Dimanche Gras

I foiled Blogger and its reversing photo upload. You won't have my posts to push around anymore.
Anyways, today was Sunday aka dimanche as Chad says means closed or fermeture. We decided to walk around today to find the Carnivale parade. I found a smart car parked the "wrong" way but it still fits in the space. So cool.

Vive le sabotage! the last part of the website (I am not recommending visiting this site) means the bad intentions. Just a bit of the flavor and color of living in Paris, sidewalk grafitti.

So we were out to find the Carnivale parade. I wasn't expecting anything like they have in New Orleans or Brazil. I wasn't sure what to expect at all.

I found la Panthere Rose. This little girl was speeding away on her scooter. A bit odd...The movie just started here. I wonder if the french version is funny, most of the humor comes from the silly accent.

The Eyes have it.

and who you gonna call?

Carnivale parade in Paris was more like Halloween with a touch of Mardi gras. The funniest thing was they were confused at the start. Very French with the hesitation at getting into a line and following. People had faces painted but not the happy things like in the States, more like scary and lots of fake blood. Thus the Halloween tendencies. Plenty of grocery carts full of confetti, noise makers and posters were also involved in the parade. No beads. I told Chad we should buy some and come back next year and throw them just to freak people out. Many drum lines participated with groups from Brazil and Haiti. I think I have determined why it is so popular in the Caribbean and South America. It is warm there. A little girl on the metro home was dressed as a fairy but you could only see her costume from the front or a just a bit of her wings sticking out of the coat from the back. Hey any reason to celebrate, drink and dance in the streets is a party in Paris. As I recall on Fat Tuesday, the tradition involves throwing flour. Not at all like New Orleans. Not sure what that is supposed to represent...

We are packed and ready for our trip to Innsbruck, Austria. I am psyched, Innsbruck hosted the Olympics so lots of bob-sled runs still exist, a ski jump and my favorite, a curling arena. We will be stuffed with schnitzel, micro-brews, and other tasty treats. I have to choose wisely as I still need to determine what I am giving up for Lent. I wonder how the Austrians celebrate Mardi Gras or Gros Dienstag? Photos and stories later, no computer is making the trip.