Nina's Wedding

the wedding of Nina and Francesco.
what a lucky guy he is!

so i arrived late, but just in time for the end of the service!

the church was beautiful, Santa Francesca Romana, a very old church in the very centre of rome

i didnt miss much... or understand much

the madonna... can you spot the child?
what a spectacular veil, made by Nina herself, the queen of lace

now i know why they took so long to come outside...

instead of  soft rose petals... Italians throw rice!!!! quite a storm and it gets stuck in the most inconvenient places, including Nina's hair

weather the weather whatever the weather, whether you like it or not

their beautiful baby daughter, Nora is going to be born on the 1st June. just look how beautiful she is going to be with those genes!

Roberto, Max, Nina and Francesco

a very happy couple

and away they go!

yes the church was right next to the colosseum!

Cruising in style with Audrey

this weekend i took the train to Civitavecchia to see what i could sea sea sea. i went to visit Audrey and her floating home where she films 3000 pompous guests as they all sail around the world together. can you imagine? her job is just TERRIBLE!! :)

okay phew so im through one set of security now to get through the other two! and then to see Audrey!

complete luxury on board. every surface is embellished

yay! we had tea at this restaurant and then started the tour of this floating city. there are like 7 restaurants , like  a suchi one, a grill one, they have a few clubs, more than a few shops. Aurdey is the videographer for the photo department which comprises of 13 people!!!!

where would the rich and famous be without...a theatre

a bar reminiscent of Tron

the ship was deserted because the passengers all left for rome for the day. but  everytime you see a passenger you have to smile and greet them. every. time... there are 3000 passengers..

il grande casino. 

audrey hard at work in the photo shop area

my eyes nearly popped out when i saw the lunch buffet!!! if i had eaten 3 plates of food, i still wouldnt have had a taste of everything. and so much healthy stuff! lots of salads and people waiting to make you anything you should so desire.

and a dessert buffet of everything westernised! what joy! biscuits and m&Ms and cheese cake ... and  she had to roll me off the ship :)

aaaah the sweet life

and to make the experiance more real, they have real grass. laid by Audrey's own hands! 

Audrey is on pirate watch

plenty of eyesores around this pool. its such a pity that youth cannot afford to have such good holidays. when you can afford it, you are old and so is every other guest on board.

this one has Audrey's name written on it. no im joking

for those basketball geriatrixes

apparently everyone has their photos by this silver thingy

very cool wall

and now..... for the crew quarters. this is her room. it is VERY small about  1.5 m x 2m!! and the bathroom.. dont even go there!

quite different to a few levels up

the crew's mess

it looks more like a ship in the crew area. and this reality is a bit more comforting than the fake fakeness in the guest areas everywhere else where it feels like a fancy hotel with an all round view of the sea.

Audrey's office, deep down in the bowels of the ship. its right next to the engine room!

this is a great public sculpture in the town just outside the port. Civitavecchia is Rome's closest port and  there are sooooo many cruiseliners that dock there.

i love this famous photo, so i love the sculpture even more.