White Christmas in Texas, 2009

The kids & I went to my parent's house for Christmas. These are some of the pictures I took Christmas morning.

Castelina & Greve in Chianti, Italy (September 21, 2009)

On Monday we wanted to visit some of the wineries in Chianti. We hit the road and stopped in Castelina.



We had another exceptional meal.



And enjoyed the scenery.



Then we stopped by the tourist office & they told us to visit Castello Vicchiomaggio just north of us at Greve in Chianti. Castello Vicchiomaggio is in the heart of Chianti & is surrounded by 130 hectares of land. The castle has beautifully manicured gardens and sits up on top of a hill surrounded by rows of grape orchards. Another perfect backdrop for some more portraits.













The winery tour was interesting & uneventful.





This is a shot of Cathey in their private church, the church of Santa Maria.



The tour ended with a wine tasting.







From there we drove into town to take a look at one of Tuscan's famous meat markets, Antica Macelleria Falorni. It was a meat lover's paradise.

Fattoria La Sciolta & San Gimignano, Italy (September 20, 2009)

On Sunday we woke up and took a walk around our villa before heading to San Gimignano for the day. We decided to take the opportunity to shoot some portraits of each other. The rusty old tractor made for a great prop.









On our way to San Gimignano we found the perfect Tuscan road to take a few more portraits.







San Gimignano is an amazing place. I could have stayed there all week. It also made for the perfect place for a backdrop for more portraits. The city was founded as a small village in the 3rd century BC by the Etruscans. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance era it was a stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican. Of the 72 towers in the city only 15 remain.









A few of the remaining towers.