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Honeymoon in Italy

27 September 2000 - Wednesday

Salzburg, Austria

Again, on a glorious sunny morning, Andy arose before all others and kissed me lightly on the check.  Andy had found one mistake with our day.  That was the misspelling of my name on the marriage certificate, the had my name as Stefanie, not Stephanie.  He was insistent that the mistake be corrected while we were still in Salzburg.  Andy was up at 7:00am to be back at Mirabell Palace by 8:00am.  Andy wanted to meet Fritz outside of his office, before his day got underway.  He was dressed and out the door by 7:30 to go to the Magistrate's office and have them correct the misspelling of my name.

I laugh every time I think of Andy sitting on the wooden bench outside of the magistrate’s office.  Fritz’s initial thoughts and surprise to see a groom that he performed a ceremony for the day before awaiting his arrival must have been one of "uh-oh, this cannot be good."  "A groom here the day after the wedding without his bride..."

Andy assured him that everything was wonderful and pointed out the mistake on the marriage certificate.  Fritz was quick to apologize and correct the mistake.  He reprinted the document and notarized all copies.

Andy was back at Gersberg before 9:00am and at that moment he awoken me and we went downstairs to greet everyone for breakfast.

We ate our breakfast outside, again on the terrace as the weather continued to be divine.  Andy reviewed the trip plans with Mike and Dad for their travels to Lake Como. We all finished our breakfast and returned back to our rooms to shower and pack.  We all had big days ahead of us.  Many hours of travel, and for Andy and I, the beginning of our honeymoon and our life together as Mr.& Mrs. Morris.

We all drove back into downtown Salzburg and I got Allie and Mary settled into their next destination.  A quaint hotel of Karen Browns suggestion in the heart of the city.  We also got them booked on a Sound of Music Tour that afternoon.  Allie, Mary and myself then all met with Dad, Andy, and Mike.

This is where we bid our farewells.  I thanked Mary for making it possible to have Andy in my life, kissed her on the cheek, and called her mom.  Dad told me he loved me, and gave me a big hug.  He told us to be safe.  Mary in the meantime, was waiting with tears in her eyes after hugging Andy and telling him how proud she was of him, told Dad how thankful she was that he had brought me into the world.  It was a moment that will forever be engrained in my memory.  There was not a dry eye in the group.

We walked back to meet Marina and Charlé.  We all assembled into our cars and headed for the autobahn.  At this time our "official honeymoon" had begun!

Traveling the Italian Alps

Our trip by car was to last five hours.  We stopped just over the Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy in a little town called Auge.  It was so serene.  A perfect setting with a late afternoon haze cascading down from the rolling tops of the foothills of the Alps, touching the front orchard of perfectly ripened fruit trees outside the pension/restaurant.

Lunch near the Austrian-Italian Border

We sat out on the patio and had the most delightful waitress who served us fresh cannoli, vegetables and bruschetta.  We toasted to each other and enjoyed our leisurely lunch.  We were inseparable, as I wanted to feel Andy presence as much as he wanted to touch me.

Vicenza, Italy

We arrived in Vicenza around 7:00pm after a long day of driving.  Andy had visited this town before and knew what would make the accommodations for us, and that was to stay at the Piazza dei Signori - the center of town where Andrea Palladio created the double column architecture back in the 1500's.

Check Hotel and Dinner in Vicenza

We ended up settling in after a few attempts in Room 43 at the Hotel Vicenza, the corner top penthouse suite that had a fabulous view of the duomo (main cathedral) of Vicenza.  This room was literally the last available in the city.  We stayed here for the next four nights.

Room 43 at the Hotel Vicenza held a charm to its old world existence.  There were wooden floors, windows, table and chairs.  The table was adorned by a green checked cloth.  The view was exquisite, the room quaint, and the location, in the heartbeat of old world Italy.

Andy and I were soon known in our hotel as the "Luna di Miele", aka, the honeymooners!!

After checking in and getting settled into our honeymoon suite, we strolled through the town and decided to have dinner at an outdoor Pizzeria.  We ordered the house wine, a red Sfuzo, that was pure heaven.  The best description for the taste was a "red champagne", served chilled.

To top the wine selection, the pizzas arrived at our table piping hot, Sicilian style.  They were so large, that they took up the whole table.

Andy and I sat side by side.  He looked so handsome tonight.  His brown eyes so soft and loving.  We caressed, laughed, and held long lingering passionate kisses.  The evening was perfect.

After dinner, Andy insisted that I try homemade gelato.  We walked down to the Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theatre) and peered through the gates and got a glimpse of the gardens that were adorned with marble statues and perfectly sculptured paths.  This theatre was the oldest indoor theatre in Europe.  We both decided that we will have to come back during our stay and visit the museum.

We retired back to our room and to keep with the name our hotel adorned us with, the honeymooners, I am sure that we kept a few people up that evening.  We both fell asleep in each others arms.

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