In June of 2012, I moved to Florence. In the last days of November 2013, I made a trip back to my motherland. If I can call America that. I went because it was time to take a break. And also to perform a wedding. Yes, I am a certified wedding officiant. If you are coming to Italy looking for an American wedding officiant- you can count on me. Yes yes, I am a woman of many trades: travel, food, wine, cooking and yes- officiating marriages.

This wedding was in Hawaii. The weather was a dream. The wedding went off with a bang and a bit of whiskey.

My 1st week in America involved lots of fish, raw fish, mango, avocados the size of melons, papaya, poke salads (my favorite) and street tacos. During my stay in the paradise of Kauai, I attended a coffee tour, a rum tasting tour and many days at the beach attempting to body board, sipping mai tais and pina coladas in between. I almost want to move back to Seattle just so that I can have easy access to Hawaii. America did a good job securing that state as one of ours. As beautiful and unique as it was, I couldn’t help thinking how much it resembled L’Isola d’Elba off the Tuscan coast. So Italian expats or Italophiles (or just plain ol’ Italians), if you’d like to experience Hawaii but can’t make the trek- go to Elba! Continue Reading →