Check out Haley and Justin's engagement picture preview on the Herndon Portfolio.
Love you guys!
2 hours ago
Italy Trip: The Almafi coast
For the last leg of our anniversary trip we headed to the beautiful Almafi Coast.
We stayed in Praiano down the road from Positano at the Hotel Magherita.
Our room had it's own balcony overlooking the Med...this is one of the most breathtaking places I've been yet!
The view from our balcony
This leg of the trip was planned for relaxation after all the site-seeing we knew we would do, so the first day we headed to the beach.
The water was crystal blue and it was a rock beach rather than sand making the beach a really unique experience.
There were Italians on vacation all over.
This is where they actually go to vacation and it's no wonder why!
After the beach we did a bit more sun bathing at the pool and solarium back at the hotel before heading into Positano for dinner.
In Positano
The next day we headed back to the beach early in the morning to catch out private cruise down the Almafi Coastline to Capri and back.
Leaving the beach
Views of the coast from the water.
Praiano...our hotel is in this photo...right about in the center.
It's amazing how they build right into the cliffs.
The grottos
It's as if the water was lit from within these grottos...amazing
We also saw some amazing yachts along the way.
One was complete with it's own helicopter.
After a quick swim near the grottos, we arrived in Capri.
We grabbed lunch and then literally hiked up to the center of town. We didn't realize we were about to hike straight upward when we started following the signs to the town center, so that gave us a good laugh (and workout).
The views from up top the island were like none other!
Lemons of course...there was a funny story that went along with these lemons.
Adam decided to buy a lemon drink from a vendor which turned out to be pure lemon juice mixed with a bit of fresh orange juice. There was no sugar added, nothing. It was pretty terrible and cost him a pretty penny too.
After our afternoon exploring Capri we hopped back on the boat and headed back down the coastline stopping for a swim in the blue waters (pictured below) along the way.
It had been an amazing day.
We wrapped up our trip with a rooftop Italian dinner by moonlight complete with fireworks from a wedding down the way at another hotel. The hotel would transform the solarium into a rooftop restaurant at night and it was delicious and so romantic.
The perfect way to end our trip.
The next day we traveled back to Rome, where we grabbed our last real Italian meal as well as some gelato, and the next day we began our (long) trip back to the US.
Words barely do this vacation justice...
thank goodness for pictures and all the memories that Adam and I not only share with each other, but with six of our closest friends as well.
I can't wait for our next adventure!
Italy Trip: Venezia
Off to Venice...the day had a lot in store!
Adam on the train with all of his gear...his Bose noise canceling headphones with IPOD and his Nook reader.
After a few hours on the train we arrived in Venice.
It was quite the adventure finding the hotel Santa Marina from the water metro to the wrong stop followed by a long walk through crazy alleyways until we finally made it thanks to Adam's navigation skills. I was so thankful to have a backpack for this leg of the trip.
We had fun comparing this hotel room to a hobbit's, but it was quaint and quintessential Venice.
My favorite shot from Venice (below).
After we settled into our room, the rest of the gang arrived, so we all headed out to find lunch and see the sites.
We always found the BEST pizza spots when we were starving.
After lunch we made our way to St. Mark's Square.
After some shopping for my Venitian anniversary gift (my blown glass jewelry),
we did some bargaining and jumped onto a couple gondolas for some site-seeing by canal.
The sites by canal
After our ride on the canal, we went on a walk headed toward the Borghese museum, which really took us off the normal tourist beaten path. I loved getting out of the crowd and it made me like Venice even more than my first visit, plus seeing that it's such a romantic city, it was nice to be there with the love of my life this time around.
(Haley and I visited when we graduated high school and it was her favorite city from the trip...hence the BIG surprise).
We saw some beautiful views as well as a gorgeous sunset.
We knew a BIG surprise was in store for Haley from this point on in the day, so I transitioned into Paparazzi mode not knowing when Justin might get down on one knee and pop THE QUESTION!
Once back at the hotel, Justin had some alone time with Haley during which time he professed his love for her, and asked her to be his WIFE!!!
SHE SAID YES and her dream of being proposed to in Venice CAME TRUE!!!
I was there to snap some pictures just after the BIG moment.
HALEY IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN VENICE!!!
You're ENGAGED and the ring is GORGEOUS too!!
Knowing we would have something to celebrate we had made reservations at a restaurant on the Grand Canal earlier in the evening, so we headed out for that celebratory dinner.
A toast to the newly engaged couple...cheers Haley and Justin.
To wrap up the night we walked off dinner with a romantic stroll through St. Mark's Square.
I love the candle lit buildings and how empty the city becomes once the tourists vacate the island for the day.
It was a lovely day and an EVENTFUL night.
Congrats again Haley and Justin. I know you'll make each other happy for a lifetime.
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