Veronica: Easter, the most bizarre day ever

Today is Easter. And in France, it is a very unconventional holiday indeed. My day started strangely. My host mom was gone when I woke up, someone picked her up because both of the cars were still at the house. I decided to go to my friend’s place for the day rather than being home all day alone. And that is when the strangeness really began.

Since it’s Easter, EVERYTHING is shut down in France. Obviously. But we went for a walk and did find a bakery stand near the train station that was open, and they had this chocolate cake called “pudding,” so I got it. And it was the strangest tasting thing ever. I can’t even describe it to you. It didn’t taste like pudding OR cake. It was really not good.

But after that, in the Place de la Comedie, was when things really went down. There was a brass marching type band playing in front of the opera house to a big crowd. The band members were dressed up with accessories I didn’t think they would sell in France. Curly, colored, clown-like wigs; boas; shiny and shaggy sheaths of material; pink shirts with a face hood; and hippie-like garb. Despite their odd appearance, they played really well and were entertaining on their own, but the real entertainment/amusement/ridiculousness was in the crowd. There was a drugged-out, dirty homeless man dancing and rolling around on the ground to the music. Little children were riding their tricycles and dancing in the center with their parents nowhere in sight. One boy was riding a bike that was way too big for him, and bouncing around on it. His brother was doing cartwheels and kicking people. One guy was dancing with the kids who had an afro on half of his head. One child kept trying to steal the band’s money. Dogs started fighting. One guy was dancing with his coat and then randomly had a guitar a minute later. A tram honked at the crowd. It rained only on the crowd for five minutes. Bikers kept riding through the crowd. Honestly, I’ve never seen so many French people acting out. They are very proper and keep to themselves. This was like French society cracking. I can’t even explain how weird this was to you. I wish I had videos I could show you.

Craziest Easter… No, craziest day ever. If every Easter is like this, I’m going to make sure to be here for them.