Allora… Milano e Verona e Chianti! 🗝️
In stark contrast to three-day stints in Rome and Florence, the additional days of my maiden Italian voyage were one day stops in modern Milan, fair Verona, and the picturesque and peaceful hills of Tuscany.
Relaxing at the most stunning 365 year old Tuscan villa for a night and enjoying a traditional, rustic Tuscan dinner in the local village was one of the true highlights of the trip. Verona was simply stunning from start to finish and ending things off in Milan with copious amounts of Campari and Milanese opulence just felt right.
Dieci su dieci. Ti amo, Italia.
“𝘐𝘯 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺.”
SOGNO FIORENTINO🍷🪟
Wine windows, towers, duomos, bistecca alla fiorentina, and some of the finest hospitality and food i’ve ever enjoyed can be found in the narrow passages of this ‘Cradle of the Renaissance.’
Over my two days (and change) in Florence I was able to see so much of what makes so many write romantically about her, and yet felt like there was so much left to explore.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺.”
ANDIAMO A ROMA 🏛️
Visual diary of a weekend spent in the city of echoes, the city of illusions, the Caput Mundi — and while these photos and videos can display its grandeur, they could never fully convey the beauty experienced first hand.
To see (many, many) more highlights of Rome, check the story highlight. Not a single miss on the food and bev stops over our three days and they’re almost all featured in that highlight.
“𝘈 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘦.”
To my bride on her 40th birthday…
I have had the distinct pleasure of witnessing your beauty & grace on full display every day for the past twelve years. I was in awe of you when I first met you in 2014, in awe of you when I asked you to be my wife in 2017, in utter & complete awe when you actually said yes, in awe of you when you took my hand & said “I do” in 2018, & in awe of you every single day through all of life’s ups & downs ever since. The way you carry yourself in this world is beyond rare. The compassion, care, & unconditional selflessness you possess, even more so. I consider myself fortunate to not only be able to witness these gifts that you possess, but to benefit from them & from the love you afford me every day of our lives together.
Being your partner in life has been the greatest joy & honor of my life. I love you in so many more ways than I could ever dream to express & look forward to celebrating you every day for the rest of my time on this earth.
Happy 40 my dear… the champagne is on ice! 🍾
FINAL HOAGIE COUNT: 17 🥖
Tore up Gritty’s city with a few of my favorite gremlins this long Thanksgiving weekend. Haven’t spent this much time back ‘home’ in a while and it was as deliciously rad as this carousel would suggest. Old familiar haunts, modern Philly staples, and plenty of spots I’d never been before made for one hell of a trip.
Thanks are due to our buds from Pray Tell Wines for letting us crash the family tailgate and hosting us at the winery, our guy and yours Brandon Thrash for the insane meal at Midde Child Clubhouse, and Joe and John at Pizzeria Beddia for making our final dinner so damn insane and making the Hoagie Room omakase experience one for the books.
Until next time… go Birds! 🦅
Fall Color Tour 🍁🍂
Spent the day chasing Thunderbirds, Stingrays, Mustangs, and Firebirds around the rolling hills of eastern Michigan. Lovely autumn afternoon for a leisurely country drive with 17 total vehicles from the Brighton chapter of the Vintage Motor Car Club.
After taking a break for a little over a year, we welcomed our newest foster dog over the weekend. For those that remember Squish, the Neapolitan Mastiff breed has a special place in our hearts, so when @bordertailsrescue reached out with this face, we knew we couldn’t say no.
At ~4-5 months old, she’s very large and very floppy. She’s been very friendly with all people and dogs she has met so far. Structure and training is incredibly important in success with this breed, and she’s picked up basic commands almost immediately with lots of positive reinforcement. She even went with foster Dad on her first farm chore this morning.
Huge thank you to @rescueber for transporting her to meet us and to @tray80 for sponsoring her transport! Both Rachel and Tracy have been part of our previous foster (and mastiff) journeys and it was so special to have them involved this time around as well.
#fosterdog #fosteradog #neapolitanmastiff #chicagodog #dogrescue #fosteradog #fosteringsaveslives #mastiff
Brooklyn’s finest basement dive is almost complete. Sure there will always be little upgrades, repairs, fixes… but all that’s really left on the BIG project side is to figure out how I want to finish the ceiling.
Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday… 🇨🇦
A little video diary of a restorative week spent on the crystal clear waters surrounding Tobermory, Ontario. Exactly the kind of vacation we needed to say goodbye to the busy summer season.
Photo dump loading…
REMINDER: IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE PRESENT… and to love and cherish your friends as much as you can, as often as you can, and as long as you can while you have life to live.
Another whirlwind journey back ‘home’ with a full slate of friends from start to finish. My social battery is drained, but my heart is as full as it has ever been.
