Frascati, Italy
- @Bethany_Grey
- Nov 27, 2017
- 4 min read
One country that has been on my bucket list for a long, long time is the profoundly beautiful Italy.
Italy to me from a young age meant cobbled roads, winding streets, rustic toned houses beautifully eroding away, stunning architecture, history, colourful doors, olives, sunshine, the list goes on. This idea was somewhat enhanced after watching 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie' (released in 2003, how old do you feel?) I guess a part of my 11 year-old-self believed that if I went to Italy I too would become a Popstar, have a teenage romance and meet my Italian doppelgänger. Because who didn't want to meet their Italian doppelgänger?
My needs to see this incredible country were finally fulfilled this year in October. Lucky for me, I happen to have a very talented Wedding & Events DJ as a boyfriend. Bruno was hired for a friend's Wedding which was to take place in a gorgeous town called Frascati. I was a little excited (*extremely) to be able to come along and be a part of the special day too. Not only are Khrystal & Mike the loveliest and most welcoming couple, but their plans to marry in such a beautiful country allowed so many to experience something that does not happen very often, and gave me the opportunity to tick off a box on my travel-bucket-list - and of course whilst taking 20 million photos along the way. Thanks so much again to Khrystal & Mike! We had 3 days to experience as much of Frascati & Rome as we could, and we did just that!
Frascati is a lovely town in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy. Located 20 kilometres of Rome, it is also very close to the ancient city of Tusculum.
We were welcomed by a huge thunderstorm on the day we arrived in Frascati. After a sleepy flight and taxi drive to our hotel 'Villa Mercede' we greeted each other, freshened up and excitedly began to take a slow stroll up into the town centre to explore, take in the Italian culture and find some real Italian food. The heavens well and truly opened a few minutes into our walk meaning we were forced to take shelter by a building until the worst past. Even in a down pour of rain Italy of course still looked warm & inviting. There was something so calming about peering out onto a cobbled street, listening to the rain flow down the wonky steps and the thunder grumbling above us. The rain soon softened and we made our way up into the town where I then proceeded to eat a pizza roughly the size of a car tyre. Well, "When in Rome"...
Day 2 was Khrystal & Mike's big day! One thing I love about Bruno's job is also being able to come along to the venues early with him to set-up equipment and get a sneaky first-look. Of course I did not hesitate to take photos of everything I saw. I struggle to not take too many photos as it is, so imagine my deep struggle when every where I turned looked like a piece of art.
Khrystal & Mike Wed in the Church of the Gesù, a Roman Catholic church originally built in 1520. The church was everything you could envision. Sculptures, ornaments, painted ceilings and walls; everything about it was beautiful and I could have stood there and gazed at every detail all day.
After the church ceremony, we all ventured up to the Park Hotel Villa Grazioli, which overlooks the town of Frascati. Villa Grazioli was built in the 16th century and is a masterpiece of the 16th century art, history and culture. The view over the town is breath-taking from day to night and each room holds so much character and Italian culture, and not to mention the food which was SO TASTY. I have never been so stuffed in my whole life.
After an incredible day spent with some wonderful people, Day 3 wasn't a day for relaxing. Our next mission was to do some more site-seeing before our flight home that evening.
Although we didn't get the chance to go inside the Vatican Museum or the Colosseum, just the sheer beauty of the Italian Architecture is something that cannot be missed. Seeing the Colosseum in person really helps you put into perspective just how much of a huge landmark and a part of the Roman history it truly is.
After a whirlwind 3 days in Italy which felt like a dream, Bruno & I were ready to return to England. Both of us had achieved something great; Bruno had officially DJ'ed at a Wedding abroad, and I got to finally see a country I had been longing to visit since childhood (although I didn't meet my doppelgänger but hey, we can't have it all).
We were both pretty exhausted, but very content, fulfilled and very, very happy.
On to the next adventure...
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