There are many rituals all over the world for celebrating the summer solstice, the day when the sun is the highest in the sky (in the northern hemisphere). Falling on a Saturday this year, the people in Paris, France, turned out in huge numbers to celebrate!
Weekends in Paris always see large crowds along the Seine River and its tributaries. We're staying in the 10th district, just a one-minute walk from Canal St. Martin, and locals and visitors alike are drawn to the water when the weather is nice. Saturday, June 21st, was a fantastic weather day with bright blue sky and a high temperature of 24C (75F). We went outside the apartment around 8:30 to enjoy the evening and to see "what was happening" in this city that's our home for two months.
The tradition that we were unaware of was the playing of music all over town on the night of the summer solstice. There was a 3-piece rock 'n roll band in the tapas bar across our street, playing songs from Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones, and others. Around the corner we saw three young men wearing shorts as they played classical music from Bach and Vivaldi -- it was an interesting sight seeing the string trio on the sidewalk as the evening trash truck drove by. We walked around and saw lots of other groups as well as some DJs sending out tunes to the masses gathered around. There were a calypso group, a marching band complete with a white tuba, an Italian vocal group, and others who were content to play for free for anyone stopping by to listen.
My smartphone failed me -- I thought I was taking videos of these groups only to find out that I had blurred snippets of something else. I'd used it before with great results -- not sure what I did wrong this time. I've already gone online and bought a hand-held camcorder that will be at home once we return in about four weeks.
Fortunately, the one video that I took with my flip video turned out fine -- it shows the hundreds (or more) of people lined along Canal St. Martin at 9:50 PM as they partied, enjoyed friendship, and even waved to me. You can view the video at this YouTube link.
How did you welcome in the summer? Did you party with friends, enjoy the "longest day" of the year, or what it just another Saturday for weekend chores and routine activities?
If you have any questions about international travels, send me an email and I'll do my best to answer it for you.
Also, if you enjoy reading about travels to new and exciting places, please tell others about it -- stuart-gustafson.blogspot.com.
Until the next time,
Au revoir!
Stuart Gustafson, America's International Travel Expert®
Weekends in Paris always see large crowds along the Seine River and its tributaries. We're staying in the 10th district, just a one-minute walk from Canal St. Martin, and locals and visitors alike are drawn to the water when the weather is nice. Saturday, June 21st, was a fantastic weather day with bright blue sky and a high temperature of 24C (75F). We went outside the apartment around 8:30 to enjoy the evening and to see "what was happening" in this city that's our home for two months.
The tradition that we were unaware of was the playing of music all over town on the night of the summer solstice. There was a 3-piece rock 'n roll band in the tapas bar across our street, playing songs from Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones, and others. Around the corner we saw three young men wearing shorts as they played classical music from Bach and Vivaldi -- it was an interesting sight seeing the string trio on the sidewalk as the evening trash truck drove by. We walked around and saw lots of other groups as well as some DJs sending out tunes to the masses gathered around. There were a calypso group, a marching band complete with a white tuba, an Italian vocal group, and others who were content to play for free for anyone stopping by to listen.
My smartphone failed me -- I thought I was taking videos of these groups only to find out that I had blurred snippets of something else. I'd used it before with great results -- not sure what I did wrong this time. I've already gone online and bought a hand-held camcorder that will be at home once we return in about four weeks.
Fortunately, the one video that I took with my flip video turned out fine -- it shows the hundreds (or more) of people lined along Canal St. Martin at 9:50 PM as they partied, enjoyed friendship, and even waved to me. You can view the video at this YouTube link.
How did you welcome in the summer? Did you party with friends, enjoy the "longest day" of the year, or what it just another Saturday for weekend chores and routine activities?
If you have any questions about international travels, send me an email and I'll do my best to answer it for you.
Also, if you enjoy reading about travels to new and exciting places, please tell others about it -- stuart-gustafson.blogspot.com.
Until the next time,
Au revoir!
Stuart Gustafson, America's International Travel Expert®
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