A number of years ago we arrived in Rome on April 30, planning to spend the next day playing tourist. Evidently it is a true "labor" holiday - including cab drivers, restaurant people, all public transportation. Amazing. Absolutely nothing was open and walking was pretty much the only option. Lived on gelato from the few street carts working. Never saw anything like it. Here the leisure industry folks see holidays as big revenue days and take their holiday when it is over. In Italy, pretty much everyone must stay home with the family or drive out for picnics in the countryside or something. What amazed me was that no restaurants or gypsy cabs seemed to "capitalize" (you'll forgive the expression) on the lack of competition.

>>>Dragan, you crack me up. I should have known you still think of May Day as a holiday. I did not know it is the Communist version of Labor Day, so thanks for that.
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>>Well, most of Europe, which is capitalist all over, has it as an official holiday
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>We were in Paris on May 1st, and did not even give it a thought when we were planning our trip that it would be a holiday. We realized it pretty quick though on that day, because everyone was out on bicycles and there were just people everywhere!! Even some streets along the Seine were closed to traffic ... pedestrians and bicyles only. As soon as we realized that it looked a like a weekend day rather than a work day, we figured out pretty quickly that it was the May Day holiday. <g>
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>~~Bonnie