Weekend #3

And the weekends just keep getting better! :)

Friday night didn't amount to much. I got dressed and ready to go out, and instead ended up sitting at home and talking on skype... Oops ;-)

But that's okay because the rest of the weekend made up for it! Saturday morning we had our wonderful Thanksgiving meal as I just wrote about. Saturday afternoon we sat around the house, absolutely stuffed. Before it got too dark, I went out for a walk around town, hoping to ease my stomach from its fullness a little. I was shocked when I went into town! I had no idea how busy it would be at 5:00 on a Saturday night! There's always quite a few people out when I go into town, but this time there were hundreds of people everywhere. For those of you in Phoenix... think AMC Movie Theater on a Friday night. And those in Dallas... McKinney Ave. on a Saturday night at 10 or 11 pm. Just the popular hangout place on a weekend! Since all the stores were still open, I did some shopping while I was out. I may have gotten a thing or two I didn't really need, but everyone deserves a treat every now and then ;-)

At that point of the evening, I didn't really have plans with anyone and wasn't sure who I would be able to hang out with for the night. Most of the people I met so far were working, so I was kind of fearing spending a boring night at home alone. Fortunately, Zoila (that seems to be a common phrase for me) has a cousin my age, so she contacted her and told me where to find her. Noemi is 25 and works at a pastry shop during the week and at a cute little restaurant called Le Fate on the weekends. She was on her way to work when Zoila called her, but I was invited to stop by her restaurant to introduce myself and say hello. Before I headed back home from my walk, I located the restaurant and met Noemi. We chatted for a bit and exchanged phone numbers, and I will hopefully get a chance to hang out with her soon!

I forgot to mention how cold it was. I had on a jacket that I normally wear for 60 degree weather. It was 40, maybe less. I didn't have socks, or warm shoes for that matter, didn't have a sweater, and didn't have a hat. I was dying. So I went home to change and prepare a little better to face this phenomenon called COLD.

It makes me miss Phoenix a little. ;-)

Luckily, Zoila (there we go again) made sure that I went out and bought proper shoes this week. You see, living in Phoenix, and even in some ways Dallas, does not require you to own attire appropriate for cold weather, rain, and snow. So, as you can imagine, I came to Italy with pretty much nothing but a few pea-coats. And you are greatly deceived if you think a mere pea-coat is enough for winter weather like this. So Zoila and I spent much time discussing what type of shoes would be best for me to brave this weather in. Boots seem to be what most people wear, but I find boots miserably uncomfortable, especially for walking around in. We finally decided on a popular style here - a classy tennis-shoe type of shoe that is commonly found in black, brown, or grey. Unfortunately, shoes in Italy are not cheap (or even affordable really), so I was bracing myself to have to spend at least 90-100 euros. However, Zoila knows the owner of one of the shoe shops on the main square, so she worked out a deal with her. I went in, tried on shoes that fit perfectly, and paid only 70 euros. I'm pretty satisfied with my new purchase.

And what do you wear these fancy tennis shoe things with, you ask? Well, skinny jeans of course! I'm telling you, I look more and more European every day. All I need now is a big black fluffy down coat, and I'm sure I'll fit right in!

 

cute right??

Fabio, the birthday boy!

my friend Sara

Maria, who grew up in Phoenix, and Daniele

Anyways, I put on my new shoes and skinny jeans and headed out to the wine bar. Chiara was working, so I talked to her for a bit, but there really wasn't anyone else there. I asked her where everyone was, and she informed me that half of the regulars were in Rome for someone's birthday party and the other half were down the street at someone's house for a different person's birthday party. At the party nearby were some of the people I had met last weekend, so Chiara told me she would drive me over there after she told her manager where she was going (pretty cool manager huh?). A few minutes later, Chiara dropped me off at a cozy little cottage not too far down the street from where I live. I went inside to find an amazing fire in the fireplace and a table filled with an array of food - pizza, bruschetta, chips, meatballs, sausage, salad, and of course, wine. I said hello to some of the people I already knew and was quickly introduced to new people. Amazingly, almost everyone I met spoke English! I spent the next several hours talking to lots of different people and making all sorts of new friends. One of the Italian girls I met actually grew up in Phoenix, so she is perfectly fluent in both English and Italian. It was very refreshing to be able to talk to someone who could understand everything I was saying, slang and all. She was really great in helping me communicate with others as well! I had a wonderful time hanging out with everyone, and when I got tired, I found some friends to give me a ride and I went home and crashed.

The next morning, I woke up and got ready to go to lunch at Zoila's parents house, a Sunday tradition. I was still stuffed from all the Thanksgiving food and all the snacks I ate at the party, but I was still looking forward to a delicious home-cooked Italian meal. We had bread gnocchi with a sauce that tasted like chili, some sort of amazing fried bread that you eat with lemon juice and salt, and - that's right - pumpkin pie! I was SO stuffed by the end, but it was so worth it! The kids and cousins ran around and played for awhile, and I took a nap on the couch :) A little while later, we left to go a dinner party at Aurelio sister's house.

Patrizia, Aurelio's sister, and her husband actually live right next door to us, but they have a house in the mountains about 30 minutes away where they like to spend their weekends. But this is not a house. It is part of an old castle, hundreds of years old, and they are renovating it to be an absolutely beautiful home, complete with a multi-level library, chapel, and old fashioned kitchen. In addition, Patrizia's husband, Leo, is an artist and he works out of an artist's loft in a nearby area of the castle wall. He took me to see it, and to show me some of his work. He paints and sculpts, and his work is beautiful. You can view some of it here.

Roasting chestnuts with Leo and Andrea

Patrizia, our wonderful hostess of the evening

check out the ancient walls!! some of them are as old as the 1200s!

All the family gathered together, trickling in a few people at a time. I have learned that Italians take their time when they get together. There's no rush to start eating or to get on with the main event. The main even is being together and just socializing, so even if you don't eat until four hours after you arrive at a party, the important thing is that you had a good time! There was lots of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and all sorts of extended family that kept arriving. There were even several people my age, which made for a very enjoyable evening. Zoila and Aurelio ended up heading home early, but they told me I could stay and have someone take me home later if I wanted. I am so glad I stayed! I had such a fun time talking with Andrea, Leo's 25 year old brother, and Martina, a 17 year old girl who studied in San Diego and London and speaks perfect English.

me and andrea

talking with Martina at dinner

We spent the evening talking, roasting chestnuts, trying different wines, eating amazing food, playing cards, touring the house, listening to fun Italian music, and just enjoying everyone's company. If I was stuffed before, you can't even imagine how stuffed I was by the end of the night. And they still sent me home with a plateful of desserts and cookies. :)

A very fun night!