Happy Bastille Day

Patriotic flyover with French tri-color smoke for Bastille Day.

Paris Match, July, 1989.

Celebrating Bastille Day!

Reposted from past years…

Fireworks seem like the natural way for a nation to celebrate. On July 13, 1989, we arrived in Paris for a planned 1-year stay; of course we chose that date to be sure we would be present for the biggest Bastille day of the century, and we weren’t disappointed! That night, we watched the incredible show at the Eiffel Tower, which was very close to the apartment where we were spending our first night of our year there. The next evening, we joined the millions of people trying to get a glimpse of the parades and fireworks along the Champs Elysée.

I didn't take photos, but I did save a copy of Paris Match published just after the event. Our viewpoint was much less dramatic than the ones in the magazine!

The parade moving toward the Arc de Triomphe.

Also in honor of the 200th anniversary of the French Republic, the newly built Pyramid of the Louvre was dedicated.

Besides parades and fireworks and building dedications, the unexpected way that Bastille day is celebrated every year is with bals des pompiers, that is, firemen’s balls. For at least a century, these dance parties have been organized by the firemen at the fire houses in each arrondissement of Paris as well as in many other locations in the suburbs and other French cities. Sadly, the extreme heatwave this year (2026) has forced the cancellation of the parties scheduled at the firehouses. (link)

Our only other Bastille Day in Paris was in 1975. Our good friends Michelle and Jean (then a couple, later not) took us around Paris on the eve of the holiday to see the celebrations. We spent a long night of roaming around Paris. Not only at fire stations, but everywhere in the streets and squares of the city, we saw people dancing to live music by a variety of bands and small ensembles. I think we just went into the fire station and watched the dancing without having to wait in line.

At the time, Michelle and Jean had a minuscule apartment in central Paris, as well as a large house far out in the suburbs; they loaned us the apartment for our week in Paris. After our long walk around the city, we went to bed very late. A few hours later, around 6 AM, a lone trumpet player -- no doubt coming from a gig at a fire station -- strolled down the now-empty street outside our window, playing cool jazz on his trumpet: our wake up call for Bastille Day. I know we saw a parade go by but I'm not sure where or what time. I think it was near the apartment, which was on the Left Bank, not near the Champs Elysée.

For the 1989 celebration, many people wore "Revolutionary"
hats and clothing. A bit later in July, 1989, we attended
another celebration at our friend Jean's country house, where we
met these costumed children.

A celebration of the Bastille depicted on the tile wall of the Paris Metro Station named Bastille.

Paris in July begins today

A New Month of Paris Memories

Paris in July is a blogging event that’s been going for over 15 years. It’s currently hosted by Emma: https://wordsandpeace.com/2026/06/23/parisinjuly2026-all-the-links/ and so far at least eight bloggers have put themselves on the list of participants. This is my first Paris in July post, which is taken from a posts in the past. It’s been a couple of years since my last trip to Paris.

You can see the Linky list of participants’ posts here: https://www.blenza.com/linkies/links.php?owner=wordsandpeace&postid=23Jun2026&meme=13676

Paris in July: Thinking about the Eiffel Tower

Viewed from Belleville in 2013

From the Quai Branley Museum in 2016

From across the river, 2013

Up close in 2016.

From Montmartre, 2018.

Viewed by Remy the Rat in Ratatouille, 2007.

Fireworks for July 14, 1888, launched from the partially built Eiffel Tower.

July 13, 1989. Bicentennial of the Revolution. We were there — but not this close.
(Photo from National Geographic.)

From the Centre Pompidou

Painting from the Centre Pompidou by Robert Delaunay.

Blog post © 2026 mae sander.

Original photos © 2013-2024.

From Ann Arbor (in reality) to Paris (in memory)

Grocery Shopping

The Guinness mascot at our Kroger store.

A Cheerful Fence

 

More Olympics

We watched Biathlon because an acquaintance of Tom, Evelyn, Miriam, and Alice was competing.
I managed to get a photo of my TV at the moment of her arrival at the finish line (she was thirteenth).
We also continue to watch figure skating and a few other sports.

Unfinished History Book

The Bookseller of Florence is interesting, but I don’t feel compelled to finish it.

“The Bookseller of Florence by Ross King tells the story of Vespasiano da Bisticci, a major Renaissance bookseller who created magnificent, hand-copied manuscripts for Europe's elite before the printing press disrupted his business.” (Goodreads)

Paris Today and in the Past

Headline in the Times of London this week: the famous Poilâne bakery in Paris is in financial trouble. Baking continues — at least for now. (source) What a shock! I have always thought that Paris food institutions were immortal.

Paris, 1976. Poilâne bakery on Boulevard de Grenelle, Paris. (My photo)

The Poilâne bakery was across the street from the apartment building where we lived in 1976. The elevated Metro line, which you can see through the bakery window in the photo, ran down the middle of the street. The tracks (with all their noise) went right in front of our apartment windows. 

The bakery had wood-fired ovens in the basement, and we could see the wood-delivery trucks each morning. We loved the bread that we could buy there. At first, we didn’t even know that this bakery was famous, we knew only that the bread and pastries were extraordinary. A Parisian friend explained how lucky we were to live near this culinary landmark.

Poilâne bakery is now more famous than ever. All baking is done at a central location in the suburbs where rent is much lower. Over the years, more shops have opened: there are five in Paris and one in London. This famous bread is also sold in many other food stores and is exported to the US and elsewhere.

Paris, 2018: Bread and Pastry at Poilâne on Rue du Cherche-Midi. (My photo)

The bakery today, still selling bread at the location that first opened in 1932. (From the Poilâne website)

A recipe book that we bought years ago.

From the Times Article

Blog post and original photos © 1976, 2018, 2026 mae sander

Other photos as credited.

Winter Quiet

 

Rereading an old bestseller — Foucault’s Pendulum.
Unberto Eco’s magnum opus is not as compelling now as it was when it was new. I may not finish it.

The first time that I read Foucault’s Pendulum, we were living in Paris, and we went with friends to the location where we could see the 1851 original. It hangs above the apse of the former church which is now the Musée des Arts et Métiers, located in the former priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs. Of course this location is critical in both Eco’s book and the movie version of the book.

The pendulum swings…24 hours a day.
In the dome: a classic mural, shared with Sami’s Monday Murals.

What We Are Eating

Critters

Lobster Socks

Zebra Socks — shared with Eileen’s Critters.

Photos © 2026 mae sander

Shared with the Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz.

Good and Evil

“Enshittification is when you combine the banality of evil with an internet-connected device and a federal law that criminalizes doing anything with that device that the manufacturer dislikes.” (p 141)

Why “everything” got worse — easy answer: in this book, “everything”
pretty much adds up to Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, the iPhone, and maybe Google.

Does Cory Doctorow have a life outside of the online world? He probably does. However, you wouldn’t know it from this book, despite a brief acknowledgement of the mess the US is in because of our hideous administration in Washington. The book is a weird read because it’s so devoid of what I would call real life. Does the man ever eat? Read fiction? Go for a walk? I understand that every book has to have a focus, but this book reaches a lot of conclusions based on a kind of hyper-focus that makes it seem distorted.

Here’s a summary of what he means by everything: “We are living through a Great Enshittening. Somehow, humans have unleashed the Enshittocene, in which all of our artifacts and hyperobjects are turning into piles of shit.” (p. 55)

Ok, there’s occasional mention of history:

“Never let anyone tell you that the Luddites were afraid of technology or angry about ‘progress.’ That’s a lie propagated by history’s winners, whose great fortunes required oceans of blood from child laborers, murdered protesters, and enslaved Africans in the ‘New World’ who provided the cotton for their machines.” (p. 196)

The book is a dense read: in fact, I had to read the first half of it twice. There’s a lot of real information about the very recent history of technology. But the author considerably overstates the claim that he covers everything. In fact, as I said, it’s hyperfocused.

UPDATE: Cory Doctorow’s summary of the current state of the main points of the book, in case you want the abbreviated version:

Stuff from Real Life: Good and Evil

New table and chairs in my little House at Pooh Corner.
NOTE: Of course I know that’s Paddington, not Pooh. But Pooh built a house (at Pooh Corner)
and Paddington didn’t have a house of his own. So it’s the HOUSE that I named, not the bear. 
Bears are generous and share with one another.


The house Pooh built for Eeyore.

Renewed effort to go to the fitness center.

New recipe: Len’s Shrimp Curry Dinner.

There’s always something to try at Trader Joe’s.

HEADLINES FROM RECENT NEWS

George W. Bush Celebrates No Longer Having Launched Dumbest War in U.S. History

ANDY BOROWITZ

Rubio Tells Lawmakers Trump Wants to Buy Greenland

President Trump has said since his first term that he wants to acquire Greenland, and he asked aides for an updated plan on Monday. European leaders reject the president’s assertions.

Trump administration halts more than $10bn for childcare and family assistance

Democrats condemn move in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, calling it ‘vindictive’ and ‘cruel

EDUCATION

Texas A&M blocks Plato readings on gender ideology in philosophy class

Texas A&M University blocked a philosophy professor from teaching certain Plato texts after a new rule against "advocating" gender and race ideology.

We have had some snow but not excessive!

Dreaming of Paris which is snow-covered this week.

It’s always good to think about penguins!

Blog post copyright 2025 mae sander

Critters, Art, and Happy 4th of July

A chipmunk lives on my porch  (or maybe a few of them). He resents us when we sit out there.
He often perches on the railing when we are not bothering him.

A Carolina Wren has a nest on Nat’s windowsill. (Photo by Carol/Nat)

Penguins! Alice found this graffiti in Paris.

Another Paris Mona Lisa from Alice and Evelyn.

From my friend Roberta who is also in Paris.

Random web Mona. Something to do with AI.

Another graffiti from Alice. This one is in Strasbourg. 

New murals at the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris. Photo by Evelyn.

Woodworking

Len has been working with new tools and a variety of wood — poplar, maple, and oak — recently. The three boxes in the photos are the very useful results of his project.

Happy Fourth of July!

“The Flag is Bleeding” by Faith Ringgold (1930-2024).
On this July 4th, as I did last year, I have both patriotic and pessimistic feelings.

Update: fireworks this year.

How Happy?

An example of what we have to lose from our government’s policies.

Illustrating why we should fear for our democracy and institutions that we cherish, here's a quote from Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, posted on Robert Reich's Substack:

Under pressure from the Trump administration, the University of Virginia’s president of nearly seven years, James Ryan, stepped down Friday, declaring that while he was committed to the university and inclined to fight, he could not in good conscience push back just to save his job.

The Department of Justice demanded that Ryan resign in order to resolve an investigation into whether UVA sufficiently complied with Trump’s orders banning diversity, equity, and inclusion.

UVA dissolved its DEI office in March, though Trump’s lackeys claim the university didn’t go far enough in rooting out DEI.

This is the first time the Trump regime has explicitly tied grant dollars to the resignation of a university official. It’s unlikely to be the last.

The New US Budget

While I have been writing this blog post, the US House and Senate passed a bill that will cause suffering and death throughout our country and the world, while enriching the already rich members of our society.

• This bill defunds much of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps feed people in need (source). Without the funding that has supported food programs and welfare programs in America, there will be men, women, and children going hungry. 
• This bill reduces benefits from Medicaid, which provides healthcare to low-income and disabled Americans, cutting $1 trillion from its funding: 11.8 million more people are predicted to be without health insurance by 2034 (source). 
• This bill defunds many important global health initiatives. Without ongoing funding for programs to prevent and treat AIDS in the US and throughout the world, more people will be infected and victims will die: possibly an additional 6 million HIV infections and 4 million Aids-related deaths by 2029 (source). 
• Environmental programs have also been cut or eliminated. 
• Because of tax cuts for wealthy Americans, this bill will add billions of dollars to the National Debt. 

Sadly, I am thinking about these terrible consequences of the new budget as we celebrate our most patriotic holiday.

“Today, Donald Trump and the Republican party sent a message to America: if you are not a billionaire, we don’t give a damn about you,” said Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee chair.

Blog post © 2025 mae sander

Shared with Eileen’s Critters, Deb’s Sunday Salon, and Sami’s Murals.