Day 15: 4th of July

It has been exactly two weeks since I have left Tallahassee. Half the trip has gone by in no time at all. On the positive side, 4th of July was today! In the spirit of real Americans, we brought the celebrations to Italy with us.
I woke up in the morning to the smell of bacon and eggs permeating the air. Since it was an American holiday, Giancarlo made us an American breakfast. I had three pancakes and bacon. Now that I think about it... Breakfast is one thing that I miss about America. Nothing beats the classic pancake.




After breakfast, we (Giancarlo, Mattia, Quinn, Sofia, and I- Mariella took Federico to the doctor) drove to the nearby grocery store to buy supplies for the dinner. With American fashion we picked out chocolate chip cookies, chips, real mustard, watermelon, french fries, buns, hotdogs, and hamburgers. Giancarlo also picked up some other meats and cheeses and wines and things.
When we got home, Mariella and Federico were back so we busted out the additional surprises we brought. This included American flag t-shirts for everyone, stickers, tattoos, glow sticks, hats, sunglasses, and bow ties. Everyone looked really snazzy in their getup.
The afternoon was spent in a lazy way; Mattia had some friends over and I baked brownies and tried to Skype with mom. The festivities didn't start until about 8 o'clock when all the guests arrived.
The evening started out with Mattia, Quinn, the grill, and the meat.












The girls and I set the table and decorated it in an American theme.




When the first hamburgers came off the grill, everyone crowded around the table while Giancarlo and Mattia fixed everyone a burger. They were delicious.
























Seats were magically brought in by someone and all of us fit around the table somehow.




I conversed with the others as best I could but mostly kept filling my plate with more and more food.
When the main course was over, we goofed around with glow sticks and hats, everyone trying them on and being silly.




















After the pictures, we sat around and I listed to Italian stories and jokes being translated into English. The sound of everyone laughing was contagious so I laughed too even if I didn't know what was funny. Being around so many big personalities and enjoyable people is a priceless experience. I wish it was possible to do so with our family back home.
My brownies were brought out for dessert and I was told they were good even though they were baked for too long. We also had amazing strawberry cake and gelato. It's impossible to be around so many Italian people and not have gelato.




People began going home at around midnight but Federico and I stayed up till about 1 downstairs perusing Facebook, although no one else had 4th pictures up yet. Through all the hectics of the day, it was a very very good night.