We Love A Parade

As I mentioned, last Saturday was Puerto Vallarta's answer to the various Mardi Gras and Carnival parades that are traditionally held just before Lent.  Now I am sure almost everyone knows that Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, so called because it is the last day to whoop it up before Lent.  But did you know that Carnival comes from the Latin carnevale or carnelevale which actually means "the putting away of meat"?  That's right, from the Latin caro or carnis which means flesh and levare which means to take away.

So kids, when your mother tells you that you shouldn't be wasting your time reading this trashy blog, just tell her how much you learn from reading it.  And really, how many kids your age know that a perfect Manhattan has both sweet and dry Vermouth in it and when they say it should be made with rye whiskey they are really talking about Canadian whiskey that is called rye in Canada.  Hey, that kind of information is worthy of show-and-tell.  Particularly if you can get the ingredients into your classroom.

As you can imagine the streets and bars lining the parade route here were pretty well packed up.  A bunch of us did spot an empty, albeit small, bar that looked unoccupied at Bistro Balsamar.  The restaurant was full, but the small bar tucked away in one corner was unoccupied.  Only two seats really provided a good view of the parade, but by planting our butts in them we could commandeer the whole corner and squeeze people in.

Just Me In My Corner, With Marge Right Behind


More Of Our Crew, Behind Marge Are Wayne And Paul


Valerie And Dave Added To The Mix


Sharon And The Mysterious Chinese Woman


It took us awhile to get our first round of drinks, but that was understandable.  The place was packed and everyone was settling in for dinner.  Once the dinner serving stopped we had no trouble getting service and having our drinks replenished.

And now, without further ado, or commentary, I present you the parade.  Or at least the parts of it that I was able to photograph.











































If you are wondering why the parade seems to be running in two directions, it is because it took a bit of  a loopy route and then returned down the same street again.  Hey, a twofer.

New friends came to visit, Dave and Carol, so stay tuned for more exciting (well, exciting for us old retired folks) stuff.