Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Happy Mardi Gras!

As promised, here are photos from Carnaval on Saturday - I had a great time. Great atmosphere, we were standing up in Place Massena. On the Promenade there are crowd barriers, so we asked someone on the gate if they were going to put them up and where to stand - the answer? Stand wherever you want, and if a float's coming, move. Ha ha, can you imagine that in an Anglo health & safety obsessed country? I went with a Canadian girl Katie I met up with off Couchsurfing, who was really nice & whole evening was fun-filled! It's something like the 160th Carnaval, it's always nice that it's actually a real tradition and not just something invented for tourists... The theme this year was the environment, so lots of floats of animals and so forth. Kind of ironic when you see how much mess the thing generates!

I've got tickets for the seated section today, which I bought before deciding to go on Saturday. Am a bit meh about it right now since I've seen all the floats and the atmosphere probably won't be the same, but it is actually Mardi Gras today after all. Will also have to get some crepes!



Stork with baby



The effect of a guy with some streamers and a leaf-blower thing



The pavement view of Carnaval



Obama to the rescue! Oddly enough, he's dressed like superman and clutching (you can't see this) the Kyoto Protocol - erm, would that be the Kyoto Protocol his administration rejected? Or, like, some other one that he's all in favour of?



Please, no paparazzi!



Noah's Ark. I got me two alligators, some long-necked geese, a humpy-backed camel and some chimpanzees. Good times



Me & Katie & anonymous photo bomber at Carnaval



The King of Carnaval



Oh noes! Jellyfish have taken to the skies!



The frog was the symbol for this year's Carnaval for some reason



Froggy astride the world



Freaky flying Cupid float



Me after taking a particularly heavy confetti attack to the face, was picking these off for a while



Confetti in the sky



This is a bit hard to see, but they're tossing some guy in a blanket




Carnaval vid - in case you're wondering whence the startledness, I don't know I was taking this video myself!



Weird loud me-talking effect here... Those earths with giant mouths are also a bit too friendly. Ends for some reason on one of the annoying Italian priests that kept trying to ruin every photo. Probably trying to ruin this too

4 comments:

  1. Looks like a great night!!! (The videos really give a glimpse of the chaotic atmosphere, too.)

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  2. Hm a comment not from mum? hah. I went to a parade in costa rica, nowhere near this chaotic, but a number of the floats were too tall to get under the power lines. I remember especially one of peter pan with a pirate ship and a guy wayyy up in the crows' nest. When they got to the power lines, two firefighter dudes with long spindly poles pushed up the lines until the float could 'safely' pass underneath. It took them several tries, and the guy in the crows' nest must have been terrified as his float passed beneath the lines!! anyway just reminded me as your health and safety comment about this one.... hehe xxx

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  3. Ha I don't think I can take the excitement of a non-Mum comment xx

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  4. Is that a giant pink jellyfish or you in the vomit bubble?

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