Things have been rather eventful here in France lately. Two local festivals started this weekend, one of which is here in our hometown. Nice is hosting their annual Carnaval, and Menton has their Lemon Festival running for the next two weeks, both of which we made an effort to go and explore... because pourquoi pas?! Carnaval de Nice - le 17 février 2018 Every winter, Nice hosts their annual Winter Carnival, so of course we added that to our list of things to do this weekend. It's hosted in Place Masséna and along the Promenade, which is right up the street from us. (No excuse not to go really!) It is running from February 17th until March 3rd, and the theme this year is Roi de l’Espace, Space King. Lots of stars, planets and extraterrestrial beings to be seen. It's definitely out of this world... pun intended ;) The highlights of the Carnaval's programs are the parades. They have a variety of different shows going on over these next couple of weeks. Night parades full of lumières (lights) and flower floats all tied into the space theme. We went to see the first parade of the Carvanval, Bataille des Fleurs. Unfortunately, the first day of the Carnaval was a little wet weather wise. Light showers occupied the majority of the day, except during the parade thankfully! The pictures do not do it justice! The floats were filled with flowers from nearly top to bottom, and they even threw out flowers to us. I snagged a bouquet of mimosas for myself, but unfortunately I didn't get any of the roses they were giving away. It was a thrilling atmosphere to be a part of, from the blasting music to the all-girl marching band, each group had something unique to showcase. My girlfriends and I were dancing along and making the best of the overcast weather! I later learned that if you dress up from head to toe in a costume (un déguisement), you get into the parades for free! And I thought the people at the café were kidding when they told me that... La 85e Fête du Citron à Menton - Le 18 février 2018 Next up on our weekend of celebrations was Menton's 85th annual Lemon Festival! This had to be the highlight of my weekend by far. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect as we were heading to Menton today, but I was absolutely blown away! I had no idea you could get this creative with oranges and lemons. Their theme this year is Bollywood, and we bought tickets to go in and see their Jardins (gardens) full of sculptures. From monkeys to elephants and even Bollywood dancers, it was a step into India's own Hollywood. We even got to taste some Limoncello (lemon liqueur) for free! Making the most of our 12 euro entrance fee ;) It was definitely money worth spent nonetheless. This weekend was a nice little break from our usual day to day endeavors. February is quickly coming to a close... we are approaching the last couple weeks, and I cannot believe it! Academically speaking, I've been working on an upcoming presentation for next week along with two exams and a small assignment coming up just around the corner.
Bonne continuation until our reading week!!
1 Comment
favorite auntie
2/28/2018 05:01:33 pm
Unbelievable sculptures! very very Kool!
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