Last family gathering

Buongiorno a tutti!

Yesterday, I was the honorary guest at my goodbye party, hosted by Antonio and Annarita. At 1pm, I went over their house, and every one of my Italian family members was there: Annarita, Benedetta, Antonio, Antonella, Alessandro, Arianna, Andrea, Alberto, Maria, Maurizio. Even Marcella (one of my Grandmother’s best friends) and Renato (her boyfriend) came!! When I arrived there, I hung around outside with Alberto while he manned the grill. Maria came out to join us and gave me such a thoughtful gift. She and Alberto had gone to Bosnia a few weeks ago and bought me a blessed pendant of the Madonna. I was so touched. Of course following my receipt of the gift Alberto asked me, “You’re Catholic right?” I said, “I’m on a level just shy of Catholicism, because my Dad is Catholic, but my mother was Protestant; so when they were married, they decided to meet halfway.” He didn’t seem to like my answer so he said, “Your Grandmother was Catholic, so you’re Catholic.” I left it at that. There is no convincing an 87-year-old man of anything.

We ate lunch on Antonio and Annarita’s new and beautiful enclosed patio, at a long white table. The food, as always, was incredible. We started with oversized ravioli in a mushroom cream sauce. Then we had penne with a tomato, mushroom and pancetta sauce. Then, we had grilled chicken drumsticks, grilled ribs, grilled sausages, and grilled steak with arugula and parmesan cheese on top. We had sautéed mushrooms and lightly French fried potatoes on the side. We drank amazing Calabrese wine, which was so light and perfect for the occasion. Annarita put mushrooms in almost every dish because she knew how much I loved them. She doesn’t even care for them that much! What a sweetheart to think of me so sincerely.

The most memorable part of the whole party was when they collectively gave me a heartfelt card and a pair of gorgeous gold earrings from the Ponte Vecchio. Because Italian calligraphy is so difficult to read, Benedetta read the card aloud for everyone, and we were all moved to tears. Antonella wrote the most beautiful things on behalf of everyone. I was so touched. Here’s what it said and then I’ll put the translation:

This was the cover of the card:

“Non accontentarti mai, perché oltre all’orizzonte c’è sempre l’infinito.” (Jim Morrison)

Here is what was written on the inside:

Cara Elsa,

Sono proprio la tua curiosità, l’intelligenza e la voglia di sapere che ti danno la spinta ad andare oltre il tuo orizzonte e ad oltre passare l’oceano. Qui hai trovato tante cose nuove e tante cose vecchie, ma soprattutto hai trovato la tua famiglia italiana, di cui avevi sentito parlare dalla tua nonna Rosa. Noi speriamo di non aver deluso quel che immaginavi di noi e quanto ricordavi da racconti e vecchie foto. Sicuramente tu per noi sei stata una sorpresa bellissima, sei veramente una bella persona, completa di gentilezza e dolcezza, decisione e forza d’animo che già avevamo conosciuto in zia Rosa. Cara Elsa, grazie di cuore da tutti noi per aver voluto conoscere l’Italia, la nostra lingua e la tua famiglia qui. Ti auguriamo le cose più belle, tante salute, tante gioie e fortuna nel lavoro e in amore. Ma speriamo anche di rivederti negli anni che verranno, e ci auguriamo che il filo che unisce la famiglia americana e quella italiana sia forte e ben stretto nelle tue mani come lo è stato nelle mani di zia Filomena e zia Rosa. Un bacio e un abbraccio forte da

TUTTI!

(I had to get that down before I forgot what it said, since it’s so hard to read.)

Here’s the translation:

This is a loose translation of the quote, because I couldn't find it online:

"Don't let yourself be satisfied because beyond the horizon, there is always the infinite." (Jim Morrison) 

Dear Elsa,

It is your curiosity, intelligence and desire to know that gives you the push to travel beyond your horizon and across the ocean. Here you found many things new and many old, but above all, you have found your Italian family, that about which you have heard spoken by your Grandmother Rose. We hope not to have disappointed what you have imagined of us, and all that you remember from stories and old photos. For us, you were certainly a very wonderful surprise; you really are a beautiful person, complete with kindness and sweetness, decidedness and strength of soul that we had already come to know in Aunt Rose. Dear Elsa, thank you from the hearts of all of us for wanting to know Italy, our language, and your family here. We wish you the most beautiful things, good health, many joys, and luck in work and love. But, we hope also to see you again in the years that come, and we hope that the thread which unites the American and Italian families is strong and tight in your hands, as it was in the hands of Aunt Filomena and Aunt Rose. A kiss and a big hug from

ALL!

So after reading that, I’m pretty sure it’s obvious how easily the tears soaked the table. I was so touched, and crying can certainly become a chain reaction, especially when you’re with your family.

For dessert, they brought out a beautiful cake with the words written “Ciao Elsa” across the whole thing. I cannot forget to mention that Annarita had heard me last weekend talking about how much I had loved the cake at Benedetta’s birthday party, so today’s cake was the exact same thing, down to the bakery. It’s called Millefoglie, and it’s the best cake I have ever tasted (and probably will ever taste) in my life. There were also strawberries in syrup and dessert champagne which they had me open. They asked me to make a toast, which I of course panicked about briefly. I came up with (in Italian, of course): “Thank you all for your presence today, for your gifts, and for being my family.” I guess it worked well considering the fact that most of the women broke down and cried, and even Maurizio a little bit!

After our long lunch, we cleaned up and I hung out with Arianna, Bendetta and Andrea for a little while. Then, Antonella took me to the bus stop, and I came home. I was so sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially Alberto and Maria. Maria was a mess because I think she’s worried that she and Alberto won’t have the chance to see me again, since they are so late in their lives. I told them how much I loved them and how much they meant to me, and I plan to call them as often as possible when I get home, just in case what Maria thinks turns out to be true. Alberto sent me home with two bottles of wine for my Dad, wrapped in bubble wrap and masking tape. On the masking tape he wrote:

“Insieme alla tua donna bevi in buona salute. Stai attento a non ubriacarti. Insieme ci ubriacheremo allorche vieni in Italia. Tanti cari abbracci da tutti noi di famiglia. Il ginocchio mi fa tanto male. Ciao Prus. Alberto.”

“Together with your woman drink in good health. Pay attention not to get drunk. We will get drunk together when you come to Italy. Many dear hugs from all of the family. My knee hurts very badly. Goodbye Prus. Alberto.”

I guess Alberto heard wrong on Dad’s name. It’s ok, Prus sounds just as good. :) The whole knee statement while completely out of context and hilarious, is Alberto’s plea for the pain-killing cream that my Grandmother used to bring him. Dad’s working on the package and will be sending it to Alberto so that he doesn’t have to be in pain much longer.

As for the rest of the family, Annarita and Antonella wouldn’t allow the party to be the last time they saw me, which I knew would happen. They will be coming into the center of Florence to take me for gelato sometime in the next 2 weeks. Thank goodness I didn’t have to say goodbye to Benedetta and Andrea, since they are coming to America. Benedetta asked me today for help buying her an iPhone in the States. I have no idea what I’m doing with that technology, so thank goodness for Paul. I can’t wait to show them what America is all about!

All I have to say is that I’m so thankful for this family. Each one of them is just as amazing as the next. Even if I hadn’t learned anything else this year, knowing my Italian family has been the biggest treat of my whole experience here, and that would have been enough.

I’ll miss them, but I’ll be back soon!