"Where is My Grappa?"

On Saturday we had a Brazilian BBQ. It was organized primarily by Julia and Marquinhos, with help from Carol and a decidedly un-Brazilian Bin and me. In the morning Julia, Marquinhos, and I went shopping to Makro, which is a bulk goods store, like Costco. But the selection there was amazing, cuts of meat from every country imaginable. We were actually able to get some nice cuts of Brazilian beef to grill, and it cost almost nothing. We spent hours chopping, cutting, marinating, carrying tables and chairs, running to the store for that last bottle of sherry. We grilled for hours, adding cuts of meat, chicken, and prawns here and there, just nibbling through the afternoon and evening.

Then night fell. The party moved inside. The beer was fading and the samba was starting. And then the grappa disappeared. Bin's grappa, his pride and joy, was gone. It was consumed without his permission by some of the guests. There was some commotion, some words, some trouble. At almost 2AM, Julia, Alejandro, Marquinhos, and I were with Bin in his room as he was ranting, "Where is my grappa? Where is my grappa?"

At 10AM on Sunday we began the cleanup. It took almost two hours and I must have lugged half a dozen bags of garbage to the bins. It was a good party. A great party, except for the last hour. After our clean up we went to the beach, to Scheveningen. This weekend was the nicest of the year, around 90F on both Saturday and Sunday. Though it took a while to get to the beach, once we were there it was perfect. We lounged in the sun, drank some prosecco from the bottle, swam in the sea, had some ice cream, laughed, and gossiped and for a brief moment, believed it was actually summer.

But not for long. Today was much cooler and it rained for hours. I woke up this morning with a slight rash on my arm, that soon spread to the rest of my body. I freaked out a bit and called Julia, I needed a second opinion. She thought it was allergies, I was trying to figure out what plant I had brushed up against yesterday. Heat rash, the doctor said. My arms and stomach have the color of cotton candy and the texture of braille. It should subside within 48 hours.