Not Oktoberfest

grapes adorn the fountains

This weekend most of my flatmates went to Oktoberfest. However, due to the large price tag, I decided not to go. Instead, I went with some other Wooster people and some new friends to the Marino Grape Festival! We only went for the day on Sunday but still had a blast! Marino is an old medieval town that was once used as a summer getaway for the Roman nobility who built large villas there. Marino is 21 kilometers south of Rome and is famous for the grapes and wine that are produced there! Every year they have this festival to celebrate their town and the miracle of the fountains. The miracle of the fountains is when the water that usually flows turns into a golden white wine. Before the fountain miracle there is a parade with people dressed in medieval costume and lots of good food! However, the town does distribute free bags of grapes, and they were quite delicious! The wine that flows from the fountains is also free, but it was a little difficult to get to since there were so many people there also trying to get their cup filled. We did eventually get our free wine and it was really quite good but it was definitely worth going just for the festival atmosphere and the free grapes! Did I also mention that the train to get there only cost four euro round trip? I love the European public transportation systems :)