Paris, Fête de la musique 2013!

We were needles in a haystack

It won’t be a surprise to anyone, coming from us, to say that Paris is the most beautiful, vibrant and welcoming city in the world! And what better time to be there than on the 21st of June!  Our little group experienced once more the magic of celebrating La Fête de la musique in the heart of the French capital!  Although the music of thousands of bands, choirs or individuals resounds throughout the whole country on the night of the Summer solstice, there is no hesitation on our behalf in choosing to be in Paris for the occasion.

When the saints are marching in...

We gathered in our favourite haunts, enjoyed conversing in French in the company of authentic Parisians, walked through the city avoiding touristic places exploring places such as Le Marché Saint-Paul or Place Sainte-Catherine and the back streets of Beaubourg, took walks along the River Seine and Le Jardin du Luxembourg and caught a bus rather than the metro to be surrounded at all times by the ambiance of Parisian life.

Taking pictures only!

We even went to the cinema and had a peep at the mythical Pâtisserie Mulot in Saint-Germain-des-Près, so famously good that one can see three queues of customers on the pavement outside: one for bread, one for cakes and one for catered meals!
We were blessed with the weather.  After days of rain and storms the skies cleared up on the night and music exploded from everywhere! Hundreds of pedestrians took to the streets and it became more and more difficult to walk through the crowd without losing a member of the group but we finally completed our tour of the Latin Quarter without too much of a problem.  What amazed us most was the joyful, light-hearted and somewhat peaceful quality of the gathering despite the incredible level of decibels at times reverberating around us.  People of all sorts, young and old, locals or tourists, children perched on their fathers’ shoulders appeared from all over, clapping their hands, laughing and dancing on the pavement and the middle of the street to the beat of musical bands whose style would change from one corner of street to the other.

Speaking  French with a Parisian

A visit to Paris with The Way To France would not be complete without a dinner at Le Procope, the oldest café in Paris, where the first tremors of the French and before that the American revolution were felt. We may have sat at the table of Voltaire, Marat or Benjamin Franklin on that night, who knows?

Richard le patriote

Let's go and face the music!

Not everyone is aware of this annual French festival and we would recommend our British friends to cross the Channel if they can and be there for the next Fête de la musique in 2014, with us, why not?  It’s great  and all concerts are free!  Note that it is taking place all over France on every June 21st!