i brought back two souvenirs from a summer vacation in europe the year i was fourteen. the first was a faux british accent that would have intimidated madonna. the second was a penchant for ordering sparkling mineral water at a restaurant. the accent, very thankfully, lasted only two weeks. the san pellegrino stuck around. the odd thing was, i didn't actually like san pellegrino. for a girl reared on tap water, i found it harsh and disconcerting. i felt so grown up ordering and drinking it, though. the ego will endure bizarre forms of punishment for the sake of looking cool. i did this enough i began associating san pellegrino with special dinners. the presence of the iconic green bottle emblazoned with a red star signified the intimacy of sharing food. now i like using the empties as bookends because they remind me of gathering at the table with my friends. i started to appreciate the way san pellegrino both cleansed and awakened the palate in a way only a torrent of tiny bubbles could. apparently leonardo da vinci felt similarly after trying it in 1509. he wrote an entire treatise on the subject.
i would say i became an adult right about the time i realized i enjoyed san pellegrino. nothing makes you feel more like a grown up than being the one comforting the child about to get blood drawn, or actually enjoying san p. and, yes, calling it san p makes me feel very cool indeed.