March 4th, 2014

So today I went to Carnaval with Franny and a bunch of other Erasmus students. We all met at the train station at 9:30 to go to Binche; the Carnaval there is recognized by UNESCO even! I wore jeans and a button up shirt in an attempt to be a cowgirl. Binche is two hours away by train so we all visited on the way.

The town was so cute! We followed the crowd down to the main street where all the action was. Everyone was milling around, eating, drinking, listening to music! It was a really great atmosphere. We walked through the crowds, stopping to buy souvenirs (I bought a cowboy hat to go with my costume) and lunch (pizza at a local baker). Franny, Alice, and I broke away from the rest of the group to wander around the town. The weather couldn't decide what it wanted to do, going from sunshine to rain and back to sunshine. 

We made our way to the main street where the parade was. We got really good spots against the guard rail. We stood and chatted and waited for the parade to start. And waited, and waited, and waited... Finally, an hour and a half late, the parade finally started. Lead by police on horses, there was a group of children in costumes throwing oranges into the crowd. No word of a lie, they were throwing oranges, blood oranges to be specific. They were followed by what I assume were their parents carrying backpacks full of oranges to refill the childrens' backpacks. Each group went like this, the groups getting progressively older. These were the costumes of the adults. They also had fluffly, plummed hats made of ostrich feathers. 

The origins of the Carnival of Binche are still unclear. The costumes of the men in the picture with Franny and I are called "Gille". The Gille's costume can only be worn for this special day (Carnaval goes over 4 days in total). It is also forbidden to leave the city with this costume, from the saying "a Gille never leaves". 

Click here if you would like more information on the Binche Carnaval