There was a free concert at the American Episcopalian church in Florence (festival of nine lessons and carols) . We decided to go, in part because the church is in an area of Florence we had not seen yet. The church is in an attractive building and the people, being for the most part Americans, are very welcoming (part of the money to build the church was given by J. P.Morgan).
The choir was very good and besides singing, they played a few things using only hand bells, which was very impressive.
Why it turned out to be more than we bargained for was that this was the day of their Christmas parish meal and they insisted that everyone must stay. Some were not hard to convince as they arrived in Church just about five minutes before the service was over and knew very well the way to the hall where the food was being served.
Lorne and I were expecting a church dinner as they usually are in Canada, but this is Italy. First of all we were offered glasses of prosecco, the Italian champagne. With the prosecco were served all sorts of appetizers. We thought that was the meal as these appetizers were quite substantial. But it was not. After a good half hour of prosecco and appetizers, we moved on to red wine and a multi-course meal. At each table there was a designated mama who got big bowls of food from the kitchen for the people at her table. Ours was from California.
Then the minister's wife, who is from Alabama and has a very strong accent (and does not speak a word of Italian after 6 years in the country, at least according to the woman sitting next to me) took charge of the entertainment. She is a bit of a clown and made us laugh a lot. At one point, people were very noisy and she said: "OK Italians, shut up, I have never heard such a talkative bunch!" The entertainment was carol signing.
Before the dolce, and a very good selection it was, there was the raffle. I had bought 7 tickets for 5 euros and one of the first tickets to be drawn was one of mine so we ended up winning a basket of goodies.
There were perhaps 50 prizes so most people who had bought tickets ended up with something. That took care of most of the day as this meal ended between 2:30 and 3PM. A very good time was had by all.
| The Episcopalian Church in Florence |
The choir was very good and besides singing, they played a few things using only hand bells, which was very impressive.
Why it turned out to be more than we bargained for was that this was the day of their Christmas parish meal and they insisted that everyone must stay. Some were not hard to convince as they arrived in Church just about five minutes before the service was over and knew very well the way to the hall where the food was being served.
Lorne and I were expecting a church dinner as they usually are in Canada, but this is Italy. First of all we were offered glasses of prosecco, the Italian champagne. With the prosecco were served all sorts of appetizers. We thought that was the meal as these appetizers were quite substantial. But it was not. After a good half hour of prosecco and appetizers, we moved on to red wine and a multi-course meal. At each table there was a designated mama who got big bowls of food from the kitchen for the people at her table. Ours was from California.
Then the minister's wife, who is from Alabama and has a very strong accent (and does not speak a word of Italian after 6 years in the country, at least according to the woman sitting next to me) took charge of the entertainment. She is a bit of a clown and made us laugh a lot. At one point, people were very noisy and she said: "OK Italians, shut up, I have never heard such a talkative bunch!" The entertainment was carol signing.
Before the dolce, and a very good selection it was, there was the raffle. I had bought 7 tickets for 5 euros and one of the first tickets to be drawn was one of mine so we ended up winning a basket of goodies.
There were perhaps 50 prizes so most people who had bought tickets ended up with something. That took care of most of the day as this meal ended between 2:30 and 3PM. A very good time was had by all.
I imagine that you will have chili pepper spice and marsala salt to bring home.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun!! Sounds like you had a great time. But no Italian after 6 years in the country? What a missed opportunity for the host.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like lots of fun
ReplyDelete