Carnivale

This week, from Tuesday to this coming Tuesday, is the week of Carnivale in Rome. Carnivale is the week before Ash Wednesday, and it is traditionally the "last big party" before the fast of Lent. Even though the most famous celebration is in Venice, Carnivale is celebrated throughout Italy. All of the children dress up in costumes and parade around in the streets. Yesterday they had a special Carnivale celebration in the middle of the Piazza Navona, complete with a clown, stilt walkers, lots of confetti, and a "best costume" contest. It was really fun to see all of the children having a great time, proud to be decked out in their costumes.

This weekend I am travelling to Pompeii and Paestum with my program, and then we are spending all of next week touring Florence, Verona, S. Vito, and Venice. The following week is our "independent travel" week, and I will be exploring Spain (Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba, Tarifa and Madrid) with my friend Ernest. I don't know how much access to a computer I will have, so it is unlikely that I will be updating for the next two weeks. Thus, I hope that you all have a great two weeks, and I'll be sure to update you when I come back!