La Spezia I vividly remember our first vacation alone…without kids, away from our jobs, and our responsibilities. Our life together was splendid. We had a beautiful house and two beautiful girls. They were always with us whatever we were doing, wherever we were going. But after a few years of playing good parents all the time, we wanted and needed some time just for ourselves. I believe that Anna’s parents recognized this...

It was fun while it lasted. We lay on our lounge chairs enjoying the cold beer and the beautiful sun. The beach was slowly repopulating with a cacophony of cell phones and liquid music, mixed in with the squeal of children and mothers scolding them. It was intolerable, making it impossible to relax, so we decided to take a stroll along the beach, hoping to find a quieter spot and resume our fun. I grabbed my camera, a bea...

It was about one in the afternoon in Porto San Michele, on the eastern Italian Riviera. At this time the lovely town was mostly deserted. We'd just had lunch by the pool at the Santa Marguerite, a nice restaurant inside a beach establishment of the same name. The resort was elegant and complete with the best amenities, private cabins, hot showers and an stylish bar famous for serving the best espresso in town. So we decid...