Travelling Simply

Travel recommendations, ideas and observations from two simple travellers

Tag: weddings

Weddings around the World

23/03/2019 / / 0 Comments

It’s the simple moments that make travel so enjoyable.

One of our joys is observing people from different countries, how they live their lives and what makes their lives different from ours. When the opportunity arises, we engage to ask questions and reciprocate when they enquire about our lives at home. There is nothing more pleasurable than staying in neighbourhoods, enjoying a cup of coffee with the locals and dining at the local restaurants for the authentic experience.

We also love walking through the local markets to observe neighbours catching up with each other as they do their daily shopping. And, we take notice of families in their neighbourhoods, individuals sitting on their doorsteps watching passers-by like us or gossiping with neighbours who stop to stay “hello”.

One of the highlights of our travels is coming across a wedding celebration on our strolls around town. We often come across happy gatherings while wandering through backstreets, or as occurred in Rome, find guests who unwittingly assist us in finding what we had set out to see.

  • A wedding in Rome
    Guests gather for a wedding in Rome

There was the pleasure and honour in being invited to be part of a simple and happy wedding celebration in a back alley in Istanbul as we walked back to our hotel after doing a little last minute shopping. We’ve stood with other tourists outside the Basilica we were about to enter in the Tuscan town of Arezzo to watch a bride arrive at her wedding on the back of a Vespa and experienced the simple happiness of families as they gather to toast happy couples as they emerge one after the other from the Registry Office at the town hall in Nuremberg. The highest privilege of all is when the happy couple takes time away from their festivities to pose of our camera. There have been many such occasions.

  • Italian bride arrives on a Vespa
    Our daring Italian bride made an entrance arriving on the back of a Vespa
  • Outside the Nuremberg Registry Office
    A happy couple releasing doves outside the Nuremberg Registry Office in the city’s main square, Hauptmarkt

We are looking forward to sharing some of our favourite shots taken over the years in the coming weeks on our social media pages. Join us for “Wedding Wednesdays” by following on our social media pages (Facebook and Instagram, or click on the links on the right-hand side of this post).

We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy reminiscing as we share.

  • Stylish Parisian newlyweds posing in the Jardin des Tuileries
    Stylish Parisian newlyweds posing in front of the Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel by the Jardin des Tuileries

A surprise in a keyhole

27/02/2018 / / 2 Comments

We are surprised, there is a queue!

As with all secrets, eventually, everyone finds out. So, we join the tail just as half a dozen tourists tumble out of a private tourist van.

“Hurry up, take a peep and move on”, He muttered. The comment was aimed at the lady in front who was taking several looks to confirm what she was seeing and then trying to get her camera lens in place to take a shot.

“Be patient, look around, there’s plenty to see” I said spotting a group of monks chatting on the street corner, one gazing intently into his mobile phone. This was a far cry from the first time we had visited this spot…

  • catholic brothers

We had marched through the crowds around the Colosseum and the Forum, walking past Circus Maximus stopping to imagine the crowds of up to 250,000 that would have gathered to watch the chariot races in times well past. We happened to be in Rome in 2006 when the Romans gathered there to watch Italy win the Soccer World Cup! We soldiered on to Aventine Hill.

We strolled through the Rose Gardens and detoured into Parco Savelli admiring couples having their wedding photos taken among the pine and orange trees and on to the end of the path to join others taking in the spectacular view across rooftops to the dome of St Peter’s Basilica from the lookout.

  • wedding couple

Wandering further up the rise we near the end of the street. The street is quiet, not many tourists wander this far. It looks like there is just us and a gathering in front of the Catholic Church. A few cars have arrived and we stop to watch as a family members get together in front of the church. Definitely Italians, all of them looking very stylish, men in suits with sneakers and women in flowing dresses and stilettos – we feel a little out of place and stand a little away to watch.

  • wedding party

There is a lot of hugging, kissing and joviality as they congregate. We notice small groups break away one by one from the main gathering and walk towards a wooden doorway a few doors further up. Each taking a turn to peep through the keyhole and then return to join the rest of the family.

Reluctant to be taken away by the Carabinieri, we had wondered how we were going to surreptitiously find “The Keyhole” without peering through each one in the street!

We sauntered up to the doorway as if we knew exactly where we were going, closed one eye and took a peep. Words cannot describe the joy of that first simple peep through a keyhole.

And so, now we join the many who flock to have a look through the keyhole and the amazement on each face as they look once and look again twice is worth the wait. The view is one we will never tire of and it has become a custom to take a wander up the Aventine Hill. The joy of being a simple traveller!

  • the keyhole on aventine hill

Footnote: This photo does not do the scene justice. It is truly spectacular when seen with the naked eye!

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