My Experiences in Spain: La Carnivale in Swisa!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the carnivale, as I know I was before moving to Spain, it is a 4-5 day festival celebrated in different part of Europe before Lent. It consists of going out at night dressing up in crazy costumes and taking part in parties in the streets and underneath tents in sites designed for the carnivale. There are also parades during the day where children dress up. I guess it can be compared to Halloween in the United States, however the traditions of this holiday appear to be a little different.

I took the opportunity to travel to Swtizerland for the Carnivale. I visited a family friend from home, Nicholas, who goes to college in Lugano, Switzerland. I brought two other friends from Spain along with me. Getting to Lugano, I flew from Madrid to Milan, Italy and then took a train to Lugano. Its crazy to think that I was in three countries in one day.

While there we went out a total of four nights and each night we dressed up in a different costumes. My costumes consisted of being an 80's girl, a tennis player, Betty from the Flinestone's and the last night I just wore a crazy hat that had bells and jingled. After getting ready we took a train to a nearby city, Bellinzona, which is a popular destination for the Carnivale in the area. I don't think I have ever seen anything like this before. When we arrived, we went inside the outdoor site filled with tents, music and people dancing in their costumes. There was also a beautiful castle situated on the top of a large hill which lit up in the dark. I was able to go to the top of the hill and see the castle as well, which was very cool.

Lugano is a beautiful city. We spent most of the days just walking around and exploring the city. There is a large lake in the center with a few mountains that surround it. There is a nice walkway along the lake with a park at the end. There are also many hills and elevated parts of the city that give a wonderful view. From the window of Nicholas's dorm room is an amazing view of the lake and the mountains. I really cannot imagine what it would be like to go to school here. I am so glad I took the opportunity to visit Nicholas and see this beautiful area that I probably would have never discovered in another new country for me.

Below I have some pictures of Lugano and my trip.