Day 2 ~

Some times things change... for the BETTER.   I had originally planned for Sunday of the Creative Retreat to be a day of rest.  I know traveling so far to Italy can be exhausting and I wanted to the ladies to have the next day to relax by the pool, sleep in or just walk the town.

BUT... when something "reveals" itself to you, you have to make changes.  Now I know how I am when I find out some special event is going on when I'm on vacation.  I get EXCITED!  And that's just what happened when I started looking into the Antique Markets in Italy!  These don't happen everywhere and they don't happen very often.  Sure, there are LOTS of markets all over Italy, but Antique Markets are quite rare.  So when I found out that there happened to be one on the ONE Sunday of the month that WE happened to be on our Retreat I just KNEW I had to see about taking the ladies!

It was in Bergamo, an ancient walled city on a hill about 1 1/2 hours away from Bellagio.

Well, once I mentioned this Antique Market to the ladies on our Yahoo Group, there was NO napping going to happen on Sunday!  lol...  EVERY lady wanted to go shopping instead!

So we got on a private bus for 20 people and headed to Bergamo on Sunday morning!  And, as with any trip to Italy, unexpected things come up...  Like a BIG parade of local musicians in their authentic dress from days gone past!

So instead of driving down this street, we had to stop the bus for about 20 minutes and wait.  Which just made it a fun adventure getting to Bergamo...and a GREAT photo op!  :)

So, after the parade cleared, we headed to the "city on the hill" of Bergamo.  You can just barely make it out in the far back of the photo above.

Once we finally arrived, the ladies were LOVING Bergamo and the unique little streets and piazzas!  

The Piazza the Antique Market was in had been totally transformed into a garden for some weekend garden expo.  But the Antique Market was still there and my nightmare the night before was unfounded... (I dreamt we got here and NO Antique Market)

The market is small, but FILLED with goodies.  Here's just a few things that were fun to look at:

Some of the ladies found a treasure box of little "finds" at this booth.  It's where I had found quite a few treasures this past summer when I scoped this market out with Rebecca.  They decided to use some of these "finds" on their shadow box class with Lisa Pace!  But take a look at some of the antique shadow boxes AT the market:

The architecture of this city and this square was beautiful enough to not even need the Antique Market for a reason to explore this city.  I know the ladies LOVED looking around this square, seeing the beautiful churches and buildings here, the people and the lovely shops.

We even had a bit of the parade follow us up to the ancient part of the city and serenade us!  :)

We finished the day with a wonderful lunch at Il Fornaio and a few photos on the city wall.

It was a wonderful day and I know the ladies would go back in a heartbeat to this beautiful city!

We still got back in time to enjoy the rest of the day in Bellagio and take in the sights and sounds of Lake Como.  Dinner that night was at Princess Bellagio, a little restaurant tucked away on one of the cobblestone streets of Bellagio.  It has beautiful decor in white and black with Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe AND has the most amazing "pink angel" that you'll have to order if you come with me next summer!  

Speaking of which...

I will be REVEALING the details of next years event THIS NEXT MONDAY!!

So come back here Monday to get more information on this AMAZING retreat and how to sign up for next years Creative Retreat!!

Ciao,

Laura

When you have a DREAM and it takes root and starts materializing... and then it becomes a REALITY, it is SO hard to describe it!   I don't even know where to begin.

But I'm going to try...

In 2009 when I first came to Lake Como, Italy for my 20th wedding anniversary with my wonderful husband, I cried when I took it all in.  Bellagio, the lake, the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, the architecture, the flowers, and being in Italy!   Every single element that is "BEAUTY" to me is somehow made perfect here.  It to me is my idea of perfection, or "heaven on earth."

So right then in 2009 an idea took shape.

I have been back to Lake Como every year since and in 2011 I finally decided that I would DREAM BIG and begin to organize this "idea" into a Women's Retreat at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni!

I can not express how fulfilling it was to see this dream come true and it was with the most WONDERFUL group of ladies I could have hoped for!

We had 19 ladies all together and the first night we had a great time getting to know each other on the beautiful pergola by the lake.

The sun was setting, we had a nice light dinner, we got to meet everyone and just enjoy the beauty that we were all taking in together!  It was a great beginning to the week ahead of us in beautiful Bellagio!

We then went into the meeting room and had a quick class with Stayce DeWid and her new line of products, Art Anthology.

It was the perfect beginning and it got us excited for the week ahead!  But it was off to bed for everyone soon afterward so we could be ready for a wonderful day the next morning as we headed to Bergamo for an Antique Market in this ancient city on a hill.  

More to come in the next post...

You may have been waiting patiently for me to post on here as we enjoy our time in Italy.

Unfortunately, I have tried to upload some beautiful pictures from our journey here and Italy is a bit behind on technology so it hasn't been possible to show you all of them...

We leave tomorrow for Milan (we are in Venice right now) and once I get back home, I will be posting like a CRAZY woman about the MOST AMAZING week in Bellagio that us ladies had together!!

Ciao for now...

Laura

I can NOT believe that in less than two weeks I will be getting on a plane for Italy!!!

A years worth of work and preparation have ALL been worth it and I'm just OVERJOYED that this dream of mine is becoming a REALITY.

I cannot express how THANKFUL I am to all of YOU who have supported my dream, who have cheered me on, who have helped me, who have listened to me go on and on... and who now I am asking to PRAY for this event.  Please just pray for safety, for great weather and for this event to be used to BLESS these ladies, to RESTORE these ladies and to INSPIRE them!!

I have been having SO much fun getting the last minute goodies together for the ladies, wrapping little presents, making some handmade pretties and finalizing everything...

Let me just say...

You will NOT want to miss NEXT YEARS!!

I will have more details AFTER this years event, but to get on the INTERESTED LIST, just send me an email and I can keep you up to date.

Also, be SURE to check back HERE for updates FROM our event!  I will be trying to share pictures from the event so all of you who have cheered this event on can be a part of it too!

FYI, there ARE going to be some CLASS KITS AVAILABLE AFTER THE EVENT!  So look for those because it will only be a FEW.

Thanks AGAIN to everyone!

Hugs,

Laura

Hello,

I've been traveling SO much lately, that I'm sorry to say this blog has been sorely neglected!

I am in Michigan this week for a retreat for my middle daughter... Then next week I'm in Montana for a retreat for my husbands work!  whew... life is crazy.

BUT...I have a BIG BIT OF NEWS!

The way the apartments are set up for THIS years event, I ended up having ONE MORE SPOT AVAILABLE FOR THIS SEPTEMBER!!!!  

SOOOOOOO....

If ANY of you that were thinking about it for THIS YEAR but didn't get on it, and still want to come...   ONE SPOT IS OPEN FOR YOU!!   

It's the week of September 15-22nd and the rates for airfare are REALLY good right now, so if you're a "spur of the moment" person and want to join our group... We'd LOVE to have you!!!  Just email me in the next week or two and YOU TOO could be joining us THIS SEPTEMBER!!   Pretty cool huh??


Now, I did want to update everyone on the 2013 Retreat in Italy NEXT JUNE as well.

I have decided that I need to hold off taking SIGN UPS until AFTER this retreat.  Because time is getting away from me before THIS years event AND because I'm gone so much this month and don't have the time to devote to starting sign ups...  I need to wait.

I also feel that I will have a MUCH better idea of the cost of things and the logistics of an event like this, so far from home.

So bear with me... I WILL have more updates and even PHOTO's from THIS YEARS EVENT on this blog coming soon!  So check back here for those, it will give you some idea of how it's going to be NEXT YEAR if YOU sign up!

What I invasion happening is after I get back around the 26th of September I will get things ready for an October 1st REVEAL for next years event.  I'll be opening it up to only 20 ladies total and then it will be SOLD OUT.  I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I think that's the best group number for this area of Italy.  The roads are small, the restaurants are small and having a smaller group that can all fit in one bus and the same restaurant each night will make it much easier and a more enjoyable experience for all...

So if you are NOT on the INTEREST LIST, get on it NOW.  I think I have close to 20 ladies on the list now and even though they probably won't ALL sign up,  this event is getting talked about and growing in interest daily!  (Thank YOU for that :)  Just email me to get on the list.  laura@akissonthechic.com

Have a GREAT weekend,

Laura

Hello ladies!

We got back from Italy and are trying to get back to our time zone... It's been a bit more difficult than usual for some reason.  But I wanted to take a couple minutes to just say HI and let you know I will be updating this blog soon!

I had such a PRODUCTIVE time in Bellagio and I can't tell you how EXCITED I am for September!  Most everything is all scheduled and set and you ladies are going to have the time of your life!  It's such a beautiful place and I'll be sharing some of the photos from our trip when update the blog as well.

I also wanted to mention that I will be sending an email to everyone who is interested in the 2013 Creative Retreat in Italy soon.  I sent one out before we left for Italy, but I think my computer was wacky and didn't send it out.

I am going through all the emails and sending them again tomorrow and then will update you on the sign up process for next years event.  This will be taking place SOON, so don't miss out!  I've decided to keep the number of ladies for the event to 20 because a bigger group would require so much more planning for this little town.  They don't have large streets and large vans and such, so it would be logistically impossible...

So glad to be back on here and hope to chat with you all very soon!

Hugs,

Laura

Hello ladies!

How is your Summer going?  We have just UNDER 3 months until our Retreat!  I could SCREAM with excitement!!!!!

I am compiling my "list" of things to check on when we are there in a few weeks, (yes, I can't WAIT) so if you have any questions to add to that list, let me know.  I'll be meeting with the hotel, restaurants, and excursion companies to get everything figured out.

I've had a few questions about how much $$$ you should bring and what things will be "out of pocket" for you.  I am going to try and put together a list so you can have a better idea.  Let me take a few days for this and then I'll post that in the Yahoo Group and maybe on here too...

I wanted to come on here TODAY though, because it's the 15th of JUNE and I said I was going to share some SNEAKS of the classes!!

I can't tell you how EXCITING is has been to talk with the teachers and see some of the classes you will be taking!  I think I've picked the BEST teachers for this event and I'm SO happy with what they are going to be teaching.  They are all just BEAUTIFUL and full of some GREAT techniques I know you will love learning!

So to start the SNEAKS...

Lisa Pace is going to be teaching us 2 classes.  The 1st is a SHADOW BOX and it's going to have all kinds of beautiful little trinkets, vintage items and even have room for your OWN mementos from the trip!  Here's a SNEAK of it:

These are 3 random photo's of the shadowbox.  

The 2nd class she is teaching is a necklace and cuff set!  It's SO pretty!!  This has VINTAGE lace, buttons and all kinds a "pretties" on it!!  Here's a SNEAK of the cuff:

This is just a portion of the cuff.

SO, as you can see... We are in for a TREAT!  Some AMAZING projects from such a TALENTED lady!!  You will LOVE meeting Lisa and getting to know her.  With our small group of ladies, I know we are all going to come away with deep friendships and I'm really THRILLED about that!

I will share SNEAKS from the other teachers next week and keep the EXCITEMENT going!!


For those of you who won't be able to join us this September...

There IS going to be ANOTHER "A Kiss on the Chic's Bellagio Retreat" NEXT JUNE!!  I've had such a GREAT response to this 2nd Annual event, that I don't want YOU to miss out on this!  Just send me an email or leave a comment and I will put your name on the "Interested List" which is growing by the day!!  I don't have the teachers lined up yet, but the dates will be June 15-22, 2013!

So keep those dates open if you want to enjoy a Week Long Event in Beautiful Italy!!

Hugs,

Laura