Celebrating 27

Last Sunday I celebrated my 27th birthday and while I wasn’t with any close friends, family, or my boyfriend I had a great time with new friends. Continuing in the tradition of celebrating my birthday outside of the United States, this year marks the fifth year (23 in Cancun, 24 in Japan, 25 in Puerto Rico, 26 in London and 27 in Rome)! I am planning to celebrate my 30th in Thailand! You have all been warned. Start saving for those tickets.

So how did I celebrate? Two other girls were celebrating their birthdays which were weeks before. So we headed to their house and enjoyed sangria and snacks and my iPod!!! At midnight they turned off the lights and sang happy birthday to me in English then in Italian. Around 1 am when the group was heading to a club I wanted to head home, but was forced into going to the club. Unfortunately we all had too much to drink and most of us left after the sun had risen.

Sunday which was my actual birthday, I was awoken by a call from my boyfriend, telling me not to leave the house before 11. Considering the state that I was in that was impossible. Around 11 I heard the bell ring. I was excited because I had no idea what it was. When I opened the door, there stood a delivery man with a rose and a heart shaped box!

Inside was breakfast. I’m talking hot chocolate, hot espresso, fresh pastries and loads of other treats. And of course there was a note from the Italian.

I am pretty sure this was one of the most thoughtful gifts that I had every received from a man. I had been kind of down all week thinking about my birthday which is usually a lavish affair, but with all my loved ones outside of Italy it was hard to be excited. Needless to say, this made my day.

After laying in bed until 6pm chatting with the Italian, I peeled myself out of bed and went out to dinner with a friend from FAO. After we went for hookah and great conversation and followed it up with gelato.

I received tons of phone calls, tweets, facebook messages and wall posts, which all brought smiles to my face. It is nice to know that people still care even when we are all in different places!

So what would I like to achieve in this 27th year of life? I have no idea!!! The last three years of my life have been so amazing and life changing and completely unpredictable. The Italian says that I plan too much so this year I am going to try to let go and let the wind take me where it will.