Carnaval day pictures19 fevrier 2011
Happy birthday, Eileen!
Today was another sunny day, warmer than yesterday, I think.
After breakfast, I did a load of laundry and studied for a while. At 12:15 I headed out to meet Rose at school. We are going down to the parade of flower floats. There were many barricades up along the promenade. The parade route is along the bay. We walked along a parallel street, stopping occasionally to look at shop windows. I did purchase a few post cards. Then we found a chocolatier that had beautiful candied fruits in the window. Rose had tried these before, so I bought a slice of melon (canteloupe) and a clementine orange. Of course a truffle came along for the ride, too.
We tried to find Marietta, but we were unsuccessful. We stopped at a coffee shop very near the parade route watching the families with children pass by in their costumes: Snow White, Buzz Light Year, Princess Leia and Darth Vader were all coming to the parade.
After a fine cup of java – café crème with 3 lumps of sugar – we walked along the barriers and occasionally got glimpses of the floats. Be assured, this was not the Rose Parade, but it was a very impressive abundance of tropical blooms and mimosa. There was a strong Brazilian presence in the music and the costumes – with large plumed headdresses.
I got back to the apartment about 4:30. Michele was out visiting friends, so I got onto the Internet for just a short time. I found Eileen, and Dean and Maria all hanging out near their computers, so we had brief chats.
Then I was off to meet Rosa again to go to 6:00 Mass at Notre-Dame. After Mass we looked for a light supper. We ate at a little pizza place – I had a ham panini with french fries and a salad, and a German beer – the world on a plate.
Afterwards we headed back towards the church, but we were really turned around. Gratefully the concert of the King’s School Choir and Chamber Orchestra from Worcester, England had not yet begun. The bus had not arrived by 8:30 when the concert was to start. A small group of supporters had gathered at the church, and the pastor let us all in. The musicians finally arrived about 8:50. The concert began at 9:15. They did a beautiful job – intonation was phenomenal for a group that had been traveling all day.
Afterwards I spoke with the director. They had been traveling for 28 hours by bus from Worcester. The students had not had time to change into their concert attire or even to eat. They sang all of Mozart’s Missa Brevis among other shorter things. It was quite delightful. They did look a bit tired, but they also seemed to enjoy themselves.
I know I feel and look a bit tired now too, getting in after 10:30. So it is time to turn out the light. Have a good evening, Dear Reader.
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