lille 2004 fête final pictures

ok...here are the pics from the lille 2004 fête final...i'm only a week late posting them!!! the night was pretty cool...about 30 assistants all met up a the musee des beaux arts to watch the parade together...obviously, a group that big was impossible to keep together, and we dwindled down to about dozen in about 20 minutes...the parade was a bit disappointing, but the giraffe puppets were incredible...i don't think i've ever been as cold as i was that night...we watched the parade and then went to aarons to warm up (of course stopping for a kebab along the way)...later a few of us ventured out to see the dancing...but by that point there were too many obnoxious drunk guys on the street so we ended up at a dance club instead...anyways...on to the photos...

assistants freezing their asses off waiting for the parade to start... sarah, andrew (another austinite!!!), suzie, some girl whose name i cant remember, john-leo, tym and aaron...yes, it is legal to drink in the street...however, one of us did get harassed by the cops that night...one of the english assistants rolls her own cigarettes and she accidentally dropped her bag of filters on the ground in front of les flics...they thought they were pills so they searched her...nice, huh?


ivan andrew and miriam


andrew on top of the cabine (phone booth) to get a better look at the parade


the parade starts!! scary blue men


more scary blue men (thanks to miriam for the pic)


music!!! a traveling stage....miriam's hands (red) :)


parade float (thanks again to miriam for the pic)


the same parade float, with fireworks....


my favorite...the giraffes!!!


giraffe head (thanks again miriam!)


crazy picture...but i like it...


me and aaron, post-parade...warming up at a bar (hey you gotta buy something to use the bathroom!!!)...pic by miriam


bamboo at night...they attached huge torches to the bamboo for the fete final...


bamboo on fire..from the side...


more bamboo...this time with red lights...


another blurry pic...but this one is just too cool not to post...this is one of the gonflables (balloons)....


stevie and sarah enjoy a late night kabab...yummmmm....

yay!!! pictures

i'm finally getting around to posting some pictures!!!

so this was the huge bamboo structure in la grande place (main square).


the same bamboo structure, but from the side...


rue faidherbe and yes, more bamboo!!!


another image of rue faidherbe and the train station...and of course, more bamboo


more bamboo, the train station, and in the background - euralille, the huge shopping mall


the pagoda in place du theatre...there's a tea house inside...


the opera in place du theatre


fine arts museum (brandon and caitlin...two other assistants)


monument...taken on a much prettier day...


le prefecture...also taken on a nice day


war monument dedicated to both WWI and WWII