As many of you may know, during the months before Lent, Carneval takes place in many countries and cities around the world. The most famous city that celebrates Carneval is Venice in northern Italy. The second most famous city is Viareggio, a small town in northern Tuscany that is located on the water. Viareggio is most famous for its political satire-themed parade. So today, 2/19/12, four friends and I went to Viareggio. The parade takes place every Sunday in February and the first three in March. Even though it rained (almost) all day, we had an amazing time!
After a two hour train ride, we arrived in Viareggio just as the rain did. We got some lunch and walked around the city before heading into the festivities area. The city has a long part of the coast blocked off for Carneval and of course you have to pay to get in. There were bleachers set up to watch the parade, there were carnival rides and street vendors. We went into a small bar/restaurant and got white chocolate and nutella crepes. Oh my goodness, I think I died and went to heaven. They were AMAZING! After that, we walked around and went into all the little shops and stores. I bought a big flag with the symbol of Carneval in Viareggio: Arlecchino, a traditional Carneval persona. We walked down to the water and I touched the Tyrrhenian Sea! =) We walked back and went into a make-up shop and did our make-up before the parade. I went for lemon yellow and bright blue stripes of eye shadow. And might I say, we all looked fine! After that we staked out a spot on the side walk to watch the parade. Holy cow, was it a sight to see! And the rain stopped a few floats into the parade so most of the parade was rain free!
After a two hour train ride, we arrived in Viareggio just as the rain did. We got some lunch and walked around the city before heading into the festivities area. The city has a long part of the coast blocked off for Carneval and of course you have to pay to get in. There were bleachers set up to watch the parade, there were carnival rides and street vendors. We went into a small bar/restaurant and got white chocolate and nutella crepes. Oh my goodness, I think I died and went to heaven. They were AMAZING! After that, we walked around and went into all the little shops and stores. I bought a big flag with the symbol of Carneval in Viareggio: Arlecchino, a traditional Carneval persona. We walked down to the water and I touched the Tyrrhenian Sea! =) We walked back and went into a make-up shop and did our make-up before the parade. I went for lemon yellow and bright blue stripes of eye shadow. And might I say, we all looked fine! After that we staked out a spot on the side walk to watch the parade. Holy cow, was it a sight to see! And the rain stopped a few floats into the parade so most of the parade was rain free!
The floats (called “carri” in Italian) had to be at least 30 feet high and were almost totally moveable. One float had 25 foot tall political figures dressed in Bishop’s robes and they were swinging giant incense burners that actually had incense in them! Another had dinosaurs that moved all around and grabbed at the crowd. Every float has its own music, its own theme, and people dressed up, dancing on and in front of each float. There were baton twirlers, two marching bands, and men on stilts. It was really an incredibly sight to see and I’m thrilled I got to experience this!
My favorite dinosaur float!
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