"Two men look out through the same bars: one sees the mud, and one sees the stars." – Frederick Langbridge

Date: July 14th, 2017

Occasion: Bastille Day (le 14 juillet)

Country: France

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XXVII | Petal Desserts and Fireworks

July 13th, 7:20 pm

Dear diary,

It's the day before Bastille Day! Oh, I should probably be writing bonjour diary to be all fancy and French. I'm sorry, I don't know much French yet. I mean, I hopped on a plane at LAX and flew here two days ago. I still have trouble believing that I can see the freaking Eiffel Tower every time I look outside my cozy apartment window in the morning. That's la tour Eiffel in French, right? See, I'm getting the hang of this. Take that, tenth grade French teacher!

Anyway, France is absolutely stunning so far. It was totally worth going on this exchange trip thing. Did you know that France is the world's most popular tourist destination? They must have come because of me. I'm as attractive as a magnet. Just kidding, I look like a troll right now. What? I'm about to have dinner anyway and it's not like I care what I look like. Messy bun and sweatpants, forever and always.

I'm debating whether to go out to a restaurant and bother to look nice, or burn my apartment down by attempting to cook. I know I lose either way, but I would rather choose the more dignified route to go out. Besides, food comes with both options, so at least it's not a total loss. Also, I can't wait to try a bunch of French delicacies. I mean, come on, let's be real here. Everyone's wanted to try snails once in their lifetime, don't try? Do escargots taste slimy? Do they leave the shell on? Details, people, details.

Anyway, there are a whole bunch of tourists hovering around the Eiffel Tower. The tower lights should be turned on any second now, but patience is apparently not a virtue of the photographic industry, who are snapping away with gusto. Also, did you know that the Eiffel Tower was meant to be temporary? I guess the Parisians fell in love with that giant arch of beauty and decided not to knock it down. Oh man, I still laugh at the world Parisians. It makes me think of the tiny paper umbrellas people put in summer drinks.

Speaking of which, my stomach is begging for nourishment, so I'm going to take my leave and find some nice French food. See you later tonight, and pray I don't get food poisoning.

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July 13th, 11:52 pm

Dear diary,

Hello, I have returned! If you're wondering, I didn't want to risk the safety of my temporary household and went out for dinner instead, at a small table by myself, observing the fascinating Parisians around me. Cultural differences always require some creepy spying. Loads of people cast me sympathetic looks though. I think they assumed I'd been stood up by my date. Well, if you want to ask me the same question, diary, I promise I'm single and ready to mingle with some très beau French boys.

So, onto the good stuff. Let's run through some of those French delicacies, because who doesn't want to talk about food? I visited this amazing French restaurant that was decorated with all sorts of flowers; scarlet roses, plum pansies, a few bright yellow daffodils here and there, and bouquets of blue orchids, accompanied with loads of other nice flowers that have tongue twister names which I can't pronounce to save my life.

At first, I'll admit, I was wondering why there were so many flowers. I mean, dotting a few here and there looks wonderful, but if there's a place in the universe where you can drown in flowers, this was it. Since I was curious, I went in and turns out, get this, it was a restaurant that served actual flowers. As in, flowers for meals. No joke. You eat the petals and everything. Just gulp them down the same way you eat lettuce. If you do eat lettuce, that is. Lettuce is the bane of my existence and I avoid it at all costs, so I wouldn't know.

Anywho, the restaurant had sautéed flowers, rice with roses, even candied petals with desserts of your choice. Chocolate mousse, vanilla ice cream, whatever you like. It was all there, listed on a beautiful menu in cursive. Guess what? The flowers actually tasted delicious. Nothing like how you'd expect flowers to taste.

After a peaceful dinner on my lonesome, I went for a walk beside the Seine River, which I think is called La Seine in French. The lights of the Eiffel Tower reflected on the river, as though someone had thrown a thousand tiny diamonds into it. It was phenomenal. I wish my camera could have captured the beauty of it, but you had to be there to drink in the experience yourself. It was so much more peaceful than going to a rave or a strip club, and this is coming from someone who's sneaked into both. Now I see why French is one of the fashion capitals of the world. Even its river sparkles. It's fabulous!

But for now, I'm beat. It's almost midnight. As I mentioned in my previous diary entry, it's Bastille Day tomorrow and I'm super excited for that. I might sneak into a tour group and learn more about it. Tour guides are encyclopedias of knowledge. I don't know how they cram it all into their heads. Anyway, au revoir, diary. See you in the morning!

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July 14th, 5:45 am

Dear diary,

Rise and shine! It's so early in the morning right now. Dawn hasn't cracked yet, but the sun is scheduled to rise any second, since it's summer at the moment and the daylight hours are super long. But more importantly, it's Bastille Day today!

I remember bringing some history books with me, which I totally regretted once I dropped my suitcase on my foot. Besides, I think the Internet would be faster and more useful. The WiFi here is awesome too. I've always been fond of paperbacks and hardcovers, though.

Wait, let me go search up some facts on the Internet. I did bring my laptop, didn't I? Don't tell me I left it at home! Oh, wait, no, it's here, thank goodness. My phone battery has been spazzing on me for the past few weeks, so it's unreliable at the moment. Oh, pardon me, I just yawned. I swear I've yawned at least five times in the past hour. I only got a couple hours of sleep last night, but I can't help it. I'm just beyond excited to be in France, it's so surreal.

Anywho, Bastille Day has one heck of a history. To sum it up, the French stormed the Bastille (a fortress used as a makeshift prison) to find some gunpowder. They ended up releasing all the prisoners, and also beheaded everyone who got in their way. Good Lord, was this France or Underland? I can just imagine King Louis XVI screaming, "off with their heads!" or however they say it in French. Wait, let me search that up too. Ooh, apparently it's "Qu'on leur coupe la tête!" How fancy that sounds. I hope I never have to hear that phrase being said though.

Where was I? Oh yes, I'm going to brew myself a cup of coffee and add loads of coffee creamer, since I love my coffee sugary sweet. I don't understand how anyone can drink black coffee without gagging. Sure, it's invigorating, but how do you stand its bitterness? I wonder whether they have Starbucks in France. I'll probably wander around today and check it out. A Paris tour, just for me. A party of one, the ideal number. I may stalk a couple of tour groups if I come across them, though. Today is going to be fantastic.

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July 14th, 12:30 pm

Dear diary,

I never thought death by crowd suffocation would be the way I go out. This place is packed! I visited New York a few months ago and I didn't think anywhere could be more congested than that, but Paris has an insanely large amount of people, considering the size of the city itself isn't particularly substantial. I'm glad I don't have claustrophobia or a fear of crowds.

After all the hustle and bustle and French words being screamed into my throbbing eardrums, I finally managed to slip into a museum and find a quiet spot to write in my diary. Yes, I know. I'm a young adult and I still write in a diary. I just love writing though! It clears my head.

I'm eavesdropping on a nearby tour guide at the moment. Thank goodness he speaks English, otherwise I don't even know what I'd do. He says (in a sexy French accent) that in some areas of France, it's compulsory to have a picnic on Bastille Day. Really? The French force people to have picnics of all things? I didn't know that that was something you could force someone to do. Like, "muahahaha, you must partake in a picnic! Otherwise, I'll kidnap your whole family and hold them at gunpoint!" Doesn't that sound utterly ridiculous? I do believe it does.

However, most people aren't required to do that and just go home to have a leisurely meal sometime midday. Aw, that's much nicer than being forced to eat outside. The food the French eat on Bastille Day is fairly light, compared to what people eat on Christmas Day. Less butter, less cream, and more uncooked fruits and vegetables. The raw stuff. They start with the cold foods, such as salads and quiches. The shining star of the meal is the dessert. The French have their head screwed on the right way. Dessert must be appreciated.

I heard that some parade is going to begin on the Champs-Élysées soon. That's a famous street in Paris, if you weren't aware. Plus, there'll be loads of fireworks and light displays later tonight, so that should be fun! I'll let you know how it goes, if I don't get trampled under the feet of many Parisians, that is. I know my logic is flawed. I promise that if I die, my ghost will come and write my diary entry for me. If ghosts can hold pens, that is. Au revoir for now, though!

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July 14th, 10:17 pm

Dear diary,

What a day! It was totally insane. So, first of all, the parade was wonderful to watch and I learned loads about Bastille Day from it. Thank goodness I actually did learn a thing or two, since I'm on an exchange trip, therefore I'm expected to gain knowledge of French traditions, or whatever.

They had this military parade which showed off all the branches of the French military. Even though I'm not into all that war hero stuff, it was incredible to watch and the enthusiasm of the crowd got me going too. I'm surprised no one had any bloodlust.

After that, I ended up hanging out around the shopping malls and bought some glamorous clothes. I mean, what else does a fashionista girl do in a fashionista city? The only problem is that I've almost broken my bank and it's only the fourth day of my exchange year, so I guess I have to be savvy and spend less. Maybe this experience will be less fun than I thought.

Oh, by the way, did I tell you that I tried eating escargot? That mean snail in French. They're not as slimy as I thought they would be, but they have this weird, rubbery texture, which I'm not fond of. I'm definitely not trying them again anytime soon.

Later that night was the fireworks. Paris basically went all Fourth of July on us and sent some patriotic fireworks whizzing up into the air, which was very impressive, if I do say so myself. Of course, I see fireworks every year, but these were beyond amazing. Parisians really go all out for Bastille Day. Like I said before, the screaming and cheering crowd got me more excited than I usually am for fireworks. It was totally worth watching.

Anywho, that's it from me! I'm back in my pajamas, which just consists of a tank top and satin shorts because the temperature is rising by the hour. I may brew some tea and curl up with a nice book for the rest of the night. I can't fall asleep earlier than midnight, since jet lag is still taking a toll on me. My body is not used to change. No problem though, I'm going to be in France for a while.

I hope you enjoyed that recount, faithful diary. I'll write in you tomorrow. Wow, that sounded a lot dirtier than I intended.

Nevertheless, au revoir, and three cheers for Bastille Day!