Sitting next to a crackling log fire, and under stunning 130 year old frescoes, we had a homely and delicious pasta meal prepared by Maria Viola and her sons. This was then followed by the singing of Italian love songs and a screening of Love's Brother, a delightful production filmed at their restaurant in 2003.
Maria's great grandfather came to Australia and built the macaroni factory during the gold-rush in the 1860's and last night we also had some of her 18(?) grandchildren helping out - a wonderful testament to the ongoing tradition of family, inherent in Australian-Italian society.
We were home late (1am?) after groping our way through the fog across the highlands back to Ballarat. I can hardly move today - always a sign of a great night out!! :-)
