Martina & Andrew {Tuscany, Italy}

Finally! for all of you guys in Ireland who are waiting to see the images! They are finished and being sent over electronically for the slideshow saturday night! Here are a few sneak peak images! Enjoy! check the web link you received to see them on www.pictage.com go to the "clients" section on my site to view the images & enter your password.

I usually never put up formal shots, but what a backdrop and a sweet area for the pre-reception/cocktail hour. The fresh cut prosciutto on the aged Irish cheese with the dove eggs was my favorite!

I love being am american photographer shooting in Europe. It was such an honor to be asked to shoot this wedding, and I can't wait to go back again! Thanks guys, have a blast at your reception in Ireland!!!

Florence, Italy

This is my 1st time to Florence, or Firenze as the Italians say. That means flower in Italian. This city was neck and neck with Siena in the Middle ages with war, architecture competition and being an art center of the world. Once the Black Plague hit, populations were devastated by a rate of 50%. Florence, being 100,000 and Sienna being 60,000, Siena lost too much population to continue building and Florence became the winner. The Rich Medici family came in and funded Michalegelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatelo, and many other famous painters, sculptors and architects.

We started off early and met our tour guide in front of the Medieval Fort & City Center.

This famous Bridge Ponte Veccio is a super cool bridge from the 1500's, Our guide shared that it was spared in World War 1 from Hitler and Germany by supposed bribe.

Heading into the Duomo (Florentine Cathedral), this is most famous for being the 1st Dome. They had to wait more than 20 years after the whole structure was complete until the architect was born and educated to come up with the design for the Dome. It took 16 years to build, 6 years to paint the frescos, and they used NO scaffolding from the ground, it was all suspended. Quite incredible . You could stare up for an hour at this huge building, towering over 300 feet above the ground. One interesting note, the building took almost 300 years to complete.

Walking up the stairs in between the "double dome" to reach the top. 463 stairs up.

Looking down through the glass is cool, but makes a horrible photos.

From the top, looking down on the city this is the belltower of the Duomo

Ending the day with Gelatto, this is perfect.

Tuscany, Italy

Lately i feel like I have been coming out to Europe so much, the trip out here seems pretty short. I can get from my door to the door of my hotel here in less than 18-19 hours, and when i sleep half, and the other half escaping into a good book, The Good Book, catching up on emails or watching a good movie on the plane, and in-between hanging in the Star Alliance Red Carpet Lounges, travel is pretty mellow
I've racked up almost 200,000 airline miles in the last 2 years if you include the elite bonuses and such. Anyrate, I am always excited to travel to Italy. This time it was sans my wife, but I invited my dad to come to celebrate and hang out for an early fathers day "week". We have had a blast so far. I have been able to post occasionally, but the reception here in rural "trapped in time" towns of Tuscany, cell or internet reception is few and far between. No worries though, cause there is so much to see and explore. I love the rolling hills, green vineyards and oak trees and the lush meadows of wheat continuing over the hills and ridges as far as the eye can see. Sienna is 60 miles southwest of Florence, which is 3 hours north of Rome and about 4-5 hours south of the Alps. Italy is pretty narrow, only about 3-4 hours across driving time.

Arriving in Sienna Monday at our Villa, the Villa Catignano, this has been a re-peat wedding location for me and I LOVE it here!

the Villa has this cool Labyrinth that winds its way into a big garden full of statues from the 1700's and the mix between bamboo and Mediterranean vegetation gives it a bit of old school international feel.

This Part of the Villa was built in the 1600's. Its so cool and rustic inside. You will notice the metal flanges (bars) on the outside if the walls, those are metal supports to keep the walls from bowing outward from the weight of the walls.

Later in the day we went up to the top of the bell tower in Sienna, which back then was a signal of power and development. It was built in the 1400s I believe. Looking out here, this is the direction of our Villa, some 10-12 miles outside of the city. Its as rural as it gets out there. But the small towns feel trapped in time, farmers working in the vineyards, almost as though it were hundreds of years ago.

102 meters up the stairs in narrow passages

Atop the bell tower, in a self empowering, the part kid in me, swung the bell (bar that rings the bell) and run the HUGE 400lb bell. You can hear the bell for 5 miles away. Kind of empowering in a selfish way, it was kind of fun to ring the bell knowing everyone in town would wonder why it rung at 10:42 am randomly ONE time. My dad had a smile on his face as he watched me, I think it grew bigger the second time on the way down as I rung it again at 10:49pm. I have such an exploring kids heart sometimes. I'm gonna teach my kids to do that someday, and I will be so proud of them.

Looking over the Il Campo, we had a lunch and hung out, chillaxing and people watching. Its pretty funny to watch the comedians on the street play with the people. This one guy would spray a water bottle and pretend that it was bird poop. he had a lot of routines, but would also pretend he was a police officer and direct people out of the plaza, to watch their faces as they were escorted out was really funny, seconds later they would realize they were part of a joke and the whole cafe of 100 people burst into laughing WITH them, as they realized and then stood by to watch the next victim. He would repeat random acts of comedy on unsuspecting people. Its a site to see, sitting where people sat 500 years ago, eating in perhaps the same spot.

I love the panini, cheese, and cured prosciutto. Addictive!

In Italy the huge cathedrals are called Duomo's. The history behind them is fascinating. This one is in true tuscan style, inside with alternating black and white marble. HUGE. the Facades are great.

Waking up in our villa from the night after the wedding, we experience such a peaceful warm morning. Birds wake you up and the smell of a thundershower and humid air blowing through the open window remind me the the best of summer weather.

Here is my Dad & I at one of the forts.

We ended up today in Florence and are ready for a day of exploring Florentine art, and hopefully finish up with an Italian Cooking class.

If you have never been to Italy, you HAVE to go! Its a great experience, and so much history is here. I feel like a lot of life is simple and old school. I like it that way.