Merry Christmas_Buon Natale_Fijne Kerstdag_Selamat Hari Natal

Selamat Hari Natal 2013, Buon Natale, Feliz Natale, Fijne Kerstdag, Merry Christmas to you all.
May the peace, joy and love of Christmas in our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Christmas is about Christ. He is the reason for the season.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." | John 1:14

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. " | Isaiah 9:6-7

Cafés Curfew

Sitting in a nice café on one of the busiest roads in Florence, we were up to la apericena, a late after dinner served in buffet style at a price of a glass of drink. It was Gallery Art Bar on Via dei Benci 30. While we were eating and drinking this guy came in, he was happened to be a singer who regularly performed live music there.  We greeted each other, a little introduction before he finally set for more talks.

Aperativo buffet at Gallery Art Bar.

I noted three things he mentioned :

1. Business has been slowing down a week before Christmas which was quite obvious. It was Saturday night at 8PM and we were the only customers they had;

2. Due to so many complaints from the neighborhood about people getting drunk and caused chaos, liquors or drinks with alcohol can be sold before 9PM only;  

3. The latest law regulation strictly obligated all cafés / bars to close their venues at 10PM, with an exception of one restaurant / bar located across the road, simply because they had more security guards who will drag drunk people away from their venue, or presumably, they had more money to ‘pay’ to the authorities.

The Large Group Meeting and Apericena at Moyo

It was winter December 2013, we had this chat through Facebook, it was Fifi who came up with an idea to have a meeting with all members of the community. At that time I remembered, she has added David into the group. We agreed to have a dinner together and the easiest way we could think of was to meet up for la apericena somewhere at the city center.

The crowded Moyo - Bar & Lounge at Via dei Benci, 23r, Florence. Image courtesy of partyearth.com

I suggested Moyo Bar for some reasons. First, it located in the Santa Croce neighborhood, where there was an annual German market. The idea was to visit the German market together after the dinner, just to be able to spend more times together and to get to know each other better in the fresh outdoor air. Second, apericena would cost everyone a price of one glass of drink, and thirdly, I've been there once, it was spacious enough for a meeting place of 20 people and the food was alright.