La Boda de Dani y Megan!!!!

I still cannot quite believe this is all happening. I think part of it is because Meg's been living in Spain for the past 18 months and we haven't had as much exposure to the happy couple. It all seem so surreal. Just two and a half years ago, only two European adventures ago, I was sharing on this very blog about our trip to Seville and the cute guy Megan had a bit of a 'thing' with. And now I've just been to their wedding. Her Spanish is fluent, she clearly fits right into this community. How much can happen so quickly.

The wedding was perfect. I know there were many details that didn't go as planned or desired and yet it was perfect. Megan was absolutely stunning and a fantastic hostess. Dani the perfect image of poised, dapper and loving.

In total the event was about 10 hours long. It began with my family gathering to get dudded up in our dresses and suits. Then we met the Spanish crew and hopped on a private bus to the quaint country location of the wedding.

The ceremony was lead by friend, Cacho, who warmly welcomed us in English before sharing a very sweet summary of the cinematic love story that lead up to this moment. Then the mothers sent up and each poured some local wine, Spanish and Floridian, into one glass which the couple drank to symbolize their union. It was just so exactly as it it should have been. It makes me tear up to remember.

After the ceremony there was food and drink and cake and then a showing of the most thoughtful wedding present. Dani made a video of photos from both their last and managed to weave in a super cute version of their story. It culminated in well wishes from the state side folks who couldn't make it to Spain.
The couple enjoyed their first dance and after that the rest is a blur. There was much dancing and drinking and laughing and love.

We all rode the bus back around 4am to people yelling is Spanish, kiss the bride!

Sigh.

Just so honored and excited to have been able to share that moment with them AND the families.

Mom & Dad dolled up

On the wedding bus!

The international wine

So romantic!

The Family getting Crazy

All the ladies!

Parades

In total we are 12. This is a large group to travel together anywhere, through a mall or about a local town. Getting this many people paraded through Seville has been quite the production. Especially when you factor in Alan with his tendency to roam and his cane and brace from his back surgery 6 weeks ago and Dad in his wheelchair with his broken leg. Oh, and no cell phones :) we all have a limited number of texts but it's tricky for sure. Somehow we managed quite well and have always been able to find one another or stay together. Everyone's gotten to do what they want, felt included and yet had the freedom to break away as well.

I attribute this to several things.

1. Long term friendships. We all know each other about as well as possible.

2. Amazing hosting efforts by Megan and Dani even amidst their pre-wedding frenzy.

3. Excellent planning by Mom, John and Laura.

4. Communication. Duh.

Thanks to everyone who helped make things work thus far. It hasn't really felt like a big deal, but it kind of is! I say we rock!

The Gathering

After several hectic days of travel and hiking all over Barcelona today was a more chill day. We started the day early with a flight to Seville and by 1:30pm we had arrived at our Air BnB (which is amazing and air conditioned) and settled in. We spent the afternoon going to a local market, making ourselves a mini feast for lunch and...taking a nap!

By 5:30pm my brother John and sister-in-love Laura had arrived. Today was their big travel day as they came in via Philly to Madrid and then a train into Seville. My Mom and Dad also arrived today and we all met for dinner near our apartment. This is where the day got juicy. We had a table of ten, most of us just in from the US, gathered here in Spain to celebrate a marriage.

Velma, Megan's Mom, has been my Mom's best friend for 35+ years. This means that our families have been incredibly close my entire life. This table of ten in Spain was filled with some of the dearest people in my life and honestly it was like we brought the "Pratt Mutius" vibe with us. We created this little bubble of love, laughter and joy around us and we could have just has easily been in Orlando as in Seville. It was awesome. The only thing missing is Hannah, the youngest, who is on her way right now from Gainesville to join us. I will work harder tomorrow to articulate the warmth and joy that surrounds me here with my loved ones traveling, exploring and getting to be together under such extraordinary circumstances. For now I want to revel in it, experience it and go to sleep so I can get up tomorrow and have the super exciting opportunity to visit the Seville Cathedral with everyone.

PS - My dad basically broke his leg about a month before they left for Europe. He's okay, the wheelchair was loaned by Megan's friend to allow Dad to participate in more activities without risking the healing process. But it's still fun to poke fun at him.... ;)


FitBit Time
Steps: 17,000 +/-
Miles: 8.5 +/-
Calories: 3,500 +/-

Californication

Tomorrow I leave for a 7 day vacation in Indio, CA. My mom works for a timeshare company and got us a great deal so there are 8 ladies going out for the week. 3 Moms, 5 Daughters and 2 bathrooms - yikes! :) Billie is psyched to be going on a trip without Burt ^_-

It should be fun - I'll post updates as I feel inclined thought my tanning may take priority.

Belated Birthday with DMB

For Chris’s birthday in May I gave him tickets to see one of his favorite musical groups – The Dave Matthews Band. Not only to see DMB but to see them at The Gorge which is this amazing venue in Central Washington State, the stage is on the edge of this cliff over the Colombia River. The view is breathtaking and the acoustics are insane. The tickets were for Labor Day weekend – it’s a three day concert but we only had tickets for the first day.

We flew into Seattle and spent some time with Chris’s parents before heading East towards the concert. We ate a lot of good food including fresh blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. We also took Pop's boat - The Evening Star for a sail over to Seattle and back which was quite relaxing.

As for the concert, these events are insane. People camp out for days prior, party all night etc. so we went prepared. We stopped for food, packed dinner and got there three hours before the doors opened. It was raining most of the day but right as we pulled into the parking lot the sun came out. When we walked up to the entry we expected a huge long line but it was actually quite short. We camped out for about an hour, when they opened the doors I was bogged down with all of our gear (blankets, water, beer, food) so Chris sprinted to get us a good seat. After a little stress over having no cell signal we were able to find each other. We had sweet seats! There are so many great pictures of the venue - check them out here.

The concert was amazing. Dave, who is the lead singer, was sick an losing his voice but instead of cutting things short, he just played longer and jammed out. One song went on for over 45 minutes! It was really really nice. We decided to grab a hotel for the night and then drove back the next morning.

While in town we also managed to squeeze in a visit with Chris’s cousins and their kids who we really enjoy. We met the newest member – little scoot – who is ADORABLE! I got to spend some time hanging out with Chris’s Aunt Judy making crepes and looking at old family photos.

Good times. All photos here.

Graduating in Tarpon Springs

My family has a history of having an extended college career, it takes us a bit longer than average to get that degree. Mostly because we love to learn and also because we work our way through. That said, my brother Johnny finally graduated from FSU this May. He chose not to participate in the traditional fair of walking in the cap and gown. So to celebrate and ensure that it’s a special and memorable occasion we took a family trip to a location of his choosing.

He chose Tarpon Springs, FL which is about 45 minutes north of Tampa. Mom did the research and found us a really sweet rental house. It was three bedroom, two bath, a TV room, game room, dining room and FULLY stocked kitchen. All the rooms were themed, it was kind of goofy but fun for a vacation home; for example the game room was full of pirates, statues, pillows, paintings etc. It also had a nice patio and little yard that led out to a dock on a canal. The patio was decorated with over a hundred little southern plaques with phrases on them. There was a hot tub, a paddle boat, fishing equipment, a grille, bikes and even a golf cart to tool around town with. To make sure that we didn’t forget why were there we made it a college themed week. We had a study abroad day, where we put up Greek posters, listened to Greek music and even practiced the Greek language went into Tarpon Springs City for the day which is a Greek town so we ate Greek food. Tarpon Springs also does sponge harvesting so we got to learn about that which was cool. Another day was spirit day, we put up rally posters, wore FSU colors, at FSU colored food. We also did a testing day where we played games and gave Johnny a crossword puzzle we had made for him. The final day was graduation, I made him a silly grad hat and made goofy banners, like honors, Chinese student etc. out of boa’s and scarves. Mom made him a substitute degree since the real one hadn’t arrived in the mail yet.
It was a relaxing and enjoyable little family vacation. It was definitely nice to be able to be a part of his graduation memories. Pictures are here.

The Grand Italian Plan

I'm moving next weekend, so it's hard to focus on travel, but I know the next trip will be here before I know it. Mom's been good about handling the research so far so there isn't a whole lot left.

The plan is to leave on Thursday, April 2 through JFK, arriving around 11am on Friday in Venice, Italy. We already have reservations in Venice at Hotel Caprera which Mom is really excited about. We'll be in Venice for Palm Sunday which could be cool.

We'll stay in Venice for 4 nights and check out on the 7th at which point we will go back to the airport and....nope, not a flight, we'll pick up a car.

We plan to drive South toward Bologna and spend one night in that region, then we'll continue South to Florence where we'll spend another night. On the final day we'll work our way South to Rome, maybe stopping in Montepulciano and/or Orvieto. Then we'll drop the car at the airport in Rome.

But, still no flight, we'll take the train into town. We'll stay at Boschetto B&B for 5 nights. It's right near the Cavour stop on the blue line of the Metro. This puts us in Rome for Good Friday and Easter - we're thinking that Easter near Vatican city could prove to be cool.

Then it's homeward bound, finally.

Check back for updates to see how this whole thing goes :) I'm particuarly eager to see how the whole driving in Italy part works out....

PS - Check out the map here.

Maclay Gardens

My parents and I took a small road trip up to Tallahassee to visit my brother John and his girlfriend Laura. While visiting we went to Maclay Gardens. Even though not everything was in bloom it was very pretty. Definitely worth stopping in if you're in town.

We also went "geocaching", you can learn more here. It's not my thing, but it was an interesting way to spend an afternoon with the family.

Overall it was a nice relaxing trip. All of the pictures are here.

The Family

Chris's mom, dad, aunt and uncle happen to be in Rome too. We spent the day showing them my current favorite city and then met up with Fabio and Adrian for an amazing dinner at Otello in Spagna.

Tomorrow we will meet them at the edge of the Vatican in hopes of finding my favorite tour guide, Eugene.

Below is (from L to R) Uncle Pete, Mom Mary, Aunt Carmel and Dad David - obviously in front of the Colloseo :)