2019-05-24
Brandon and Shy’s Wedding
Florence, Italy
Brandon and I have been friends since our days at UCLA
(1998-2002). We basically spent our last
two years at UCLA studying our faces off on campus, at coffee shops or in
Porter Ranch. We’ve since continued to
find other things to do that are way more fun and Brandon has become my
ambassador to LA’s Koreatown. He just
texted me today that we will be going to K-town when we all get back to the
states, lol.
I met Shy a few years back and got to know her very well
(and several of her friends) on her first snowboarding trip to mammoth. Lemme tell you, the karaoke is strong with
this group of Filipinos. A few trips to
Havasu and a ton of trips to K-town later, and Brandon tells me that he’s
planning to propose. I was never sure if
Brandon was going to pick someone to marry, but seeing how dedicated he is to
Shy made it clear that he was ready for this next part of his life. So in quick succession Brandon tells me that
the wedding is in Italy then asks me to be a groomsman! Woo!
I’m in!
So the wedding was like a blast from the past, getting to
reconnect with old and new friends and also revisiting Tuscany. The countryside is absolutely beautiful out
there and the wine is all over the place.
Brandon arranged for us to all stay together in two villas in Tuscany
and rented a big ass van to get from place to place. Problem with that is Brandon drove the van
like an Italian on these tiny country roads with blind curves all over the
place.
There’s a ton of pictures here, so let’s just get into them. Between the FIVE cameras that were taking
professional pictures of Brandon and Shy, my sad little Sony crop sensor, and
everyone’s camera phone, the bride and groom looked like they had become
Italian super stars touting a full entourage of Italian paparazzi.
The forecast for the wedding day was rain around midday and
shouldn’t last long. Perfect, that would
work well for the 3:00 pm wedding. Oh
wait, that’s not how it went. In fact,
as we got close to the church, it starts to pour. When the first of the bride's vans arrive, it
starts to straight up storm. Of course,
once the wedding in the church was done, the rain also was done. However the damage was done, and the wedding
reception went from the courtyard to inside a tent.
Luckily, the tent was gorgeous. Less fortunately was two of the cars getting stuck in the mud. Imagine 3 groomsmen, still in suits, in a
muddy field trying to push and tow cars out of the mud right in the middle of
the dinner portion of the reception.
Definitely a memorable day for all of us.
Since the wedding was only half of our trip to Italy, there
was plenty more adventure for Holly and I; and by adventure I mean food. So the last time I was in Italy was a decade
ago, and I definitely have a more discerning palate since then. Let me reword that, I’m totally high
maintenance now. But I was super excited
to eat all the food in Italy!
Unfortunately, very few things that I ate actually hit the mark for
me. I’m not sure if we got tricked into
too many tourist traps or if my expectations are just way too high, but overall
I was disappointed with the food that I had.
SO, here are some of my thoughts, take it or leave it.
Pasta – if it’s not homemade pasta, don’t get it. The simpler the better. The best pasta I had was the very popular
parmesan and black pepper. Don’t get the
carbonara, for some reason, all 3 renditions I had in Rome were completely
different than the family style carbonara of Tuscany.
Secondi – The T-bone steak in Italy, also known as the
Florentina, is an internationally recognized cut that is something
special. I used to get it at Carnevino
in Las Vegas, but to have it in Tuscany is a real treat. Also all the animals here are free range and
taste worlds different than the livestock we have in the US. Also, the veal in Italy is phenomenal. Try both the traditional variant and the stewed
variant.
Pizza – Do not order your own pizza. Don’t order pizza from a sit down
restaurant. Order slices from a place
that only does pizza and has a display case of prepared pizzas. The texture the crust gets from being
reheated is essential. Our best pizza
came from a completely unassuming restaurant that was completely empty both
times we went in. Try a bunch of
different styles and toppings but stay away from the focaccia style. White, red, pesto, try them all. Oh, and if you’re lucky enough to find a
place that has peperoncino oil, use it.
Gelato - Can’t go wrong, unless you are Martin and order the
largest cone on display and end up paying 15 euros for a bucket of gelato
The best thing I had in Italy – the porchetta. Basically they take a pig, take all the bones
out, season the inside, tie it all back together, and slow cook it. It’s traditionally served as a sammich, but
Italian bread is hard, dry and awful. I
suggest having it straight up and hot with a side of something bland.
A note about gluten.
Holly is gluten free and our trip to Italy spurred the conversation of
what to do about her options while in Italy.
Surprisingly, Italy as a whole was very conscientious of gluten
sensitivities since 1% of all Italians have Celiac disease. What this meant to us is that many
restaurants had gluten free pastas that definitely did not take away from the
quality of the pasta along with gluten free sections in the grocery stores with
everything including gluten free cookies, biscotti, pasta, etc.
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We took a day and change to run the sites of Tuscany and
Rome. All places I’ve been before, and
in the case of San Gimignano, places that I forgot that I had already been to;
but it’s always great to create new memories with Holly. So it only rained twice during the trip, once
the day of the wedding, and once on the day that Holly and I decided to the
bulk of our sightseeing. Figures,
doesn’t it.
A couple tips: There are an endless amount of
‘skip the line’ tours available. Even
though they look official, and they wear vests that are official, and they give
you a tour guide, they are not to be trusted.
Use them to skip the line, then bail on them. Get to the sites an hour before they open and
be one of the first ones in. Also, walk
everywhere! Everything is a 25 minute
walk away. Lastly, don’t forget to tour
the streets, they are gorgeous, especially the ones in Trastevere.
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