Avra goes to visit the wonderful girls living at Hogar Sagrado Corazon (a home for girls in Montero, Bolivia) every year. They love to read (especially fantasy, romance, and comics)! With your contribution, we will buy a variety of great spanish language books to bring to the girls! (P.S. si tiene aceso a libros en espanol especialmente romance, fantasia o libros para adolescentes, dejenos saber!)

Avra dreamed of visiting Lugano, in the Italian area of Switzerland, since reading about it in the YA book Bloomability by Sharon Creech (about a shy 13 year-old girl at a Swiss boarding school who learns about adventure and embracing life!) When Rafer read it, he was struck by how the educational methods of the boarding school mirrored those of Shutesbury Elementary. Consider contributing in the spirit of project-based education or the romantic and transporting power of books!

We will be staying in a lovely apartment by the lake in Lugano!..............."Sono libero!’ That’s what I felt and that’s what I shouted. “Libero, libero, liberooooo-” It then occurred to me that since I was a girl maybe I had to say Libera! Instead of Libero! But not being sure, I shouted both. “Libero! Libera! Libero! Liberaaa!” By the time I got to the bottom, I understood exactly what Guthrie meant when he shouted Libero. It was a celebration of being alive." - Bloomability by Sharon Creech

We will be flying (directly after the wedding!) to Milan (the namesake, though not the source, of those delicious Pepperidge Farm cookies that Rafer’s family adores). We aren’t staying there long, but it should be noted that Milan was the longtime home to two of Rafer’s literary heroes: Carlo Emilio Gadda and Umberto Eco. Your contribution will allow us to sit next to each other on the flights to and from our honeymoon (it costs extra, can you believe it?)! And then we can hold hands! Thank you!

Have you ever seen the movie Before Sunset? Two young people meet on a train in Europe and they yap yap yap and fall in love! Very romantic. Rafer has not seen this movie. Maybe on the train Avra will attempt a re-enactment of this movie, with Rafer as her counterpart except he doesn’t know what’s going on. Consider contributing in the the name of well-established train infrastructure!

When outlining possibilities for this trip, Avra made the mistake of describing Venice as the weirdest place she’d ever been. While originally worried about the crowds, nothing could possibly have piqued Rafer’s interest more. We’ll go just briefly. Consider contributing in hopes of a romantic fog on the canals, in the dream of sweet dreams, or in the spirit of the great ephemeral!

We first saw Portovenere on a randomized screensaver on Rafer’s computer. Old stones separating steep slopes from the glittering ocean echoed Avra and Rafer’s previous travel highlight: a drive down California’s Route 1 from Monterey to Big Sur. The five small villages appeal to our love for small towns such as Wolfeboro and Shutesbury, and the views of the coast and the fresh salt air would appeal to anyone! Consider contributing in the name of the sea, small towns, and serendipity!

Ah Florence! The center of the Italian Renaissance; home to Dante and Petrarch (and people we aren’t as interested in like Machiavelli), not to mention all four namesakes of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the house the Medici built. We feel it is our solemn duty as tourists of Italy to gawk at fine art and wander through ancient streets. Your contribution may remind us to eat, though we make no promises…(Avra makes a promise and will definitely be eating).