Carnaval de Binche

Last Tuesday (Feb.21, 2012) was Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday or ..... Carnival week in Belgium.  The town of Binche in Wallonie (French-speaking region of Belgium) is known all over for its Mardi Gras carnival.  It has been proclaimed one of the masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. I wasn't going to miss that!
Binche is a typical Belgium town about an hour by train from Brussels, but crowded with hundreds and hundreds of people today!  The centrepiece of the carnival's proceedings is the clown-like performers known as Gilles.  They are dressed in a vibrant costume, wax mask and wooden clogs.  The honour of being a Gilles is something to be aspired to by local men.

At dawn, the first one goes to the home of the second one, has raw oysters and champagne with him; then they go to pick up the third one, have oysters and champagne together; then pick up the fourth one, and so on until there are a large group of them (all stuffed with oysters and champagne!).  They appear in the streets doing a kind of stomp-dance to the sound of drummers who accompany them.  In their hands they carry a bundle of twigs to ward off evil spirits and chase away winter.

A few others groups (Sociétés) are also dressed up and walking around the streets:
la Société des Paysans (peasants): they wear a blue smock with white cuffs and gloves, a hat decorated with two ostrich feathers and long white ribbons.  they are future Gilles.

la Société des Arlequins (jesters): they wear a costume made of a textile printed with yellow, red and green triangles, a black belt and their green felt hat has a black & grey fur tail.

la Société des Pierrots:  their costume is in pastel colours.  They wear a conical hat trimmed in lace with a white ribbon at the top, and a black mask.  The viola accompanies the children as they walk around and dance in groups.  The viola is a transpostable barrel organ whose keyboard and bellows work with a cyclinder moved by a handle.

The flower of the Carnival is the yellow mimosa, one of the first trees in flower in spring.  It`s flowering now.  There were vendors all over the main square.

In the afternoon, there is an amazing procession that winds its way through a few streets up to the main square where everyone dances (if you can find room!!) to the music of bands and drummers.  The parade has its usual horses, policemen, Red Cross workers, town councillors and important people  However, the beauty is the parade of the Pierrots, the Paysans and the Arlequins, and then the pièce de résistance is the Gilles, who have traded in their mask for a white hat with HUGE white ostrich feathers - absolutely unique!  Apparently they're worth hundreds of euros.  Breathtaking!

They all carry baskets of oranges which they throw to the crowds.  Fun!  In the morning as I wandered around, I wondered why the windows on the upper floors of the buildings along the parade route all had chicken wire or a grill over the window panes.  Now I understand why: the performers really heave their oranges!

The day ends with a huge bonfire in the main square.

A once-in-a-lifetime experience I wouldn't want to have missed. 

Shhhh!

          Don't tell anyone that this Canadian who is used to below zero temperatures all winter is excited at the arrival today of rain, after two weeks of below zero temperatures with blue skies and lots of sun here in Brussels!!  Yes, she is.  What she has to add, though, is that old buildings (of which her apartment building is one) do not have good insulation.  That means that the cold air passes through the walls, making them COLD to the touch and passes around the window frames causing a continual gentle breeze of COLD air.  The hot water radiators can't keep up.   I've been living in two sweaters, tights, wool socks and a blanket wrapped around me for days.  Hurrah for the rain and the above zero temperatures :) !!  (Bet this enthusiasm won't last for long, though. )
         However, Ukraine, Poland, Rumania, Italy and southern France are still buried in unusual quantities of snow.  And Quebec has practically none!

My Brussels 201

One month (and a bit) in Brussels and what catches my attention now?
- many restaurants are closed on Sunday.  I don't think it's for religious reasons but rather that Belgians stay home with their families on Sunday.  Only restaurants in the tourist area of Brussels are open.
- footwear is very important here.  People assess you by the shoes you wear!  I hardly see any running shoes.  The shoestore windows are outstanding and the boots the women wear are pretty cool.  Want to spot a tourist?  He/she is either wearing sturdy walking shoes or running shoes :)
- there are not many bikes.  This is not Holland.  That surprizes me but apparently, the Belgians are not into fitness as we are.  Maybe there'll be more when the weather warms up...
- Belgians say "s'il vous plaît" for "you're welcome" or "here you are" or "merci/thank-you".
- men and women's restrooms in restaurants often share the same sink area to wash hands.  It's a bit of a surprize at first when you see a man come out of a cubicle facing you!
- street lights are most often fixed to the buildings so as not to take up sidewalk space.
- believe it or not, after 10 p.m., the music playing in the subway stations is classical!  I can stand waiting for a subway and listen to a Mozart sonata!  Amazing!
- I can treat myself to a fresh bouquet of 10 tulips every week for only 5 euros!  There are vendors all over the place.
- Belgian fries are the best in Europe.

So, where do I live?

Welcome to my little corner of Brussels!  My postal code is 1050, which means I live in the Commune (or section) of Brussels called Ixelles.  It's a lovely area of the city with parks, trees and wide boulevards.  I live just off Louise Avenue, a large tree-lined boulevard with high-end stores, shops, banks, bakeries, restaurants and apartment buildings - a safe place to walk around in in the evening.  My street is de la Concorde and I live at #54, on the top floor.  I like this because when I look out my windows, I'm looking at roof tops, not into someone else's windows.  Side streets are narrower here than in Montreal.

This is the view from my window onto my street.  You can see how narrow the houses are .  This is typically Belgian.  Each one is different.  Sometimes an old one is torn down and a new modern one is built in its place so many streets are a mixture of old and new buildings, but all narrow. 

And this is my apartment building - the yellow brick one.  My apartment is on the top floor, the sets of windows with 5 panes and 2 panes.  The 5 panes are in my living room and the 2-paned window is my bedroom.  Now, step inside the door, go up to the 4th floor on a tiny little old elevator that's open to the walls on 2 sides and knock on my door!

Welcome!  This is my entrance hall (also my clothes cupboards).  It leads the way into

...... my living room.  My couch makes into a bed so I can have visitors; the table at the left near the window is where I'm sitting right now at my computer; the door to the right is to my bedroom; there's a TV on the left and a table and chairs....

... and behind the dining area is my kitchen with a stove with gas elements and an electric oven.  To the left is the door to the bathroom.

It's a nice compact little kitchen that is very convenient.  The window opens onto a shaft that goes from the bottom floor to the top, to let in air.  The top is covered with wire netting to keep the pigeons from coming in.

And this is my bathroom.  The washing machine is a washer-dryer but the dryer is not very efficient according to Canadian standards.  It would take 2 hours to dry sheets so you can see why I don't use it, with the price of electricity here being so high.    You can see the drying rack that I bought :).  The blue 'seat' is a hamper.

And this is the gas heater.  The water in the building is heated by gas - a new wrinkle for me.  I'm getting used to the "whoosh" as the gas lights up each time I turn on the hot water!

And finally, this is my bedroom.  Fortunately the bed is very comfortable and very warm.  When I'm shivering from the cold because the windows are poorly insulated and the cold air pours in around them, I can jump into bed and get warm!

So this is my new home for this year.  I am truly blessed.  It's tastefully decorated, adequate for my needs, near stores, on tram and subway lines so I can go anywhere in the city, a 15-minute walk to the church (or 5 minutes on the tram) and a safe, interesting, busy area to live in.  It is a gift from God.  Thank-you to so many of you that made this possible.