14th of July (Bastille Day) is upon us again

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Oh no, it's "Bastille Day" again!!!

Nothing much was happening at Belden Lane this year.



All the celebrating seemed to be going on at the Irish Bank instead, where they had blocked the entire alley and charged people $5 to get in. They had 80's music going on when I walked by, and a couple of police cars parked outside just in case things got out of hand.

Best-o-Burger, Pine St., SF

Surprisingly, this fast-food burger joint on Pine St., had decided to do a 14th of July special. They had a bunch of French flags planted in front of the window, and the poster in the window reads:

"Best-o-Burger Celebrates Bastille Day with Iron Skillet Seared Foie Gras BOB Burger and French Flag Gelato. Laissez le bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll)"

Nice touch! But a foie-gras burger? Hmmm.. . I don't know about that! ;)



People always ask me if I am going to do anything celebrate the 14th of July (as French people call it, rather than "Bastille Day"). Truthfully, I don't really see the point, so I usually don't do anything at all.

14th of July, to me, is more like this or ... like that!

Nothing much in the Bay Area can ever compare to the kind of celebrations they put out in France that day. And that's OK, of course (I realize the 4th of July probably sucks in France, too)! ;)


Meanwhile, in Paris ... (the first and last ones are my favorites!)

If you are interested in seeing the entire 14th of July celebration on the Champs Elysees in Paris, I highly recommend you check out this guy's videos on U-Tube. He has posted the entire official TF1 broadcast, split in 12 videos. It's almost like being there.

A few in particular stand out:



6 men and 1 women paratroopers (first women ever) jump out of a plane above Paris and land in a very precise spot right in front of the French President and his guests, Place de la Concorde, Paris. (approx. 4 minutes, MUST SEE!)



Défilé aérien (Patrouille de France (the French equivalent of the Bluge Angels) opens up. MUST SEE, at least the first couple of minutes!)



Marseillaise & Ode à la Joie, le 14 juillet 2008 (7:38)

French National Anthem interpreted by the French Army and the Sapeurs Pompiers (firemen and women). According to the journalist, some of these firemen up front are only 16 years old. (National anthem only takes a couple of minutes in the begining. Skip to almost the end if you want to hear 'Ode à la Joie').



Sarcozy going down the Avenue of Champs Elysees, with the Guarde Républicaine (mounted guards, horsemen). It's a different live feed, so a different camera perspective than the others, and much quicker (about 4 minutes). (When I went back on U-Tube yesterday, people in the crowd had uploaded their own version, in which you can hear some of the people in the the crowd booing the President - Sarcozy's approval rate right now is about as bad as ... well, you know who iin the US.)

last but not least ...



OK, this one is not the 2008 display but I haven't yet found one I really like for 2008, so at least you get an idea.

If you have the time and are interested, there are more videos to look at. Just grab a glass of wine and watch the Défilé!

Peace everybody.

Bastille Day in San Francisco (14 Juillet à SF)

Hundreds of francophiles and partyers will probably flock to Belden Lane tonight, to celebrate the 14th of July, or what people here call "Bastille Day." Many people believe that Belden Lane is the French Quarter of San Francisco. Ahem.

Des centaines de francophiles et de fêtards vont probablement converger aux alentours de Belden Lane ce soir, pour célèbrer le 14 Juillet (que l'on appelle ici "le Jour de la Bastille"). Nombreux sont ceux qui s'imaginent que Belden Lane est le Quartier Français de San Francisco. Ha!

If you don't know any better, I should probably warn you, it really isn't. At least not to most of the long term French expats residents here. There nothing French about it and nothing much to see, not even a little shop, I mean *nothing at all* except a handful of restaurants, most of them a little too pricy for what they are... And yes, at least two of them are "French."

Pour ceux qui ne sont pas au courant, je ferais peut-être mieux de vous avertir tout de suite que ce que les gens du coins appellent le "Quartier Français" n'est pas un quartier pour Français. En tout cas, pas pour la majorité des expats qui sont ici depuis longtemps. Il n'y a absolument rien à voir, même pas une petite boutique, je veux dire *vraiment* rien à voir, à part la poignée de restaurants qui y existent, presque tous un peu trop chers pour ce qu'ils sont... Au moins deux d'entre eux font de la cuisine française.

Some of them are probably worth trying once, especially if you've never had that kind of food, like Cafe Bastille (that one actually is pretty good and relatively reasonably priced) or Plouf just for the experience.

Remarquez que si vous n'avez jamais eu l'occasion d'y aller, faut quand-même essayer au moins une fois, pour l'experience. Vous avez par exemple le Cafe Bastille (qui est d'ailleurs pas mauvais et pas trop cher) et Plouf.



Years ago, people used to be able to dance on Belden Lane, on the evening of the 14th of July; there used to be music and they'd close off both ends of the alley so people could walk around with their drink (1) and have a little fun. But things have changed over the last few years (for "security reasons," they say), and last year they only allowed people in if they were going to be seated at one of the restaurants' patios, otherwise, you had to keep moving on out of there.

Il y a des années, le soir du 14 Juillet, les gens dansaient à Belden Lane. Il y mettaient de la musique, les deux bouts de la rue étaient bloqués pour que les gens puissent s'amuser et boire(1) leur verre de vin tranquillement dans la rue, devant les restaurants. Mais les choses ont bien changé au cours des dernières années ("pour des raisons de sécurité" on nous dit), et l'an dernier, si vous n'alliez pas directement vous asseoir à la terrasse de l'un de ces restaurants, on vous disait de circuler.

Needless to say, you can't just walk into any of these places on the 14th of July if you haven't made your reservations way ahead of time, so most likely if you're ready to head out there now, you're gonna be disappointed.

Bien sûr, pour s'asseoir le soir du 14 Juillet dans un de ces restaurants, il faut avoir réservé des mois à l'avance , alors si vous vous apprêtez à y aller maintenant, vous allez êtres déçus.

I know there are other places you can hang out at, tonight in the City if you want to celebrate Bastille Day, but I didn't research them for you guys, sorry, because truthfully, I am not in the least interested in that.

Je sais qu'il y a d'autres endroit où aller faire la fête ce soir en ville pour le 14 Juillet, mais j'ai pas fait la recherche parce que franchement, c'est pas un truc qui m'intéresse énormément.

All these people running around "Frenching it up" for just one day, and all the others who pretend to like a culture they don't even have a clue about, just bore me to tears. So I have no advice for the true francophile out there wanting to know what to do tonight.

(Je vous expliquerai bien pourquoi, mais ça prendrait beaucoup de temps. Alors, Pour le moment, je n'en dis pas plus, mille excuses.)

This year, I'll be going to a private party instead, and yes, there will be French people there, but we'll be celebrating it "the American way," you know, barbecue in the back yard with a bunch of friends, no frills, no pretense, no bullshit.

Cette année, j'irai chez des gens, et oui, il y aura même des Français, mais on va faire celebrer ça "à l'Americaine," vous savez, barbecue dans le jardin, sympa, avec quelques amis, en toute simplicité, sans grandes pompes ou pretention.

In fact, I kinda have to go now, so happy 14th, everybody, and don't do anything I wouldn't do! ;)

D'ailleurs, faudrait même que je me depêche, alors bonne fête à tous et à bientôt.



(1) In California, it is usually illegal to drink alcohol in the street (yes, even if it's only a beer and it's a really really hot day).

(1) En Californie, d'habitude c'est interdit par loi de boire de l'alcool dans la rue (oui, même si c'est juste une bierre sous une chaleur à crever).