Mardi Gras!

I wondered: What would Mardi Gras be like in Paris? Would there be a parade? Drunken co-eds? Would they be bartering beads for flesh? Would the venerable lenses of "Girls Gone Wild" be there to capture it all for posterity? Most importantly, would I be able to get one of those giant plastic green alien cups? And if I did, would it have a beret?

These questions have followed me since last week -- when I came across what seemed to be a Mardi Gras call-to-arms plastered against one of the walls along the rue de la Roquette. But the poster was elusive...prominently featuring a large red dancing cow in a shower of daisies. Hmmmm.....

Curiosity getting the better of us, Cecco and I walked up to join the celebration yesterday. You know what our biggest surprise was? ...That that poster wasn't elusive at all! There (in fact) was a big red cow -- the parade's mascot -- and showers of paper "daisies"! Apparently, the tradition is to march this cow all through the streets on Mardi Gras. Why? Who knows! But while there may not have been any beads or peek-a-boo, and all the giant plastic beret-wearin' alien cups may have been waylaid at the border, there were plenty of drunken French co-eds making merry (a group of whom Cecco befriended and wandered off with)...as well as musicians and street performers...even some capoeira dancers. My favorite, though, was the old wino climbing the awnings and shouting hurrahs into the crowd. Too bad "Girls Gone Wild" had to miss it....