We’re back from Europe, and it’s time for us to decompress and think about what we have seen and done during the last week. To be as timely as possible, we’ll discuss the Bastille Day fireworks we watched in Paris, but we will post about other events from our European trip.

Fireworks seem ubiquitous during the American summer. Beginning around Independence Day, almost everyone watches those colorful explosions twinkle in the night sky, usually ending in a loud, intense finale. Growing up in New England, we’re used to the annual Boston Pops celebration that ends in an impressive fireworks display over the Charles River after the orchestra plays “The 1812 Overture.” Although it’s nice, the display is similar to other cities’ fireworks that consist of seemingly random explosions with the expected finale after 20 minutes.

We spent two days in Paris at the end of a vacation that included trips to sites in and around London, and we were exhausted from traveling. Unbeknownst to us when we booked the trip, we would be in the city on Bastille Day – the day marking the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution. The day culminated with fireworks at 11 P.M. over the Eiffel Tower, and we were looking forward to watching them, especially after a long day that had seen a nearly three-hour wait for the catacombs and two missed trips up the Eiffel Tower in two days. We had walked for most of the vacation – more than 50 miles on foot – and we hoped the fireworks would be worth the wait.

The rotary circling the Trocadero area was impassable with onlookers, so along with several hundred Parisians, we hunkered down on a side street with a direct view of the Eiffel Tower where the celebration would take place. This display lasted for 40 minutes, and it was broken into several carefully-planned segments, each new part delineated by fireworks shooting in a circular pattern up and down the tower and around its crown.

Each segment of the performance was grouped by color, culminating in a blue, white, and red finale with a shimmering Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. The weather was clear with enough wind to keep the smoke from muddling the display, so the entire show was easily visible and photographed. Rather than being a mishmash of explosions, the show showed a great deal of forethought and artistry that left us feeling awed by the pyrotechnicians’ expertise. The Bastille Day fireworks were an incredible sight to behold, and a beautiful cap to a wonderful, tiring week.

Next time: Stonehenge.

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