Italian Honeymoon, Phase 2....

packing the trucks to head home....

a couple of views of our ship the Equinox, it was massive

On June 17th, our kids, grandkids and moms headed back to Iowa and Duane and I headed to Rome for our cruise through southern Italy, Turkey and Greece.  I won't elaborate on the "travel home from he**" that the group heading back to Iowa experienced with flight delays and unexpected overnight stays and car rentals vs airplane rides - sorry guys!  Our trip was much less eventful and we boarded the Celebrity Cruise Ship Equinox in Rome on June 17th and sailed away for the next phase of our honeymoon trip in Italy.....

Relaxing at the Villa....

Ready for our walk!

fun in Pisa - food, drink and rides!

"everyones" mother at Barbazzano - Rosetta

our wonderful Chefs, Luca and Francesca

Jason "the Situation" Smith

evenings at the dinner table

Now with the wedding behind us, we enjoy morning walks, days at the Villa relaxing or at the pool or nearby cities and villages....perfect time as a family.

A Beautiful Day - the Wedding Ceremony at Barbazzano

All the girls were needed to help me get ready for the wedding!

lots of buttons....

finally - ready to go!

with the grand daughters!

We are Family!!

The boys look so handsome...

...and the girls so beautiful!

At last!

11/06/11 - The Lucky Day!

The 11th day of June, 2011 (11/06/11) is considered a lucky day to marry in Italy because the day of the month is balanced by the year of marriage....we do feel very lucky!!

we made friends with the police after Duane drove the wrong way down a one way to get to the town hall!

We were the first wedding for the new Mayor of Civitella

Officially Married!!!

Back to Barbazzano for the Ceremony.

I Selvatici

Giuseppe and Barbara!

I Selvatici has been Giuseppes family vineyard for many years.   Here is their link for all the information www.iselvatici.it
in 2009 while in Italy, Duane and I got lost and stumbled upon this incredible vineyard....they hosted us the night before the wedding, feeding us an incredible home cooked Italian meal and their Tuscan wines!

But first a tour of the vineyard and tasting of their wines!

in the grapevines.....

.....and the incredible meal and wine.  Thank You!

The Chefs for our dinner - Giuseppes parents.......

Perfect Weather in Italy!

Having fun all hanging at the Villa's pool!!

A message from Carson!

June 9th - Jen, Jason and the girls arrive to join us!

Not sure who is more excited Lila that Ruby and Celia are here or the girls to see Lila and the group!

Now that the whole gang is here we are looking forward to hanging out and getting ready for the big day!

off to Florence!

Barbara Calo, our Italian wedding planner...met us in Florence to make sure all the paperwork was complete!

With the "Moms" in Florence on the Ponte Vecchio.

Nancy in particular enjoyed the Piazza in Florence with all the sculptures!  

Barbazzano at last!

Even though the trip was long everyone did great with the travel....especially the kids!  We arrived at Barbazzano around noon and started checking the place out.  What a beautiful Villa!!