Wedding Day! Part Two

Sorry I’ve been M.I.A.  I have been in a funk these past few weeks.  My birthday came and went and I’m glad that it did.  Over the years, I’ve grown to despise my birthday.  I know I should be grateful, etc., but for me, it always reminded me of my short comings.  I wish I could tell you my trip to Italy was all rainbows and sunshine, but it wasn’t.  I’ve been gloomy since I came back and once my birthday month came into effect, forget about it.  I just wanted to be left alone.

For the most part, I HATE being around people when do I get this way.  I always felt that my moodiness is something that I should deal with personally, and do not need an audience to witness my internal drama.  I had some outings to go to once I got back, and that made some of my mood swings dwindle down, but as they say, too much of a good thing can do more harm.  I needed some time to myself and finally had some last weekend when I stayed in and did absolutely nothing but to enjoy my own apartment.  I sometimes miss my place a lot.

Back to recapping where I left off on my best friend’s wedding.

We pulled into the wedding venue of Peppe Zullo.  It was breathtaking!  Gorgeous hills surrounded by white fluffy clouds!  We made our way to the crowd gathering afar and realized we probably weren’t going to get a seat.  Luckily someone gave up their seat so me and my friend could sit together.  Our makeup artist friend ran off to find the bride.  I was relieved we were finally at this point.  I couldn’t help but think about the past 20 years I’ve known my friend.  I felt so proud of her!  She was marrying a wonderful man in front of all of these people that flew in from all over!  It was pretty surreal.

Next thing you know, we heard the wedding music play on the speakers.  Here comes the bride!  She looked beautiful!  I don’t think she was aware of all of the camera phones recording her.  She ended up whispering something to us but it was all caught on video!  Oh well.  What can you do?

The ceremony was moving along when the wedding coordinator came up to us and lead us to a line of people.  I was under the impression we were going to give our mini speeches during dinner but apparently it was happening now.  I was so nervous!  I hated the fact I had to speak on a microphone.  My friend was ahead of me, and sure enough, when it was her turn, she started to cry.  GREAT.  Now I’m going to shed some tears.  I did manage to get it together but my voice was very shaky.  I had to stop for a second so I could regain my composure.  That was one of the most truthful moments I had ever encountered.  Telling my best friend in front of a crowd, how much I loved her.  I wish people could do this more often to one another.

Once the ceremony was over, the bride and groom got bombarded with people coming up to congratulate them.  I decided to go for a drink.  Light bites and cocktails were being served in one of the kitchens.  We enjoyed some delicious appetizers.  Eventually the couple came out and started dancing to the band.  It was the start of the party and everyone was having a good time.

We were then lead to the other building where the banquet was taking place.  Me and my friend luckily took some pictures before the crowd arrived.  Our first course was spaghetti, followed by another plate of pasta, and then a third!  Italians love their pasta!  They also brought out different wine pairings to go with our meal.  I loved them all!

Once dinner was over, me and my friend AGAIN took some time to sneak off and take more pictures.  The bride and groom were now taking their professional pictures, too.  When we returned to the banquet room, they placed the cheese table in the middle of the dance floor.  I’ve never seen anything like it! 

There was also a table put out filled with wine bottles from around the world!  Since the groom is in the wine making industry, he asked some close friends to bring in their wine so they could showcase them at the wedding.  It was a great experience being able to try different wines you don’t normally get a chance to.

Now it was time to dim the lights and start grooving!  The band was amazing, but once they started playing disco music, forget it!  It was time to tear up the dance floor!  This was the most fun for me since I love watching people enjoy themselves.  I loved seeing happy faces!  

It was now time to clear out and head to the OTHER building which looked like a glass greenhouse.  Here a large table of sweets were waiting for us to indulge in.  I got a chance to have some of the wedding cake and it was amazing!  Luckily, the dj got back on and it was time to burn off these calories!  By now people were getting a little silly but everyone was having fun.  I helped get the take home gifts ready which were mini bottles of wine from the groom’s winery.  What a great gift idea!

After the hoopla, it was time to meet in the parking lot for our charter bus to take us back to the winery 45 minutes away from here.  As you can imagine, there was no bus, (we apparently missed the last bus) and there was no other bus that was going to come back and get us.  Friends offered their cars to help out and we car pooled back into town.  What a day!

Day 12 Foggia

By the time we got home we were all physically exhausted.  Driving at night with limited lighting for over 2 1/2 hours was painful.  I felt bad because in the morning, my friend's boyfriend left out late for work.  I wish this didn't happen to us, but it did.  There's nothing we could do about it now.
My train for Rome was leaving around 5:45pm.  I would be arriving at 10:35pm and then jump on another train that would take me to Fiumicino airport at 10:45pm.  Not much of a window for time, but it had to happen.  Last year I got stuck at the train station overnight before they resumed service in the morning.  This year it was going to be different.  I had to be on it.
Me and my friend enjoyed our late breakfast.  I started to get emotional again, like I always do right before I leave any vacation.  One of the reasons was I felt I didn't have enough time with my friend.   We were having fun night before we left Lecce despite our lock out situation.  I really wished she had met me in Greece.
For lunch we decided to go big since I was going to be on a 5 hour train ride.  We were going to meet up another friend who also lives in her town, and who happens to have lived in New York for some time.  It was nice meeting her and we all had some good laughs.  We headed to Teanum Wine Bar in Foggia and I can definitely say we were pretty loud at the table.  At this point, who cares?  We wanted to be ourselves for once, and yes, we were in another country, but it didn't stop us from making memories that day.  I'm glad my friend found someone who she could relate to.

Seafood pasta!  I cleaned off my plate!  SO GOOD!!!!

Octopus

Rich chocolate cake

I ordered a pasta dish and devoured every last bite of it!  I knew I wouldn't taste food like this again for quite sometime.  For dessert we had a chocolate cake that was rich and delicious!  We had wine and ate like kings.  My friends decided we should go to the train station early just in case.  And sure enough, my world came crashing down.  In one instant.
The lady behind the ticket booth gave us the hardest time.  I had my receipt of my train ticket transaction, but not an actual ticket.  That is why we went up to her in the first place.  Right before you board your train, you have to stamp your boarding ticket in a machine.  Once you're on the train, the train conductor will come by and ask for your stamped ticket.
According to the lady behind the counter, she did not know what we were showing her, and insisted I must have gotten something else for a confirmation.  She did not recognize any information on my receipt (which was in English).  Mind you, we were in Southern Italy where they do not speak English at all (along with other languages like Spanish).  Only Italian.  Even though my friends spoke Italian to her, the lady claims she did not "see" a confirmation number, therefore, she was not able to print a ticket out for me.  I even pulled up my transaction off my email from my iphone, but she still didn't recognize anything.  We tried to persuade her to type in whatever numbers were displayed off my receipt, but she kept repeating over and over again that she did not see a confirmation.  I started to panic.
My nerves were getting to me and I had to rush to the bathroom.  I was in there a while and my friends went in to check up on me.  I was nervous about getting on the train, mostly because I knew I wouldn't be able to speak to the conductor in Italian.  I didn't want to cause a scene.  My friend asked if I had enough cash on me to purchase a ticket en route.  "They will not kick you off the train if you do not have a ticket.  You can buy one right there."  That made me feel a little bit better, but I was so nervous.  I wish I wouldn't overreact like this.  I wanted them desperately to come with me, but I knew I had to face this hurdle on my own. 
My friends waited until the train arrived.  There was some confusion at first because they made an announcement prior to its arrival that the train leaving for Rome would be coming in from another platform.  These are the things that can happen at a moment's notice.  It's all a part of traveling and I am grateful my friends waited with me to help me out.
I said my good byes and got on board.  I waited for the conductor to come around to me.  Once he got to my turn I tried to explain to him with my little Italian that I purchased my ticket on-line.  I showed him my printed receipt and my transaction off my iphone.  He kept looking over the information and then tried entering whatever numbers were displayed.  Sure enough, my name came up.  He said, "Ok" and off he went.  I was relieved but sad that I had to leave Foggia having a panic attack.  I wish I left in better terms with my friends instead of having them try to calm me down.  My anxieties were all over the place on this trip.  I hate getting like this.
I caught my train and got to the airport in no time.  The reason I like to break night at the airport instead of getting a hotel room is because I want to be able to sleep on flight.  I absolutely hate flying and because of all the flights I took on this vacation in particular, I didn't mind staying up.  It is what it is.  I know I can't let my anxiety run my life, so I make the necessary adjustments I can to do what I want to do.  It's frustrating sometimes but if I didn't figure out other ways to live with anxiety, what else could I do?  You manage what you can and move on to the next challenge...

Bff

Day 9 Baia Delle Zagare

I slept hard until the morning.  I heard my friend getting ready downstairs.  She was putting her beach bag together.  I quickly got up.  I knew we were going to head to the auto shop to see if they would  have a rental waiting for us.  She has been checking since I originally landed in Greece and they kept telling her for sure they would have it by the weekend.  Now it's Wednesday.  She wanted to drive out to the northern regions.  So far, every time I have come to visit her, we've only drove to the southern cities. 
We had a light breakfast and made our way to the auto shop.  Italians are known to take their time.  They do not rush.  Although there were some customers ahead of us, we waited patiently for our turn.  Of course, all of that waiting did no good.  We were still left without a car.  Not to mention, they took a moment to look at her boyfriend's car and confirm the clutch (along with some minor issues) were kaput.  She did not want to leave the car there without discussing the details with her boyfriend.  For now, she wanted to see what her driving options were.  The repairman advised her to drive the car at her own risk, and that's what we decided to do.  My friend could drive either 1st or 3rd shift, but 2nd shift is where the clutch would get stuck.  I trusted my friend that she felt she would be fine.  We prayed and off we went.
My friend decided we would try to reach Baia Delle Zagare once again.  Last year we drove out to Mattinata but couldn't find it.  We gave up after an hour.  This time, I had written down the coordinates from the resort's website and we entered the info on the GPS.  Driving to Mattinata wasn't so bad.  Only an hour away.  It was when we were driving up and down the cliff where things got tricky.  Because she couldn't get into 2nd gear, we had no choice but to drive super slow a couple of times.  That lead to a back up real quick, which was nerve wrecking considering we were driving on a cliff.  Even if cars wanted to pass us up, they couldn't because it was a single lane road.  YIKES!  Luckily that did not last long and eventually we found our exit.  Driving steep down was just as scary, but my friend is a pro by now with stick shift. 
We made our way down the steep and found a group of staff finishing up a conversation with the police.  Once they drove off, we went up to them and asked if we could go to the beach.  We weren't sure if it was a private beach or not.  They gave us directions to where to park the car and we stayed silent about being patrons of the hotel.  lol.  I'm pretty sure they knew we weren't locals.
Lugging our beach bags around wasn't easy.  The parking lot was a good 10 minute walk to the hotel.  From there we found the signs leading up to the beach.  There was a public bathroom by the elevator that leads you down to la spiaggia.  We changed into our swimsuits there. 
The view alone was amazing.  I couldn't help take pictures of the resort.  I secretly wondered what type of guests made it out here.  There was a lot of space for parties and weddings.  The lawn area was spacious overlooking the woods.  There were canopy lounges located on site. 
We rode down the elevator and walked up to a staff member and asked for two umbrellas.  He charged us 30 euros and then lead us to our spot.  The beach was small but luckily there were not many people there.  I have to get use to the quietness of Italy.  I'm used to some type of music being played, but here in Italy, I immediately notice the silence.  I'm drawing a conclusion they just don't like loud music.

2nd attempt trying to find this place but we did it!!

Gotta love the selfie stick! 

Eventually, the barista on site turned on the speakers and we listened to dance pop (but at a low volume).  Me and my friend couldn't help but yap out loud, which is more than what the others on site were doing.  Couples were either reading to themselves or resting.  We were the only ones laughing.
Most of the beaches in Italy don't have sand.  They have rocks, which is hard sometimes to walk on.  Not only do the rocks hurt my feet, but in the sea, they are pretty slippery.  After a while of laying out we decided to dip in the water.  The  faraglione up ahead was occupied by some young daring swimmers.  They would climb up and dive off.  They put on quite a show for us.  I was jealous of them.

I wish I could be fearless like they are.  Some of them were boys, not men!

We stayed in the water for some time.  Once we laid out again, we grew restless and went by the bar for a drink.  Since my friend does not like to be out in the sun too long, we laid out a little bit longer and then it was time to go.  They had outside showers to rinse off the salt.  We took advantage by using some hotel soaps I had brought along and we did a quick rinse down.  We were planning on staying out so this was the only way we could freshen up.  The water from the shower was cold, so we hurried up.  We made our way back to the public restroom and changed into our dresses for the evening.  My friend wore a while lace maxi dress.  I decided to change later and focus on doing my makeup in the car.  Off we went to Trani!
An hour later we arrived, but because people were getting off from work, there was so much traffic.  It took us a while to find parking, too.  I quickly changed in the car and we took a stroll in il centro to see what we should do.  It was still too early to have dinner.  The clouds looked suspicious, but luckily we only got a drizzle.  We found an adorable bistro that was showcasing art and sat outside the patio area.  I ordered a spumante.  We played around with snap chat filters until it was time to head to the restaurant.  We didn't want our hair to get frizzy.  lol.
We chose Corteinfiore restaurant because it's one of the highest rated in Trani.  I'm always down for seafood, especially in Italy, so I knew we were in for a treat.  Again, we were probably the most talkative in the whole restaurant.  I joked to my friend why everyone around us was so quite, but she informed me that Italians take their food very serious.  There isn't much socializing.  Me and my friend couldn't help getting talkative once the wine started to pour!  We tried to tone it down but it was hard.  We were too busy enjoying our night.  We laughed.  We cried.  We discussed our deepest secrets.  I've missed her so much. 
After dinner it was time for a stroll.  We didn't want to stay out too late.  Some roads are pretty dark with limited lighting.  We went back home in hopes of getting a rental for tomorrow. 

Getting to Trani in time for the sunset...

A glass of spumante before we head to dinner...



Birthday Dinner Blizzard

And the festivities continue!  This weekend the weather will be warming up into the high 60s, which means we'll finally be able to enjoy the sun for a change and not freeze in the process.  We haven't had good weather in weeks so I'm pretty excited about that.  Maybe I'll go for a run again??  Who knows?  All I can say that compared to last weekend, the weather was BRUTAL. 
After my night out at Studio Paris last Thursday, the next day I came into work for half a day.  I had a birthday dinner to attend too afterwards.  I was glad the restaurant was nearby because it wouldn't stop snowing!  I made my way to La Scarola, but our table wasn't ready so we went across the street to The Dawson for some pre-drinks.  It was nice catching up to everyone.  Of course, due to the weather, rush hour, and the home opening Sox game, some of our friends were running terribly behind.  We made the most of it, and luckily, the rest of our crew walked in altogether. 

I had the linguini with clams but I absolutely LOVED my friend's dish which was the penne all vodka with shrimp and asparagus!  That creamy sauce was to die for!!  Overall, everyone enjoyed their meal.  We even brought our own birthday cake to top it off!  Too bad it started snowing again!  That was pretty frustrating...



Wore a white lace top from Express with my skinny jeans and cognac ankle boots.  I knew it was a neighborhood restaurant, so I didn't dress up.

I love them...

Happiness is being with friends...

The birthday girl! 

She's excited about motherhood!

Linguini with clams

Now that's a cake!

Cozy restaurant!  We squeezed in for our pic!