21st birthday celebration

Ciao from the 21 year old!

Yesterday was great! After school ended at 1 pm, everyone went to Mama's Bakery as per my request. They sell bagels there because the owner is American, so we had to have them. I got a bagel with veggie cream cheese and it was delicious.

After lunch, a few of us walked around a little and then I headed home and took a nap. I got a call from Paul and from my Dad, so that was really nice to get some birthday wishes. Around 6:15, Andrea and I took the bus to the station to meet everyone else to grab the bus to Pontassieve, where we would be having dinner with Benedetta and her family. As usual, everyone else cut it close and we almost missed the bus, but it turned out ok. We actually ran into Benedetta who was also taking the bus from the center. That was pretty funny, and we were glad to have her on the bus with us because we had no idea where to get off.

When we arrived at the stop, Anarita and Antonio were there to pick us up. I introduced the friends that they hadn't yet met and we got to the house. Antonio led us to a new room that he had just finished building, and the table was beautifully set with nice plates, silverware, and a centerpiece from Benedetta's party! It was sooooo nice. We all sat down immediately and Anarita came out with the first course. We had sweet red wine with 3 different types of crostini. One had a mushroom puree, the next had prosciutto, butter and artichoke, and the 3rd had sausage and cheese puree. We also had these delicious flaky muffin-looking things, filled with zucchini and cheese. For the first course, we had regular red wine with lasagna, Napolitano-style. It was soooooo delicious but incredibly heavy. For the second course, we ate two types of meat. One was normal pork and the other was lamb with bits of olives and other pieces of meat cooked into it. There were also roasted potatoes and salad.

Throughout the entire meal, Benedetta was pretty funny because she tried to get all the kids to help her Dad to believe that she NEEDED an iPhone- in white, specifically. He looked at me and asked, "What do you think? Should she have an iPhone?" Usually, I am most certainly the wrong person to ask because I don't even want one, but I think they are cool. So, I told him that she should have one, but that I didn't want one. I probably should have left the second part out though. Oops, sorry Benedetta. She was hilarious while trying to convince him though. I'll think she'll get one some day soon, but it's just a hunch. Benedetta also informed us that she will officially be coming to America for a month this summer (end of June- end of July). She will be living in Tarrytown and taking an English class at a university nearby. That will be great! I'm going to show her what an American BBQ is like! Me and my friends also told Antonio that we would come over when the weather improved and make a BBQ for them as well. That should be fun.

When dessert came, Antonio brought out sparklers for all of us, along with champagne. Then, Kevin and Jeff entered carrying a cake with candles for me, and another for Maggie. We lit our sparklers, sang happy birthday, and blew the candles out together. It was soooo wonderful. At this point my stomach was bursting, but I was pretty much required to eat the cake. So, I had a taste of the one that was made with Chantilly cream and vermouth, and also had the chocolate fudge nut cake with whipped cream frosting. They were both so incredibly fresh and delicious.

After dessert, we all felt pretty sick, so Antonio brought us espresso (I opted for tea) and bicarbonate bits to mix with water. I did a few stretches and had the "medicine" and felt a little bit better. Then, Anarita and Antonio drove us into the center and dropped us off at Santa Croce.

I'm pretty sure all of Florence was on crack last night, because everyone was soooo rowdy. A lot of Italians hang out in the Santa Croce area, so we definitely stood out. But, as we were walking through, they were going crazy with each other, carrying people, throwing and smashing bottles, running around, and acting like animals. We moved as quickly through the piazza as possible. When we got to the other side of it, we saw a chubby girl laying on the sidewalk, drunk out of her mind. Her chubby friend was kneeling on the ground and trying to help her while her butt crack hung 6 inches out of her pants. And of course we expected the next part- they were Americans. I love how this semester-studiers make such a wonderful impression right in the beginning of their experiences! This is the reason that Americans have such a bad reputation over here.

Anyway, we hurried ourselves to Cafe Bigallo because all of the streets were just swarming with crazy people. At Cafe Bigallo, we were more in our comfort zones. We found a big table in the back and had a few drinks there. After we had just sat down, two Italians came in from outside, following an American boy that looked like he was 15. I'm sure he was our age, but Italians always look much older than Americans. Anyway, they turned this kid around and started yelling at him and pinning him against the wall, right in the middle of Cafe Bigallo! Pretty quickly, Giorgio, the owner came to the back room and broke it up. He sent the drunk Italians away and got the kid a free drink. The lowly American was a little shaken up, to say the least.

A little further into Cafe Bigallo, I scanned the crowd of Americans and discovered that two girls at the table across the room looked incredibly familiar, but I couldn't figure out how. High school? No. Salve? Didn't think so. No one knew them from Holy Cross, so I thought about the Vineyard. Then, it dawned on me! The both of them worked at McPhail's this summer, the coffee shop that I visited almost every day before work at the Yacht Club! Whoa, small world. We'll get back to this later.

So, as things got rowdier in Cafe Bigallo, Giorgio came around with glow bracelets and I told him that it was my 21st birthday. He didn't believe me, so I showed him my id. 10 minutes later, he came back with a free bottle of champagne for me and all of my friends! I opened it, and we did a little toast. That was so nice of him, even though he did it because he's also totally creepy and loves American girls. Whatever. So, Carla, Jeff and Grace dumped their champagne into my glass and told me to chug it. No way. Because I said no, they started making a scene and I got embarrassed. So, I chugged it to shut them up. DON'T CHUG CHAMPAGNE. It's disgusting. I succeeded, though. I guess you only turn 21 once.

Around 12:30 am, everyone decided to go to Twice for some dancing. While I was on my way out, I ran into one of the girls I had recognized. With my liquid courage, I approached her and asked "Hi, did you work on the Vineyard this summer?" She said "Oh my God, yes! Me and my friend have been staring at you this hold time trying to figure it out! Sorry if we were creeping you out!" And then, we got to talking. Her name is Dana and the other girl is Lily. They both go to Skidmore and apparently didn't have much fun on the Vineyard this summer. I apologized for that and said that I wished I had officially met them earlier so that they could hang out with me. She told me that she always looked forward to seeing me because I was one of their only pleasant customers. That was very nice to hear. She also said that she felt so bad charging me the prices that she was forced to, because it was always so expensive. This is very true, McPhail's was wayyyy overpriced. She made sure to mention that I always ordered chai tea or a iced mocha. I was shocked that she remembered!! We decided to exchange numbers and I told them that we could hang out whenever, and that I would be happy to show them around!

After about a half hour of talking, we parted ways and I ran to Twice to meet the rest of my friends who had gone ahead. We danced there until about 3:30 am. It was completely packed and swarming with creepy Albanians. We ignored them and sent them away often. Despite their annoyances, me and my group had a great time. Thank goodness we were able to dance and digest.

On our way to the train station to grab a taxi, Andrea and I were walking briskly past the Duomo when we were stopped. Some girl, who sounded like she had an Italian accent called to us and said "hello!!" We thought she was an Italian who was mocking us, because we were Americans. So, we continued walking. Then, she actually yelled "fuck you," and we turned around and realized she was actually American. It's funny though because that comment didn't offend us. It just made us realize that she needed our attention and help. She was drunk and standing there with a weird Albanian man who was very persistent in walking her home. So, I spoke to this Albanian in Italian and told him that he could go home because Andrea and I would gladly walk her. He responded with "No, she's very drunk and I want to make sure that she'll get home safely, but she doesn't remember exactly where she lives. It's around here somewhere." I assured him that she would be fine with us and politely argued with him for a few more minutes until he finally left. Once he was out of earshot, she turned to us and said "I actually live right down this road and I just didn't want him to know." Smart girl. So, we walked her to her door and waited with her until her friend let her in since she had forgotten her keys. I'm so glad that we stopped and helped her out. That guy was sooo creepy. It's really not good that her friends let her walk home alone though. I hope she gets that straightened out for next time.

Andrea and I took a cab home and I crawled in bed around 4. I woke up today at noon and I feel great! It is a perfect 10 day, so I'm going to meet Maggie in the center and walk around a little bit.

My birthday was great, and the fun isn't even over yet! I am so thankful to have had such a one-of-a-kind birthday experience. Bringing all of my friends to an authentic Italian meal with a real Italian family is such a lucky experience, and I'm so happy to have celebrated the way I did. Anarita and Antonio are such special people, and so genuine. It was really a wonderful night.

More later. Ciao.