Today I woke up kind of late and cleaned up around the house. I was a bit tired so I wanted to rest a bit, but there was stuff going on!
I made myself some breakfast, watched some more Scrubs (I just love cheesy stuff like this) and then headed out.
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| It was a dark and busy Bastille day celebration... |
Today, right beside the park, was the Bastille day celebration! I walked up the street, enjoying the view and the weather and met up with a friend. We walked through the crowded streets, tasted some delicious samples and kept walking.
It was packed with so much French spirit! Especially because the Euro cup was on and France was playing against Portugal. There was a huge TV set up on the other side of the festival, where people were all sitting down enjoying the show. It was quite cute but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was less packed with people... But it was still nice to walk around, listen to the legit french accents and all the people selling french food.
How did I know that it was real french food? They took a huge piece of butter and smeared it between the pan and the crepe while they were making it. Too hardcore for me man. Too hardcore.
And I still wonder how they're so fit!
Afterwards, I took the bus down and walked around for a bit before hopping onto the Subway to Williamsburg where I met up with a few of my friends (again, Canadians, I guess we all just miss home?) and we headed over to the GiglioFeast held every July. In case you are wondering, this is what the site says about the Festival:
"The story, which is passed on through the generations on both sides of the Atlantic, is that around 410 AD, North African pirates overran the town of Nola. In the chaos, Bishop Paolino was able to flee into the countryside with some of the children. Upon his return, Paolino learned, from a sobbing widow that many of the young men, her son included, had been abducted into slavery. Moved to compassion, Paolino offered himself in exchange for the boy and was ferried off, a prisoner of the brigands. While in North Africa, word of the courage and self-sacrifice of Paolino spread and became known to a certain Turkish sultan. Taken with the tale of altruism, the sultan intervened, negotiating for the freedom of this holy man. Through the sultan 's efforts, Paolino and his paesani, were freed.
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| FRIENDS :D Behind us there is the tower |
Overjoyed by his safe return, the entire town greeted him carrying lilies, symbolic of love and purity. That joyous homecoming jubilee is considered the very first observance of what would develop into an annual sacred event. Through the years, various trade guilds farmer (ortolano), butcher (beccaio), tailor (sarto), breadmaker (panettiere), blacksmith (fabbra), cobblers (calzolaio), deli merchants (salumiere), and wine makers (bettoliere) ) began to compete to produce the most sensational display of lilies. Over time, these displays became more flamboyant.
Today, although still called lilies (gigli), they have evolved into huge flower-laden steeples of wood, 82 feet in height. In Nola, these gigli structures and a boat (la barca) are carried through the streets on the shoulders of hundreds of men, in remembrance of the return of Paolino to Nola. The atmosphere is quite competitive and each guild hires the best lifters they can secure, because the carrying of the gigli is judged. Creativity of construction and musical accompaniment is also scrutinized even after the formal competition ends, and the men of Nola carry and dance the gigli throughout the night."
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We went over and saw a tower up top with people singing on it... but also a fake boat where people were singing and playing guitar! It was pretty cool. Unfortunately, the festival itself was super small, with mostly like touristy food carts and carnival games (that are totally a rip off, my friend shot a whole star except for ONE small corner and he didn't get a prize).
We decided to head out after that and grab some food to eat. We headed to a place called Pop's which has a lot of comfort food so of course, I ordered some cheesy fries (with 'American' cheese) and some BBQ wings.
We grabbed some drinks and headed up to a friend's Rooftop where there was another party going on.
We played some card games and then the other party came over to hang out with us and talk. It was a pretty good time sitting around, talking and just enjoying the atmosphere.
Great way to end a week with the relaxation.
