My first Festa

Today dawned exactly like the last two – perfectly clear and sunny. The Renaissance Artist arrived mid morning after finishing his work in Sorrento, and the three of us went to a lunch party – it was the birthday of two sisters, Maria Vittoria and Emmanuele. It was the perfect traditional multigenerational Italian family lunch… the sisters (sorelli) and their husbands, their daughters and their husbands and the ragazzi (children), 6 under the age of 4 – running around delighted. The three of us were the only non-family guests, a great honor. Everyone was very kind to me, welcoming me with the ‘double kiss’ and a benvenuto. I enjoyed the hustle and flurry of it all – though the rapidfire passionate and loud conversation of the giant table made it hard to understand much at all. Mostly, I understood when a man named Paolo next to me said ‘Posso?’ (literally ‘I am able?’) as he offered me wine, meat, veggies, or water. I’m getting very good at the ‘Si, Grazie’ response. The meal was very typical of the region: Crostini with pate to start, two types of pasta next, then a mixed grill of four or five types of meat (including the VERY strong fegato (liver) which is apparently a delicacy and hard to fix. I tried it, but the flavor is really overpowering.) Potatoes and vegetables, fruit and cakes to round it all out … and a café afterwards --- whew! Maria Vittoria and Nicola particularly went out of their way to give me their number and tell me that if I needed anything, I should call them (they live quite near to me). They will definitely be early on the ‘invite over for drinks’ list when I am settled a bit!