Our Blog - 4th of July, 2017

One thing that we have to get used to is a slight change in thinking around Independence Day. While there *are* things that go on for American Independence Day (July 4th), the majority of what American's think of for July 4th actually here goes on for Bastille Day or the Fete Nationale on July 14th. But the American Expats do try to do a few things, and Toulouse is no different.

First, back on June 8th, the US Consulate and the Toulouse City Hall held a celebration of the 241th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence within the Salle des Illustres at the Capitole. It is normally held the 3rd week or so of June but this one ended up being early due to scheduling. It was interesting, although we really didn't take any pictures. The Mayor of Toulouse spoke (in French) and there was a person from the Consulate in Paris who came down and he spoke (in French). Probably one of the more interesting parts was that they had a fairly "famous" singer from Toulouse who sang both the Star Spangled Banner and La Marseillaise (the National Anthem of France).

Then on July 2nd, the Americans in Toulouse (AIT) and France-Etats Unis (France-United States) expat groups got together to have a little BBQ. The Democrats Abroad Toulouse also had their own in a different location, and we went with the AIT group since we have been active in the AIT since moving here (we've joined DA-T, but haven't really done anything with them). It was just a small get-together out in the Forêt de Bouconne, which is a large forest about 20 km west of the city. It covers some 2,700 hectares and has both private and public areas. There were tables and chairs setup along with a few tables of food and drink.

And of course, a little Eiffel Tower along with the French and American flags.

In addition to doing some fun games in the fields, they also had this group come in for entertainment. They are the Colomiers Danse Country (Colomiers is a town/city just outside of Toulouse). They did a couple dances and then had us come up and join them in a little dance (which was actually fairly fun!)

I attempted a short video of them as well.

This isn't quite the 4th, but on Saturday was a Folk Music festival in Toulouse. Around the city, there were different groups of music/dance from various countries. This one was Italian and was at the Place du Capitole. There was also one in Place St. George after this one but we had just missed the end of it as it had stopped early because it was starting to rain.

I'll have another blog for Bastille Day (French Independence Day) shortly after the 14th, which we will do here in Toulouse.