Traditions: May 2003 Archives
The lesson of this weekend is: always study the program carefully. Of course I looked at the program of the Aplec del Caragol, but I quickly came to the conclusion that we would only join the meals on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, and of course the parties on Saturday night. We decided to skip the parade on Sunday morning, simply because we didn't want to wake up at 8 o'clock after a 'heavy' night. If I would have read the program better, I would have known that I could just as well have joined the parade, since they were passing our house anyway. The parade is a quite curious thing, and there is no way to continue sleeping when they pass your house. You have to imagine that the world famous Kwakbollen Brass Band is passing your window 20 times in half an hour, with in between hundreds of people who continued partying the whole night without sleeping. Noise enough...
A funny habit is to throw water on the persons passing your window (ours was just too far from the street to do this), so all participants will be 'fresh' again for another day on the Aplec.
When we were cleaning the space of our colla after the applec, bad news arrived. The parents of Maria José had an accident with their car and had to go to the hospital for some research. While her brother and sister went to the hospital, Maria José and I went to their house to take care about the grandmother and the dog. Last night Maria José slept in the hospital in the room of her parents, and I stayed in Alpicat. Both of them are reasonable OK, with a lot of brouses and glass cuts in their faces. The mother of Maria José has a broken shoulder and will probably be operated this week.
Only four hours left to work, and then it's party time!!!
This weekend Lleida is celebrating its Festa Major, with a lot of activities. We haven't decided yet on which activities to visit, but I think you will find us tonight with the fireworks, tomorrow at the regional houses, on Sunday at the castle builders and Monday at the show of the Moors and the Christians.
Anyway, I will keep you all informed.... four hours to go!
