just lovely.

That's what my weekend has been. Homemade Mexican food, picnic by the lake, chocolate Movenpick ice cream complete with cocoa nibs (nibs, people!) and some homemade red currant compote. A little German homework, a little crocheting, and lots of really good U.S. Open tennis. Too bad my dear hubby wasn't around to participate: he's in Nairobi until Wednesday morning. Ah well, all the more leftovers for me...

And now, as promised, the Zürich Street Parade. Thankfully, it occurred August 13, the day we got back from the US: just the thing to keep us awake for the rest of the afternoon! Admittedly, we didn't spend very much time there, 'cause it was brutally hot outside, and the crowd was just overwhelming, but wow. What an experience. Yet another occasion in which the quiet, proper, conservative facade of this city dissolves into large-scale insanity (not unlike a few of the major holidays here...!), and then only to have every trace of the previous evening's revelry cleaned up by the next morning. Swiss efficiency, I tell you. (Seriously. The only thing left was the gigantic stage set up in front of the opera house, which was down by the next evening. Amazing.)

So. The Street Parade isn't a parade in the floats/marching bands/giant character balloons/American sense of the word. The only actual vehicles on parade are these things called LoveMobiles, which are essentially huge flatbed trucks with their own massive sound systems, toting lots of scantily-clad dancers. The rest of the "Parade" consists of the roughly million or so people (no exaggeration!), at least half of whom are in some variety of costume, who pack the streets and dance near no fewer than seven stages of techno music scattered throughout the city at the north end of the lake. Not really being a huge fan of techno music myself, the primary draw for me was just strolling through the crowds--at least, to the extent that movement at all was possible--and marveling at the giant, yet somehow peaceful, mass of humanity gathered to celebrate "20 years of love, freedom, tolerance, and respect," which was their theme this year. (The organizers place a great deal of emphasis on not doing drugs and not drinking to the point of drunkenness, but we did see a fair number of rather tipsy individuals. Apparently, however, it's largely a violence-free event, which is just incredible, considering the scale!) Turns out, the Parade is not so much a parade as a gargantuan costume/techno/drinking/dance fest, complete with food booths (which I will be visiting next year!), hat/boa/wig sellers, a laser show, and the occasional celebrity (this year's was Boy George, how utterly bizarre). Interesting tidbit: technically, it's legally considered a political demonstration, but more people clearly see it as the perfect opportunity to try out their gold body paint, slutty mouse costume, dominatrix gear, grass skirt and coconut bra, etc., etc., etc. My photos cannot possibly do justice to the weirdness and dancing and revelry that was going on around us, but here they are, anyway.

One of many hatteries along the lake. 

Smurfs. Seriously.

Sweet sombreros, dudes.

People as far as the eye can see.

Using the public water fountains as beer coolers. Classssssy.

Brett Michaels fans.

People 'n party boats.

More people. LOTS of people. Everywhere.

I liked this guy's roses and top hat. 

There were a lot more men in drag, but these were the only ones I got a decent shot of. 

More smurfs. Apparently, a popular costume this year.

Hope those weren't his favorite shorts, 'cause they're all gold now.

Green Man! And a red one, too.

Zombies. A little out of focus, but definitely some of the more elaborate makeup we saw.

Just when I think I've seen the full extent of this city's ability to defy my expectations, along comes another holiday or festival, and this one pretty much took the cake. Despite the nearly ankle-deep detritus of beer cans, plastic cups, bottles, food plates, and other party-related trash, and the nearly crushing crowds, I fully intend to go back next year, try out the festival food (yippee!!), and watch the weirdos party down. What a trip.

What I'm reading: oof, somehow I managed to entirely leave out a book...my latest pirate adventure was Empire of Blue Water, by Stephan Talty. This one was primarily the tale of Henry Morgan (the Captain!) and the effects his piracy had on the Spanish presence in the Caribbean. I appreciated this one for its honesty: Mr. Talty still managed to express some admiration for the pirates' democratic tendencies, as well as Morgan's creativity and leadership capabilities, while describing none too delicately their brutal torture tactics and disregard for lives and property. Really an interesting read, but I felt as though Talty attributed a bit too much of the collapse of the Spanish empire in the New World to the actions of Morgan and his buccaneer crews, instead of, oh, say, the actual wars and intrigue at home in Europe. I was fascinated, however, by the fact that Morgan's greatest successes came not on the high seas, but actually in land sieges of wealthy Spanish cities in the Caribbean and Central America. Who knew?? Good stuff. Finished that one last week, and now I'm into Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate, by Angus Konstam. Interesting so far, but on the Kindle, the font is HUGE. It's weird.

Next up: Bergamo, Italia. I find that I need an Italy fix every few months or so. Ahh, European life. It ain't all bad.