Bastille Day Festivities?
As if you couldn’t get enough of patriotic events from this past weekend, consider taking on another countries traditions and firin’ up the barbie and breaking out the firecrackers for July 14th, Bastille Day. Bastille Day is the French national holiday that celebrates the storming of the Bastille in 1789 that is said to symbolize the rise of France as a modern nation. Complete with parades, festivities and a firecracker-laden Eiffel Tower, there are plenty of ways to bring home the joy and revolutionary spirit back in the States, even if you’re not from French descent. If you’re looking for a place to celebrate with a large group of people, NYC hosts an enormous Bastille Day celebration on 60th Street in the Upper East side of Manhattan. Philadelphia has a slightly more sarcastic and less-traditional celebration of Bastille Day, with a re-interpretation of the storming of the Bastille taking place at the Eastern State Penitentiary, where an actress playing Marie Antoinette yells “Let them eat Tastykake!” and throws the locally-manufactured sweet to the symbolic Parisian militia. San Francisco and Seattle, for the West coasters, is said to have some elegant parades as well.
But if you want to bring a little of the Bastille back home, here are some suggestions of Thomas Schlesser, noted Francophile and restaurant architect, as interviewed by the New York Times:
Dubost Red Laguiole stainless steel flatware from SurLaTable.com: $160 for 20 pieces with storage box included. Marked down from $199, this is not exactly a steal, but certainly an investment. A setting includes soup spoon, dinner fork, salad fork, dinner knife and teaspoon. Four place settings are included in the package, along with a personalized fitted wood storage tray. Safe for dishwasher, hand dry, the product is made at a family-owned factory in France, thus making it elegant and perfect for Bastille Day, not to mention the patriotic colors.
Cour Normande Ceramic Pitcher from PierreDeux.com, $48. A rustic piece with an adorable Coq (le francais for “rooster”) painted on the front, this piece says elegance and countryside charm. Both dishwasher and microwave safe, this is a versatile and useful item for everything from margaritas to lemonade stands.
Have a fabulous Bastille Day, even if you don’t celebrate!
Find at Smarter.com: Shop for more French style dinnerware.
