Early in the week, it looked like the weather was going to be lovely at the weekend. We were promised 22 degrees and dry, sunny weather. Perfect for one trip out, at least! How come then that the closer we got to the weekend, the grimmer the forecast was for the weekend? It's always the same. Sunny and dry all week, a forecast for a good weekend, and when the weekend arrives, it's dull at best, mostly tipping it down at worst. The Italian meteorological office is utterly hopeless.
So it was then that we set out with some trepidation on Sunday, just after lunch. The idea was that we would meet up with a biker group in Quistello. When we arrived, the place was deserted though, so who knows what happened there... Never mind, we'd been tipped off about the "Festa dei Fiore" in Mirandola, not far away, so we decided to head off there. Fortunately the sky had cleared somewhat and it was pleasantly warm and sunny.
Arriving in Mirandola, it was obvious something was going on. We parked up and went for a coffee to wait and see what was unfolding, having seen a few people dressed in Medieval costume and carnival masks. Flowers, it wasn't but it looked interesting nevertheless. The street was buzzing with anticipation with people looking up the road, obviously waiting for something to appear. We took our place at the side of the road and waited. We were in fact witnessing the "Festa di Primavera" or Spring fair and a parade was underway with people dressed in array of different costumes, representing different social and cultural local groups. Two surprises were groups from Peru and Bolivia... It was all very colourful and noisy. In fact when it got too noisy, with floats blaring out disco music, we decided to head off homewards, stopping for an ice cream at Mattioli's in Modena on the way!
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