May Day

Muguets

 Wow. May already. Here in France the first of May is celebrated with le muguet (lily of the valley). It's sold on every corner and every one had a sprig in their house. The national holiday meant sleeping in for me and after breakfast, a walk to the market with two members of my host family.

Legumes du marché

 The visit to the market included teaching me lots of new names and tasting plenty of cheese. There were some fun interactions with the olive seller from Nîmes, who had a heavy accent and was quite the comic.

Les olives variées

And as we walked back to the apartment, we were greeted with a very French sight: a protest. Yes, it's May Day, so that's what's supposed to happen, but protests or "manifs" are very popular here. There is always a tram not working or a road blocked because of one (it's called the national sport). So that completed my cultural experience for the day...or not entirely. Crêpe dinner tonight. Oh la France. 

May Day manifs