20th May 2009-Where are we getting married again?

I have just realized that most of my recent blogs have been concerned with such 'wedding' matters as drinking cocktails and the Maldives, so caught up have i been in getting organised (and drinking cocktails) and so today i thought i might bring it back to the real reason for the blog in the first place-BELLA ITALIA!

Yes, as the grey days here in Ireland pass me by in the blink of an eye (it's lashing outside as i write) and our wedding day on the Amalfi Coast gets ever-nearer, i have again begun to imagine what it will be like when we arrive there and how we will make the most of such a relatively short time on the Amalfi Coast with so much to do. I check the local weather daily and i am delighted to say they are experiencing beautiful days just now, with temperatures of 28 degrees being about the norm! I am keeping everything crossed that this agreeable weather remains for their entire summer (i am thinking not just of us but the happy Italians and other summer brides too). Oh how i wish i could be there now...

I whett my appetite by reading various travel articles and local blogs on the area (well, on Italy in general to be honest) and keep up to date with what is happening over there, such is my desire to be a 'local' one day! There i see pictures posted from those who have relocated to the area and choose to tell the world all about it (let's face it, why wouldn't you?), and the beauty of the place blows me away every time! Can it actually be that wonderful in real life? I guess only time will tell. The colours of the local flowers and the blue of the sea seem to be so bright and extreme it's hard to compare with what i see when i gaze out of my window here at the grey buildings and eternally grey sky.

Of course i am not naive enough to be fooled into thinking there will be no grey buildings or rain in Italy-i have seen the outskirts of Rome and the graffiti'd train stations-but somehow when you mix that with a culture so ancient and a joy of life so impressive that they don't need to get stressed about the 'little' things, it is easier to digest.

Instead of grey monstrosities they look out on terracotta and burnt yellows-pieces of history all- the bright blue skies are of course much more frequent and much more 'blue', even their dinner table is brightened with the varied assortment of reds, greens and yellows, all fresh and natural, obviously. Maybe it's just the romantic in me colouring my judgement, but having experienced the Italian way twice now i think not! Having dreamed of going to Italy for many years, when i eventually arrived in Rome for the first time i remember feeling that this was one dream which had lived up to my expectations and added fuel to the fire inside me. Being in Rome is like living in history, never could life more resemble a film set. Florence showed me the cultured side of Italy, it's richness and the way it fits seamlessly into everyday life there. In the countryside of Greve and the hills of Fiesole i saw what i had always pictured Italy to look like-reams of lush green countryside, crumbling orange villas dotted here and there and a thick blanket of the beloved olive tree sown like patchwork all around,- and i imagined myself transported into the pages of the many books i have read on Tuscany. I was consciously aware of lapping up every last detail, 'this is my dream come true' i told myself, commit it all to memory! After all, who knows what tomorrows there will be?

And now there will be more to memorise. Positano, a place so photographed it is recognisable to anyone, and with obvious good reason. Will i have time in this short stay to walk the 'path of the Gods'? Or will i have to leave that for my next trip? Will we get a chance to sail out to Capri or the smaller islands? What about seeing the ruined city of Pompeii, yet another piece of history preserved in Italy? Ravello, 'citta della musica' as it is known in Italy, 'city of music'! Already i have fallen in love again! It's beauty and views are the reason for the 'difficult' bus journey on the wedding day and when i think of being there already i can feel the warmth of sun on my skin.

But there will not just be Italy to remember this time, there will be a wedding day to commit to memory too, and hopefully some joyous days with family and friends thrown in for good measure! But as my brain has become slow and addled with all the planning and talk about this impending wedding being crammed inside i had better make sure i have the camera fully charged!