Sacre Bleu! Bastille Day Approaches
Chers amis, bonjour.
As you may know, Bastille Day is right around le corner. Just in case you haven't gotten your fill of Independence celebrations already this month, Bastille Day is a great reason to plan a party and a great way to bring a little international flair to your life.
Now as we all know, the French are good at many, many things besides head butting, burning cars and going on strike dans la rue. They make some of the world's best cheese, their bread is utterly unparalleled and their wine isn't so bad either. If your budget is on the larger size, you can celebrate Bastille Day this year by organizing a red and white wine tasting at your house. How-to instructions can be found online and are easy to follow. If your budget is slimmer than a French woman, ask each guest to bring a bottle of his or her favorite French wine to your Bastille Day fête.
Your possibilities for decorations are numerous and range from grape centerpieces to French flags to antique French advertisements (which can be found in poster form for relatively cheap at home goods stores). For French music, I recommend the beautiful Carla Bruni, some classic French café music or, for the true francophile, the epitome of French singers: Edith Piaf.
The best part of life à la française is the way the French take their meals: slowly. The way to celebrate Bastille Day is to gather the people you enjoy around you. Sit down at the table. Eat. Drink. Don't think about or do anything else for at least four hours--let the conversation flow like the wine you're enjoying.
Bonne fête!
Enjoy Planning.
Penelope
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