The Fiera. It's a Monstrous Thing.

I heard about the Fiera when first moving to Milan. I was told it was a big festival filled with food and gifts from all over the world.

I was thinking something along the lines of Christmas Made in the South, but I was really not even close.

You have to multiply that by 10-- and then you might have the right idea.

The Fiera is held just outside of Milan in Rho for 10 days right at the beginning of December. It's convenient that you can take the red Metro line straight out there. But, beware, a regular urban ticket won't cut it! You must buy the ticket for Rho, and it's €2.50 each way.

This year I was able to go twice. Caitlin and I went once mainly to eat and snack on delicious foods that are difficult to find here on a regular basis. We had a dinner of German pretzels and beer and snacked on English cheddar cheese. Mmmmmmmm....

Yum!

Cheddar cheese: does not exist in Italy.

I went again on Saturday with the intent of doing a little shopping. The venue gets so crowded that you really have to map out a plan and strategy to avoid being overwhelmed. The last two years I've learned that the European and Italian sections have the best stuff. There is a US section, which seems to indicate that every American is a cowboy and most of the Asian and African stuff is cheap and doesn't feel well made.

But there is good food to be had and fun presents to be bought. Many people come with a suitcase or trolley cart to load up all their purchases. And this year they sold a trolley for €3. It's really unbelievable. There's also live music in different halls.

a Scottish band that was pretty great!

beer garden

salsiccia!

pretzel and strudel

the Hungarian section