It was also a bloody scorcher, not a day for hanging around pointlessly in the sun for ages. Which is precisely what happened to a great many people yesterday.
The parade always starts at 2pm in Rue de la Loi, a few minutes walk from my home. So George and I took a stroll at about 1.45. Lots of people were there, with their little flags, and their faces painted in the national colours. But one thing was missing - the parade. It had been re-routed and re-timed, but there appears to have been a communication problem, and not everybody knew about it.
So we strolled down to Place du Luxembourg to grab a bite to eat.
It gets worse.
We were told that part of the parade would pass through the square, and so the local bars and eateries had taken on extra staff for the big event. Sadly, the fact that it had been re-timed to start at 5pm had not been communicated all that well, and so the extra staff were all there at the wrong time.
We gave up, shared a croque monsieur and went home.
The highlight of the day is always the flypast - now this I must admit is done really well. So a little before 5pm I headed off to Parc Cinquintinaire. From under the Triumphal Arch you get a stunning view of the aircraft as fly straight towards you. Cameras were all set up, there were a couple of film crews, lots of tourists asking when would it start, etc.
It started at about 5.30 or thereabouts. The trouble is, like the parade, it had been re-routed. The aircraft passed a mile or so to our south, but so low that the trees obscured everything. Possibly a bit more communication, chaps...... The format was also a bit strange - instead of the usual flypast they came over in dribs and drabs, and at inconsistent intervals.
All this disruption was because of the appointment of the new king yesterday morning. I hope he had a good view of the flypast, in fact I'm sure he did, the rest of us were a bit disappointed though.
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