Italy. The trip of a lifetime

My wife and I, along with her step brother and his wife, went on a trip of a lifetime! We spent 16 days in Italy at the beginning of June. For us, this trip had many meanings. My wife's grandmother was Italian and we always said that one day we would visit there. There were other, more personal meanings involved with this trip that I won't get into however I will say that this trip would not have been possible if not for my mother-in-law and my wife's late step father. Thank you! You will never know how much this trip meant to all of us!

The four of us are also "food junkies" so we dined our way across Italy like there was no tomorrow! We started in Venice, then visited the Cinque Terre region, Florence, Siena, Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri and Rome. To put it mildly....."WOW!!"

I hope you enjoy just a few of the over 700 photos I shot while there. Soon I will post all of the photos up on my website client gallery if you would like to see all of them.

Ciao!


Venice







The Cinque Terre area. The beautiful town of Riomaggiore



The view from our apartment



Some lovely Aussies we met



Best. Food. Ever.





Lots of steps helps to work off the calories








Florence





Dining in Siena





more "food porn"



A little alley below our hotel



The view from our hotel in Siena









Sorrento. Mt Vesuvius in the distance






The view from the top of Capri



But getting to the top is half the fun!





Leaving Capri



Pompeii





Rome and the coliseum



The Roman forum




Touring the Vatican





Yep, we're tourist!

Kelley & Alex

The Barn at Valhalla in Chapel Hill was the setting for Kelley and Alexander's wedding. The day was beautiful but it was also a typical July day in North Carolina which means heat...and lots of it.

Kelley is not only a beautiful bride, but quite an accomplished cook. She baked all the cakes that you see except for the grooms cake.

I hope you enjoy their photos as much as I enjoyed their wedding.

Alex had a couple of lovely "grooms maids"





Kelley wore her mother's wedding gown.
























Kelley's brother on the banjo

















All the guests threw "rocks with wishes" into the pond


















The grooms cake



Kelley baked all the rest














Lots of great speeches were given





The first dance







Time for the parents to get down!!



Everyone was enjoying the music





I don't think I've ever seen two guys going after the garter with such gusto before!



To the victor goes the spoils!



A quiet moment as the day winds down