straight in bed.
Did I want to see Paris’ most famous avenue and busiest autoroute transformed into a giant garden? You bet your fancy Hermès scarf I did.
I shook the last traces of sleep off and quickly texted my friend Sebastien back. “When and where do you want to meet?”
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The famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, sometimes referred to by Parisians as “la plus belle avenue du
monde” (“the most beautiful avenue in the world”), is often choked with traffic. Photo courtesy Julian So.
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Tags: Canadian expats, Canadians in Paris, Champs-Elysées, expat impressions, expat life, farmers, France, French language, French vocabulary, Gad Weil, garden, Jeunes Agriculteurs, Laurence Médioni, Nature Capitale, new friends, Paris, Paris expat, picnic, picnics, Place de Vosges
The Vanishing Point 