Ciao Ragazzi!

So you know when someone stares you down and you have that deeply uncomfortable feeling at the pit of your stomach? Zhenya did that to Matteo on their flight to Miami for spring break. To the point where he had to wait for the rest of the plane to get off so he could approach her with the words "Do you girls go to Towson?". He was starving and it was late, so Zhenya suggested getting a hotdog from the hotdog stand at the airport. Matteo has never forgotten how awful that hotdog was and brings it up to this very day. After tossing the hotdog in the trash (after one bite), he offered her and her friend a ride to their place in Miami from Ft. Lauderdale airport and they exchanged numbers in the car. Zhenya was not planning on reaching out until 3 nights into the trip, when she lost the condo key and had no choice but to "call the Italian guy from the airplane" so that they would have a place to stay that night. They discovered that they actually both went to Towson University and were in the same major, AND lived in the same dorm freshman year! Needless to say, the rest is history. Once they got home, they enrolled in all of the same classes for the following semester and Zhenya was Matteo's personal driver for the first 2 years of their relationship while Zhenya's father (patience of an angel) gave Matteo some much-needed driving lessons. Zhenya quickly had to enforce a rule where Matteo was required to sit on his hands when she was driving, as his hand gestures were (and still are) the ultimate distraction. Z - One of my favorite early memories is when Matteo called me at 615 AM on a Tuesday morning saying "Amore! I broke my front tooth, and I need some tooth glue before we get on the bus to go play an away game". I managed to get to Walgreens and deliver his glue to the bus right before they departed. Another fun story is the story of The Pepper. Matteo initially thought he was the primary chef, and requested that I pick up some ingredients for a meal he was planning on cooking. He requested a very specific pepper which was supposed to be spicy. I brought the ingredients over to his house and he pulled a very dramatic performance, insisting that it was the wrong pepper. He refused to try it to see if it was indeed the correct pepper and he forced his roommate to try it. At this point, I was upset and in the other room. He apologized shortly after and we ate dinner. About 2 or 3 months later we were with his roommate at Loch Raven Reservoir and his roommate mentioned the pepper, and Matteo had this face like "DON'T TELL HER!!". Guess what - it was the right pepper (obviously). I assumed Chef Duties on that day and have maintained them to this day (as most of you already know lol). Matteo quickly stole the hearts of my family members with his charm and love for my nephews. He invited me to Rome that December to meet his family and celebrate Christmas and New Year with them. I was absolutely (culture) shocked when I discovered that there was an entire country full of Matteo's!! Now we want you to experience the same. We would be honored to have you celebrate with us in Italy as we exchange our vows accompanied by the sea, endless vino, gelato, and pasta!