Every year at this time the American ambassador in Paris holds a garden party at his residence to celebrate Independence Day. This year was no exception. Although rain was forecast, the weather turned out to be largely warm and sunny, with only a smidgen of rain. It was, then, a great day for a Fourth-of-July garden party!
The theme this year was American food, and there was lots of that!
I went to the corn dog stand and got two delicious corn dogs, one after the other, served with mustard.
Corn Dog Stand (in foreground)
Photography by www.DiscoverParis.net
Make Mine with Mustard
Photography by www.DiscoverParis.net
Then, I made my way over to the beverage stand where I saw that three American beers were being served. I opted for the craft beer Blue Moon. Nice!
Three American Beers
Photography by www.DiscoverParis.net
After the beer it was time for fried shrimp. I walked past the hamburger stand…
Hamburger Stand
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Serving Hamburgers to an Eager Crowd
Photography by www.DiscoverParis.net
…and made my way to the fried shrimp stand.
Serving Fried Shrimp
Photography by www.DiscoverParis.net
Then, over to the Häagen-Dazs stand for some ice cream…
Häagan-Dazs Stand
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
…where I ordered a MiniCup Macadamia Nut Brittle. I went back later for a Cream Crisp Cookies & Cream. Heavenly!
I had eaten my fill, so I could safely walk around and look at the desserts without feeling tempted for more. There was an American flag made out of colorful puddings. What a great idea! As people took the dessert, a server behind the counter would immediately replace the empty space with an appropriately-colored pudding.
American Flag
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Then there were cookies and doughnuts…
Cookies and Doughnuts
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
And cheesecake…
Band Admirer
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Oops! Wrong photo. And cheesecake…
Cheesecake
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
And cotton candy…
Cotton Candy Stand
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
A Fourth-of-July celebration wouldn’t be complete with flags, speeches, and music…
Bringing up the Colors
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
The official choir of the American Embassy, The Dip Notes, sang the “Marseillaise” and then the “Star Spangled Banner”. Great harmony, ladies!
The Dip Notes
Photography by www.DiscoverParis.net
Both American Ambassador Charles H. Rivkin and French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault gave speeches about the importance of French-American friendship in confronting the problems of our strife-torn world.
Ambassador Rivkin and Prime Minister Ayrault
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
And finally, The Diplomats, the U.S. Naval Forces Europe band, played rock, funk, rhythm and blues, and pop.
Band Admirer
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Oops! How did that photo get in again? Here is a picture of the lead singer belting out “Flash Light” by Parliament. Awesome!
The Diplomats
Photography by www.DiscoverParis.net
It was a great day to be an American in Paris!
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Tags: Ambassador's Residence, Fourth of July, Independence Day
