When in Rome...

Ryan And Chiara got Married, in Rome, and I got to go. It was beautiful – all the love, the great company, and the amazing location!

Ben, Judith and I headed down on the Saturday, the wedding was on Sunday, and we came back on Monday… A whirlwind trip for sure, but we covered a lot of ground in those few days. The flights were in and out of Eindhoven, so there’s an hour and a half extra travel time… but the flights were cheapest from there, AND we flew with Ryan air, which was appropriate for the subject of the trip. I have a fairly average opinion of this airline (see Dublin story), but there were no dramas this time round.


We got in and made our way to our apartment in central Rome – about a 2 min stroll from the Pantheon, settled for a bit, then made our way out to meet some more friends for a late dinner (pizza and pasta – surprise!), and then headed across town to go to an alternative club that Alan (the other guy we were staying with) knew of through some of his friends living in Rome… It was pretty cool, a big outdoor setting with hundreds of punky, gothic and indy rock types. And cocktails. Lots of cocktails… We hung out and had a good ol’ time until about 3:30 or so when we thought we’d better be sensible and make our way back to the apartment... But how? In a taxi? No service at that time on that side of town… In a bus? No stops near where we were… hmm… Good time to start walking. Shit. About an hour and a half of walking later, and once we’d come to terms with our situation It actually turned out to be quite pleasant seeing the outskirts of Rome, and in hindsight, probably just the thing we needed to sober up enough to get moving and make our way to the wedding ceremony. The walk included getting an amazing view of the Colosseum at 5 in the morning unhindered by any other tourists, or any people at all, and a lot of beautiful streets without cars or people. Got some amazing photos.



So, after about 2 hours sleep we rose to get ready and make our way to the wedding ceremony. Against all odds, we made it with time to spare. Ryan and Chiara got married in a civil ceremony (non religious), which meant the whole thing was actually fairly low key, and was over within about 30 mins. The actual “marriage” part of this wedding was fairly plain compared to the rest of this weekend!



After the ceremony, we were all bundled up in to “hatchback sized teams” and driven out to the reception (via a Ben suggested, well needed espresso pit stop). We drove about an hour or so out of the city, into winery country, to (what I think was) a day-spa or sort of bed and breakfast retreat. The nearest town was called Orte’, and it was one of those amazing walled in cities up on top of a hill – I really wish I had some photos of it.

The reception was perfect, hassle free, delicious and relaxing. SO MUCH FOOD! I’m sure you have heard the stereotype of food an Italian wedding, and yep, its pretty much true. I had one of my “holy heck life don’t get no better” moments while looking over this huge valley as a train rolled by, while eating Italian handmade pasta with truffle sauce!

The bride and groom were in great spirits, stress free and just going with it, as were their families. The organisation must have been a huge stress beforehand, cause it all came together so easily and flawlessly on the day.
The day was nice and slow, and as the champagne and wine started to go down easier, the pace picked up, building to an epic climax on the dancefloor (or in this case, dancelawn). But again, the ‘official’ stuff was paled in comparison to the Ryan/Chiara twist on events. The bridal waltz was stock standard, but the dance with the parents was something else, with a nice smooth track all of a sudden (much to Ma and Pa’s confusion and amusement) breaking in to a techno beat! Well played on everyone’s part. And one of the big highlights was Ryan and Ben opening up a dance circle and ‘tearing up the floor, old-skool’! This is definitely one of those moments where you had to be there, but be assured, it was epic!

The only potential hiccup of the day’s was that after everyone had left there was still about 15 of us left, mostly the Canadian visitors, or the Amsterdam/Brussels connection, kind of stranded at the reception, and with the nearest train station being in Orte’, about 15 mins drive away. But the extended Italian family came through, dropping us in to the station, and this is where “The Team” was born!

“The Team” was definitely the biggest thing to hit Orte’ and the otherwise quiet and sleepy station and following train ride was rocked by a powerforce of veritable comedy genius and general awesomeness. Riding in a pitch black train carriage with all the window’s open and sharing beers and laughs with these new friends is certainly something I’m hoping I won’t forget in a hurry.
Back in Rome, and again with only a few hours of sleep ahead before the next deadline of getting to the airport in the mid morning, we retired, well exhausted but very happy. We made it home the next day to Amsterdam without any dramas, and although it was a rushed trip, it was well worth it. HUGE thankyou to Ryan, Chiara and their families for having us out to Italy for such and awesome holiday!