Wishing you a wonderful, happy and healthy 2008!!
with love...from Paris
So this is how I spent my New Year's Eve. On Monday morning (Dec 31st) I went for my usual jog by the Champs de Mars and Eiffel tower. The place was packed with tourists making the long lines to climb up to the last floor of the tower, lots of street vendors who sell you the typical key chains of the Eiffel tower and also lots of police. Usually you do see what I think is military presence around the tower: uniformed man who walk around with their M-something (I have no clue when it comes to weapons) and who guard the place from possible terrorist attacks. But certainly on the 31st there was a lot more of military and police presence not only in the tower but in the city as a whole. The people I’ve met in Paris and have become friends with were all gone for the holiday season so I was basically by myself here to spend New Year’s. But ever since I made plans to be in Paris around this time of the year I was determined to welcome in the New Year in the city of lights, next to the Eiffel tower. When else would I have the chance to spend New Year’s in Paris? Right in front of the Eiffel tower? Who knows.....So I made some research that afternoon and found out that a lot of Parisians gather around the Champs Elysee to receive in the New Year. However, I wanted to be right in front of the tower at the stroke of midnight. Sometime around 9 o’clock I headed to the Champs Elysee and in fact the place was super crowded. The atmosphere was great. Everyone was happy, smiling, very well dressed and with a bottle of champagne in their hands. Small groups of people were gathered all along the wide sidewalks drinking and singing. Many stores looked as if they were waiting for a hurricane: they had covered their windows with plywood in what I think was a preventive measure in case people got rowdy after an explosive mixture of alcohol and the excitement of the New Year and decided to break the windows .
People gathered at Champs-Élysées--Police at the Arc de Triomphe
I walked all the way from Champs Elysee to Trocadero and placed myself right in front of the Eiffel tower somewhere around 11 o’clock after stopping to have a Crepe of Nutella as my last dessert of 2007. The place was very crowded as well. The ambiance continued to be great: some people were wearing customs or wigs, some others were waving flags of their countries and some others just continued to sing, dance and have some good old fun. Just before 12 o’clock the fireworks’ show started. I have to admit my expectations for the fireworks were very high and I was left somewhat disappointed. However, they were still good and at the stroke of midnight everyone just started to scream Bonne Anne (literally Good Year).
The Eiffel Tower from Trocadero
The fireworks were finished about 5 minutes into the New Year and at that time I began to walk back home. The streets were so crowded it took me a little bit over an hour to get home, a walk which on any other day would take about 25-30 minutes. The problem is that the shortcut I take of walking underneath the tower was closed and I had to go around to find another bridge that would allow me cross the Seine River to get back home. I arrived home exhausted from all the walking and from not having sat down since 9 o’clock that night. When I arrived home I went straight to bed thanking God for a wonderful and many times blessed 2007 and looking forward to what will hopefully be a great 2008.
Bonne Anne (video)
Trying to walk back home
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