What I love most is meeting people from other
countries: I’m very interested in knowing more about their traditions, religion,
way of living in general, so, as I took the chance of working in Expo last
year, I decided to go to the Artigiano In Fiera, a fair located in Rho-fiera
(not far from Milan) where visitors can see the products displayed in a sort of indoor street market.
There are six pavilions, three dedicated to Italian
products, one dedicated to Europe and Africa, one to South-Asia and the last
one to Asia, Oceania and America. It is literally a tour around the world, because you
can learn a lot about manufactures and food, from clothing to eating, from
music to beauty.
I visited this fair two years ago for the first time,
but I had focused more on objects rather than on the full experience. This time,
instead, I wanted to taste new flavours and so I wandered around looking for
something new.
I arrived in Rho-fiera by train, just before midday:
at first I went to the pavilion which hosted the European countries and there I
ate the delicious “croque monsieur”, a double toast with ham and cheese in it
and with other cheese on top, that can be found in the French area. Then I looked for the Germany stands to have a beer.
I discovered that the concert of Saor Patrol – a Scottish
band who plays traditional music – would have been at 2 pm not so far from
there, so I had lunch and then I decided to visit another pavilion, the Asian
one. I bought a soft and shiny scarf in the “Indian zone”
to my sister and then I bumped into a giant Vietnamese stand full of candied fruit. There I
met a very kind salesgirl who let me taste some of their typical fruits: starfruit,
kumquat, cranberry…and hibiscus. They are not only beautiful in their bright colours but also very savoury.
After that, I came back to the European pavilion and,
on the way to the little concert, I found the Netherlands stand with some
sweets I already knew: the Stroopwafels, which are some very thin rounded
waffles filled with caramel-like syrup and with a light cinnamon flavour. They
are so tasty that you could eat them all at once!
"Artigiano
In Fiera" lasts nine days, from the 3rd to the 11th of December so,
if you are in Italy, go there and have a walk surrounded by different smells
and tastes.
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Bye for now
Yours, Silvia
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