So, its July 14th but instead of seeing how the French do it in the Champs Elysees, here we are 8000 km away in the French Department of Guyane, which is in South America. Plus, we aren’t even in the capital Cayenne, because we messed up our booking plans. And forgot about the French National Day. Which means that we were in the middle of the Marais de Kaw, a spectacular National Reserve consisting of mangrove swamps, rainforest and about 6000 caimen, who can grow up to 3 metres long. Never mind, as we swung out of our hammocks in the morning we were treated to croissant, hot chocolate in bowls and the awesome sight of French tourists - the men in ‘Daktari’ safari suits, the women in white Agnes B linen, leaping into action with a fag and a rendition of La Marseilleise to the dawn and the mist rising from the rain forest. What is it about the French? Don’t they realise it’s very unfashionable to be so patriotic? And don’t they realise that it’s crucial to have a ghastly National Anthem. Theirs is just…far too…stirring….
July 14 in the jungle
16th July 2009 | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree
Rosie Millard experiences July 14 - Bastille Day - in the middle of the rainforest
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Rosie Millard
Rosie Millard lives in central London, and is a feature writer, columnist and general all-round hack. Having been Arts Correspondent at the BBC for 10 years, she is now at the Sunday Times where she interviews the influential and famous, with a special sideline in celebrity chefs. She is equally at home on radio and TV and can often be found at the BBC chatting away on the Jeremy Vine show or Breakfast News, or at Sky doing pieces on Sky Arts. She has four children and a husband who cooks like a dream. Having spent the last two decades setting up this cosy arrangement, she, Mr Millard and the children are currently on a giant trip around the French overseas terretories where the spiders are as big as the croissants and the Tricoleur flies over coral reefs. She plays the piano and is a slightly obsessive long-distance runner.
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