These days I've gotten totally addicted to the Showtime series
The Borgias, about the intrigues of the notorious 15th century Papal family. Now, some people watch the show for the back-stabbing, the political underminings, the betrayals...not me. I watch it for one reason: Italy. You just gotta love it. And it's totally been making me nostalgic for Italy, in general, and the Veneto region, in particular, where my best friend got married last fall. It still feels like a dream that not long ago I packed up my 9 month old and a single backpack and left my then two-year-old and and equally helpless husband to fend for themselves for two weeks while I crossed the ocean to dive headlong into the world of proscuitto and prosecco. An unexpected European adventure with my little James. And what an adventure! The Italians were so kind and generous in helping me with James, waitresses and lovely grandmas generously offered to carry him while I ate and worked on wedding pre-production. The Italians have a sense of humor and light-hearted exuberance that made the festivities so much fun at every turn. Here are some of the highlights of my magical trip.
|
Me enjoying Ca' Marcello (where the reception was held) in all it's opulence of yesteryear. Note the bride in the background about to put me to work. Mirror's never lie...that is one purposeful walk! |
|
I managed to fit this pretty purple dress rolled up at the bottom of my backpack. Notice the Japanese obes. Cindy wanted the wedding to have a Japanese flair. |
|
The bridal car. A Fiat 500. Could it get any more charmingly Italian?
|
|
A fingerprint tree with all the guests fingerprints and their names written next to them. James was the tiniest print of them all. |
|
The magical palace Ca' Marcello that is still run by the Marcello family that once ruled Venice. |
|
Here is James lounging in the palace library. Notice the painting of the 17th century Marcello nobleman in the background who once summered here. |
|
The bride and groom getting showered with rice and confetti. |
|
They had to pop hundreds of balloons with the brides shoe to get in this little farm wagon to take them to the reception. Now that's teamwork! |
|
This would never be legal in the States, but in Italy, well... |
|
A lovely little Japanese-Italian favor. |
|
A mobile of 1,000 cranes that we erected in the lobby of Ca'Marcello. A final Japanese touch hand-carried by the bride from California. |
Comments