First priority: breakfast!

Second priority: Parade! We left early to find a spot to see the famous military parade that has been a tradition since the 19th century.

The planes came first, zooming overhead…

… then the silent marching troops…

… followed by singing marching troops…

… then troops in white hoodies and bakers caps …

… and the troops with the Star Wars capes…

… and the troops who might not have grasped the concept of camouflage (unless there are lots of bright yellow birds in their particular forest?)…

In all seriousness, though, I was very impressed with the parade. It was respectful and patriotic; I loved the simplicity of seeing just the troops without a lot of fanfare. The singing, in particular, I found very stirring.

But we didn’t have time to stay to the end — lunch beckoned! Back to La Regalade, where site of our very first Michelin star. The food was still just as good.

Thus fortified, we trekked out to St Ouen to explore the famous Paris Flea Market. It was certainly large and full of all sorts of odds and ends — ranging from junk to the royal to the bizarre. It was both overwhelming and underwhelming. I had hoped to feel inspired to buy all the things (the design mags make it out to be quite a Mecca) but mostly I was hot and wanted a nap.

So nap we did. Thirty minutes, back at the flat, then into our evening wear for a night at the opera.

Seemed appropriate to celebrate Bastille Day at the Bastille Opera. We saw a production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore that was beautifully sung but bizarrely directed. It was as though the director seemed to have intentionally ignored the libretto to direct the opera he thought Verdi should have written rather than the one he actually wrote.

The night was lovely and cool when the opera let out, so we walked back to the flat, enjoying some delicious gelato along the way.