The highest spot in the square was calling to us by 2:40 in the afternoon even though the race didn't start until 7:00. We stood and sat and stood and sat and people watched for four and a half hours all the time fighting off people who were trying to take our spot. We stood beside a family of three from Paris who helped build a body shied to defend our area because we had the prime (unpaid) viewing location in front of the fountain. Britt and I had bought scarves to support our chosen horses and proudly wore them around our necks revelling in the colours as they glistened in the sun. Britt wore hers as a sling for a while! The parade started at 4:50 and dragged on and on until 7:00. Children were crying from the shear boredom of standing in the crowd. People were everywhere, crunched up side by side, hips and knees touching strangers who were smoking cigars and drinking beer. Thousands and thousands of the people were in the square (30,000). The canon thundered and the horses took to their heels (Do horses have heels?) They were off… running wildly, the crowd was screaming and spinning in a circle facing the same direction at the same time. Within seconds, cheers echoed from the crowd and people started running and pushing. Apparently, the race was over and someone had won!
We had fun. On our left were folks from Sydney Australia and to our right our Paris buddies. A lot of English was spoken in the crowd, which means that every tourist, including us, who is in Italy today, was in the crowd! We enjoyed ourselves but don't think we will be returning for a long, long time!
We had fun. On our left were folks from Sydney Australia and to our right our Paris buddies. A lot of English was spoken in the crowd, which means that every tourist, including us, who is in Italy today, was in the crowd! We enjoyed ourselves but don't think we will be returning for a long, long time!
RSS Feed