Well it has taken a few days to get through all 7000+ pictures I took in Italy but I have finally gotten through them all. All these pictures are the completely unedited versions. I’m going to take the 15 or 20 best images and do a little post production on them to add to my portfolio.
I also took over 4 hours worth of video while there that I will be making into a video edit. I have a few edits currently in process so that will be a few weeks down the road at least.
Please enjoy these pictures as much as Ashley and I do. It was one of the best weeks of my life and certainly the best week I’ve ever shared with a girl before. I’m glad Ashley loves travel and new experiences as much as I do because I cannot wait to graduate and travel the world. Glad I’ll have a companion to do all that with now. Life doesn’t get much better than traveling the world sharing God’s masterpiece with your loved ones.
Enough talk, lets get down to the pictures.
Flight to Italy – October 5th
This is a gallery of images from my flights from DFW – ATL – Paris – Pisa. Long day of travel but some beautiful scenery!
Florence Day 1 – October 6th and 7th
I arrived in Florence late on the 6th so Ash and I didn’t get to do much around the city except dinner and enjoy the romantic evening. On Thursday the 7th Ash had class the majority of the day so I decided to stroll through southern Florence. See the sights that most tourists miss and converse with some locals. Ended up being a great blue sky day!
Florence to Bormio (Via Lago Como) – October 8th
On Friday the 8th Ash and I took the train from Florence to Milan (via Bologna). Once in Milan we hopped on the next train to Colico (the northern most town on the east shore of Lake Como). Once in Colico, Giorgio picked us up and drove us to Bormio. After getting settled in at his home in St. Caterina we took a short nap. That night we drove down about halfway to Tirano (southwest of Bormio). In October the better part of Alta Valtellina does a fun competition called the Bormiadi. Its a month long competition with multiple events almost everyday. Some are running events (marathons, etc.), they also have roller blading, mountain biking, and some fun/silly events. Friday night was one of the fun events.
It was a relay consisting of a 45K log pull up a hill, egg toss, etc. It was a ton of fun simply because the entire towns come out and compete. Something you’d never see in the states. I also got to see a lot of my old Italian friends and catch up on good times.
Bormio/Livigno – Saturday October 9th
Unfortunately the weather was rather unpredictable all weekend in the Alps so all the skiing was cancelled 
. Kind of bummed I didn’t get to ski but it turned into an amazing weekend nonetheless.
Instead of Skiing Giorgio, Ashley, and I took a few hours and hiked to a natural thermal spa in the hills of the Alps. Holy cow, this was just what the doctor ordered. Perfect way to start a day in the alps. After we went over the hill to Livigno, Italy. One of my favorite towns I’ve ever been too. Not only is it gorgeous the people are all friendly and kind. You won’t find one douchebag, cocky, or arrogant person here. I’ll give 100 Euros to anyone who can name a single city in the lower 48 that is that way. Anyways, once we got to Livigno we went straight to a wedding! Not mine thankfully 
. It was an old friend of Giorgio’s. The small church where their wedding was was incredible! Not much from the outside but inside it was insane! Beautiful. After the wedding I took Smash around the town. Did a little shopping, and enjoyed the scenery. We went to an amazing dinner at a local hotel. Had about 6 courses of decedent Italian cuisine and vino. After dinner we caught back up with Giorgio and went to a local bar to meet our good friend Mattia. Simply put, the craziest Italian known to man.
Livigno Day 2 – Sunday October 10th
We stayed the night in Giorgio friend Luca’s hotel in Livigno. Sunday was a day full of the Bormiadi. First thing in the morning was a Mountain Bike, Rollerblading, running, archery relay. Good fun to watch. After that was lunch with all the teams and towns of the Bormiadi. Can’t really describe in words how fun/crazy/relaxing the lunch was! After lunch was another 2K roller blade race up the mountain. Since I couldn’t ski I took great enjoyment in relaxing and enjoying the beauty of where I was and who I was with.
Back to Tuscany – Monday and Tuesday October 11th-12th
Monday was mostly a travel day (we had to be at the train station at 5am meaning we had to leave the house at 4!) . Although once we made it back to Florence I was able to accompany Ash to her wine tasting class. Boy oh boy does she have the life over there. A class ever week to get to taste 5 different quality wines from around Italy? Sign me up please! Unbelievable.
Tuesday was incredible. Why? Because we didn’t do anything. In a Tuscan villa atop the hillsides of Florence on a beautiful blue sky day… why do anything except relax and enjoy life? That is exacly what we did and it was perfect!
Last day in Florence and the Trip home – Oct. 13-14th
All good things must come to an end. No complaints or worries. Easily one of the best trips of my life.
This had to be in the top two trips I’ve ever taken to Europe. Not because I got to ski, not because I did all these incredible things, but because I enjoyed every second. I was not in a hurry or worried. I was with one of my closest friend, Giorgio, and a girl that I love in the most romantic country in the world. I took the whole trip to stop and enjoy the small things. Now that I’ve been home for a few days it’s funny the things I remember most potently from the trip. It is not being able to ski, or any of the big things I was able to do. Instead it is the small things. Family dinners with Giorgio and his family, the smell of the rose garden at Eden Rock Resort, holding Ash in my arms and breathing in pure mountain air. Sure the big things in life are great, but I could live without any huge milestone event ever happening to me again. I don’t want to live without the small things. The little seemingly meaningless things that end up having the largest effect on me. Those are the moments in life worth living for. As cliché and mushy as that sounds I am being 100% honest. I hope and pray for the people in the world who haven’t gotten to experience these small things. I pray that they take a step back and try to find what I am talking about. I guaranty once they find how simple life is they will never be the same.
Thank you everyone who hosted Ash and I while in Italy (Giorgio, Luca, Sara, Andrea, Girogio’s fam, Mattia, and everyone else). We cannot thank everyone enough for the kindness we were shown while traveling in Italy. We will remember it for the rest of our lives.
Also, Thank everyone at home who missed us. I came back to so many great facebook messages, emails, texts of friends who wished us a great trip. I can’t tell everyone how awesome that makes me feel to know we were missed!
Respect, peace, and love.
Mark Brown
