L'ultima settimana in San Vito

The night we got back from Naples was the Rezzica Festival in San Vito. Basically a rezzica is a wooden shutter that covers a door and every year during the rezzica festival, artists decorate these doors with their own images. You can also pay to decorate your own rezzica!

We went to an Italian band's concert called Subsonica. I wasn't too excited to go to the concert since I've never heard of Subsonica before but it actually turned out being so much fun; I really enjoyed their music! Subsonica was formed in my Turin (my home town!) and have been around for 20 years now so they're really popular in Italy. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone interested in listening to some Italian music! My favorite song is definitely Lazzaro! Oh and real quick a couple other Italian songs we listened to a lot were # fuori c'é il sole by Lorenzo Fragola (hashtag the sun is out) and Vieni a ballare in Puglia by Caparezza (come dance in Puglia)! Give them a listen ;)

So I know I'm in Italy but one night me and Sabrina decided to make sushi because it's both our absolute favorite food! Sadly, it was a Sunday so barely any grocery stores were open except one and they already sold all of their fresh fish that day so we couldn't buy any raw salmon :( We settled for shrimp and avocado! Making sushi really isn't that hard, it just takes a lot of time and a bit of expertise to roll it up at the end. A lot of our rolls turned out falling apart but whatever it still tasted delicious! 

Okay so I have a really fun story to tell (well at least I think it's hilarious). So one day we decided to go to this beach that was an hour away called San Pietro in Bevagna. Once we got there we were a little lost on where the actual beach was so we called Sabrina's friend, Noemi, who's family has a beach house in the same area. The friend and her parents were just about to eat lunch so they invited me, Sabrina, Leo and our friend Andrea ALL over to eat with them! We tried to say no because we didn't want to impose but Noemi's parents just wouldn't have it. Once again, can you believe how friendly Italians are!? So on the table first there was a bunch of bread with toppings for an appetizer then they brought out plates of pasta. I ate a decent amount because I thought after the pasta the meal would be over. Oh boy was I wrong... the pasta was only the "primo piatto", next they brought out fresh cucumbers and a sausage/veggie stir fry. I nibbled on the "secondo piatto" because I didn't want to insult Noemi's mom by not eating the food she served me. I thought, "Okay after this we're definitely done eating, right?!". Nope. Next came the fresh fruit, watermelon, cantaloupe and figs from the mom's garden. I've never eaten a fig before in my entire life so of course I had to try one (even though I was already stuffed), I absolutely loved the figs so they cut open 3 more for me... Next they brought out limoncello and amaretto, which are strong liquors that you eat after dinner to help digest your food. NEXT they brought out a chocolate cake. And last but not least, espresso. I think the lunch lasted about 3 hours but this is typical of southern Italy. No one in a rush to do anything, breaks in between each plate and a lot of conversation. I really enjoyed this lunch and I'll never forget the hospitality in Puglia! 

Soooo delicious

Relaxing on the beach after our amazing feast

The rest of my time in San Vito was spent soaking up the sun, going out with friends and just enjoying summer. Sabrina's family came to visit from Milan so we spent a lot of time with her cousins. Also, Sabrina's German friend, Christian, came to visit! He drove 18 hours straight to San Vito in his small RV camper all the way from his hometown near Stuttgart! When Christian arrived his eyes were red and he looked strung out on caffeine. He said he drank 6 espressos, a couple energy drinks and energy bars! hahaha It was an amazing last week, I had so much fun! Here's a bunch of pictures :)

Night out at the local (always busy) bar Gin Fizz!

Christian, my German twin!

Roberta's birthday party on the beach!

Happy birthday Roberta! <3

Sabrina signed up to work as a bartender at the annual beer festival in San Vito. She said I could work there too if I wanted to make some extra money but I declined the offer because I just wanted to drink beer, not serve it... haha but anyway so since she worked every night at the beer festival, me and Christian didn't really have any other option but to stay at the beer festival for 3 days in a row from 7pm to 3am... To say the least we drank a lot of beer, ate a lot of food and had a lot of fun! We're truly die hard beer festival fans!! 

Sabrina and Diletta the cutest bartenders!

mmmm grilled octopus food stand

An ice cold Estrella and a plate of pasta di mare; what more could I want in life!? 

The foreign best friends in Italy! 

Mia sorella piccola <3

Sadly, the Italian fun had to come to an end :( It finally came time for me to say good-bye. The night before I left me and all my friends went out for dinner at an all you can eat Japanese/Italian/Chinese buffet. There was a sushi conveyor belt!! Basically I was in heaven. The next morning I woke up early to say some final good-byes. It was really sad. San Vito is my home and I knew I was going to miss everyone so much. I'm going to miss the amazing hospitality, friendliness and generosity of everyone. If the economic and political situation in Italy was better, I would seriously consider living here one day. So although I may never live in San Vito I'll always carry a piece of it in my heart and remember to act as a San Vietese would when meeting new people: friendly and open. Anyway, I told everyone to come and visit me in Ohio or even Mississippi though so we'll see who shows up! Also, who knows maybe I'll see Sabrina later this year when she goes to college in Turin and maybe I'll see Christian in Germany as well! So it's not good-bye forever just an I'll see you later! :)

mia mamma <3

mia sorella e la mia migliore amica per sempre <3

Love you sis!

Well that's all for now, my next post will be about my mini-vacation to the capital of Italy... ROMA!! You can sign up to receive an e-mail notification every time I write a new post on the right hand side of this blog! Also for more recent pictures/information follow me on Instagram and Twitter @jdawgxx ! Ciao tutti :)