If you want to dress up as a princess
(stylishly), see the best fireworks in the world, and be treated like
royalty, then the Fete de Fleurs is the place to go.
At the last minute, I was invited to
represent Radlett at the twin town, just outside Paris. Someone had
dropped out, and as I had just returned from America, I had illusions
of becoming the “home-coming queen” in France, so I agreed. I
soon got cold feet, especially as I wasn’t sure how my cool rating
could take sitting on a flower float in front of French villagers.
We had a traumatic night before the
journey as we thought our car MOT had run out. However, at 4 am, my
father found the certificate and we set off for a round trip which
would last 48 hours.
What a joy the experience turned out to
be. We were welcomed by the wonderful Benoit and his family to
Louveciennes, which is an idyllic village just outside Paris. We
walked around the village and there was a celebrity wedding at the
local church, followed by a ride on a float before the extraordinary
fireworks. The fireworks were choreographed to music and were quite
spectacular. In fact, the London Olympic opening ceremony fireworks
are as close as I can get to the Louveciennes show.
The next day, I was taken to hair,
makeup and costume to be dressed as a Druid princess, from Asterix,
the iconic French cartoon. I sat on a float and was driven through
the town, where I was asked for photographs, before being presented
with a special gift and flowers by the town Mayor.
I had no idea that the event would be
so much fun, so charming and enjoyable and I recommend any
self-conscious teenager to take part as you will have a magnificent
time. Great stuff!
