True to form, Sunday’s social event – a "Mediaeval Evening and Concert" at the Duke’s Palace — was another expensive comedy of errors. On the bright side, I met some great people who joined me in a quest to find the venue after the bus (tonight, there was a bus) left without ever having announced its arrival.
The taxis dropped off us off as a grand looking building, and our little group wandered through courtyards and alleyways and pulled on locked doors to find the right entrace. One sharp-eyed person spotted a group of parked catering trucks, so we tried the nearest door, and this one opened. It led into a dingy hall, and we followed the sound of voices up a dingy staircase. I imagined that all the rest of the participants were now well on their way through the first course of the meal in a dining room, so it was a bit of a shock when we found everyone standing corralled into a small room. A large number of people were huddled in line against the far side of the room, holding small butter plates in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Then it hit me: a buffet. A stand-up buffet with bread, some pate, and cold bean salad. And lots of wine, thank goodness.
POLLENATRIX 