𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑇𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 • 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑊𝑖𝑛 (𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱)

𝙴𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝟹|𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚕

Win Chivaaree

Sweltering heat from the daylight became tolerable enough for my liking under the gentle shadows of the deciduous woody vines that showed a bunch of dark purples, almost black growing in clusters. Bright and I were also fascinated not only by the grapes themselves - but because by the very large vineyard that we were in together with the other tourist. Guided by a middle-aged man with tanned skin that shined against the rays of the sun.

Halting, he held one of the clusters carefully as he looked in our direction with a smile. With a strong Italian accent, he explained in English, "You picked the best time to visit Italy during the vendemmia, it is much more than a mere agricultural event because the entire villages dedicate their energies to it. The work is fairly hard and sticky but after the harvest, we all sit down around campfires to chat, tell stories, finish up the previous year's wine and have a jolly time before heading to bed where we enjoy a good night's sleep," he said all the while giving us that proud smile on his face.

"And it's also the best time to have a view of such beauty among the viridescent leaves and the magnificent beams of light, right?" He added before he gave each one of us a basket so we could hand-pick some of the ripe vitigni with his guidance.

Choosing the location for our honeymoon had been quite difficult since everyone in the room had their own choice that they'd wanted us to try. Sky and Mark were on the same page when they suggested that Paris would be the best one for it was the City of Love. Fenris and Zerah suggested for we go and visit Las Vegas since that was where they first traveled together when they were still dating. Drake and Olive insisted on going to Bali for its forested volcanic mountains, iconic rice paddies, beaches, and coral reefs. Man and Type suggested an unusual and hot place in contrast to Oregon, Madagascar, which was home to some of the world's most unique flora and fauna. And Film fussed about how the mesmerizing alpine scenery and deliciously milky chocolate of Switzerland would be the most romantic thing to ever exist.

Taking all their suggestions aside, Bright and I decided to do something that I've always wanted to try and that would be some wine tasting in Tuscany, Italy. Though I have never considered myself as a person that enjoyed the taste of alcohol - wine would fall on a completely different preference of mine, though still an alcoholic beverage. The idea was that wine has lower alcohol content, and I could enjoy it more, and slower, than stronger liquor alcoholic drinks. Though reluctant, Bright conceded to my choice and had also made him believe that wine was all the ways better than beer.

Aside from that alone, Tuscany has it all: the most mesmerizing rolling-hills landscapes, medieval historical towns, Renaissance art, best wineries, good weather, and above all - the exceptional Italian food that would be the highlight of our travel. Well, except for the high-quality wines, that was a given.

But in reality, we preferred that we stay in Oregon and maybe just stay in some hotel or resort so we'd never have to leave the twins alone. However, Rose, Clayton, Aegon, and Maeve were very adamant to shoo us away and monopolize our babies - so we had nothing else to do but agree to them and be out of Oregon two days after the wedding.

Without anything more to think about, we were on a plane for 16 hours at most due to some connecting flights that I didn't actually mind. My husband was quite useful as a pillow. Once we alighted at Florence, we wheeled our luggage into a century-old building that Sky booked for us since she thought that it would be aesthetically pleasing for the photos. Honestly, it was much more majestic and pulchritudinous in real life, and we were even more pleased to realize that though classical - it was comfortable with all the benefits of modern technology. They've adapted well, on that part.

There were a lot of things that I wanted to do in Florence for it was not always that we would have a chance to visit such a wondrous place. I've laid out to Bright the day before that we'd visit some historical places such as Duomo di Firenze which was the centerpiece of the city. The Uffizi was an absolute treasure trove of Renaissance art. Galleria dell' Accademia to sight the home of Michelangelo's most famous work of art, David. Caffè Gilli to sip some un macchiato at the marble counter just like the rest of the Florentines that stop by. Or maybe just breathe in the place as we step into the cobble-stone streets together with some of the locals.