I've said it before, and have no doubt that I'll say it again, sometimes life in Italy is a touch past surreal. Almost always in the most fun and unbelievable ways possible.
A few weeks ago the mother of one of Elizabeth's friends was kind enough to invite us to be a part of the local Carnevale parades.
Emma didn't want to be in the parade, but did dress up as a nature goddess for the first Carnevale celebration. Liz really is happy to be there, she was just eying the float we were going to ride/be with and trying to figure out what exactly it was.
So here's how a local Italian Carnevale Parade goes: music (American country of course, heavy on the Garth Brooks) blares from speakers set on a tractor rigged to pull a float and disguised as a field of cacti. You, others dressed as American Indians, and others dressed as Cacti (yes-multiple cactus) dance and throw confetti as you walk through a town. I can't really give you all the details as to how many misconceptions they have of us or of our "redskins" -but the shrunken head on a stick that one person carried was really kind of funny. It's all in good humor and fantasy as they are happy to tell you.
Part of our tribe:
The local police obviously have a good sense of humor, a few even danced with us for a bit during the parade.
This float not only had moving eyes, but also a built in beer and wine keg that was serviced by Springefields own, Moe.
After the kind of mileage we did, the thought of having traveling refreshments is pretty appealing. I should mention that several families brought out food and drinks for the parade folk, raisin cake and apple juice was greatly appreciated at hour three of dancing in the streets.
This is the end of the Maniago parade. It was cold, we were tired, and I really appreciate Em, Chris, and some great friends for being such troopers while waiting!
This is from the second parade we did that went from the town of Malnisio, through Grizzo, to the Montereale piazza. You might recognize this town square from some of my other postings, it's quite the social place.
For that parade we were the first float. It was much easier than being back in the pack, AND we got to see everyone else come in while we had giant plates of fried bread and drinks provided by the town.
A perk of Carnevale-plenty of booths set up with goodies like this:
A few of the other surreal moments from Carnevale 2010:
I'm pretty sure that none of the nuns I've known dressed like this, flashed red satin thongs, or were men...Cross dressing (smurfs, nurses, nuns, cartoon characters, ... and fill in the blank) was a big theme this year. (This is the tame picture, the one from thirty seconds later and your eyes would be permanently scarred). For such macho men they have no trouble at all donning a fake set of breasts, a pretty garter, and a high set of heels.
Safety isn't really a huge priority in Italy. They seem to figure that if you are stupid enough to try something, who are they to stop you? Proof in point- this was a moving part of one of the floats. It's a rigged up motorized-tryke thingy with a wood back platform that they've set a kitchen chair on, it has two flat tires , rusty pipes, and three teenage boys hopping off and on while it scoots around.
Being in a Carnevale parade might have been one of the items on my life's list that I'd not known to include. It was a lot of fun, and I can't get over how nice it was for them to invite us to participate.
Here's Liz and Mom : happy to be included, and happy to be done for this year!
Casa James is always open for guests, but if you haven't booked your stay yet, Carnevale 2011 is only a year away.
