"Three (one) days is enough for every miracle"
We visited EXPO 2015, and we have had enough of that "wonder of the world" for the next 5 years, until 2020, when Dubai and the United Arab Emirates will host the next EXPO exhibition.
The world exhibition EXPO 2015 will be held in Milan for a few more days (until October 31.10.2015, 01.05.2015), and it was opened on May 5, 16. Preliminary data on visits say that in the first 20 months the exhibition was visited by XNUMX million people, and the organizers' predictions said that for the entire duration of the exhibition, there should be a full XNUMX million visits. The theme of this World Exhibition is "Let's feed the planet. Energy for life.". And when it comes to food, we couldn't resist going to Milan and seeing what the Exhibition looks like.
In any case, both the first and all other impressions of the EXPO exhibition are impressive and captivating. The event is set on 1,1 million square meters, but, of course, you cannot realistically imagine that until you see for yourself... For the sake of comparison, the total area on which the Belgrade Fair is located is 220.000 square meters... So, the area of the EXPO exhibition is 5 times bigger!
The main "corridor" for visitors is about 1.700 meters long, covered with an elegant structure, to protect all visitors from possible precipitation. Along the main corridor, on the left and right, there are pavilions of participating countries, as well as promotional pavilions of well-known companies.
At the very entrance to the Exhibition, a large security guard awaited us, like at the airport, where every visitor has to go through a metal detector, and every bag through a recording tunnel. This results in long queues at the entrance itself - and the average waiting time for this control is 15-20 minutes...
And here are the surprises, right at the entrance, right after the Food People display, which shows the artist's imagination, where all the human statues are made and presented from fruits and vegetables - we came across a kiosk that offers - you won't believe - roast pig! Who says that roast pig is a delicacy of this region only? Well, apparently not - and a picture is worth 1000 words!
And if you resist this delicacy, right after that, you will start to be dazzled by the smells of various delicacies, both salty and sweet - both from the exhibition pavilions and from numerous restaurants that have their own, huge settings... Because, according to our free estimate , on that day (October 14.10.2015, 2015), several hundred thousand people were present at EXPO XNUMX, at all times. And so many people need to be fed and watered by someone... Which is a really big undertaking!
Anyway, the main exhibitors are lined up along the main corridor, and each one has chosen a unique pavilion design, as well as a theme, of course, according to what the exhibitor wants, or is already recognized for.
Check out the picture gallery with the biggest and most interesting pavilions:
Check out the image gallery with various fruit, vegetable and food settings:
At the end of the main exhibition corridor there is an interesting sector: Slow Food, where through two exhibitions and several restaurants, this popular concept was presented to everyone. Within the sector, there is also an organic garden, which shows the simplicity of the coexistence of the plant world, in one small space. At the same time, it is a demonstration exhibition of all the basic edible herbs and spices (you will agree that there are many of them, especially young ones, who do not know what herbs and spices look like in the real world).
Right next to the Slow Food concept, it is located Mediterranean hill, that is a botanical garden with the theme: Mediterranean, where by walking over that hill, you get to know the plant world of the Mediterranean... From the hill there is a wonderful view of the entire EXPO 2015 exhibition.
After visiting all the big and famous pavilions, we headed a little outside the main corridor, ie. according to Bio-Mediterranean cluster, where the pavilion of the Republic of Serbia is located.
Serbia at EXPO 2015
The main theme of the performance of the Republic of Serbia at the EXPO exhibition is "Taste the food." Taste Food. Feel Life. As stated by the organizer of the pavilion of the Republic of Serbia on the official website (http://www.serbiaexpo2015.rs/): "Food is no longer just a necessary need, but in many ways has become a part of the nation's cultural identity, an occasion and "spice" for gathering and socializing around a common table, an incentive for establishing acquaintances and exchanging ideas. The uncomfortable silence would be muffled by the clinking of utensils against dishes full of delicious morsels, important agreements would be immortalized by frequent toasts, and all this with an inevitable dose of hedonism and love of life. In this spirit, Serbia, in accordance with its tradition of an always smiling host and with the motto "love enters the mouth", will present its traditional cuisine to the world in a new light, as a great and delicious new dish prepared from selected ingredients and impeccably served."
Our opinion? Perhaps our expectations were too high, thanks to having read the text above before visiting, but we were not impressed. Both the exhibition and the hospitality... In a rather dark space, there are several interesting micro-settings, but somehow everything seemed sketchy.
In contrast, we can praise the pavilion of Montenegro, which looks fantastic, a true measure of the combination of 21st century technologies and tradition, with several proactive young people, ready to help you (in several languages), both in person and on touch screens. all the information you want.
Anyway, "it's important to participate". I guess?
The main attraction of the Bio-Mediterranean cluster was a small olive oil producer, who innovatively installed a machine at the exhibition that produces/presses olive oil and serves it in small glasses to all interested visitors! Well done! The man delighted us, and what a taste of freshly squeezed oil!
Along with the Bio-Mediterranean cluster itself, we attended a fantastic show at the Tree of Life, which is repeated several times a day, in front of several thousand people. As only Italians can design and direct, the waterfall show will leave you breathless, and probably even more spectacular at night due to the additional lighting effects. Tree of life (Tree of Life) is, with its 37 meters high, the focal point of the entire World Exhibition EXPO 2015 - it is a modernist sculpture, inspired by the Renaissance, designed by Orgoglio Brescia.
At the end, buying souvenirs and returning back to Milan, to the hotel. It was not easy, that day we covered 13,5 km...
Conclusion - we did not regret joining the huge number of visitors to EXPO 2015, it was a completely new and special experience, in every way. The objection to the organizer is that it is almost impossible to see the pavilions in one day (it is necessary to wait for several hours to enter any of the main pavilions), but several days would have to be set aside for this (which is impossible for our standard, because the price one-day tickets 35 euros per person!).
READ: WHERE CAN I BUY THE BOOK TRADITIONAL RECIPES OF HOME SERBIAN CUISINE?
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