party - i should log off

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Despite the fact that some historians date the the celebration of the Roman Carnival back 5000 years to Egyptian cults and Sumerian festivals, 2011 marks only year two of the modern celebration.

Regardless of its actual origin, it is a Dionysian spirited festival beyond doubt. Carnival itself is known for mischief and mayhem as celebrants make the most of their last chance to let loose before the start of Lent. Clothed in masks and alcohol in hand, parties can last through the night and pick up again right around dawn.

Note – Video is in Italian:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDDlxrHugKs

What sets the Roman Carnival apart is that, despite its distinguished lineage, this is only the second edition of the Roman Carnival in the last thirteen hundred years. The carnival tradition in Tiber (then the name of the city of Rome) abruptly ended in the 8^th century and did not recover until this past year. A half million people flooded the modern Rome in 2010 for the first reincarnation. A great deal of excitement and enthusiasm for the celebrations of 2011 (February 26th- March 8^th), promises to make this year’s party particularly dramatic, exciting and full of life. The festival extends through a number of streets and squares across the city where you might still be able to find some of the most beautiful apartments in Rome available for rent.

Although the celebrations are spread over almost the entire town many of the most sensational events take place in major urban areas such as the Piazza d’Espana and piazza del Popolo. Shows inspired by Italy’s theatrical heritage, the famous Commedia del’ Arte, are popular during the festival. Nearly all the performers wear character masks whose design dates as far back as the Renaissance. A daily program organized by the Association of Street Artists is the Juggling Festival.

In addition to the carnival festivities, this years celebration will include a renewal of the sister city status between Rome and Venice as well as adding Viareggio and Rio de Janeiro to the list of Rome’s sister cities. If you have any desire to visit these events you’re advised to find your accommodation in Rome soon because if you wait any longer it might miss the whole thing.

I know we were supposed to give you Part 2 about how we made this trip a reality, but somewhere between our last day of work, packing up and moving, and saying good bye, Part 2 got pushed back a few days. We promise, part 2 is on its way.

We’re finally off! Last night was our official going away party in DC. I’m not really sure how to describe how it felt to have so many people help send us off. It was incredible to have everyone (ok our DC people) there and I will admit their enthusiasm was contageous. As the night grew on, the feeling, at least for me, became more somber as one friend after another said good bye. Over the next few months and potentially years, we are going to miss celebrating weddings, engagements, new jobs, new homes, new babies, not to mention birthdays and holidays. Some of the people that came to say good bye are new friends, some very old friends, but for both groups saying good bye was just as hard. I’m not much of a crier, but if someone else gets going I can’t stop. At least we did it all at once!

As if a big party wasn’t enough to get us excited and admittedly a little anxious about becoming unemployed and homeless (my favorite phrase from last night’s party!) , we packed up our final belongings today and hit the road. Well…. that’s not entirely true; a great number of our belongings were forcefully dumped on others or trashed. It is amazing what two people can cram, hide, and stuff into 575 sq. feet! My apologies to Jamie, Brian, Becka, Drew, Alicia, Falcon, Andrea, Alexis and Aaron who I refused to let leave empty handed. “Take this lamp to remember us by!” All jokes aside, today was a long, long day. Our feet hurt, our backs are achy and if I see another black trash bag I’m going to scream.

I’ll admit, I cried after everyone left our empty apartment this afternoon. As Oprah says, it was ugly cry. [Author’s Note: Danny confirms…ugly cry] Trying to calm me down, Danny offered to reverse our course and give up on the trip…he knew what my answer would be. After enumerating the reasons to stay: no job, no apartment, no dream, no travel (wow there are just so many reasons to stay!) I had to turn down his tempting offer. We’re off, next stop family roadtrip.

Carnival of Rome

Farewell D.C.

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