A Truly Romantic Occasion.

SOLCIO.

The morning is spent relaxing by the van.

We ask for a taxi at reception and they discover it would cost between 25 and 30 euro because the car would come from Stressa. The villa is only 2 miles away. The receptionist tells us that the bus only takes 4 minutes and is every hour. Alternatively, we could wait until she finishes her shift at 4pm. A nice offer but that would be too late. Reluctantly, Rosie agrees to the bus but insists on getting the 2:25 which gets us to Belgirate a good hour early. We spend it watching the world go by on the lake. We're still one of the first to arrive.

Harry tells us that the couple exchanges vows last year but saves the celebration to avoid clashing with Medea's sister. Family members read poetry and prose and a guitarist and singer give a rendition of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon". The villa has a tiered garden at the back. One of the tiers, overlooking the lake, has a balcony where chairs have been assembled for the main cast of players. Thunderstorms have been forecast all week but, thankfully, they never materialise. One would have to be hardhearted not to find the romance.

A jazz trio play music as first drinks then a fabulous apperitivo spread is served: meats, fish, dips, breads and vegetables. It's difficult to avoid over indulging. A six course meal is to follow at 7:30.

It's great to meet up with a lot of the guests again. As often is the case, we only see them at weddings as everyone leads such busy lives.

The speeches are funny, moving and short. What more could we ask for?

Dancing until after midnight. We learn over dinner that taxis stop at 11pm so that confirms what we were expecting, it's a 2 mile walk home for us. Arrive back at the site by 1:45 am. We have a key code for the gate but someone has conveniently left it open for us.