Last
weekend, it was Carnaval time in Catalunya, like in many other parts of the
world. Strangely, there wasn’t much happening in Barcelona city, but Vilanova
and Sitges were only a short (and cheap!) train ride away. Two very different,
but equally fun celebrations!
Vilanova i
la Geltrú
Sundaymorning,
we first headed to a little place called Vilanova i la Geltrú, not far away
from Barcelona. This is the right place to experience a very traditional
celebration of Carnaval. A famous event is “Les Comparses”, during which the
streets are filled with colorful candy, thrown around by groups dressed in
traditional clothing, guys wearing the typical Catalan hat and girls a scarf
and a flower in their hair. At the main square, groups of people were running
in circles, wearing these traditional outfits, holding flags and throwing candy
in the air. A strange happening, but fun to see! Walking
through these candy-filled streets resulted into very sticky shoes by the way, collecting
lots of candy wrappers.
Sitges
After a relaxing time at the beach, we jumped on
the train to get out one stop later: Sitges, famous for its Carnaval. Lots of
people were dressed up as well, this time in less traditional but more
extravagant outfits. A huge parade went through this tiny village, watched by
thousands of people. Lots of carnival floats, dancers, music and insane
amounts confetti (getting stuck under our sticky sugary shoes, haha). It was
actually my first real Carnaval celebration, and I have to say it was a pretty
great one!
No comments:
Post a Comment