Picture this ... Grado. The year, 2002. Barbara is a fun-loving, charismatic teacher at an immersive Italian language school in the touristy beach town. Lee, a charming, rambunctious student of the language (dare we say, the world?) and just so happens to be at the same school. Is it fate? Only time will tell.

Speaking of time, the two start spending a lot of time together ... as friends. They are two of the few people in Grado for the entire summer. Barbara and Lee became fast friends while sharing many summer nights drinking at the local enotecas, playing beach volleyball, dancing the night away at Caribe', or otherwise chillin' out.

Lee brought his guitar on the trip and would often bust it out for impromptu jam sessions ... the Hotel Fonzari even requested that he play a "show" since he brought in such a large crowd of tourists, anyway ... or maybe just to get the masses off of the balcony in his hotel room. :)

Barbara brought the spice into the summer, driving all the american boys a little crazy. Just two weeks before going their separate ways the couple realized there was more than just friendship drawing them together and embarked on what would become a two year relationship over the ocean with Barbara at Yale, while Lee took a job in Wales before the two were permanently reunited in the fall of 04'.