My Italian Holiday: Bonus footage

While we were in Sorrento, we stumbled upon a wedding at the beautiful church pictured above.  Katie and I had JUST been talking about songs in weddings.  She and my brother had very unique, non-traditional music in their wedding, and we both agreed that we love when couples think outside the box for wedding music.  I had told her that I definitely want to walk down the aisle (one day-not any time soon!) to an acoustic version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."


We were awestruck when we walked up to the church and heard the live band playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow!"  I instantly got chills...it's just such a beautiful, dreamy song.  I could not believe they were playing it when we had JUST been talking about it.  I didn't think to record it until the end of the song, but here is the short video I took.

I will never forget that moment...such a lovely memory.  I could feel God smiling down on me.

My Italian Holiday: Part 3

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my adventures in Italy here and here.

We spent the last 3 days of my trip to Italy in the beautiful city of Sorrento.  The view (pictured above) from our hotel room was spectacular.

After checking into our hotel, Katie and I went to the Lemon Grove Garden to see the beautiful, HUGE lemons and to sample the limoncello.  They also had liquors in a wide variety of flavors including blueberry, basil, and mandarin.  Molto bene!

Check out the view of Vesuvius from Sorrento.  SO amazing!

We were obsessed with the chairs that were IN the water.

More gelato...DUH!

Gorgeous striped flowers outside of our hotel.

In love with these amazing purple flowers that blooms all over 
this part of Italy. Such a gorgeous building too.

Not sure who this guy is, but I liked his statue.

More pretty flowers.

Katie and I at The Foreigner's Club, our absolutely FAVORITE spot in Sorrento. It is this amazing, old school restaurant complete with a huge dance floor and the most incredible view ever.  We ate there both nights because we loved it so much.  The limoncello flows, anything goes on the dance floor, 
and the waiters are super cute. 

Such lovely flowers everywhere.

We took the bus to this beach just outside of Sorrento.  

It was very crowded but quite refreshing and relaxing.

I seriously contemplated swimming up to this boat and trying to climb aboard.

Delicious pizza for lunch.

On our way to another fun night at The Foreigner's Club.

One last photo of the beautiful hydrangea found 
all over this region.  My favorite!

My Italian Holiday: Part 2

I hope all of you enjoyed reading My Italian Holiday: Part 1 last week.  Now, for round two of my amazing Italian adventure.


We headed to Vomero and downtown Napoli in Limone, Katie and Andrew's small, yellow, Italian car.  I heart Limone.  If you have ever driven in Europe, I'm sure you noticed how aggressive the drivers are there.  Katie was a pro!  Seriously, she should consider a career in race car driving.  Molto bene mia sorella!

Downtown Napoli is extremely cray cray...there are people everywhere, tons of sights to see, and cars/scooters zipping by you.  The view of the Bay of Naples is quite spectacular.

I'm not sure of the name of the next few buildings, 

but they are all lovely.  

 Super cool old castle on the water.

 Loved this huge government building.  

It reminds me of Il Vittoriano in the Piazza Venezia

(my favorite building in Roma.)

 I'm pretty sure this is the opera house. 

I absolutely LOVED the outdoor market in Vomero...it had everything from fresh produce and locally caught seafood to shoes, jewelry, and clothes.

 What a great reminder to go green and eat local whenever you can.  I wish that Atlanta had amazing daily markets like they do in Europe.

 We finished the day with a delicious lunch of fresh veggies, 

bread with olive oil, and wine.  

My Italian Holiday: Part 1

I've been remiss in posting this blog because I knew that doing so would mean that my amazing Italian holiday was officially over.  It was one of the best vacations of my life, and I will cherish the memories forever.  Because I have so many photos, I decided to do three posts: two of our time in the Naples area and the other of our weekend in Sorrento.


Getting to Aversa, Italy from Atlanta, GA is no easy feat.  I took MARTA to the airport, flew about 9 hours to Rome, took the Leonardo Express train to Roma Termini, and a second train to Aversa where my sister-in-law picked me up and took me to their house.  Mamma mia!


I had been to Italy before but never to this part of the country.  I was amazed at how busy downtown Naples is...there are SO many people walking around.  Good thing I had an expert tour guide (gratzie Katie!) to show me around.  After a very windy drive, we hiked to the top of Mount Vesuvius to see the view of the bay of Naples.  It was very overcast that day, but you can kind of see the view below.  At the top of Vesuvius, we enjoyed some wine made in a winery close by...I just love that Italians can always find an occasion to drink wine.  Salute!

We had way too much fun posing in a cave formed from some craters.  

Someone had left this painting and prayer along the way...a prayer that the volcano will never erupt again.

The next day we explored Reggia di Casserta, a palace constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples.  It was molto grande!  In fact, it was the largest palace constructed in the 18th century in Europe.  It was absolutely breathtaking and lovely.  Georgia and I would be quite happy to set up shop in one of the countless rooms in the palace.  

I was absolutely obsessed with the delicate chandeliers throughout the palace.  My favorites were the ones with flowers all over them-SO gorgeous and intricate.

I also loved the view of the interior courtyard and could just imagine myself flirting with a visiting prince from across the way.

Behind the palace are the English Gardens.  They're about a one mile walk...just long and far enough to be obnoxious.  Those Bourbon kings certainly must have been obsessed with size.  

This is the ceiling of a very old building in the gardens...SO romantic and mysterious.  Perfect for a secret rendez-vous.  

Check out this spectacular view of the back of the palace before a storm hit. 

What day in Italy is complete without gelato?

My brother, sister-in-law, and me before dinner.  

I miss them every single day.  

Ciao ciao

I am back from an amazing week in Italy.  It was truly one of the best trips of my life.  I had the best time ever and will always look back on it with the fondest of memories.


Once I get over the jet lag and finish getting my life here organized, I will post more about my trip.  The palaces, food, wine, sights, and weather were all incredible.  However, my favorite part of the trip was spending time with my brother and sister-in-law.  The picture above is my favorite one of the almost 200 photos I took.  I miss Katie and Andrew already and hope to see them again when time allows.  Ciao!

Roman Holiday

Next Monday, I am going on my first REAL vacation (other than a long weekend) in almost 10 years.  Words can't express how excited and thankful I am to have this opportunity.  Many of you know that my brother Andrew and sister-in-law Katie live in Naples, Italy.  Andrew is a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, and they moved to Naples last August for his job.  


I am going to see them next week and absolutely cannot wait!  I've been to Italy before (Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Pisa), but I haven't been to this part of the country.  We will spend most of our time seeing things around Italy (such as Pompeii) before heading to Sorrento and Capri (pictured above) for the weekend.  


I am beyond thrilled to experience more of Italy: the sights, the food, and the drinks fill my every daydream.  Most importantly, I am looking forward to spending time with Andrew and Katie.  Since I don't get to see them often, this trip is incredibly special for me.  I know we will make memories that will last a lifetime.  And of course, I will post my pictures and stories when I get back.  Ciao!