Mariella

Dancing with the stars starring Alessandra

Sil's Birthday

Alessandra saying some words for the camera then trying to tell her uncle sil happy birthday... enjoy!

Road Trip Pictures

Alessandra all ready for the drive to Indiana

We stopped in Georgia to watch the South Georgia Wildcats Arena football game and had most of the day to relax so we went to the Flint River Aquarium in Albany, GA.

Check out the Alligator Snapping Turtle

Leslie and Alessandra

Uncle Silvio

Super Birthday Weekend for Jessica

We started off our super birthday weekend spectacular Friday with a drive down to Bradenton, Florida. We walked around the town center at Lakewood Ranches, had dinner and called it a night. Saturday morning we went to Siesta Key... the best sand beach that I have ever been to. At first we had a hard time getting Alessandra to put her feet in the sand and to get into the water but after a little bit of coaxing she was loving it. When it was time to go, she didn't want to leave.

She kept wanting to lay in the water

One happy girl

There were a lot of people at the beach because of spring break but the beach was so spacious it really wasn't a big deal because we had plenty of room.


Checking out the waves

Burying her shoes

The sand at Siesta Key was pure white


Saturday evening we went to St Armand's circle and walked around the shopping areas and ate at an Italian restaurant: Le Colonne. The food was good and the pasta was homemade but the bread wasn't that impressive. I had Gnocchi and Jess had mushroom and veal stuff Ravioli. I give it a 7 out of 10. There was another Italian restaurant that I would like to try the next time we go there. I gave Alessandra some San Pellegrino (fizzy) water to see if she liked it not thinking she wouldn't but she kept wanting more... it was a funny sight to see.

Birthday Girl


Goooood

While we were in Sarasota we went to the Ringling Brothers Circus Musuem and it was amazing to see how much work would go into those huge circus productions.
John Ringling's Ca' d'Zan and the The Mansion was amazing and was built in the Venetian style that you see in some parts of Venice, Italy. It was finished in the 20s and has been maintained/restored quite beautifully. "Ca' d'Zan" means house of John in Venetian dialect.

Ca' d'Zan terrace overlooking the water

The John and Mable Ringling Art Musuem had original Baroque works of Peter Paul Rubens and casts of famous Italian sculptures.

We checked out a different beach on next day ... Lido Key which is just a few miles north but the sand was nothing like Siesta Key. It had more shells but the beach was a lot smaller, making it seem more crowded.


A little while before we ended our trip to head back home

It was a great trip.

BIRTHDAY DINNER
Dinner at Manny's Chophouse with Silvio and Leslie just a couple of hours ago

Jess and Edward

Birthday time!

Beauty and the Gio

Sil and Leslie

Gio's Birthday Trip to Miami

I got to tag along on a Sil and Ed's trip this past weekend. Friday night me and Sil drove down to meet up with Ed at his place in Bradenton. We listened to the Utah vs. Alabama game on the radio then caught more of it on the TV at the Sports Grill we went to. What a shocker! I'm no Utah fan but I was happy they won for the Mountainwest Conference. The next day we drove down to Miami and met up with Ed's friend from the Ravens, Haloti. We went to an excellent Italian restaurant called Casa D'Angelo in Fort Lauderdale that was very authentic and the food was impressive. It seemed like most of the waiters and staff were speaking Italian so that made it even better for me. On Sunday we met up with my dad's college buddy Tony at the stadium for some tailgating then watched the Dolphins stink it up in the game. It was my first Dolphin game but even funnier was that it was Ed's first NFL game that he had ever watched from the stands. It was a long drive back and Jess almost tackled me before I even made it to the door of the house. It was one of my favorite birthdays ever and now I am 24 years old.

At the Miami Dolphins vs. Baltimore Ravens game with Sil, Ed, and Cyrus

View from the top of the stadium

Me and Sil in the Hotel Lobby

Happy Birthday to Alessandra

Meet Uncle "T" and Aunt "B"

On our way up to Myrtle Beach a little over a month ago I lined up a visit with my cousin Tony Fazzini. I have been wanting to reconnect with cousins that live in the United States for a while now ever since I got the genealogy bug during my many stays with family in Ascoli Piceno, Italy. My dad mentioned to me that his first cousin, Tony and his wife Becky lived in South Carolina so I looked them up and thought that we could stop by and say hello. Well, we did, and it was one of the highlights of the trip. I got to visit with three cousins and most of their families... Roseann, Tony, and Regina. My dad always talked highly of their late father, Alex (my grandfather's brother) so it was neat to catch up and hear all the family stories that they shared.

Regina with her family (Joe, Greg, Ted, and Dianna)

On the way back to Florida, they invited us to stay the night and eat at his restaurant there on Hilton Head Island. I was so happy that my cheeks were hurting from smiling so much. The name of the restaurant is Michael Anthony's and it was absolutely amazing.

Uncle T with Alessandra after dinner

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am picky when it comes to authentic Italian food... I must say that of all the places that I have been to in the US, his restaurant is hands down the best I have been to. So if you are in that area I highly recommend making reservations and eating there... you will not be disappointed.

This past weekend Uncle T and Aunt B stopped by and we hung out, ate, and went for a boat ride. It was good to see them again.

At the lake with my dad

Boatride on Crooked Lake

Fazzini Family Photos

Alessandra on the sand

Since Lui was banned from the real photoshoot he got his own special shoot with the baby

Fazzini Family Photo 2008

Me and my beautiful wife

Keeping it real

Andrea and Ty

Fratelli Fazzini: Marco, Silvio, and Gio

Nonno and Nonna