Dreams do come true

Guests arrived to see this, there was magic in the light

There are only so many hours in a day and to be spending those precious hours with friends and family in one of the most beautiful places in the world is a dream I've held on to for a long time. It took a small miracle, loads of emails, texts and long heated conversations, but the dream became a reality.

View from the Foscarini Bar terrace on the Grand Canal

Incredible background for a party

How lucky am I to be able to share these moments. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be holding a glass of Prosecco, standing on a terrace on the Grand Canal with 30 of my nearest and dearest I would have laughed. A year ago I was recovering from cancer surgery. The outlook wasn't as golden as the evening light on the canal. In fact, it was downright grim.

Here I am, one year later. Laughing, loving and relishing every moment that I get to keep. Never take time for granted. It can be taken away in an instant. There are no sure-fire guarantees, except one, that you create your own happiness.

The last little tomatoes....maybe

Well who would have thought that there would still be anything left on my funny tomato plant when I arrived home. All that I had heard was that the weather had been warm and I knew that anyone who would have watered the garden was with me in Venice. Cindy, mom, they were with me! I had quite a handful that made it as far as my salad plate. The rest were gobbled right there in the warmth of the sun!

My standard salad....
Baby spinach, marinated shallots, toasted pinenuts and shaved parmesean tossed with a fresh pomegranate vinegar dressing. MMMMM Oh, and those little gem tomatoes!  Buon appetitto!

Venezia, Venedig, Venice, Venicia---whatever you call it, it's fabulous!

Cindy's first ride on the Grand Canal

St. Mark's in the bright sunshine

Hans, Isa, Mom and Me enjoying the piazza on a Sunday afternoon

Finally, I'm home and can start to get all the details down! Please be patient, pics will arrive and I'll get everything posted in little dribbles.  
The Beginning.....
It was an incredible three weeks of revelry, food and adventure. Going into this trip I didn't know what to expect. Would everyone have fun? Would my finances take me far enough? Would the party be wonderful? AND, most important of all would the weather cooporate? The answers to those questions and more were YES, YES, YES!!!

I ran around for days, organizing, ordering food and cleaning house before the guests began to arrive. Roberto and I worked very hard, a little too hard. We missed some very needed R and R.

The trip began with the traditional cocktail at Harry's where Claudio was holding court over the scene and had that Whiskey Sour on the bar before I could even ask for it. Roberto's icy Martini was close behind.along with a plate of hot Pierinis(small, baked/fried ham and cheese finger sandwiches) Paolo offered to seat us at a table so we did and we settled into our seats and started planning!

Knowing that Cindy was the first guest to arrive on Monday, I had the schedules for my many airport runs to meet and greet. I will apologize in advance to those that I couldn't welcome at the airport, there was so much to do and without an entourage of assistants it was all up to just the two of us.

Photos are being organized as I type and will arrive soon!