Anniversary Dinner

So there is a joke that had starting going around the island about me and everyone was starting to call me Marrieta. Apparently Marrieta was a lady that was on the island a few years back and she would attend every wedding, baptism, birthday party, anniversary, and any other event that was happening. The only difference was that she wasn’t invited, but would always just show up with a gift and enjoy the festivities. All of my friends would just laugh when they would invite me to go do something and I would respond, “… oh I’ll have to meet up with you after because I have this wedding, or this party, or this event to attend that night.” The same went for the night of May 26th when I was invited to join Antonio’s family for the 25th wedding anniversary of his parents, Pasquale and Loretta. Antonio’s family had taken me in as part of their family and always stopped by the house to make sure I was okay and to make sure that I had some place to eat that day. The anniversary party was no different. Walking into the restaurant I found my place at the family table and was quickly introduced to those I had not met yet. The party itself was a great time. Something like two hundred people were there, all friends and family, and the menu, as usual, was incredible. We started with an antipasto plate that at home would have been one plate per table, but here in Italy it is one plate per person. On my plate was buffula mozzarella, tomatoes, two different meats, bruschetta, eggplant, and anchovies. Next came fried mozzarella and pizza, before the main course finally made its way out, grilled steak. Normally the steaks in Italy are not that good, but tonight was definitely an exception. Pasquale is a hunter and clearly knows where you can find good meat in Italy. After our main dish a plate of desserts was brought out for everyone. Again, each plate could have easily been served for the table, but instead each person had on their plate an assortment of fruits and bite size pastries. This was followed by hours of dancing until the traditional cutting of the cake which obviously led to a toast and the eating of the cake. Once again the party began around eight o’clock pm and we were eating the last course at just after midnight. Damn the Italians know how to enjoy life!