“Are we bringing our own fireworks?”

“We’re going to leave that to the professionals. This is not Canada, there are a lot more people per square kilometre in Europe.”

Mark gave me a blank look.

“Remember, before the pandemic? New Year’s Eve fireworks in Santiago, in Chile? And in Brazil? All we have to do is show up early enough, find a good spot, and enjoy the show.”

I guess he kind of forgot that just a few years ago, public events were a thing to celebrate holidays. Well, good news kiddo, big events are back!

We watched the Bastille Day fireworks in Paris last year but from afar. The event was cancelled in Nantes in 2020 and 2021, so we were all super excited to see the Bastille Day fireworks display for the first time in two years.

We rested for a couple of hours after coming back from our day trip to Saint Gilles, then we walked to the pont Anne de Bretagne around 10 p.m. I don’t have much experience with Bastille Day celebrations in Nantes because when I was a kid, we were usually spending summer at the seaside. It was a bit of a guessing game to pick a spot but we were lucky, it was perfect.

The show was absolutely amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such perfect abstract patterns in the sky before—they looked like a Pink Floyd album cover!