La Place des Vosges, May 1, 2010
Photo by Florence Richburg begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting with Watercolor Effect
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Monday, May 3, 2010 • Paris, France
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Adrian
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The point of Labor Day is NOT to work, right? North Americans aren't very good at not working, or so I've noticed. So, in order to prevent (mostly) myself and friends from taking advantage of the holiday on May 1st by working instead of relaxing, I put out a brief email to a few buddies:
May 1st.
Bring goodies to eat and drink and invite friends...
See you there.
May Day is not the international distress call "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" which actually stems from "m'aidez" or "help me!" Instead, it's France's answer to Labor Day. It carries with it the tradition of giving Lilies of the Valley as a lucky charm, thanks to King Charles IX who in 1561 decided to offer it to the ladies of the court. The lady was obliged, in return, to give a kiss. (He cleverly arranged for a show of affection!) And today the French government permits individuals and workers' organizations to sell them tax free.
The weather was looking a bit tenuous, so before heading out of the apartment, laden with wine, goodies to eat and beach towels on which to spread on the grass, I grabbed the biggest and brightest umbrella in the stand -- a rainbow pattern. Parler Paris assistant, Florence Richburg begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, declared she wouldn't be 'caught dead' carrying it, for fear of being considered 'not straight,' and laughed when she spotted the rainbow colored towel -- guess she couldn't avoid it all.
The rainbow symbol for the gay community never entered my mind when purchasing these things that just for the sake of color, make everything cheerier. Nonetheless, the grass was spring green, the linden trees in the Place are already thick, Lilly of the Valley was being sold at every turn and the sky kept turning shades of blue and gray as the winds carried the clouds over, but never letting loose of the rain.
We chose the southwest quadrant where the grass had not yet been taken to spread the towels. Bottles of rosé wine were uncorked, goodies were opened for all to share and one of our friends arrived with a stunning fruit tarte from Huré, a chic new bakery at 18, rue Rambuteau, 3rd Arondissement. Every now and then a sprinkle from the fountain would fool us into thinking it was rain, but the weather held up and the Place was a stunning backdrop for a leisurely afternoon.
At the point that we had all eaten and drunk to saturation, a police woman came over with a big smile on her face and explained that it was not legal to be drinking alcohol in the park.
As I understand it, there is actually no state law against drinking in the street or parks, but municipalities can decide through an "arrêté municipal" to implement a 'no drinking in public places' law in their town. The mayor of Paris passed the law to reduce public drinking but it's very selectively enforced. The law states that it's illegal to have an open bottle of any alcoholic beverage in a public park, but the police are very discreet and pleasant about it -- unless of course, someone should become rowdy.
Our lovely police lady couldn't have been nicer, and jokingly we explained that it was "trop tard" (too late), as we had already drunk it all but one small glass! What a shame she had to work on such a wonderful Labor Day in the City of Rainbows and Light.
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
P.S. REMINDER: Tomorrow on TV, watch us on House Hunters International.
***"Vacation Home in Paris"
Tune In: May 4, 2010
7:00 p.m. ET/PT
House Hunters International Episode HHINT-1A05
P.P.S. Plan on spending Tuesday afternoon, May 11th from 3 to 5 p.m. at Parler Paris Après Midi, when we all gather for a drink and a lot of laughs. Visit http://www.adrianleeds.com/parlerparis/apresmidi.html or more information.
