November 8, 2009

• My Big Fake Italian Wedding

  Regular readers of this space know my friend Sabine, or Bine for short.  You know about her resilience, her charm and her joie de vivre.  You might also remember what a tough time she had two years ago when she attended Virginia Tech during the shootings.  You know that her inimitable style and always positive attitude have gotten her, and indeed our entire group of friends, through the best and the worst of times.  She is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise polluted world.  She approaches everything she does with passion and fervor, and is the glue that bonds our international family of friends together. 

  What you may not know however, is that she is my wife!  Yes, it’s true.  I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating.  We were “married” in a small civil ceremony in Florence, Italy on August 19, 2000.  The ceremony was officiated by the great great grandniece of the Red Baron.  Her name was Baroness Andrea Von Richthofen (no kidding!).  Mick was the maid of honor, Miggl the best man and Eva the flower girl.  Now, some background:

  I met Sabine at Marcelo’s house in Piracicaba Brazil in 1997.  That Christmas many people had converged on Marcelo’s family home; both friends of Marcelo (like me) and friends of his sister Adriana.  Many of us did not know each other, but we all soon became great friends, and began our tradition of traveling together for New Year’s each year.  I was “homeless” at the time, traveling the world with my job, all expenses paid.  One day, we were all sitting by the pool in the backyard eating mangoes, and I was telling this assembled group of new friends my life story.  At the end, Sabine said, “Honey, I should marry you.  What a great life you have!”  To which I responded, “Honey, the only way I would ever marry you, is if we were in Florence Italy, at San Miniato at sunset, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio!”  We all laughed.

  Well, as luck would have it, three years later we all found ourselves in Florence, Italy at San Miniato at sunset, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio.  Our friends had bought some truly rinky dink rings on that same famous bridge earlier that day, and as the sun sank into the Tuscan sky, we said our “vows“.  They even made a marriage certificate which you can see reproduced above.

   
  For more wedding photos, click here.

  LOL, so there you have it.  The story of my phony wedding in Italy.  Just this past summer, as you may remember, Sabine, the two timing tramp, got married to Alan.  In all honesty though, I can’t say that I’ve been entirely faithful in this marriage, LOL.  So in July I traveled back to Italy where we celebrated her “real wedding” for a week in a beautiful Tuscan villa.  Last night, Sabine arrived for a 2 week stay at The Hotel Careyfornia.  Eva and I picked her up at the airport.  Today our friends Heather & Brian arrived with their two adorable kids.  Tomorrow we’ll head up to Claudio & Ryan’s for a barbecue.  We’ll also spend some time up in Santa Barbara with Bassam.  More pictures to follow, but here are a  few from so far this weekend:

  
  Welcome back to The Hotel Careyfornia Sabine!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  We headed to one of our favorite Thai restaurants to see Thai Elvis

  
  Click here for the best of the rest…
  
  
  I was sad to learn that both of the shooters from the recent tragedies yesterday and today, went to Virginia Tech.  The last time Bine was here, it was because of another tragedy, at Virginia Tech; one she witnessed first hand (as the above accounts detail).  Virginia has some of the most lenient gun laws in the country.  Let’s hope President Obama is successful in passing stricter gun control.  Anyone who thinks the “right to bear arms” should include assault weapons is truly ignorant.

  • 3:17 am
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