Journey to Europe
Gabriel and Tiffany Sawhney of Pittsburgh combined a destination wedding, a honeymoon and a homecoming this summer.
The 2008 Butler High School graduate and his French-born bride traveled to Cavaillon, France, for their July 19 wedding before taking an eight-day honeymoon along Italy's Amalfi coast.
Gabriel Sawhney, who graduated from the University of Delaware in 2012 with a degree in economics and finance, met his future wife in Sweden while both were studying abroad.
Tiffany Sawhney said, “I grew up near Lyon, that's near the Swiss Alps, 15 minutes from Geneva, Switzerland.”
After earning a master's degree in e-commerce from Sweden's Linnaeus University, she moved to the United States in the fall of 2013.
Speaking of the wedding, she said, “It was a family reunion for me because the last time I saw them was in October 2013.”
Tiffany said she chose Cavaillon “because it was different. It was southern France. It was just for the beauty of the region.”
Their wedding was in the Cavaillon Cathedral, a former Roman Catholic cathedral and a national monument of France, and was attended by a wedding party of 40 from United States and 60 of the bride's French guests.
“Tiffany did a lot of the work before the wedding. She set up a website with hotel information and sort of told them what to expect,” Gabriel said.
For the honeymoon, he said, “We flew to Naples, rented a car and drove to Sorrento and stayed there for four nights and then went to Positano.”
Their trip wasn't without a few hiccups.
“On our flight to our honeymoon, we actually lost our luggage,” Gabriel said. “The only luggage we had was our carry-on bags. She had four pairs of shoes and no clothes. I had a bag with wedding gifts.”
Undeterred, they made a stop to buy clothes. Eventually, their suitcases caught up with them in Italy.Another glitch worked to their advantage, Tiffany said.“On one of our flights we ended up with no seat,” she said. “Someone got mixed up, two people ended up with the same seat number.”The airline moved them to first class with complimentary champagne thrown in on the flight from Marseilles to Naples.Once on Italy's Amalfi coast, they took in the sights and seascapes offered by the peninsula.“We did a lot of sightseeing,” said Tiffany. “We went on the beach, too, took a boat to Capri and went to the Blue Grotto.”Gabriel said, “It gets its emerald blue water from the rock structure. It really is bright blue.”The sea cave has been a tourist destination since the 1830s.The grotto was known by the Romans, and apparently used by the Emperor Tiberius during the years when he retired to Capri. Roman sculptures have been recovered from the cave.“We rented a moped and went along the coast from Sorrento to Amalfi,” Tiffany said.Gabriel added, “It took a while because it was along a two-lane coastal road. You are following the coast line. Your distance from the sea varies according to the city.”The couple also had a chance to go scuba diving.The Mediterranean climate was a plus.
Gabriel said of the weather, “It was pleasant. It was warm but never too hot.”Tiffany said she was glad they explored as much of the Amalfi coast as they did.“The fact is that we did a lot of sightseeing and it wasn't just sitting on the beach,” she said. “I'm glad we actually visited cities and traveled. We barely went into the water. We were going to the markets, going to the restaurants.”Now, they are back to face a Pennsylvania winter and their jobs.Gabriel works for PNC Bank and Tiffany is a global Internet specialist for Mine Safety Appliances.A return trip to Italy will have to wait.Gabriel said, “Going back to the Amalfi coast we would definitely love to but not for a couple of years. We just have a lot of trips planned and very little vacation.”Actually, Tiffany said, “My next trip will be for 10 days to see my family in France beginning Jan. 14.”My sister and I are going back to my hometown and see my friends. And going skiing, a big part of the trip will be going skiing.”It will be her second trip back since moving to the United States.Tiffany said of her new home, “I like it. It was a bit different at first.”“I miss the good French food, the cheeses. But luckily we live two blocks from the Strip (District), so we go to Penn Mac. I love that place.”- See more at: http://beedit.sx.atl.publicus.com/article/20150110/Error/701109969&NoCache=1#sthash.oApfMph0.dpuf
