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| Duoma di San Giorgio |
Wake early to get on the road to Modica, to be in time for Francesco"s wedding in Modica. Only 20km away, but I will forever be wary of Italian roads and my navigation thereof.
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| The labyrinth of Modica |
As it turns out, within 45 minutes I am in the city and another 30 minutes gets to me to the church on time, with lots of time to spare. Get to meet up with the priest in advance who lets me change in the church and is amazed that I have come to Sicily from Berlin by bike.
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| The beautiful couple |
This is a really impressive church overlooking Modica, which is a beautiful city clinging onto the hillside.
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| Bellisima |
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| Francesco and Brooke in their shining glory |
It is a surreal sight to see Francesco in his native surrounds, but having to deal with the last minute stresses of an Italian wedding. Meeting up with others from St. James"s Hospital is equally bizarre. Retelling the tale of my bike ride to Sicily is something I have become used to and is met with looks of disbelief by all those who hear it.
The superstars of today will be Francesco and Brooke and they really look great and in the moment. The service is conducted in Italian, with the highlights translated by Francesco, in his own inimitable style. The atmosphere light and jovial and I get the assignment to film the wedding. Now I feel like a proper paparazzo.
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| That pool! |
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| St. James"s reunion in Modica |
I get the bus to the reception hotel overloooking the sea. Wow. It is 30C or so and I just want to dive into this swimming pool on first glance. However, there is a certain decorum that one must follow at such occasions. So I wait until after the delicious food to jump in. On the vegetarian"s plate was generous helpings of capanatta, gnocci, vermicelli grilled aubergine and mozzerella di buffela. Sempre fame por cusina italiano.
The reception became more and more relaxed as the wine became to flow and the guys became kids trying to throw each other in the pool. The speeches from Fran, Brooke and family were conducted in the kitchen: how appropriate for an Italian wedding.
It has been definitely worth all the effort to get here for this wonderful day and here"s one last toast to the beautiful bride and groom. Salutè!
That sounds really awesome. Plus the amount of food I can only imagine that you are putting into your face. I'm jealous!
ReplyDeleteYour experience with the Italian roads sounds really familiar to mine when crossing from Ventimiglia to Ancona. Fortunately we had a little less of a final destination so we often just meandered while going through the center. Along the coast was a little easier, but the Autostradas are freaking hard to avoid and the signs are confusing! Don't worry, we got lost even when using a GPS (this is a statement about Italian roads, not my map reading skills).
Although I did like the road signs that you are expected to read that feature practically every major city in Italy with arrows pointing in every direction, including non existant dimensions. The signs can be too complex to read while riding by at 20km/h on a bike, let alone zooming by in a car!
Oh yeah, and that is a fly-ass Ukrainian shirt.
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