The Journal
Honeymoon
Yes. I’m one of those girls.
A girl who has dreamt of her wedding for a very long time. Actually, to be more accurate, I’ve dreamt of my honeymoon for a very long time. Because let’s be real; a dream vacation with a new husband sounds pretty incredible. I’m all about taking a few weeks off and celebrating being newly married in style.
I remember being younger and scouring websites for the perfect-looking cottage in places like Martha’s Vineyard, Maine or near some beautiful mountain lake. I think I still have about 25 bookmarked websites for places I thought had potential. Not kidding. But I wasn’t quite dreaming big enough, I don’t think.
Although a quiet seaside cottage really does sound delightful still, we’ve kicked things up a notch.
While I’m not ready quite yet to reveal our wedding plans (they’re still in the works, but I’m SOOO excited about when I can finally share them with you), I will reveal that we will be honeymooning in Europe.
Ireland, Italy and Paris, to be exact. For 3 weeks.
A dream come true? Yes. We are very blessed. And very excited.
So here’s my question now: for those of you married people out there, what was your favorite thing about your honeymoon and what are your most invaluable honeymoon tips?
And if you’ve been to Paris or Italy, what are your must-see places? Or the best places to stay?
Seriously. PLEASE share. All this planning stuff is a little overwhelming. Any and all feedback would be most appreciated. Thanks, all!
xoxo,
Sam
And because posts are always more fun with photos, here are a couple from the last time I went to Italy in 2006. It’s going to be so much more fun traveling with a husband!
Eating tiramisu in Italy. Heaven. This time I suppose I’ll have to share.
Andrea, our gondolier, let me steer for a bit. I’m not sure Reid would be okay with this now…good thing I got in my single girl traveling when I did 😉
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I recommend taking a day trip to Versailles while you’re in Paris and bringing some picnic supplies. The grounds are huge, the many palaces and gardens are amazing, and you can rent some bikes while you’re there so you can cover the vast expanses a little more easliy. 🙂 It’s a must!
One other thing — you’ll probably want to rent a car. When we went to Spain for our honeymoon, we stuck with trains & buses for transportation. Granted, we were only there for a week. But as it was, the trains and all were a pricey way to go and I think it would have been cheaper to do a car in the end and probably more convenient.
Look into Airbnb for places to stay, especially in Paris. It’s a site that lets people list vacation apartments for rent. My mom and sister and I rented a studio apartment in Paris through Airbnb last summer for 8 nights, and it was wonderful. It was so nice to have our own space and it worked out to be cheaper than a hotel. Just be sure to read the reviews carefully – there are some scams and strange people on the site but overall it’s good and we’ve met several other people who have had great experiences with Airbnb rentals in France, Italy, the UK, and Sweden.
P.S. Favorite places (Italy): see about going to the opera in Rome, if you’re in Rome. Go to the Colosseum towards the end of the day – it’s truly amazing in the sunset. Florence was my favorite part of Italy – plan to get up early and get in line for the Duomo and the main museums half an hour to an hour before they open, otherwise you waste many hours of your day standing in long lines. Also, the museums are really nice when they’re less crowded.
Paris: Climbing the stairs to the top of the Arc du Triomphe is so worth it! Also, the river cruises are a nice, calm way to see the city (especially the sunset ones), but watch out when you go under bridges because it’s apparently the local teen hobby to throw water on people on the boats – harmless unless they hit your camera…