Happy May from France

At the request of my American in France Blogger friend Sarah from Passport Smiles, I am going to start posting some of my experiences here in France. This past Saturday was the 1st of May which is a bank holiday in France, essentially a Labor Day, and about the whole country takes off. I had met a friend in town for a drink at one of the few cafes open and afterwards wandered around the art museum that I had parked near. This is the thing about Europe, it is just so beautiful, I never get tired of all this beautiful architecture, its incredible!

On my way back to my car there was a big group of people in the museum courtyard wearing these sumo costumes and running around hugging people. We have the "Free Hug" thing in America, and I always love finding little pieces of America here.

Quite frankly though, I was extremely surprised to see this here! I am huge hugger, everyone that knows me, knows they are going to hug me. One of the big adjustments with being in France is I don't touch anyone...ever. In France they do the kiss-kiss on the cheek which is minimal contact, and that's it, even with close friends. The first four months of my stay here I was so depressed and I realized this was one of the factors causing it.

Then on my way back home, still smiling from my hug, I realized another thing I love about France; just when you think you have seen every beautiful thing a city has to offer, you make a wrong turn and drive up to something like this! I pulled my car into an immediate parking place and hopped out to grab some quick shots (this is the reason I am always packing some sort of camera in my bag of tricks).

*all photos are property of Embellished*

My little point and shoot really don't do any of these buildings justice, but I'm glad I had it with me so I could share with you guys! So although I did not enjoy all the shopping options being closed on a Saturday, it turned out to be quite a nice day. I hope your 1st of May was just as nice!