European Portrait Giveaway Winner’s Session

After three fun and action-packed days in Venice, I was really looking forward to going up to Northern Italy to spend a few days in the mountains and relax. We were headed to Sterzing, its German name as most people there call it, or if you’re Italian, Vipiteno. This was the town that the winner of the portrait giveaway lives in and we had great plans for doing a hike, lunch and of course, a portrait session.

The night before we left Venice, my throat began to hurt. The next morning, it began to hurt even more, but it was the least of my worries because I strained my back trying to get our suitcases up and down the stairs in Venice. I was so sore that I could barely walk or sit and no matter what I did, I was in a lot of pain. We left Venice and drove the scenic and beautiful 4 hour drive up to Sterzing and with each hour that passed, I felt sicker and sicker and in more and more back pain. By the time we got to town, I hit up a pharmacy nearly in tears and tried to drug myself up as much as I could to sleep.

Katie, the winner, didn’t realize all she was getting when she won the session. The next morning, the day we were supposed to shoot, she took me to the local doctor and pharmacy, and very graciously made me a cup of coffee while she made plans to entertain my family for the day. I ended up in bed the entire day fighting Strep throat, angry that after all these plans, I was wasting an entire day watching German television and the depressing cycle of bad news from BBC and CNN.

Luckily, the next day I was able to get around and take in the beauty of Sterzing. We took a walk in the mountains, found wild strawberries, our kids played so nicely, and we had a lovely lunch together. I couldn’t have asked for a more gracious host and can’t thank Katie and her family enough for helping me out while I was sick. I’m so glad to have met her and her lovely

familyand hopefully someday we can return the hospitality in Florida!