La Skieda - the Gala Dinner

1/ A very full stage. Livigno likes to say Grazie Mille!!

Tonight was the Academy Awards of the La Skieda Festival. This is the night where everyone, and we do mean everyone is invited up on the stage to be thanked!

But aside from the "grazie festa", Livigno's catering and hospitaliy once again surpassed itself. Beautifully decorated tables with serving staff in traditional costume, the dinner showcased all the specialities of the Livigno Valley.

2/ The handsome young serving staff in traditional costume!

First course, was Brasaola salad. Produced in Livingo, Brasaola is delicious air dried salted beef similar to prosciutto. The salad was made with spring greens, local cheese and paper-thin slices of brasaola. To follow was a main course of Pizzocheri. No relation in any way to Pizza, this seriously calorie loaded dish consists mainly of buckwheat noodles, cheese, cabbage and potato. Not for the faint hearted, this dish was designed, like many of the fat & carbohydrate loaded dishes of the European Alps, to keep the farmers warm through the long winters! Totally delicious... I confess to having seconds. Livigno is not going to be kind to the waist line!! Dessert, according to Graeme, was a delicious ice-cream confection. I took a photograph of it, but didn't dare taste it, given my over-indulgence on the Pizzocheri!! And just to completely burst the pants, a small cheese board, featuring all the local cheeses was laid out. It ran the length of the stage!!

Sitting with Chuck, the mountain guide from Conneticut and his wife Linda, we were entertained by stories of their former life in France. They lived in Toulouse for many years while Linda worked for an Aerospace company there. Chuck and Linda were not your average Americans. Quiet about their achievements, their adventures were only revealed when we spent time questioning them. I was intrigued and when we got back to the apartment later that night, I couldn't resist "googling" - Chuck Boyd. Amazing what you come up with! An accomplished mountaineer, he was refreshingly modest about his achievements. I'm sorry to say that my past encounters with Americans have prejudiced me somewhat. I have heard too many "exaggerated tales" in my time!! What a shame we didn't hook up with these guys earlier in the festival.

We were also seated with a lovely German couple, who of course spoke perfect English & Italian. [We are constantly humbled by Europeans linguistic abilities!!]. They live near Lake Constance and revealed that they "Austrian Ski Team" groupies. They were very excited to learn that the Austrian Men's Ski team trains in Wanaka at Treble Cone every August. They've booked their flights!!

Unfortunately, while the food was outstanding - the musical entertainment was less so. Picture if you will, 5 enthusiastic young Italian lads, whose command of their instruments and the English language was not that strong, dressing up as the Beatles and trying to do covers of their big hits. Hmmm!....but then it got really really, bad! After a short break, and a quick costume change, they returned to the stage to cover......The Rolling Stones. Disaster!

4/ The "Entertainment" was sleep inducing!

With full bellies, tired legs and already day-dreaming of our last day skiing in Livigno sunshine, we were inspired by this young La Skieda attendee......our beds beckoned and we snuck away just on midnight.