a week of sight seeing in rome, florence, cinque terre, and pisa prior to the wedding week festivities.
tuscany ... where the real vacation began. this is where i called home for a week at tenuta il cicalino (farm of crickets)
fresh ingredients make italian food different from what we get in the states. we loved going to the coop (co-op). besides regular groceries, we were able to get varieties of fresh pasta, pesto, olives, anchovies, bread, cheese, meat, pizza, etc. when we weren't dining out, we ate at home or packed tasty sandwiches for our excursions.
the bride and groom met at the tennis club and made sure there were lots of tennis times scheduled for their wedding guests.
it was so fun to play on a clay tennis court! it's slippery and i had a hard time stabilizing myself before hitting the ball, but it made me focus on my footwork and hit the ball earlier. the balls bounce so much higher on clay.
hats and fascinators are customary for european weddings. think "4 weddings and a funeral" or opening day.
it was my first time as a bridesmaid and i got to wear a specially designed, hand-made fascinator! the two on the bottom were for the bridesmaids. the one on top with the mini veil was for the bride. the hat belonged to one of the guests.
an event within "the event." cantucci (biscotti) tasting, after the wedding, of course. my fave was the one with the gold seal on the far left, artebianco. great almond taste, dry and light, but not hard. can't believe i struck gold in 2002, as that was the only one i tried back then. it did make me give up biscotti made in america ... until someone introduced me to trader joe's soft bite biscotti.
also, i became a mature coffee drinker on this trip. double espresso black each morning. i've started using my italian espresso maker at home again.
fish (grilled tilapia) & chips served with their own tartar sauce and cole slaw. this was my favorite dish. 
