We got to see the floats before the parade:
It was similar to Mardi Gras but also very different: for one, they don't throw beads (or anything) off the floats here. They also did not block off the streets, so people were just walking in between the floats or dancing along with them. The floats inched along and the parade took about three hours all in all to go about 1 mile. Also, it seems to be very vogue for people to dress up in big fuzzy animal costumes for this:
Weird. But the beach was gorgeous:
As were the Alps that we could see in the distance:
And the parade was pretty nifty also:
[Travel info: Viareggio is a rather small town, and aside from this parade, is not tourist destination. We went because one of the NYU employee's used to live up here and thought we woudl enjoy the parade. Which I did. Actually, the floats themselves were magnificent but the parade could not compare to New Orleans or even Mobile if you have gone. However, if you're looking for a quiet getaway for a weekend, Viareggio has a beautiful public beach with a view of the Alps over your shoulder. We took a bus from Florence, but a ticket through trenitalia.com costs 6.10 euros (currently $8) and takes about an hour and 40 minutes. I am unsure if that is one way or round trip.]
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