Well we survived Carnival! It was all it was hyped up to be. On Saturday we got up slowly, pacing ourselves for the evening ahead. At 6pm we headed out to meet our group. We were group #148 and we were dressed up as Ice Cream people. I'm not exactly sure if there is a word for what we were (there probably is one in Greek since they have a word for every emotion known to man) but when we first saw our costumes we were skeptical. They really turned out great though and as I perused the other costumes groups had I couldn't help but think ours might be the best. Each group met in a different part of a very big street here in Patra called Korinthou. We brought our water bottles of our beverage of choice and once every one was in place the parade began. There must have been hundreds and hundreds of groups but since we stayed with our group the whole parade I am really not sure how many people or groups there were. According to Lambros there were 1 million visitors in Patra this weekend, so as you can imagine there were people everywhere. There was music blaring in the streets and we were all dancing and singing our way down Korinthou for at least a couple of hours. Honestly it went by so quickly that when we finished the parade we kind of looked at each other like, that's it!? The Saturday night parade was mainly for the adults to enjoy themselves and the floats and a lot of the children were left to join us for the parade on Sunday. On Sunday we met again in the same spot. Brian woke up feeling just terrible. He had the aches and chills and we weren't sure if he had picked up the flu or if he was just feeling the effects of a few cocktails. He tried to rally and come to the parade with us on Sunday but after being surrounded by the noises and smoke and heat of the crowds he thought it best to go back home to bed. It turns out he was sick and he has been fighting a fever and infection now for the last couple of days. We went to the hospital today and got him some antibiotics so hopefully it will pass soon. So Elsie and I charged the parade alone on Sunday, a lot less energetically I must say, but we still enjoyed ourselves. It was MUCH longer this time, and with just my bottle of water I definitely noticed the length this march along. We decided to head home after a coffee, much to the dismay of some other people from our group who were ready to conquer the evening once more. As we walked home I didn't realize once away from the parade the spectacle our costumes would make and we were asked to take pictures with random men more then once. We were also able to see some of the other groups go by as the parade was STILL going on. There were also some great floats, lots of horns and whistles and shouts and firecrackers. It was a celebration as only foreign countries can do. I ended up going home and staying there to keep poor Brian company but Elsie made it back out later. That night they burned parts of the parade out at the port with explosions and fireworks, I'm sure we missed quite an experience. Not to mention another long night. We did get to experience one of the famous Carnivals though and it was an experience I will never forget!
I leave for Italy tomorrow morning on my own little travel adventure! I'm so excited but so sorry I have to leave Brian when he's still not feeling well. I hope he and Marco can keep eachother company while I'm gone! I am meeting Kirsten, Jeff Power's wife, in Naples and then we are going to Rome, maybe stopping in Florence, and then to their current home town, Bogliasco. I then leave for Dublin after a week and spend about a week there, culminating on St. Patrick's Day, so fun! As soon as I get back I have two friends coming to visit so I am starting a whirlwind of travel and fun. If I get a chance to blog while I'm away I definitely will!
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