We took the metro, but the last two stops were closed, so we had one stop further to walk than expected. We were wondering just how packed it might be out there. We only arrived about 45 minutes early, and the crowds were thick, but not so thick that we couldn't maneuver our way into a decent spot.
The cool thing about the spectacles at the Arch de Triomphe is that they use the arch as a screen, with animated projections perfectly customized to it's shape. They completely transform its appearance - and show it turning into spinning blocks, or curtains of a theater drawing back, or planets and stars.
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Living in Europe or the US these days, one can't help but wonder if any crowded event might end up being a terrorist target. But, we hoped Paris would have their act together after the recent truck attack on the German Christmas market.
For part of the show, they featured Olympic sports, pushing for the Paris Olympics bid. This was a cool one - soccer ball (known as a football everywhere but the US).
It turned out they did have parked trucks and police blocking streets accessing the Champs Elysees. They also had some somewhat lazy guys sort of checking bags and coats of people entering. They were spending more time talking to each other than doing their jobs. Still, I felt a little better seeing that on the way in.
Fireworks exploded with the New Year
I hope you all have a healthy and prosperous 2017.
PS - For some really amazing fireworks photos, please visit this post from July 14th in Paris.
