Well, actually it was Aug. 1, which is National Day.
Stores are closed, mostly. Julia told me the patisserie was open, so I ambled up there for some bread. They also have these amazing cookies, as well as the Chardonnes....the crispy, crunchy, extremely sugary treat. I bought a loaf of bread, two Chardonnes...one large, one small... and six of the cookies.
If I had known the cookies were 3 Franc each, I might not have bought 6! Holy cow, I had a 20 bill out, and she said 34 and I was shocked. I guess I should have asked first.
The nice lady today spoke English very well. I noticed a buzzing insect in the display case. In French, she told me it was not a fly but it was a "guepe", which sounded like keep, only with a g at the start. Le guepe is a wasp. I think she was concerned I thought there were flies in the food, so she wanted to make sure I understood the difference between a fly..."la mouche".. and "la guepe."
And strangely, I understood. I sort of remembered the word for fly, and I figured out the wasp thing when I pinched myself and said ouch and she laughed and said yes! A sting.
Anyway.....
Way back in 1291, over 200 years before Christo Columbus sailed the ocean blue, three leaders of separate cantons met in a field near Lucerne. They pledged to unite and never fight again. That was the official start of Switzerland but the day was not declared a national holiday until 1994.
It is celebrated very similar to our July 4. Fireworks were in the air over the towns on this end of the lake. We watched three or four fireworks displays last night, and two tonight...with a third smaller one on the other side of the lake.
It is kind of neat to sit and watch all the explosions of colors in the sky. And there were no mosquitoes!
And yes, people here also set off fire crackers and their own fireworks, although that has been discouraged this year because they have gone almost a month without rain.
There are also bonfires in the various towns, but we did not see any burning but the one out on the lake. Again, dry conditions may have changed some minds.
Kevin and Cristina came over and we had appetizers and wine the watched the displays.
But nobody ate the cookies.
After they left, Julia had a half....and I finished the other half.
It was worth the 3 franc.
Anyway, just a couple of pix.....still can't find a cord for my real camera!
Pretty impressive display, actually.
Now I have to go to sleep, for I have boxes to pack......
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