On Friday the 19
th of May 2023, 36 IMSMC members
met and departed from Pheasants nest at 700am in the morning, destination
Beechworth, Victoria. The closest we could get to Myrtleford, la fiera, due to
no accommodation. The cavalcade of classic and modern Italian cars including a
British piece of equipment cavalcaded south bound down along the Hume highway. The trip was steady as we stopped in Goulburn
for breakfast, a leg stretch in Yass, investigation of a land locked submarine in
Holbrook and finally arrived in Beechworth..
Beechworth is a beautiful town retaining its colonial
character. Gold was found in the area and proved to be rather fruitful. Ned
Kelly and his gang roamed the area along with other bushrangers, Ned was
captured in Glenrowan after a shoot-out with the constabulary. He was tried and
put in gaol in Beechworth then transported and finally hung in Melbourne.
Rather harsh but the rules of the empire prevailed!
The weather on Friday was glorious and all cars performed
rather well.
Our members were spread over two hotels, our bus company
ensured prompt pickup to our organised events. After check in we gathered for
our welcome dinner at” Milawa Lance mores merlot winery restaurant”. The
restaurant was well presented, and we were greeted and served by very
professional staff. The food was of exceptional quality along with entrees,
mains and dessert, accompanied by wines which were local Italian varietals paired and recommended by the staff to the dinner. Needless to say, the
restaurant was filled with the usual fun atmosphere created by IMSMC
members. Another night to remember.
On Saturday morning we drove to Myrtleford and the festa
started with a celebratory mass to St. Anthony including a procession then the
“fiera” was proclaimed open. We attended wine tasting at two wineries,
Michellinis and Billy Button and then lunch at the Fiera… There was food of all
regions of Italy castagne (chestnuts), polenta, salsice di maiale (pork
sausages) , arosticini and much much more the queues were long but it was worth
the wait. Music and dancing prevailed in the piazza with many dancing, singing
and enjoying themselves.
The evening dinner was at The Savoy soccer club the band on
stage playing a lot of Italian songs and
members taking to the dance floor. The food was awesome, good wholesome
Italian cooking “tavola calda style” meat, quails, polenta, minestrone etc etc
and copious amounts of wine.
On Sunday we returned to Myrtleford. The drive from
Beechworth to Myrtleford was enjoyed by all especially the “downhill run” on
the way in and the “hill climb” on the way back it was so good some members
contemplated doing it again! The growers market on Sunday saw a huge amount of
home grown products for sale. Salamis, foodstuffs, honey, chestnuts, venison
BBQ sausages and fresh organically grown vegetables.
Our cars were on display and appreciated by many. We looked so
good in our IMSMC jackets that the photographer insisted on taking our photos! I
requested the photographer take our good side only.
On Sunday night we all had our dinner at Bastoni pizzeria in
Myrtleford, the pizzas were awesome, I think the cold weather made them extra
special, Again the pizzas flowed until we could eat no more. Ice cream, Nutella
pizza for dessert along with coffee completed our stay in the Victorian High
country at “la fiera” in Myrtleford.
Our bus was on time and returned us to our hotels in Beechworth.
Monday morning saw
our members leave and head north back to Sydney.
The weekend was enjoyed by all IMSMC members that
participated I hope we can do it again in the near future…
