The Bastille Day (July 14)
On July 14 all the proud citizens of France living in Washington, D.C. gathered downtown at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th Street to celebrate the Bastille Day, the French Day of Independence. This national holiday commemorates Fête de la Fédération held in 1790, on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress prison that took place on July 14, 1789. This moment of victory was perceived by French as the beginning of the new era and as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation. In the honor of the storming of the Bastille, La Fête Nationale falls on July 14 each year.
This year July 14 fell on Monday. Earlier this week in otherwise crowded place with lots cars and people rushing to and off work everybody could celebrate this national holiday together with French right in front of the local brasserie Les Halles [lezal]. For an illustration of the unforgettable atmosphere of the Bastille Day imagine a day fulfilled by races of both waiters trying to balance with bottles and glasses of champagne and kids running around with the plates of French fries while silently eating up some of their crispy burden. Imagine a day full of celebration of French pride, the multicultural background with the presence of disguised figures of Statue of Liberty, Marianne (symbol of French) held in the early afternoon in a shade of the ubiquitous blue-white-red tricolored baloons’ reflections and all of it overlooked by the majestic Capitol towering above the rest of all buildings standing nearby.
The power of imagination is surely very strong, lucky enough these days we also have a powerful technology that can capture these moments for us. Through this blog, I would like to share some of the strongest moments that I managed to capture this Monday with you…
Hope you’ll enjoy!
Martina
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