February 23, 2020
Happy Carnival! This weekend in Bilbao there were endless events and parades going on to celebrate and party in preparation for Ash Wednesday this Wednesday. Last night we walked along the streets into the old town where everyone was dressed in costumes! The best comparison I could make was to Freak Fest at UW-Madison’s campus every Halloween. However, every generation was out in force and in costume and overall I saw very few scary costumes. Some of my favorites was a family King Kong (dad=building, baby strapped to dad=king kong, mom= woman on top, two older sibling=airplanes running around in circles around them), bunches of grapes sipping wine, and the group of adults who created the entire cast of Shrek (so I had to ask for a photo).
On the Plaza de Santiago there was free spirits that the older women around kept calling “el agua de Bilbao”. I was not a fan and quickly opted for actual agua from Bilbao. To top it off there was a parade, multiple stages with music around the city, and fair rides that were so fun!
I need to start assembling my squad for Halloween this year, clearly the bar has been set high. 
The fountain with free “espiritus”. Honestly just a classy looking keg. 
Did we scream louder than the little kids on the ride? Yes. Do we regret it? No.
The Odyssey Years 