Aux armes citoyens!

I kn0w I have been terrible at maintaining my blog since Alex's birthday, and I will catch up. Here is a quick, unedited summary of yesterday, Bastille Day.
In the morning, we went to the parade, but we couldn't actually see it, because so many roads were blocked off, and by the time we got to a spot where we could see the road, there were too many people in front of us, but I can tell you that some of the soldiers wore very nice helmets.
The flyovers were fantstic - I always love them.
Next we went to the Musee de l'Armee, which was free for the day, and that was a treat. David and Hugo were lining up to get in a fighter jet cockpit, Alex was taking photos and Rachel and I were sitting on the softest grass ever, when the helicopters came flying very low over us and then landed in front of the musee. We went into the Musee and saw the suits of armour, which we missed the other day, and then the kids said they were too hungry to continue, so we went to the cafeteria and ate some sandwiches. David kept looking at the Musee. The kids said they'd like to go home, so David stayed at the Musee, the kids went home on the metro, and I went to the Louvre for a last look. It was also free yesterday. I had a wonderful, indulgent time looking at things by myself, and got see some Donatello (I loved him) and Michaelangelo sculpture, and Rembrandt, and Fra Angelica, and Botticelli (the most beautiful women in the Louvre, in my opinion, but they always look sad - Mary even looked a bit cranky in one painting), Rubens (love those cherubs), Van Dyck, and more I'll remember later. Of course I hung about with Leonardo again for quite a while. The exhibit which surprized me the most was Napolean III's rooms - they made all the other chateau interiors seem like a tent. They were incredibly opulent and gorgeous.
Afterwards, on my way up Rue de Rivoli, a woman found a ring, and offered me money to keep it. TRIPADVISOR talk about the 'gold ring scam' every week - I can't believe it took me several minutes to realize that was what it was. She was so pleasant and motherly!! I laughed out loud when I realized what was going on.
After vegging with Rachel in front of youtube for an hour or so, we headed off to get McDonalds (about $10 AUD for a meal) we went to the Champs de Mars, outside the Eiffel Tower, to see the fireworks. There were literally tens of thousands of people, and it was a bit stressful. The fireworks were great, with fun music (operas and well-known classics) but if I'd known how hard it would be to get home, we probably mightn't have gone. We walked as part of a crowd for about three kilometres, then caught the metro on the other side of the Seine. It was the first time I've been in a train that was so packed you didn't have to hold on to anything.
It was such a relief to get home! Today is a big day - I'm taking the kids to 'the happiest place on earth'. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like. It's the most expensive Disneyland yet. The day will cost a little bit more than our dinner on the Eiffel Tower, but we thought we'd go out with a bang. Wish we'd had more sleep, though!