Ciao Amici!

That's "Hello Friends!" to those non-Italian speaking viewers. Well wedding season is in full swing and I should soon have many many pictures for your viewing pleasure. But before that, I'm dying to share some images with you from my recent holiday in Italy. I just returned a few days ago... which is lucky for my brides, cause I seriously considering finding a way to stay. ;)

I think I left half my heart in Italy. I was captivated by Italy and its people. I came back with a renewed perspective on the American way of life and a love for the modest Italian lifestyle. In addition, I became quite the connoisseur of gnocci and cappuccino; in fact, I don't see myself drinking Americanos quite as much anymore. :) I felt a connection to the Italian people and can see myself one day studying abroad. I'm looking into an MBA in business administration at one of the most prestigious design schools in Italy: the Politecnio di Milan. I visited the campus and was blown away by its technology.

Other than Milan, I visited Rome, Florence, Siena (I luuuuvv Siena), Riomaggiore and the Cinque Terre, and Venice. Here are just a FEW images from the trip; I have more to show, but do not want to overwhelm you. Check back soon!

ROME:
We sure had our fair share of adventures in Rome. I can't even count the number of times we laughed to the point of tears. We asked for many different sets of directions, got our first taste of interacting with Italians, also had our first taste of the famous Italian gelato. Rome is so filled with history; I'd love to go back. This is such a classic picture as it foreshadows the rest of our trip.... we constantly had our noses in Alyssa's phrasebook and our eyes on my maps (I had one of these for each city and they came in SOOO handy). However, we DID make a point to ditch the map for a day and get lost in every city.

Sara and Simon: I ran into this cute couple at the Trevi Fountain and did a spontaneous photo shoot with the English couple.

Laughing at the entrance to the Coliseum. We were actually able to score 3 free tickets from Totó.

My favorite part of Rome: the wedding photographers!! Both the above and below images were obviously taken in Rome. It was a Monday afternoon and we saw the first couple at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and the above couple outside the Coliseum. I can't even explain the feeling I got when I saw the photographers. They were living my dream of photographing internationally, well I guess to them it was just another local wedding.. how boring.. shooting at the Coliseum AGAIN... ;)

Looking out over Rome from the interior of the Vatican Museum.

Our first dinner in Rome where we coined the term "Rome it up," meaning because we had such a fabulous time in Rome, we were going to "Rome it up" in all the cities to come. This bottle of wine you see here led to a very interesting night of fun, dancing (well almost...), the purchase and use of a street vendor's night flying toy, a very late walk home after realizing the metro was closed, and to top it off, a near "picking" of my pockets!!

SIENA:

Overlooking Siena. This was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. The view was breathtaking and literally almost brought me to tears of joy. Siena is about 30 miles south of Florence in the heart of the Tuscany. (Photos from Florence to come soon.)

Jesie and I having lunch at Key Largo Bar on the perimeter of the Piazza del Campo, a famous square in Siena where the biyearly Pilao derby is held. Siena was one of my absolute favorite towns. It was small and quaint.

MORE PHOTOS FROM FLORENCE, VENICE, THE CINQUE TERRE TO COME SOON!