Nicole Captures Italy

Here are some more photos that Nicole took with my iPod Touch when we traveled in Italy over a decade ago.

Our Day in Paradise

Always one to look back through old photos and relive certain moments, I decided to delve into my folder of pix from my trip to Italy with Nicole in Spring 2013. We became so close on that vacation together and she helped me so much during moments when I was beyond stressed-out. She was the perfect travel companion for my first trip abroad. Things were good back then. Her mother, my cousin Donna, was still alive and we were both young (I was young-ish) and our time in Positano was all about relaxing. No rush to see everything or shop til we drop. Our best times were sitting on the balcony, smoking, drinking Pinot Grigio, listening to music, and just talking. We've grown apart the past handful of years, mostly my fault, and don't see eachother any more. Life gets in the way, feelings get hurt and it's easier to not deal with a confrontation or unpleasant conversation and so relationships dissolve. Seeing us in the photos and in this video filled me up once again with that overwhelming love I have for her. Wherever she is and whatever she's doing, I hope that she is happy and healthy and knows that she is at her very core, a good, kind, sweet girl who deserves great fortune, joy, and adoration.

The Bridge of Sighs

Funnily enough, when Nicole and I were in Venice in 2013, we had no idea what this bridge was, we just thought it was beautiful. Apparently, the view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. Who knew?

Great Joy

Positano, Italy in 2013. I had dreamed and dreamed and dreamed of one day going to Italy and specifically to Positano. Thanks entirely to Nicole, I was able to go and I hadn't felt such a sense of joy, of having a dream become a reality since I met Ann Jillian in 1988. The entire second day of our time in Positano we walked the beach and looked for tiles and glass pebbles then went back to our hotel room to sit on the balcony where we smoked, talked, drank wine, and listened to the sea. It was an incredible experience.

Riding through Venice

Nicole on the Beach in Positano

Fave Travel Moments

- Landing in Colombia and leaving the plane à la the Beatles by walking down a mobile staircase and right onto the tarmac, then being greeted outside near the taxis by Marina. We screamed (like Beatles fans, no less) and smacked into one another for a great big hug that brought on tears. Our screams also provided a nice little laugh to all the others waiting for their loved ones. After a smoke break and chit chat we drove to Marina's apartment and all I saw out the window were lush green mountains.

- Stepping outside the San Francisco airport and discovering a smoking section - in California! It was a beautiful start to my adventure in Cali with little brother Xavier.

- Being mistaken for an actual Londoner in the West Kensington tube. A fellow foreigner (not American) needed assistance in reaching the Hammersmith line and I was able to help. Hurrah! 

- Stepping off the train at Santa Lucia in Venice, walking out the door and discovering that we must be on a film set. It was completely unreal. Sitting on the steps and looking at the canal and hearing so many different languages was truly unbelievable. (By the way, if this moment was indeed from a film, it was clearly starring George Clooney.) 

- Seeing Captain EO in Disney - my first 3-D movie! It was 1986 and Michael Jackson was all the rage.

- Helping a German woman and her child, who spoke zero English, find the loo at the train station in Italy with Nicole. We were breaking down language barriers!

- Finding Vlaeykensgang all by myself when I was in Antwerp. It was this little winding alleyway that felt like a sanctuary; so quiet and peaceful. My fave place in the whole city.

- Seeing the Picasso in Daley Plaza that I first saw in The Blues Brothers when Amy and I were kids. We had wanted to visit Chicago for so many years and recreating our own little Blues Brothers tour was heaven.

- Picking up broken tiles on the beach in Positano with Nicole. Positano was a place I had dreamt of seeing and smelling and experiencing since I was seventeen. Stepping onto that beach was surreal and dreamlike. I cannot wait to return again.

- Meeting Natalia on the flight to Dublin and spending the entire next day with her - goofing off, acting like tourists, chatting like old friends, and laughing the whole time.

Hotel San Moisè

The hotel that Nicole and I stayed at in Venice was super cute and very quaint. The decorating was dated and garish - both of which I adored. I loved the steps that led to nowhere most of all. But the best was falling asleep to the sounds of Venice; the tolling of the church bells, the laughter and chit chat of people passing beneath our window, and the distance boats in the canals. We weren't in Venice for very long, but the time we spent there was completely wonderful.

Looking to Return

I'm thinking of visiting Italy once more next March as an early 40th bday gift to myself. I am not pleased to be approaching this age, but I feel that walking the beach in Positano should help to put things in perspective. Hopefully. It is thee most remarkably beautiful place I have ever been and I miss it dreadfully.

Hotel Eden Roc

So here are some pics of our hotel in Positano. I love, love, loved the tile floor most of all, as well as the balcony. Just looking back at these photos makes me realise that I must return to Positano. Such a beautiful and serene place that I miss desperately. I wish Nicole and I had more time there. Even just sitting on our balcony and listening to the waves put us in a trance.