Italian Dispatch #1

All~

This is the first of what I hope will be several dispatches to you all from our Italian wedding trip. We have a wireless access point here at our first hotel and I’m hoping that we’ll at least have a wired connection at the rest of our stops. Italy is a strange mixture of old and new so it’s possible that this is the last time we’ll have running water, let alone internet access, on this trip. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Anyway, we arrived safe, weary and sound yesterday afternoon. The flights were fairly uneventful, though Brooke did worry that we wouldn’t make our connection in France (we had 50 minutes to jog across Charles d’Gaule Airport). For my part, let me just say that traveling to Europe from the east coast is MUCH easier than trekking from the west. A 7 hour flight is always preferable to a 12 hour flight, especially when you’re traveling on a budget with Delta. Thanks to cost cutting measures, they’ve stopped serving free booze on international flights. This was just one of the amenities that they’ve had to drop to keep from bankruptcy. Decent service, leg room and working toilets are a few of the other amenities they’ve dropped as well. A word to the wise: travel British Airways if you’re heading this way.

As part of our arrangement with the wedding planner, Brooke and I were picked up by a private car whilst everyone else that flew in with us (a total of 15 folks) had to find their own transportation from Genoa to Santa Margherita Ligure. While we traveled in luxury in a S-class Mercedes, they all piled into small Italian taxis. The trip took about 30 minutes, twenty-five of which were spent in tunnels. Northern Italy, being separated from Switzerland by the Alps, is rather hilly. The hotel we’re at right now is right on the waterfront and our room has a lovely view over the tops of fishing boats at the bay. Apparently, sometime around 4 this afternoon, most of the boats will return from the day’s fishing and all the fishermen will be hocking their catches at the fish market a block away. Needless to say, we’ll be eating a great deal of seafood while we’re here on the coast.

Yesterday afternoon, we took a walk to the Villa Durazzo, where the ceremony will be held tomorrow evening. Much to Brooke’s surprise and glee, the Villa looks just likes the pictures and the nearby cesspool she imagined our planner had left out of the photos doesn’t really exist, thankfully. Stay tuned for lots of great photos.

After the Durazzo visit, troupe dispersed until 7:30 when we all met in the lobby and trucked off to a local wine bar. Our group pretty much took over the entire place, much to the delight of the sommelier/owner of the joint. The wine list was dauntingly huge with a few hundred bottles listed by region. We all started off with Chianti Classico (since that’s one of the few I recognized). After that, my friend Lara and her brother Max showed up. She was the friend who’s family I stayed with on my last trip to Italy and, being Italian, have an inherent knowledge of wines that is enviable. Consequently, they took over the chore of choosing wines from that point forward and we were all very thankful for that. It let me focus on what I’m best at: imbibing.

Well, I’m feeling the need for a cup of coffee so I’ll scribble some more tomorrow if I can. We’re off to a winery tour this afternoon (I’m sensing a pattern here…). Tomorrow’s the big day. More, more coherent scribbling to follow. I hope everyone is doing well.

Shaun.