Ferrara International Food Festival and the Car Show

After our awesome trip to Siena, we decided to stay close to home the next weekend to check out some of the stuff happening in Ferrara.  The first thing we wanted to check out was the International Food Festival.  This happens once a year, and the piazza where Ferrara's palio is held is full of food tents, beer, and shopping.  After a trip to a huge thrift store in a town nearby, we headed to the festival for lunch.

For our first meal, we got food from an Israeli place. I had some hummus and falafel, and Robbie had a big gyro-looking thing (I don't remember what it was called).  We found some of our friends and hung out and ate for awhile, then started the walk around the palio track to look at everything that was for sale.

There was everything--candy, bread, cheese, jewlery, toys, clothes, plants--we bought some really neat looking wooden spoons.  It was fun and there was a lot to see, but Michael was ready for a nap so we headed back home for a bit.

Later that afternoon, we went to check out a car show that was happening by the castle and cathedral.  I don't know too much about cars, but there were some really neat old and new cars.  And a whole section of Vespa scooters!

After checking out all the cars, we rode our bikes back to the food festival for dinner. We had a steak and french fries from the Brazilian tent.  We were hoping to do another lap around the track and look at the stuff again, but it was so packed you could hardly move.  People were shoulder to shoulder, just shuffling along.  If you got stuck in the middle you couldn't see any of the booths anyway.  Michael was getting intsy and wanted to crawl around, so we went in the middle grassy area and let him explore while we ate.  We were really glad to have seen everything that afternoon, because we wouldn't have any fun trying to muscle through that crowd with a baby.

 Michael at the food festival, playing his favorite game

where he asks us to smell his foot.

 

 

We went back to the food festival the next evening for dinner too, and shared a bratwurst from the German tent.  It was good, but we've noticed buns here tent to be really stale.  Michael liked it though!  

 

We had a nice weekend staying home and enjoying Ferrara.  I'm always surprised by how much this city has to offer. It seems like there are new events every week!