Day 43: the Fireman's Ball

So the Saturday before Bastille Day is infamous for fireman balls which are these gigantic parties that the firefighters throw for all of Paris. Before this however, we hit the Bastille market which on Saturday mornings is bustling with booths of artists and jewelers. It was so awesome and even though most things are way out of my price range, it was awesome to talk to these artists as they explained how they made everything.
After the market we walked to le Marais where we shopped around little stores and had a killer hummus and falafel dish. Since it was a Saturday and le Marais is a very jewish community most stores were closed so we didn't stay for long.
We then took a nice little nap in preparation for the fireman's ball. We ended up in the 10th arrondissement at an abandoned factory on a canal alongside a little river which was so crowded and the music was so loud. There were lights and firefighters and lots of street vendors cooking meat and making sandwiches which smelled amazing. The only problem with the firefighter's ball which is really the problem with every night out in Paris is that the only french guys there are old and creepy and we spend most of the night avoiding eye contact. Other than that however, the fireman's ball was pretty cool.