parade

Every year there is a parade in Montmartre celebrating wine. Mostly there are groups of people in the wine producing region of France but there are also other things as well.

I’m not sure what group they are with but I see them each year. Their costumes sort of have a middle eastern feel to me.

Several of these tall puppets too.

Nothing to do with wine but the men sure did like watching her dance to the drums behind her.

This is the year of the pig for the Chinese New Year. I am a Rat according to the year I was born. Those born in the Year of the Pig are said to have good personalities. This Sunday was a parade in the Chinese district of Paris, the 13th, so I went as I do every year I am in Paris. I should have gone thirty minutes earlier than I did because there were so many people that it was hard to get photos. Still, it was fun and it was a beautiful day to be out.

This guy is there every year. At least, I think it’s the same one.

One of the people who will be one of those energetic dragons. They all seem to belong to clubs and wore special jackets.

There were a couple of altars for lighting an incense stick. The lady on the right was very bossy and kept children from getting too close.

The guys operating this dragon were really good. A video of them below.

Parade

During the carnavale season here in Venice, which lasts a month, there is much to see and do. One day there was a parade having something to do with ten virgins. There were ten pretty women dressed in ancient Italian fashion carried aloft by men, bands, period costumes and teams of people with flags doing precision drills. I have seen this a couple of times in the States at football games. I wonder where the custom started?

As you can see, there had been rain but it stopped before the parade. I liked these colorful flags being flung about in unison.

A video I took of an incredible flag throwing/catching performance

I loved this little cutie interested in throwing confetti at the parade.

This was the style seen in the parade, sort of royal renaissance.

The sun sort of peeked through as we headed home.

Bastille Day

I’ve never made it to the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks Paris has on Bastille Day. I tried watching from on top of Montmartre before but it was too far way to see much. Here at the beach, the fireworks are right in front of our building. Nothing like having a front row seat.

From our terrace. So pretty but it was really cold and windy. The fireworks were on July 13th which is typical in rural France. Bastille Day is on the 14th.

I watched the military parade in Paris on the next day. This was a group of children who stopped in front of the President and sang the French National anthem.

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Photo of TV screen. Paris can really do fireworks!

It was windy so this didn’t look as good as it usually does. And then that night the attack in Nice happened. I have been on that street many times and Maurice was born in Nice. A father and son from Austin, Tx were killed. I don’t know what can be done about things like this. I just plan to try and enjoy each day and hope I don’t have to say this again

Parade

It was a great weekend here in our little village of Chatelaillon. Our main street was closed to cars and a little pretend village was set up for children and costumed adults were everywhere. I saw our butchers wife dressed up like Cinderella with a blonde wig of cascading curls.
On Sunday I went for a walk and saw this:

I wanted around a bit thinking to see something exotic.

But I only saw horses. Later they were in the parade attached to wagons. Some of them were enormous.

Here are two of them in the parade on Sunday that went right by our apartment building.

I loved the figures on stilts. The parade ended with two camels. I would call that exotic.

Year of the Horse

Every year I try to go to at least one Chinese New Year Parade. This year is the year of the (wood) horse. There was a chilly wind blowing but it didn’t stop anyone enjoying the parade.

Chinese dragons were putting on shows here and there to the sound of loud beating drums.

This one was waiting for the parade to start.

Some older but limber ladies doing a fan dance.

Liked his makeup.

I loved these red fish sort of floating around on sticks.

The parade hadn’t started yet. I don’t know what this man was doing but I wish he hadn’t gotten into my photo.

There were five or six of these chinese dragons dancing up a storm in front of a store called “The Big Store”. At the end, they all entered the store, with tails wagging and ears flapping.

Then they set off an enormous string of fire crackers that hurt my ears and just about gave me asthma with all of the smoke.

Here is a video of those Chinese dragons: