Monday 14th July. La Fête Nationale. A day that started with tearful goodbyes, and ended with us being literally tear gassed by the French police. Which was a first for me.
Dad dropped us off back at MAN and we said our farewells. I’m back here in September for a work trip but it will be a while before the kids get to see their grandparents and aunt and uncle, other than on Facetime. The 11yo in particular is now old enough on this trip to properly understand that and was a bit teary so she’d been setting the rest of us off throughout the morning.
Our final LCC experience for this time and it seemed that MAN was out to get us: we just kept ending up in the longest line at every turn. At bag drop, at security. Repeatedly watching the people immediately behind us suddenly beckoned into a shorter line that had just opened up. A full hour from getting out of the car to clearing formalities.
Then we were “boarded” but held at the bottom of the stairs for some time before being allowed on, next to a sign that read “Spill Station” and a single plastic chair. I must confess to having no idea what that means in this context (there was no actual equipment there for, say, containing chemical spills) so we imagined it must be like the naughty step for clumsy people and amused ourselves by putting 6yo (who is not averse to the odd spillage) on the seat and taking a funny photo (heavily cropped below) to share with the family.
Anyway we must have done something very bad as they kept us there for ages…
Flight was uneventful. A few minutes late but otherwise fine. I won’t be rushing to fly Easyjet anytime soon, but they have got us where we needed to be when we needed to without any major dramas.
We’re at the Novotel Les Halles for our final 2 nights in Paris itself. Picked for its central location and the convience of it being right on top of Chatelet station, which is on the direct RER line from CDG, as well as the direct line onwards to the final destination of the trip where we will be heading on Wednesday.
Except today, when the RER B is not running direct from CDG to Chatelet due to trackwork. Because of course it isn’t. So we had to change from the overground to underground platforms at Gare Du Nord to continue the journey.
The Novotel is perfectly fine for what we need. I had booked, as I always do, the lowest room category. I think we must have been upgraded (as ALL Plat) as the room is huge. Actual towel rail in the bathroom too. Status acknowledged at check in, but no welcome amenity provided. We did use the welcome drinks in the bar though (available on beers, wines and soft drinks).
By the time we arrived it was getting late so we dumped the bags and headed to Pizza e Motta just around the corner, which was perfectly fine for what we needed.
Followed by ice creams from our favourite French chain: Amorino, where they make these flower shaped concoctions.
The closest branch happened to be just around the corner in front of the Pompidou Centre (which is currently under renovation).
The 14th July fireworks start around 11, after it gets dark. I had read that as long as you can see the top half of the tower, you should see the show. So we decided to just head for the river and find a spot on the closet bridge, Pont Neuf.
There were quite a few people lining the bridge already but we found a suitable spot and waited. Shortly before 11 we heard the traditional Paris sound of sirens as an emergency vehicle came roaring along the Quai du Louvre. Then, suddenly, smoke and an acrid smell filled the air, and the crowds started moving away rapidly from the edge of the bridge.
“Is that… tear gas?” said Mrs MattA. Um, yeah I think it might be. My eyes are stinging… The good old French police, who were stationed at the end of the bridge, had just casually unleashed some chemical weapons to disperse the crowds. We quickly moved further onto the bridge to a spot where the kids could see even less than before. They were understandably also a bit distressed about what had just happened.
The show started shortly afterwards and was a quite slow moving drone show rather than predominantly traditional fireworks. The fireworks that there were were also quite low. Mostly horizontally off the tower rather than up into the air. I’m sure it would have been great from the Champ de Mar (if you’d camped out all afternoon to get a spot).
From this distance it just seemed a bit small and slow. The kids could barely see anything. We stuck it out for about 10 minutes before giving up and heading for bed. Quite the disappointment.
