New Years Eve: 31st Dicembre 2014

The first half of the day was quite boring. For lunch we had ham, salami, toasted bread and a salad of radicchio bianco. I recently looked radicchio up in the Lonely Planet menu decoder and found out that it is a type of chicory. I have never eaten chicory, so I didn't recognise it.

At half-past two, Alberto and his mother, Antonella, came over for coffee. We spoke for quite a while, and I showed her some photos of my family. Then, she showed me my costume for the Presepio Vivente. 

A presepio vivente is like a living nativity scene. I was originally going to be an olive picker, but because they weren't sure about the olive trees being ready, I was told I was going to be a roman soldier. I wasn't over the moon about this. It is often fun to play the villain, but I think 'the Christmas story' is one of the few where you really don't want to be the baddie. Anyway, they had the trees, so I was an olive picker. My costume is a brown tunic and a brown headscarf. It is being held on the first and fourth of January, so I will tell you more about it then.

Anyway,  after the coffee and chat, Antonella took me to paint some things (I'm not quite sure what they were) to look like olives. 

Almost as soon as I returned home from that, I got dressed to go to the New Years Eve party at one of Giuliana's friends' house in the outskirts of Venezia. Giuliana went downstairs to the 'adult's party' while I stayed upstairs with a group of 6 university students. We ate risotto with sausages and beans, peas, mashed potatoes and roast veal, as well as a regional specialty known as frico, a pan-fried cheese and potato dish.

I must state now that I had been told we were playing Tombola, which had been translated to me as Bingo. I was looking forward to some bingo, and had even practised calling out "tombola" so I wouldn't call out "bingo" in the heat of the moment if I happened to win.

After eating, we went down and had cake - one of the other guests had their birthday on the 28th of December, and was having their celebration at this party.

Midnight happened, and everyone said "aguri" and "buon anno." There was quite a bit of kissing too. Then it was time to play tombola.

Well, it turns out that tombola is also a game we don't have in Australia. Guests bring gifts, which are then allocated numbers. Corresponding numbers are placed in a bag, or hat, and guests draw them out, and receive the gift. Giuliana had told me that we needed to take a prize for the game, something funny and ugly. So, at the opp-shop, I found a rubber fish skeleton that was a CD holder. I was dreading someone getting that and everyone saying "who is it from" and then everyone knowing it was me who gave the secondhand junky gift.

One person got very excited and brought lots of things, and also had things from their mother and sister. As a result, everyone got to draw four times and receive four presents. I got a plate/bowl, black with an ancient Greek design in gold, a candle, about the size of a loaf of bread, a USB stick that looks like someone drinking coffee and a wastepaper basket with roses on it. Everyone laughed that I won all the big things that I can't take home. As it seemed it was the done thing, I tried to politely give some of my things, namely the candle and wastepaper basket, away, or swap. Nobody wanted them, but they kept trying to give me things. There was an urn, matching my bowl, that was very nice. It was about 40 centimetres tall, though, so I had to tell its owner that I would be unable to take it home. He declined when I suggested that he have the bowl so they stay together. I think I will leave some of the things here, which is a pity, I like them.

By the time we got home it was 4 am, well and truly 2015. I was, understandably, I think, very tired.