Carnevale di Viareggio

Carnevale is a big celebration here in Italia. Unfortunately since I couldn't make it to the venice festivities, I took a short train ride with two of my roommates to the beach town of Viareggio (7 euros). This town is known for holding a Carnevale Parade each year since 1873. Its about a 3 hour long parade that displays huge paper mâché floats with a group of people dancing on each one, there is music playing and paper scraps being thrown in every direction.

You can stand in any part of the street because the floats rotate around a circle so you will see all of the displays. To get into the carnevale section you have to pay €15 and there is no way around it. The police completely barricade the streets so that you can't see anything unless you buy the ticket. It's totally worth it though if you make the trip all the way here, you have to go! 

The entire city closes down and everyone takes part of the celebrations. It is very family oriented, people dress up in costumes even if they aren't part of a display and overall it is just a fun time. I believe that at the end of the Carnevale season ( which is about 3 weeks) they announce a winner of the floats. This year the "Il Ragno di Avanzini" won the title.

Here are some other pics of the floats…

The canyon shot out pieces of paper

John Lennon

The back of John Lennon: "Revolution"

Front of Death

Back of Death

Masks of Venice

Voodoo Doll

Voodoo Doll Back

Silenzio

Hysteria

Vampire

 Sorry I don't remember what they were all titled or themed...

Attack of the Giant Insect

Social Media; Internet

Christmas

Poseidon; King of the Ocean 

Native American

 The town of Viareggio itself is adorable. It's a small beach town that reminds me a lot of somewhere in California or Florida. There is a beach which we walked on and dug our toes in the sand. There's a canal filled with boats and yachts, then there is a bunch of small shops and restaurants. I'm sure that during the summer months this is the place to be, maybe like our Jersey Shore, except super clean and elegant and actually nothing like the Jersey shore…

We got there a little early so we had a few hours to walk around and see the city. In the center there is a few streets lined with tents selling cheap clothes and shoes. 

Throughout the town there were some carts selling pork sandwiches. Which seems normal, but the problem is that the entire pork is sitting on the counter, head and all… Yummy!

Also along the canal, since it is a beach town, there are small trucks/boats selling fresh seafood like fried fish and shrimp. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try any because I brought a sandwich from home but boy did it smell good! We found a relaxing park to eat our lunch walking left from the station. It was filled with picnic tables, trees and grass! Something we do not see very often in Florence! 

When we arrived in Viareggio, we stopped for breakfast at an adorable caffe walking on, Via Vittorio Veneto, the street straight out of the station. I had an amazing cappuccino with a Sfogliatelle di Miele! My favorite!

A great day in Viareggio, with great company! So next time you happen to be in Italy around February- March, I recommend giving it a try and experience what it is like to be apart of an Italian Carnevale.
Here's the website: http://viareggio.ilcarnevale.com