Day 1- Bella's Italian Cafe

Activity number one happened on Friday, August 20th. I read earlier in that week that Bella's Italian Cafe's "after-hour-happy hours" were kinda happening......and word of mouth had it that Bella's has the best Italian food in Tampa. After a long day of work, I went home to get things together....only to get ready to go out at 11:30pm. I was pretty much ready for bed by 10:30pm. In the past, if I had planned on going out on the weekend, I would have already been out by 10pm, but happy hour @ Bella's doesn't start until midnight. So, I grabbed a friend and we ventured out to give Bella's a try.

The food- AWESOME! I think that was the best cosmo martini I have ever had, too. The satellite radio music was good- a mix of stuff like Lenny Kravitz & music I love from the 70s, but I don't know who the artists are. The crowd, however, was not what was happening. It was mostly older couples who were holding hands and sitting on the same side of the table, and younger couples who were kissing by the candlelight and obviously drinking too much (heck, they made me a little afraid to get back on the road even though I only live 2 minutes away). Had my friend and I had nothing to talk to each other about, and just went out for the sole purpose of late-night mingling, the night would've sucked. Yet, the mix of the great convo, great food, and people watching made it okay.

I'd do Bella's after hour-happy hour again, but only if I wake up in the middle of the night hungry and have friends available to ride along with me!


Summary:

Fav: the food

Least Fav: I ordered before the midnight mark and missed the happy hour discount!

Advice: Bring a friend and an appetite

Found out about it: Through word of mouth and Bella's website