When 3 sisters called with a plan to meet in Paris at the flat of a generous friend, my hesitation was measured in fractions of a second. We’ve been on the ground for less than 24 hours and have spent hours walking through our small neighborhood, quaint and intimate yet hardly quiet… you see, we arrived on May Day, a national holiday similar to Labor Day in America. Falling on a weekend, our neighborhood was bursting with activity… crowds… couples, families, street music, foods, bicycles, roller blades, and flowers… lots and lots of flowers. Lily of the Valley is the traditional flower to present to friends and we saw plenty of bouquets being sold and being carried by kindred spirits. Yes, we were swept up in the excitement of the holiday and we purchased our own lily of the valley bouquet at a neighborhood florist.

As the day drew to a close, we saw the crowds thinning out, slowing down, resting and we took that as a good sign to head back to the flat and follow suit.

Ann Hohenberger, The Garden Club of Gloucester