To say Dave and I's wedding was truly everything we dreamed, that has to include our honeymoon! After a whirlwind of a wedding weekend we headed home for just a day to pack our things and get ready four our first adventure outside of the country. We spent ten days in Italy and truly saw more than we ever had on our previous trips. From sunrise trips at 6:00am (12:00am back home, lovely to navigate that jet lag), to late dinners at 9:00pm fueled by tons of espresso, wine, and spritz's we truly filled in every moment of every day and it was so exhausting in the best way. We got to experience so much while reliving memories of our wedding each day. I am so thankful to have had this honeymoon to officially close this chapter in our lives.
We loved our honeymoon so much that I wanted to share some of my favorite photos of course, but also some of our itinerary! We worked with Natalie, a freelance travel agent who was such a huge help in making this trip happen in the midst of wedding planning. The mix of her planning and suggestions along with some activities and restaurants Dave and I decided on in the spur of the moment made this trip truly the best.
First stop: Rome
Highlights: Wandering the streets in the early mornings and the late evenings, The Colleseum, The Forum, The Vatican, The Trevi Fountain, dinner at Hosteria Grappolo D'oro, rooftop pasta making class, Trastavere food tour, all of the pasta (especially the carbonara).
My favorite food of the trip!
Walking to the Trevi fountain at sunrise - so worth it!
Photos and watching the sunset after the most amazing food tour in Trastavere
Second Stop: Florence
Highlights: (So much! Florence was my favorite stop overall). The Duomo, dinner and wine stops from the wine window at Babae, dinner at Coquinarius, dinner at Trattoria ZaZa, the vintage photobooths, seeing all of the artwork at the Uffizi and Accademia, our day trip to Tuscany, paninis from All'Antico Vinaio, watching the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo, ending our nights at Santa Cocktail Club, Mercato Centrale.
The Duomo: my favorite site of our entire trip. It is truly just mesmerizing to see in person and every time we passed by I found myself looking at another piece of it's meticulous detail. This photo is the closest I could get to describing it's incredible size, standing out amongst the surrounding buildings.
Our Tuscan day trip involved stops to three medieval villages: San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, and Siena with a stop at Poggio Ai Laghi Winery for lunch. By the second stop, torrential downpour soaked the streets of the village and flooded all around us. We, along with everyone on our bus tour got absolutely drenched and opted for some hand dryers at the winery to try to dry our clothes and shoes a bit. Luckily the storm cleared and the crazy, momentary flooding made that day one in particular from our trip that we'll always remember.
I purchased the dress I wore this day from a vintage shop in Florence and I just love it so much!
Made it back to Florence just in time for sunset watching at Piazzale Michelangelo.
Botticelli paintings were some of my favorites to see
Portraits at The Duomo before dinner at ZaZa
Third stop: Venice
Highlights: Exploring such a truly unique city: sitting and walking along the water and watching all of the boats and gondolas go by, squeezing through the cities smallest streets, eating cichetti and drinking spritzs in St. Mark's square, the day we decided to abandon all plans and catch a waterbus to nearby Lido to relax on the beach all day, our honeymoon photoshoot.
Last stop: Lake Como & Milan
Highlights: While we only spent our last day in Lake Como, visiting Villa Del Balbianello was a highlight of our entire trip! As long time Star Wars fans (with a piece of my heart belonging to Padme in particular) Villa Del Balianello has been a dream destination for both of us for quite some time. When we heard we were going to Italy, it was one of the first things that came to mind. After making some other decisions with planning the trip we weren't sure if we were going to make it. A day trip to Como was quite the undertaking, but we decided while were there, and especially on our honeymoon, what would be more memorable than seeing the filming spot of a Star Wars wedding. After hours of travel by train and by bus, we had the most gorgeous lunch on the lake before visiting the Villa, which was well worth all of it.
We stayed in Milan for the night before flying out the next morning and we had the most fun last night of our honeymoon. We returned from Como to a hotel right along a canal buzzing with nightlife and playing the soccer game on every screen. We ate at El Brellin and got drinks from Backdoor 43, coined the "world's smallest bar". The longest but absolute best last day to round out our trip.
Spot the difference ;)
When we were visiting Villa Del Balbianello, we stumbled across a surprise proposal! I was taking some photos of Dave when I heard a commotion behind me and decided to snap a few photos. I've since been in touch with the couple and have been able to share these gorgeous photos with them! Such a fun moment to be a part of.
