August 14, 2011
My big 3-0 birthday was a perfect birthday weekend. Aside from missing family and close friends from home, our home here and good friends made me less homesick. My friend Jamie's birthday is August 15th so we're birthday pals. Her husband has been deployed so it just made sense that we needed to double our birthday celebrations. Beth, Christy, Kwame, Sadie and the three Epstein boys were all there. We drove up to Prosecco Road and spent a beautiful, lazy, afternoon among the vines sipping prosecco and eating cupcakes. We took our wagon and Christy brought her blanket so everyone was happy!
Our downstairs neighbor Anthony was having a concert in his apartment on Saturday night. I had been looking forward to it for a while for a few reasons. 1. A concert with violins, cello, piano, etc. in his apartment. 2. It was the day before my birthday. 3. Anthony's apartment is beautiful and elegantly decorated. 4. We hear Anthony on the piano every now and then, usually late at night when we're in bed. It resonates all the way up the third floor but is never too loud or annoying, just classical music. 5. The main reason is because for 2 weeks leading up to the concert, all 7 musicians, Anthony's friends from all over the world (only 2 Americans), practiced, studied, and played, played, played. There was very little time during those two weeks that it was quiet in our home. I loved it. It was so calming and peaceful to have background music on the way upstairs to do laundry. Or while feeding the boys or really any other time. It has been H-O-T so all the windows are open and we hear them at night practicing.
We got home from Prosecco Road just in time to bath the boys and stick 'em in bed to get downstairs for the second piece of music. Anthony quietly ushered me to the doorway so I could get a better view but I didn't want to interrupt so I hung on the back side of the door. To my surprise at the end of the piece, two of the ladies started playing a familiar tune, "Happy Birthday", and Anthony brought me a cupcake with a candle to blow out. I told him later, but I was really missing being home and celebrating what I consider a fun, big-time birthday. It could not have been any better with a concert pianist and violinist playing the birthday song, in this beautiful Italian home, surrounded by friends and my sweet husband.
Sunday was all about food and Sacile and the boys. Coffee for breakfast and Cellini's for lunch.
After a lot of deliberation, this was my favorite bird. The picture doesn't do it justice. The colors were so vibrant and I loved the purple. 
The boys made it late into the night on Saturday.
Saturday morning we all woke up early birdy, pun intended, to hear the birds sing their songs. It was so peaceful to stroll around the concrete playground area and square and hear the singing birds. We grabbed some breakfast and headed in for a morning nap. We returned for lunch and some m-a-j-o-r heat. These poor little boys took it all in stride but it was sunny and h-o-t, hence the milk in the koozies!
We took in every moment possible.
