Showing posts with label Fête du Travail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fête du Travail. Show all posts

5.01.2013

Fête du Travail


It's the Fête du Travail in France today - May 1st, Labor day.  AKA: no one goes to work and everyone buys little muguet bouquets to fêter the day.  Alors, last night my copine and I visited our friends in Melun, ate gigantic burgers, drank too much wine, decided we couldn't be bothered to take a late train home, and woke up to croissants, pain au chocolat, pain au raisin, baguettes with butter and jam, and endless cups of coffee, to bring in the bank holiday. 

For us it was more like the Fête des Carbohydrates.




We talked all things apartments since our friends had just purchased their place in December, and since Copain and I are obsessively house hunting. Naturally, after breakfast, on our walk around the adorable little town of Melun, we studied the hilarious real estate postings (while simultaneously digesting our carb feast):


You can live here, welcome guests, and organize lovely soirées with everyone you hold dear! All of this on 1300 meters squared of closed-in land, where your children can have fun en toute tranquilité .... while you enjoy a cocktail under the tonnelle.

Ah-mazing.


Melun was full of pink flower petals, twirling as they fell to the ground...

And though the sun was hiding, at least the flowers were out...


Once back in Paris, Copain and I admired the perky tulips as we walked along the rue des Francs Bourgeois...until the rain came pouring down, catching us both sans umbrella on our Labor Day promenade.  

April showers bring May....flowers torrential rain? 

5.01.2011

La Fête du Travail - Muguet and Manifestations

Today, May 1st, is the Fête du Travail in France - Labor day to us Américains.


It's a day to buy and sell muguet, to hang in the park, brunch with friends - or manifester if you are so inclined...

Muguet for sale....

Streets blocked on the way home from our day out in town

Full on manifestation

I won't rant about the manifestants in France today but let me say this: if their manifestations are to be expected every May 1st (as noted on this evening's news with Claire Chazal), then where is the strength in the argument? Is this now just a simple tradition or are they really fighting for something? I think I smell a case of the boy who cried wolf...