Carneval: Living up to the hype!

So Carneval is like Halloween...but crazier.

We went to Sitges, a little beach town about 40min south of Barcelona that has a relatively famous Carneval celebration (think of it as the Spanish equivalent to Provincetown). Once we were dressed and ready (see photo album), we headed to Sants Estació to catch the train. We knew we were in the right place when we started to blend in with the crowd. People were dressed up in all different types of costumes. We went for classic carneval attire- masks, wigs, etc. Others were dressed up as superheros, matadors, lady bugs, rubix cubes, gladiators, etc. The train ride was absolutely free which was nice, except it was so crowded we had to stand shoulder to shoulder for the whole 40mins! (It went by quick though). Also, on the train ride it started raining. Now I have been in Spain for almost a full month now, and this was the first time it rained...murphy's law. But it stopped by the time we got to Sitges and only drizzled a little on and off throughout the night.

We had been told that when you go to Sitges for Carneval, expect to lose your friends and belongings. Although we definitely did not come back with all the same people we left with, I think we did a pretty good job. Collectively, we lost two cameras, a wallet and three masks (I only lost my mask, thank god). But I am pretty sure the consensus is, the experience was well worth it. We went in a couple bars/clubs, but the real party was on the street. (One of the hardest things to get used to is how drinking in public is perfectly acceptable. I constantly feel like I am breaking the law and am gonna get in trouble, but I am not!) This celebration also wasn't just for young adults, there were people dressed up ages 10 to 60! The whole town had such a festive atmosphere. Random people would come up and take pictures with you, there was one street were a group of matadors were pretending everyone was a bull, and music was playing from every corner. It was definitely a place, an event, and a night to remember.