Live music, oversized glasses, and a rowdy crowd topping 400 serve as the key ingredients for an amazing night.

In a town just ten miles away from Urbino, a monumental event known as “Bier Fest,” took place during my second to last weekend in Italy.

It was a warm Friday night and a slew of my friends and I sat around the dinner table discussing what we wanted to do with the night off. As a thick smell of pasta combined with marinara sauce filled the air, Scott, gesturing with a roll in his left hand and a fork in the other, mentioned that there was a beer festival he wanted to check out. My eyes lit up and let’s just say it took little convincing for me to board the taxi.

I’ll admit, not being familiar with Italian taxi service, the ride there was almost as exciting as the fest. We passed through twists and hairpin turns and, for some reason, the driver ceased to ease off the accelerator. Holding on to what I call the “oh shit,” handle above the passenger side window I thought to myself, “Am I about to meet my maker?”

In a fragile state, we arrived after being in  what was comparable to the Daytona 500. I forget the name of the town, but it closely resembled Urbino in the sense that the streets were constructed with cobblestone and large tan buildings towered on either side of the street.

Huddling together, we followed the pounding rock music down a long dark alley. As we got closer, I recognized the familiar sounds of Shaniah Twain’s, Man! I Feel Like a Woman, with an Italian twist. A massive amount of people looked as if they were having the time of their lives; singing, dancing, drinking, and just plain old hanging out.

There were two large stands, one for beer and one for snacks. I opted for beer, purchasing my first pint of the night for 10 euro. I didn’t particularly enjoy the taste of this beer, but put that aside and enjoyed the atmosphere.

It was funny to see all of the Italians singing along in English to the band. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something turns your head.

My group took a lot of funny photos, had a good old fashioned jam session with the American rock music, and socialized with some of the locals. Despite the cost, I had an amazing time and ended up going back just two nights later.