Carnival

There is something particularly special and personal about the circle and how its curves comfortably rule every aspect of our lives.
― Kat Lahr

I spent a week in Nice and surrounding villages – and was greatly inspired by the art and architecture as well as the ongoing Carnivals. Last time we visited was in 1976…a long time ago. Honestly, I didn’t recognise anything at all, but loved what I saw. And the food was delicious.

A feast of colourful life filled our days. In fact I found so many lovely circular items, old and new, that I decided this challenge would be about Circular Wonders. For you to interpret the way you find most interesting!

This carnival in Nice is an old tradition. In 1294 it was first mentioned in writing, in 1873 it was the first carnival procession in France, and in 1876, flower floats were introduced. Today the Nice Carnival is the grandest and most important carnival (more than two weeks of festivities) in the Mediterranean area.

As the old towns and small towns here usually do, Saint Paul de Vence, Menton and Eze, offered lovely cobbled streets and wonderful art galleries, big and small. Fondation Maeght was impressive, and the Chagall museum in Nice was of course well worth a visit.

In my gallery below, the included Chagall is from his Bible series. Fête du Citron (with 140 tons of fruit used for uncountable circles…) in Menton had an Olympic theme. And every morning tables were beautifully laid on the beach – emanating strong spring vibes to a cold Swedish soul.

Wander into the center of the circle of wonder.

– Hongzhi Zhengjue

The next gallery is from the Opening Parade (this year the theme was Pop Culture) and the Flower Parade. Among the flower floats I recognised many fairy tale themes. When I said we were going to the ”Flower Parade”, an elderly French gentleman kindly corrected me – Bataille des Fleurs! Oh well, that sounded just perfect in French.

A circle is a round straight line with a hole in the middle.

– Mark Twain

Circles, half circles…skirts, dresses, hairdos, flowers, umbrellas, candy, and even a nose. Most impressive of these circular wonders, were the cycling musicians from the Netherlands – and they circled throughout the whole parade, lead by a biking conductor! There were all instruments from drums to trumpets and horns – and no one fell off his/her bike… some admirable skills there.

Come out of the circle of time

And into the circle of love.

– Rumi

Et voilá – I will end with some non-carnival flowers found in Nice, Menton and Eze. We had such a fun, lovely and uplifting week. And the icing on the cake was that –

Viveka (My Guilty Pleasures) and I chatted for a couple of hours and had a rosy drink while discussing the festivals and our outings around Nice. Unfortunately she had booked one week later than us, so this was only a short meet before we left.

Cheers!

Now we are looking forward to seeing your fantastic circles and half circles! Be sure to link to my original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Hope you want to join in!

Big thanks to John, for last week’s brilliant lessons about tools of composition – inspirational posts en masse! Next week it is Patti’s turn to host, so please visit her beautiful site for more inspiration.

John is a man of great humour, and a brilliant word juggler – this week he is our guest host. ”I hope, as this is published, we can still find at least a corner of our lives for some humor. ‘We must keep our sense of humor, sometimes it’s all we have left.’”

Go to his site for inspiration! I will try my best to find something in my archives…but I don’t have many laughing people, instead it will be mostly words and signs that made me laugh. And dogs of course.

The first gallery is from China and New Zealand – fun wording and signs. I too wish car explosions were forbidden everywhere…And who would want to keep in touch with the evil looking figure on the sign?

Great fun is to be had every day if you have animals around. My dogs (almost) always make me smile. Totti was a funny dog, he had his favourite chair, and once he had occupied it – no one could remove him from there. His daughter, Belezza, was fast as lightning, but obviously Totty never was…Swoooosch, and she left him bewildered, sitting, lying or standing…take a look at the expression on his face!

Special thanks to Anne for hosting last weeks colourful contributions! They really brightened up our days. For this week, your good humor will be greatly appreciated! We look forward to seeing your responses. Please remember to link them to his original post , and to use the Lens-Artists tag to help us find you. Next week’s host will be Tina, but until then, why not follow John’s advice…

”Stay well, stay safe, be weird, wonderful, shapely and designed, follow your bliss, celebrate your celebrity, be choosy and serene. Have a good year, and above all, keep your sense of HUMOR!”