Two years ago, I got Mr. BAW an Ipod Shuffle not unlike this one for Christmas.  The only difference is that I also got it engraved.  So needless to say, it means a lot to him.  He uses it regularly during his exercises.  However, last week, after a long run down to the beach, he accidentally threw it into the washing machine.  After that, he unknowingly threw it into the dryer!  When he took his clothes out, he discovered his terrible mistake and was extremely upset. 

When I heard what had happened to the shuffle, I thought for sure it was gone...lifeless, although it looked ok on the outside.  Eventhough it went through high heat, it was inside the pocket of Mr. BAW's shorts.   I was scheptical, but because of the engraving, we didn't throw it out.  We decided to plug it into the computer and see what will happen.  Well, to our surprise, the little light started to blink!!  Then, after a couple of hours, the shuffle came alive!  Talk about quality!!  I am thoroughly impressed by the quality of this product.  Bottom line is, don't give up so quickly on items you accidentally throw into the wash. 

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When Mr. BAW propsed, we knew right away that we wanted to go to Italy for our honeymoon.  I had never been to Italy before so it was a country I've always wanted to visit.  But Mr. BAW had already been to Italy and had already visited most of the popular cities such as Rome and Venice.  So we wanted to go somewhere where he had never been before.  So we spent three days of our itineary in Southern Italy.  We stayed at Sorrento and took day trips to the neighboring towns of Amalfi, Positano, and Capri. 

Sorrento felt a bit like Santa Barbara.  It is a cute little seaside town but very touristy.  It is extremely small, with one main street.  The town is famous for its lemons and the lemon liqueur called Limoncello.  It's extremely sweet and has intense lemon flavor.  There are also some cute little lemon groves to stroll through. 

The highlight of the visit to Sorrento has to be the crazy bus ride along the coastline that takes us to Positano and Amalfi.  Crazy because the two-way road is narrow and hugs cliffs that is literally a straight drop into certain rocky death.  The bus drivers are obvious experts since they drive the buses at speeds way too high to be considered safe in any other country.  There were times when we were trapped in a tunnel with another tour bus headed in the other direction.  Somehow, through hand gestures and harsh Italian exchanges, they work it out and the buses go their merry way.  Tipped by a tour book, we sat on the side of the bus closest to the death cliff.  Though my hands were red from clutching the railing, the view and excitment of the bus ride was worth it. 

Capri was a disappointment though.  It was like a trip to Avalon on Catalina Island.  It was a complete tourist trap.  Parts of the island was full of expensive shi-shi shops such as those typically found on Rodeo Drive in LA.  I did, however, take a ski lift ride up to the top Capri for a view of the entire island.  Why is that amazing?  It happened to be the first time in my life being on a ski lift!

Below are some pictures of our stay in Sorrento and our visits to Amalfi and Positano.  Enjoy!

View along the main street in Sorrento.

Cute litte fruit stands in Sorrento.

A little lemon grove that gave out samples of Limoncello.

Bright little lemon grove in Sorrento.

The beautiful town of Amalfi.

I love hanging peppers and fruits.

Downtown Amalfi.

The main shopping area of Amalfi.

The gorgeous town of Positano hugging the cliffs.

Positano was my favorite coastal town.  It's full of charm.

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While we're still awaiting for our professional wedding pictures, I've been getting a lot of candid pictures from friends.  I love all of the pictures I've gotten so far, but this one stands out for me.  It's taken by my good friend Bell Lee who is an actual wedding photographer.  He was not our wedding photographer because I just wanted him to be a guest at our wedding.  I didn't even ask him to bring a camera, I just wanted him to have a good time.  But he did end up bringing a little point and shoot and still came out with some wonderful pictures.  I especially like this one picture because it was so natural, very photojournalistic in style.  I did convert the color to get that aged look, along with the faded border.  I love getting married in the digital era!

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Replica of Michelangelo's David.  Though it is nearly an exact copy, the origin David is still more breath-taking.  But this replica does give us an idea of how it would've been had the real David been outside.  Michelangelo made his right hand slightly bigger than the rest of his body because he wanted people to feel the strength of David while viewing it from afar.

A cute walkway lined with florists selling fresh flowers!  we had to walk through it just because I thought it was such a cute walkway.  There were tons of orchids and other colorful flowers being sold. 

The famous Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge).

The Duomo, heart of Florence.

The ornate exterior of the Duomo.

The dome is covered with paintings of heaven and hell.

Us, at the top of the Duomo after 490 steps!!

Gorgeous view of the red city.

Heading back down the dark, narrow, and stuffy steps of the dome!  It's a two way staricase to boot!

Until next time beautiful Florence!

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My second favorite city in Italy we visited on our honeymoon is the city on water, beautiful Venice.  This city is literally built on over one hundred individual islands.  Thus, when we cross a bridge, we were actually going onto a different island. 

Due to its proximity to the island of Murano (famous for glass making), shops in Venice display amazing glass works of art.  Every store was like a little glass museum.  Due to the bad exchange rate, we had to exercise self constraint.  We did take a boat ride to Murano to see a glass factory.

Besides the glass arts, Venice is also known for the beautiful Carnival masks.  We were so in love with all of the absolutely amazing masks that Mr. BAW must have taken over a hundred pictures of them in various shops.  But the masks were too bulking to fit into our suitcases so we only admired them in the stores.

Venice very much reminded me of Lucca, except it has narrow rivers instead of streets.  There are no cars, instead people ride water taxis and water buses.  I simply loved it, since I love boat rides.  We paid for a bus ticket and took the water bus down the Grand Canel for an overview of Venice.  We also got to go on a gondola serenade at dusk through the various narrow water ways of Venice and it was one of the most peaceful and romantic things I've ever experienced.  Venice will definitely be one of those city we will revisit if we get a chance to go back to Italy.

The left picture shows a typical small water way in Venice.  The buildings are built right up to the edge of the islands! 

The right picture shows the Grand Canal.  A gondola port (one of many) is on the right side of the picture.  The large boats in the middle of the picture is a water bus that makes a zigzag path up and down the Grand Canal making alternating "bus stops" on both sides of the canal.  Crossing the canal will cost 0.80 Euros without a bus pass.  Or you can walk across one of three large bridges along the canal route.

Me, along a busy shopping street.

Mr. BAW and his alter-ego.

Amazing Canival masks in a typical store.

The church of San Marco.

Piazza San Marco, early in the morning.

Our view along the gondola ride.

Us on our gondola ride, happy as clams.

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We spent two weeks in Italy for our honeymoon and it was simply amazing.  It was my first time in Europe and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip.  We went to a total of 8 cities from Venice to as far south as Amalfi.   So I will start our story in not geographical nor chronological order but rather in order of my favorite cities.  Prior to our trip, I expected to fall in love with the spectacles of Rome or the romance of Sorrento.  But after our trip my favorite city in Italy is a small town called Lucca.

Lucca is a tiny walled city in Tuscany.  We took a train from Florence heading West until we were absolutely certain that we were lost.  Then out of no where, on the last stop of our train ride when we were literally two of four people still on the train, looms a charming little train station.  That's when we got off the train and headed for the cute little town caught between the beauty of the Renaissance and the elegance of modern Europe.   It was everything I'd imagine Italy to be with narrow old streets and none of the horrible traffic, graffiti, and crimes of Rome.  In fact, no cars are allowed within the walls of the city except for the sparce residences of Lucca.  Therefore, most people ride bicycles to get around the little city streets that open into cute piazzas lined with elegant restaurants and charming gift shops. 

Of all the places we visited in Italy, Lucca was the most relaxing.  We got to eat a relaxing picnic lunch with meats, bread, and cheeses bought from a wonderful little market run by a little old Italian grandfather type.  We also rented bicycles to ride around the scenic town wall.  We also did tons of shopping both at an open air market and at charming gift shops.  I would recommend a visit to Lucca as part of your Italy itinerary.

Me, in front of a little shop.

My bicylcle ride around the city.

A cute little flower shop.

Cured meats of all kinds!

One of the little piazzas in the city.

I love seeing old bicycles leaning against old buildings.

Garden at the Palazzo Pfanner.

Beautiful pears inside the Pfanner Garden.