What is it about the French and their flower shops? No matter where I travel in France, the numerous flower shops and flower markets express this love of flowers. I was in Paris working on my "Flower Markets of France" series and decided to check out Rue de Buci. What a colorful scene!  Rue de Buci is a seemingly never-ending array of produce and flowers spilling into the street. That day I had my camera only and was taking photos for studio paintings. I chose this particular shop because of the sunflowers--they seemed to be smiling at passersby. The contrast in textures was also interesting, the softness of the flowers against the hard masonry.

OK, now for the "shoot".  Of course the best possible angle was provided across the street at a small café. I wandered over there, constantly turning around, backing up (without looking), bumping into things and people started to look at me strangely.  Wouldn’t you know it? The best angle was sure to be from a table, which was already occupied. 

At that point the waiter approached me (as I was already in the dining area) and asked if I would like a table. I tried to tell him that yes, I would like that table over there and that I would wait for the couple to leave. He raised his eyebrows and said, "But Madame, it could be a long wait". I shrugged my shoulders in what I hoped was a convincing French nonchalance attitude.  And of course, for anyone who has dined in France, you know that a meal can take a few hours, just as this one did.

I started out waiting, but then I decided I would sit and have a café-au-lait. The couple was still involved in their meal and each other. I was getting restless so I started to pan the area with my camera looking for other photo opportunities. That done, I noticed that the couple was on their second glass of wine. The time was a bit past noon, so I decided I might just as well join them and I ordered lunch--and my own glass of wine. Two hours later, after a marvelous meal complete with dessert, the couple was finally making ready to leave. At last, the photo opportunity I was waiting for! I moved my coffee over to the other table and started taking photos.

At this point the waiter came up to me and said is this why you have waited for this particular table? To take photos of the flower shop? I nodded and explained that I was an artist taking photos for future paintings. He said I should have told him, and he would have asked the couple to move for a few minutes.Then he explained that just about any French person would gladly accommodate an "artiste" with a simple request like that.

So, lesson learned. Next time I'll ask. All I can say is "Merci" to the French for their love of flowers. Scenes like this stay with you for a lifetime.

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As a young girl, all Debbie ever wanted to do was go to Paris; she thinks perhaps the movie "GiGi" might have had something to do with it. Her art has won many awards and been accepted into many juried shows and competitions. She's completed two pastel series, "The Gardens of Paris" and "The Flower Markets of France" (12 pieces in each series). She is contemplating an upcoming series, perhaps about the gardens at Versailles.