wedding day. first problem: i've been practically barefoot for the past week. so stuffing my swollen feet into expensive stilettos--no good. turns out wherever we go that day ends up being either gravel or grass..really no good!
we are bussed to a city villa where in the back, in a stone gazebo, the mayor of como, sporting a tricolor italian sash, is going to marry ila and marco. the mayor happens to be a very handsome gentleman--definitely wouldnt mind getting some gelatto with him. ila's dress is gorgeous (and valentino!) and her hair and makeup (courtesy of eva and jane) look great. what a beautiful bride! the mayor reads a bunch of stuff in italian (no idea what ila just agreed to. 17 kids? ceremonial ritual orgies?), they sign the certificate, exchange rings and are married! not going to lie, was holding back tears :)
off to reception, in a bus, up a steep hill, one lane road wiht rock on one side and cliff on the other. the view at the villa is amazing. when i say villa, i mean like real 19th century nobility with time appropriate furniture art and dishes. start out with a spread of appetizers adn prosecco. it's 2pm :). then off to higher level to actual tables, where the epic 17.5 course dinner begins. not really 17, but it felt like it, supplemented by unlimited wine. props to the caterers for making sure i get a veggie plate for all the courses. it was surprising to see what they were going to bring out each time, wondering what else can they possibly do to a zucchini.
marco's friends--fashionable italian men--displayed an array of fitted designer suits. some were of different colors adn everyone was surprised that tehre was only one red suit :(
carla's speech made everyone cry (stupid carla!) in between courses we'd wander off to walk around the villa. guess what i found? turtles!! so of course, i had to climb down the stone wall, fancy dress and shoes, into the pen where they were hiding/napping. everyone kept yelling to a)get out of turtle pen, b) leave turtles alone. "salmonella, alex, salmonella!!"
inter-milan was playing bayern in teh champions league. not a fan of bayern, ordinarily, but i had to cheer for the german team. so i periodically had to run inside, where the owners of the villa set up a tv just for this, to check the score. after it got dark we sat around a small table just chatting. being on gravel, the chair (or me) tipped and i fell, on my ass, in a dress. very graceful. i also owe ila and marco many hours of babysitting their future children. carla blew up their save-teh-date into a poster to have everyone sign it. the worst idea was to pass this around after hours of drinking and in the dark. i signed htis thing half in the air, in my bestest doctor squiggle. not only do i not know what i wrote, but staring at it, i was unable to discern a single letter. :( sorry guys for ruining your memories.
the bus ride back to como turned into a sing-along to carla;s dying ipod speakers. milan won and como exploded into crowds of cheering, yelling, celebrating black and blue. instantaneously, i'm back in florence when during world cup germany lost to italy and faield to advance to the finals and i was sad in teh city of italian happiness. the wedding party continued to a bar and i, slightly drunk, slightly pissed, had no desire to navigate the crowd in a fancy dress. so i pulled a staci and peaced out. good night.
No comments:
Post a Comment