Bastille Day in Frenchtown

Our 20 Child-free Days continued with Bastille Day in Frenchtown. July 11th was the town's 17th annual celebration. The street closest to the bridge was closed for entertainment. The shops along that stretch of road decorated their windows

in honor of the day. 














People played Petanque (boules) along the river. Artists painted in the Plein Air style. The theme was Paris a la Frenchtown, with a focus on Paris in the 1940s. 

Cafes had special menus, but with my special diet we skipped them. We did enjoy seeing statues of sculptures, and marveling that while we were enjoying the replicas, Ashley was in Paris enjoying the real thing. Yeah, not quite fair.

I've heard the Mona Lisa in Frenchtown was prettier than the one originally painted by Leonardo da Vinci, but I'll let you be the judge of that. 

The entertainment was great. I enjoyed listening to the swinging jazz of Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra. The can can dancers were a nice touch. We also enjoyed watching the mime.

A real highlight was bumping into Stacy and her husband. I've seen Stacy in many historic outfits through her History on the Hoof programs, but this was a new one for us.

After some wandering around we rode our bicycles along the Delaware River and became dinner for mosquitoes. We also saw a shrine to gnomes and thought of Cousin Allie (who brings Gnomie with her on her adventures).









Despite the activities matching what was promised, I had still hoped for something "more." The problem is, I can't quite describe what that "more" should be. I wanted more entertainment, perhaps. Certainly more people. We parked a mile away and biked to the event because they said parking would be rough. If we go back, we should eat something French. Hopefully by next year I'll have a better sense of what I can and cannot eat. Even more hopefully would be that I could eat a wider variety of foods without problem.