The 12 Days of Christmas Past: Day 3

This year’s card is a collage of some of our photos from Italy — they were just too delicious to not use. So on a related subject… today’s DoXP card is from our first trip to Italy in 2003, AKA The Honeymoon.

Thankfully I had the forethought to take a sketchbook to the breathtaking, life-changing, awe-inspiring Amalfi Coast, and thus ended up with an incredible keepsake of drawings from all the wonders we witnessed. Sketching (as opposed to zipping around with a camera) was a wonderful way to experience the country. I had to actually be still and soak it all in. (Obviously, this was pre-JJ) My favorite moment was sitting with my pen and pad in the square with the Amalfi Cathedral looming overhead.

Upon our return home, I scrapped the original idea I’d had for the Holiday card/promo, and used my sketch of the Cathedral for the Christmas card. Additionally, I had 8 different note cards printed featuring various sketches and photos from our trip. I designed a belly band/cover, boxed them up and gave them as client gifts — by far my most popular client gift to date. I was even able to sell quite a few sets in the years since.

Above is the full note card set, showing sketches of Vietri sul Mare and Paestum (on the box cover and note card, respectively) and a card featuring a photo from the Amalfi Cathedral. Here’s a few more individual card images…

I mean, seriously… is it possible to make a bad photo (or sketch) in Italy?

If you ever get the chance to travel to Italy, I highly recommend the Amalfi Coast — you can see Rome and Venice any old day… Below are a few places we visited and other related links. Ciao!

The Amalfi Cathedral
Lloyd’s Baia Hotel: where we stayed in Vietri sul Mare. Believe it or not, it’s a Best Western!
A villa in Paestum (shown in the sketch) where we had our final big meal.
Our trip was part of a great tour package through a former client, the National Italian American Foundation. They take several trips to different regions of Italy each year.
Tourism/travel guide site to Positano and the Amalfi Coast