Tutti!
Only in Florence do you find Carnivale Poop. This isn't a delicacy or anything, but remember how I said a few posts ago that dogs poop everywhere on the streets? Well it was just Carnivale time here, and now this poop has confetti in it.
Gross. I know.
So what's Carnivale? It's a big, huge party that the Italians (and other countries too.. but I only know Carnivale Italian-style) like to have the whole 2 some-odd weeks leading up to Lent.
Forget Fat Tuesday.
Well they have Fat Tuesday, too. But these Italians have two and a half-ish weeks of just Fat Tuesdays.
There are a few cities that are famous for their Carnivales. Venice, for example! But there are some lesser-known cities that Carnivale it up for the holidays. I'll talk about one of those. And Venice.
Venice first.
SO. Two weekends ago I went to Venice along with the rest of the world. Not only was it Carnivale there, but it was Valentine's Day, too, so I was trying to squeeze through the little streets with all the rest of the lovers, trying not to fall into the canalwater (I heard that Jane Seymore aka Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman stuck her hand in this water, rubbed her eye, and her eye got so infected it almost fell out). So I wasn't going to touch it.. but it was pretty to watch! I forgot how much I missed the sound of water.
Basically everyone was DRESSED UP. These people obviously planned for a long time how they would plan their costumes. Women in hoop skirts. Men in tights! Batman children. Masks. It was like a fusion of Halloween, Mardi Gras, and Happy New Year.
There was confetti everywhere, and remember the famous pigeons in Saint Mark's Square? The ones everyone always photographs because there are millions? They didn't even know what was on the ground. Bread pieces? Confetti?
"WTF?"
Saint Mark's was full of people. Almost everyone was in a mask. There were mask vendors on the streets where in Florence the cheap handbag vendors would be. It was normal to see a family dressed like they were from the 1800s sitting at a table eating pizza.
My table for one this evening. Bliss.
It was also really expensive. It's like they put out the special Carnivale price tags for a couple weeks. I wasn't really up for dinner in a restaurant one night, so I went and found a piece of dock to sit on to enjoy some bread and peanut butter. To be honest, sitting there listening to the Carnivale crowd behind me, watching the canal gondolas go by might have been the highlight of the trip. I met some Italian guys who shared their wine, and I went home to the hostel. It was a good time.
... it was one of those weekend I'm glad I experienced, but I'm not sure how much I actually enjoyed. This isn't a bad thing. I liked the idea of it.. the colors, the masks, the humbug, but the vibe was just strange. Everyone was pushing. Everyone was looking for the perfect mask. I must have passed so many Syracuse kids on the streets because it was THE destination for the weekend. Everyone was there to see Carnivale, but I'm not sure how many people actually SAW it... or what they really had intended on seeing.
... it felt like something that people go to just to say they've gone.
NOW. The other Carnivale! Totally different.
It was in Viareggio, and Viareggio is like this: beach, town, mountains. On the beach there was garbage, but I didn't mind... I really miss the ocean and as I was sitting with my friend Melissa we just stopped talking and breathed in the salty air.
The mountains were a beautiful backdrop, and it's the first time I've seen them so close to the ocean.
The town was an inch of confetti with streets full of paper mache floats and delicious things to eat.
Contrary to Venice where the atmosphere was a bit pushy and snobby, Viareggio was like a HUGE party! In the street!
There was more variety with the costumes (fewer hoop skirts, more Winnie the Pooh), and the floats... well. Let's just say they probably started on next year's yesterday.
They obviously took a ton of effort to make, and they were a lot more political than I expected. One was of Berlusconi (current Prime Minister... I think he's a bit of a pig, but Italians are very divided on their opinion of him) who was made to look like a saint with angels all around him, and there was a Communist/Devil float behind him.
There was even an Obamafloat. People seemed pretty jazzed about it.
There were free cookies everywhere that were very thin and tasted like licorice, and I even got to go inside a float at the end. I was with my professor from Centro (the place where I take Italian lessons... not Syracuse) and she lives in Viareggio and knows a float worker. So I saw all the big wheels turning on the inside!
There were acrobats. There were kids riding on shoulders. There was so much life there that I thought was missing from Venice's version.
One thing that's the same everywhere is the Carnivale FOOD... especially fritelle. Fried balls with sugar. Really good for you. Yum.
In other news!
Parents are coming tomorrow... eep! Itinerary is wine drinking, food enjoying, and being afraid of my Dad's driving on Italian streets. I'm going to take them to all my favorite places: the gelato place(s), the roasted chestnut street stand, the place(s) where I buy hot chocolate.
I'm trying to go running twice a week. Hey Bri -- you remember how you told me that everyone who drives a Jeep in the US gives each other a wave when they drive past each other? I'm trying to start that with running. Giving a little wave. Italians aren't like Jeeps, but I think they might catch on.. I really think they will.
Actually! I went running last night and this little boy started jogging beside me as his family laughed. I was like FINE! So I ran faster and told him to hurry up. I let him win and gave him a high five.
I also tried my first olive from a tree. It was a really Tuscan moment.
My friend Delilah and I went to this nearby hilltop village called Fiesole. It is supposed to take 2 hours by foot, but it took us about three because we stopped to eat oranges, looked at Florence from far away, pondered life, and picked/ate olives.
The olive skin is a little bitter, but the inside pulp tastes just like olive oil. Delicious.
It was a very good hike up to Fiesole. We sat on a wall and ate lunch as we watched the city, but for once didn't have to listen to all of its busy-ness.
School is school. It kind of feels like a burden. I'm going to drop a class... not because I'm a slacker. Mostly because I don't need the credit, took it for pleasure, and it's not pleasurable. Also, I'm in Italy.
I'm going to teach myself how to bake bread in that new free time. More on that in the weeks to come.
