Bastille Day Pétanque Tournament 2008 On Smith Street

Not quite France, but close enough!

The 2008 Smith Street "Bastille Day" celebration and annual Pétanque Tournament were a blast.
If one squinted slightly and tried to block out the high-rises of downtown Brooklyn, one could almost imagine being in Marseilles, what with the blazing sun, the Ricard umbrellas and the pétanque players.
Turning Smith Street into a giant sandbox so that competing teams can battle it out, is a blast. Sipping a glass of champagne while watching it all....priceless!


For more coverage, check out McBrooklyn's fine pictures and comments here

Related reading:

Bastille Day Pétanque Tournament 2008 On Smith Street

I Say Pétanque, You Say Bocce: Lets Get a Tournament Going in Carroll Park, Brooklyn


Links To This Post:

Monday Blogwrap ( Brownstoner)

Bastille Day: The French Conquer Smith Street (McBrooklyn)

Bastille Day (Cobble Hill Blog)

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Read More

Bastille Day Rendez-Vous 2008: Pétanque, Bal Musette And... The Solex

**UPDATE**
For Picture Of The Actual Event, Click:
The Champs-Élisées? Mais, non! It's Fifth Ave. On Bastille Day 2008

I will try to attend two Bastille day events on the same day, in two different boroughs.

Impossible, vous-dites? Mais non!

First, I will walk down Smith Street to check out Bar Tabac's cool Pétanque Tournament, then I will hop on the subway to 6oth Street in Manhattan to attend the "Bastille Day Rendez-Vous" on 60th.
For all info on the event, go to the organizers' web site here.

But the highlight of the event for me surely will be the 2008 Greater New York Citroën And Velosolex Club's Rendez-Vous which will start at 10 Am at Grant's Tomb, at Riverside Park and 122nd Street and will end up at the street fair.

Participants will proudly drive their Velosolex or their vintage Citroën 2 CV's around the streets of Manhattan.

Now if you don't know either the Velosolex or the 2 CV, well, they are as French as Pernod and Gauloises Cigarettes. I have written about the Solex before on this blog. They are the goofiest, funnest mode of transportation around. Don't believe me?
Check out this cool video sent to me by fellow Solex aficionado Brian and check out his web site here:



So, you see, you may not be in France for Bastille Day, but there are plenty of events to at least pretend you are!
And if you would like to own your very own Velosolex, check out the
Velosolex USA web site.

Photo credit: Briansolex

Related Reading:
Bastille Day Pétanque Tournament 2008 On Smith Street
Brooklyn, Forget The Vespa. The Velosolex Is Infinitely Cooler!

Read More