The Greatest Week of the Year… If You Like Festivals

The first seven days of July make up, arguably, the greatest week of the year throughout the western world – if you have a passport, money to spend, and appreciate patriotic festivals.
 

“Canada Day”

First of all, there was July 1, Canada Day, the annual day of the year where Canadians drink strong fermented beverages, cook animal flesh outdoors, and watch pretty explosions in the night sky.
 

“Siena Palio”

Then there was the Palio of July 2, the first of the two summer horse races inside the Piazza del Campo of Siena, Italy.

“Now to call the Palio just a horse race is almost insulting. It personifies much more than simple bragging rights for the community. The Palio is a bi-annual reminder of the city’s medieval grandeur and its gratitude to the Virgin Mary for preserving them in times of war. It preserves the past and it boasts of the city’s unique identity among the other Tuscan towns. To the Sienese, the Palio is life itself. To the Sienese, winning the race is to be born again.” from Bullets, Butterflies, and Italy

“The Palio wasn’t just a horse race. It was a united purpose, a focus for the entire community, an unbroken camaraderie for young and old unlike anything else I can recall in my life. Nothing else in the world could make a Sienese citizen this happy.” from Bullets, Butterflies, and Italy
 

“Fourth of July”

Then there was July 4, the Fourth of July, the annual day of the year where Americans drink fermented beverages, cook animal flesh outdoors, and watch their own pretty explosions in the night sky.
 

“San Fermin Festival”

Then there was the San Fermin Festival of Pamplona, Spain. The festival is comprised of eight full days of bull running in the morning followed by bull fighting in the afternoon. But before all that daredevil danger in the streets and grim grace inside the bullring, there’s the pre-party on July 6th.

“The air was thick with a palpable positive energy—and it was strictly adult. Everyone was smiling; every man was walking with a spring in his step; every woman was skipping and laughing. And everyone carried their own bottle of champagne or cheap store-bought sangria…

There was no music inside the Plaza de Consistorial but everyone was jumping and singing snippets of local Spanish songs. I could never figure out the words but “ole, ole, ole” seemed to be a popular refrain no matter what the song.

We sang the best we could and jumped as instructed. You had to. You simply couldn’t stand back and just watch. The moment you stepped into the square, you were automatically part of the frenzied fun…

And this was not a simple case of ‘if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.’ It was really a matter of survival! If the crowd around you jumped, you jumped. Then if the crowd swayed to your right, you swayed to your right. If the mob in the front pushed you back, you slid your feet to the back. And if the mob behind you pushed you forward, you tripped forward. Go with the flow. Try to stay upright. But whatever you do… don’t fall down!…

And if you planned on keeping your clothes clean, forget it! It was a war out there. Within seconds of stepping into the square, I was sprayed with sangria and champagne. And then pelted with eggs. And splattered with bags of flour…

Soon the sticky mess felt like a badge of honor. And it really didn’t last. Because the people standing on the apartment balconies also poured out buckets of cold tap water onto our sorry heads.

At ten twenty in the morning, we wore crisp white T-shirts. By eleven, we were repeatedly covered in breakfast food and then doused with water by the good people of Pamplona.” from Bulls, Bands, and London

••••

Fireworks in Canada and the United States, horses in Siena, and bulls in Pamplona. It truly was the greatest week of the year!
 
For more festival travel experiences, check out:

https://www.johnmeyerbooks.com/horses-and-bulls/

https://www.johnmeyerbooks.com/stop-stealing-my-stuff/

https://www.johnmeyerbooks.com/its-not-easy-being-green/