Birthdays and Beer festivals

 My birthday this year conveniently coincided with munich’s famous Oktoberfest, so when I received an invitation to stay with and attend the festival with a mixture of Germans, Italians and Australians I figured it was the perfect way to spend my 23rd birthday.

I took the night train on Friday night, arriving in Munich at 6.30am Saturday morning, just in time to see the dirndl and lederhosen clad youngsters returning home from the previous nights festivities.

After spending the day equipping myself with a Dirdle, we went to a historical section of the festival that was started last year to commemorate the 200th year of Oktoberfest. Last year the 6 Munich breweries came together to produce the beer that was brewed and drunk 200 years ago, it’s stronger, sweeter and was so popular last year that they decided to repeat the “historical Oktoberfest” again this year. So I happily washed down my giant pork knuckle with a stein of old fashion beer.

Sunday morning we had a traditional Baverian breakfast of weisswurst and beer followed by a lazy day before the big nights events.

Together with another 2 Australians, 2 Austrians, 1 Brit, 3 Italians, 4 Germans and 5 half German half Italians (one who lives in the UK), we had 2 tables booked in the Gallery level of the Augustine tent. Our tickets bought us the table from 5pm til 10pm, 2 beers (1L pints), half a roast chook each and a looot of fun.

I have to admit that although I wanted to go to Oktoberfest- more to say I had been and to see what all the hype was about... I really just expected that it would be a lot of sitting at a table drinking (or more likely on my part- struggling to drink) litres of beer whilst surrounded by drunk tourists. Yet I was really suprised... Yes, there were many many drunks, but I really didn't notice! Nor did I notice the 2 and a half litres of good German beer I drank that night (which may have something to do with the not noticing the drunks...) But Oktoberfest is full of history and tradition (which I learnt from one of the locals at my table) and apart from being primarily about the beer, it is still a festival with rides, sideshow games, candied almonds, music and costumes.

And whilst sitting at your table, drinking your beer and eating half a chook, the band on the ground floor is playing songs that everyone knows the words and actions to, so you find yourself straddling the bench seat rocking back and forth with the rest of people at your table, singing a mixture of eeeeeeee boo dii dddddaaaaaah lo li lah to the tune to make it look like you too know the song.

 

  The waiters are amazing, carring up to 14 beers at a time, through the hall and up the stairs to the tables!

It really was alot of fun. My birthday was shared with one of the other Australians in the group, and the group even organised a birthday treat for us, getting personalised lebkuchenherzen for us both. Thanks guys!

On monday night after spending the day in the beautiful English Gardens in Munich, I took another night train back to Florence arriving at 6.30am, ready to start work at 9am. Back to reality :)

Festa Medievale

Last weekend, along with Lorenzo and his cousins, we made our way to Monttevettolini. A small walled fortress town perched on top of a hill, where once a year the whole town pitches in to throw a big medieval party.
When the idea was mentioned, the images that came to mind related back to the movie Role Models, where they all dress up and fight each other with fake swords in a forest, talking in old english about maidens and kings.

Luckily for me, it wasn't like that at all.
All of the participants were indeed in costume and although I don't speak Italian well enough yet to know whether or not they were talking in an old dialect, there certainly wasn't any fighting, nor was there space for a forest...

You have to remember that here in Italy they don't bother with fighting in forests when there are feasts and entertainment to be had! Walking through the giant wooden doors into the fortress we were greeted with a belly dancing, fire breathing trio, who had accrued a huge crowd. We made our way through the town, trying anchovie sandwiches, fried seafood cones, old fashioned wine, roast pork sandwiches, apple focaccia, peasant spice cake and peasant almond cake and watching a range of jesters, jugglers, fire throwers, falcon and owl tamers (not so sure about this one, I didn't really like the chains attached to their legs), candle makers, mushroom hunters and the list goes on...

Unfortunately I got a little wrapped up in the atmosphere of it all (or was constantly eating, making it hard to use my camera) and didn't get many photos of the costumes. But it was a really cool experience and not nearly as geeky as it is in American television!

Football Fever

Football (aka soccer) season is starting up again in Europe and I went to see my first match of the National Championships the other day here in Florence. Italy and Slovenia played a close but somewhat boring match with Italy coming out on top 1-0. My next game is going to be a Fiorentina match which are meant to have alot more atmosphere and colour.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so these were taken on my phone... sorry!

 

Although I didn't get any good photos, Lorenzo's Dad was working at this game as a sports photographer and snapped a photo of us in the stand...

Ona ona ona, ma che bella rificolona...

L'è più bella la mia di quella della zia. La mia l'è co' fiocchi, la tua l'è co' pidocchi...

September 7 is the day that the little kiddies get paper lanterns on a stick, with a candle inside and walk through the city of Florence in a big parade. It's called La Festa della Rificolona and Lorenzo was saying that sadly it is a dying tradition and that it used to be a much bigger event when he was a kid.
Never the less, when I found out about this festival for children I naturally bought 2 lanterns, one for me and one for Amelia, and along with the rest of the kiddies we took to the streets of florence.

You have to be careful though, the little boys (and some evil little girls) have pea shooters and try to break your lanterns. We were targets from the beginning, but I'm happy to say we survived and our lanterns are still in tact!

GOKARTIIINNNGGG

6 minutes of practice followed by 6 minutes of qualifications followed by the 12 lap race.  I have never driven a go kart before, and I do believe  I was a little out of my league racing against 7 experienced Italian drivers. And I admit that after those first 6 minutes of practice driving, getting a feel for your kart, I may have had a few complains about holding people up on the track… but by the final race I certainly felt like I was going fast and I was right up there with the winner when the checked flag was waved (I may have been a lap behind him, but I was there all the same!). It was so much fun I really can’t wait to go again! Unfortunately I don't have any photos... but you can imagine right?!

Moving to the Country, Gonna eat a lot of Peaches.

This weekend Lorenzo and I made our way out of Toscana and into Emilia Romagna where his family have a house in the countryside. In winter it is all snowed in, so we wanted to get out there in Summer while the fruit is plentiful and the sun is shining... and it was beautiful! The house is actually the train station-house for the town Strada Casale-  a “town” with a population of around 100- and is surrounded by fruit trees, vineyards and rolling hillsides.

 

 

It was such a relaxing weekend with a walk through the hills (stopping to pick figs, plums, grapes, walnuts, apples and what we think was a cross between an apricot and a peach- yum), an afternoon at the pool, local delicacies at a nearby country festival (as well as dancing with the locals- who, I’m pretty sure, thought we were those young hooligans who didn’t know the steps) and stargazing (my first shooting star in years).

We also stopped to get some milk... One vending machine sells either plastic (20c) or glass bottles (50c) and the other machine- with the drop of a coin and the push of a button- fills your bottle with super cold, delicious fresh milk (500mL=50c, 1L= €1). I love the (technically advanced) country.

Big City Lights.

First and foremost... I'M SORRY! I know it has now been some ridiculous amount of days since my last post, and there is just no excuse that will cut the mustard. So I won't even bother...
So anyway, since my last post I have been working in the pastry section at the hotel from Monday to Friday (9am to 2.30pm) then for 2 or 3 of those days I also work at the pub from 9.30pm to 2.30am, which then means that I have the weekend free- yipeee!! Now that Simone- the head chef at Hotel Brunelleschi- is back from holidays I am exclusively in the pastry section and am finally doing the work I want to do! Breads, gelati, petit fours, creams etc etc. Simone is full of knowledge and, luckily for me, is a really good teacher so I am really enjoying my mornings there.
I don't yet have any photos of the kitchen or the Hotel or anything yet (though I should be going there for dinner on Saturday, so I'll have some soon) so I will leave you with a few photos I have taken of Florence at night with MY NEW CAMERA! (Nikon Coolpix P300- it's a light compact camera but is equipped with some great settings and (in my opinion) takes a pretty decent photo!)