Carnaval de Nice (or, Silly String Keeps Falling On My Head)

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So today was the IAU trip to the Carnaval de Nice. Carnaval is different from Mardi Gras remember- it lasts three weeks. After Nimes I was a little tired and wasn't sure if I wanted to go, but it ended up being a lot of fun.

We left Aix around 9h30 and got to Nice at 11h30. We headed down the Promenade and enjoyed the sun and the beach. The sea was so pretty, this great blue. We stopped in a park where we heard music and saw people giving a performance all dressed in orange and yellow. Then Mollie and I wandered over to the Marche we had visited before and ate at the Atmosphere Cafe. We both had omelettes that were quite good.

We walked back to the area with the fair rides and bought our tickets to stand and watch the parade- 7 euros. We found great spots and waited for the parade to begin. We watched all the people lining the streets and saw that everyone seemed to have silly string and vendors walked up and down the closed off area selling hats and masks, confetti and silly string. We watched a couple siily string fights break out and people were pretty ruthless about who they hit. Vendors got creamed a lot.

There were kids in the stands behind us and they had silly string too. Sure enough, I got hit in the back a couple of times and in the hair too. Mollie bought some to defend herself and had a nice little war with one kid. I didn't want to encourage them, so I got confetti instead.

The parade, which started at 14h30, consisted of floats interspersed with people in costumes, on stilts and in giant puppet outfits. There were some bands too, but they were very small. Everyone got covered by silly string, confetti and streamers. The silly string was really bad though- it was like walking a gauntlet for the people in the parade. And there was really no crowd control like there would be in the US. People crowded the street, only moving out of the way for the floats. If a gap came they stood in the street and looking down to see what was next.

The floats themselves were very... French. Very odd looking and a lot had poliitcal, social or sexual messages. Definitely some nudity- the floats, not marchers- and there were some drag queens on one gay pride float. Actually there might have been two- there was another float that played YMCA and had men in wigs and shirts that said "Je suis une blonde" and "Je suis un brun". They had confetti cannons that shot confetti into the crowd. Another float had streamer cannons. Basically it was controlled chaos.

The weird thing is that the parade went around twice. I don't really understand why, but they definitely took two times the amount of silly string punishment. Floats and marchers were covered in it. I was doused by confetti being thrown by kids behind us. All in all, the first time through was over an hour.

By this time Mollie and I were cold, so we went to a cafe and had chocolate chaude. Then we strolled back down the Promenade and stopped to by carmelized peanuts. They were delicious. I was going to get a crepe too, but the guy kept messing up so I said forget it. Three times he tried, and he kept putting holes in the middles. I felt bad but wasn't going to wait forever.

We hopped on the bus at 16h45 and the only thing remarkable about the ride back was we got stopped for 10 minutes by the police at a toll booth plaza. Just a routine check of the driver's papers. "Are your papers in order? Why are your papers in order??"

I hightailed it home and then had a nice dinner with Arlette and watched "Starsky and Hutch". I kept finding confetti in my hair and clothes all night. What a wild parade!

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Photos

The King of Carnaval
Big float, 'nuff said. The madness begins.

The Revelers
Pretty ladies in costume getting hit with silly string is very funny.

Big Balloon Heads
Big, freaky heads that will bop you if you're not careful.

Comments

[Margalit]

Two countries away is sort of like a Grayslake city block...
Hey Sarah, I don't know why but I just started getting your blogs emailed to me. I am so happy to read about how you are doing. Anna and I will be in Paris from Feb. 24-26. We are spending two nights there, and I expect to rendezvous with you. I hope you're being safe and looking both ways before you cross the road. Your pictures are beautiful. Be careful, and stay alive for our grand meeting in Europa!

[Colleen G]

Happy Valentine's Day
It's great to hear you're having a good time. I love all the pictures! Take care and I will definately keep track of you on this journal :)