Summer 2008 - Part I [The Wedding]

        

After missing summer'07, we finally made it back to Italy to see the family and spend some lovely time with the kids. We thought it was going to be a relaxing holiday but it went by so quickly we didn't seem to have time to relax at all.

The main reason was the hassle of planning our wedding celebration. As usual, there was again lots of Italian bureaucracy with the church. We couldn't get a date to get married because I am non-Catholic and the priest of the church didn't know what was the procedure as he has never conducted a mixed marriage before. So after much delay, we finally had the celebration on 5 Sept.  Fortunately my brother and Grace managed to fly in time from Saudi Arabia to walk me down the aisle. 

We had a lovely celebration and hired a vintage car for the occasion. Agropoli is a relatively small town and Asians are not commonly seen, so let alone a mixed marriage. Thomas and Grace sat with me in the vintage car to the church. Along the way, people came out to their balconies and those on the street started clapping and shouting 'Auguri' (congratulations). The car broke down many times along the way and people came over to offer help to push start the vehicle. It was such a memorable experience that led Thomas feeling a mixed of emotions. We felt like Royalties for a while, waving and greeting people as they send their well wishes. 

  

                 Morris - The Vintage Car

After the wedding celebration, we went on a short trip to Venice, Florence and Rome with Thomas and Grace. We are glad they had such a short but wonderful time in Italy and I hope Grace tossed a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome to make sure she'll be back to visit Italy again. 

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