Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Through my lens - Notting Hill Carnival

What a lovely weekend it was - pity its over. The highlight of the weekend was the Notting Hill Carnival. Its supposed to be the largest in Europe and second only to the carnival in Rio! Armed with camera and a few friends, I hit the carnival on Monday evening.

It was everything that I read it would be. The huge crowds (supposed to be visited by two million people!).. the loud music and wild drinking. Here's the pictures to do the talking . . . . .

There was barely place to stand with people lining all roads along the way. The crowd was as cosmopolitan as it gets! Thankfully there was not too much pushing.


There were ofcourse the smart ones who found unique vantage points. The first is a group on the roof of one of the shops. The second is a lady who got someone to carry her around ..and finally someone who just sat on the ledge of one of the buildings!

The life of the party - the floats with the sound system. I don't know the decibel level .. but it reached right within you and one could actually feel the vibration.

And the biggest attraction of the carnival - Mas (costume, Masquerade). Some of the costumes were awesome. I couldn't stop clicking! Have put some of the pictures together in this.. do click on it and check out the larger version.


Other highlights of the carnival - One of the great floats. I loved the music .. made a note to listen to some more steel drums.


And finally - the creativity was not just limited to the parade ... with all the beer around .. others seemed to join in!

Most of the people I went with didn't enjoy themselves much - and I think that's because they didn't even move a toe to those awesome Latino beats - not sure how they did that - maybe a couple of beers would have helped! I loved it .. had a great time clicking away .. danced by myself and soaked in the vibrant spirit at the largest street party in Europe.

2 comments:

That Girl said...

wow!! i wish iwas there!! its been ages since i was at a parade of any kind!!

glad you had fun!! :D

Pea said...

[Grafxgurl] It was fun :)