Italian Honeymoon, part XIV: This is it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with me thus far. I can't believe I dragged on my honeymoon recaps for 14 posts(our honeymoon was only 11 days long!), but I have finally come to the end of this journey.

In conclusion, I wanted to share some notes of advice for traveling and honeymooning.

Obviously, a European honeymoon isn't for everyone. It is taxing physically and emotionally, it present challenges (especially with the language barrier) we weren't really prepared for our first week of marriage, we were completely out of our comfort zone for almost two weeks.

It is equally thrilling and exciting to see new things in the world, be in romantic foreign places, and drink lots of wine where it came from.

After I left the country for the first time, traveling to Africa two years ago, I knew I had been bit by the travel bug, but this trip gave me a million reasons to love it even more. We got to see incredible sites together, relive history, enjoy food, wine and our love in some of the romantic places on earth!

Here are a couple lessons we learned along the way (this is by no means an exahaustive list!)

1. You can travel to a foreign country without knowing one single word of their language! but you should expect to be courteous, kind, and patient if you run into people who don't speak English. Learning a couple words and making an effort makes all the difference!
2. Don't be afraid to ask, and ask twice. We would have been screwed if we hadn't been very careful about asking the conductor about the train procedures! In addition to purchasing your train ticket in Italy, you must also reserve your seat (additional cost). We were able to avoid angry conductors by asking, and consulting guidebooks.
3. Research a LOT, and plan ahead when possible. One of the main reasons we were able to fit in as much as we did was from making reservations ahead and doing our research. From our ravel books we knew it was best to make reservations to see the big art museums. We saved ourselves 2-3 hours of waiting in line by paying 4 Euro a month ahead of time to reserve a spot!
4. Be Flexible. I repeat, BE FLEXIBLE! Traveling to a different country with different time tables, unfamiliar transit situations, and tourists makes for imperfect itinerary keeping. Let your self explore something new if it seems fun. Go off the beaten path and step out of your comfort zone (for us, it was seeing art!) I promise you won't regret it.
5. Talk to the Locals. We got some great recommendations for food to eat and sites to see by asking our hotel concierge, waiters in restaurants and people on the street. They always know the best places (especially to eat) and most seemed more than willing to share!
6. Pack lightly. I spent a significant amount of time planning outfits before we left so that I could pack as lightly as possible. I brought only 4 pairs of shoes (two of them sandals) and left room to bring home souvenirs. Dragging around luggage in europe is no fun!
   As a side note to this point, be careful of what you pack--modesty still matters [in italy anyway] I packed a lot of summer tanks and shorts only to find in Italy (as Palindrome Bride did via this funny sign) that women must cover shoulders and legs down to the knees in every religious place (cathedrals, etc) I couldn't wear half my wardrobe because of this!
7. Be Cautious. Keep your personal items with you at all times (ie. don't set down your backpack). If possible carry things in front of you (I carried a tote in front of me when we were out). Buy a luggage lock to lock up your suitcases when you leave the hotel for the day or check your luggage before checking in. Store your cash in several different places,or take out money periodically at ATMS. When possible, avoid asking others to photograph you (handing them your camera). We didn't encounter any difficulties with thieving, but we were very careful!
8. Journal! If I hadn't made a note of places we dined, what we ate, and where we stopped on which days, these posts would have been much harder to write, and our album would have been a disaster!

Here are some books and materials we found helpful:

Rick Steves

Florence and Tuscany

Venice

Italy

Streetwise Florence Map

Streetwise Venice Map

Eyewitness travel phrase book: Italian

If you want to trek back into our Honeymoon posts, check them out

Our Italian Honeymoon:

Part 1: Taking a break before Italy

Part II: Milano

Part III: Milano and Sirmione

Part IV: Venezia

Part V: Venzia, Again

Part VI: Train Ride through Tuscany

Part VII: Weddings All Over

Part VIII: Firenze, the Duomo & Ponte Vecchio

Part IXa: Tuscan Village: Siena

Part IXb: Tuscan Villages: How we honeymooned with my MIL

Part X: Tuscan Villages: Sieno and San Gimignano

Part XI: The Food!

Part XII: The Most Romantic Evening

Part XIII: Pisa and Cinque Terre: A Disappointment and an Adventure

Or check out the link on the side bar over there ----->

And thank you, patient people, for joining me on that very long journey!

Italian Honeymoon, part XIII: A Disappointment and an Adventure

Our final day Italy was a little unexpected. We had planned to catch an early train to Pisa, spend a couple of hours at the leaning tower, and then take the train up to the highest town in Cinque Terre and hike down.

The day started off promisingly, we caught at 8am train to Pisa and got there before it was too crazy with tourists.






We didn't have to wait in line at all to climb to the top of the tower, which believe me, is a trippy experience! Because it leans so far you have very little sense of equilibrium as you climb in a circle around the perimeter of the town, half the time leaning left, and the other half of the time leaning right.

The climb wasn't nearly as tedious as the duomo in Florence, but the view was still great!








The tower's shadow from above



leaning tower smooches!

the bells.
ps. I am no longer that tan or skinny!



After 15 minutes or so on the tower, we had to move for the next group.

We had to get some goofy pics, so we found a couple girls from NC State [it's such a relief to find an American when you travel abroad!] and swapped cameras to take pictures like this

We grabbed a quick bite, since we heard there was very little to do in Pisa other than the plaza, and headed back to the train to Cinque Terre.

After waiting at the depot for close to an hour, we went back to the ticket desk to ask where the train to Cinque Terre was...and found out through broken English that the train was cancelled due to a train wreck on the tracks north of Pisa. We were told we could still use our Eurail passes to get on a bus. We wandered Pisa somewhat frantically to find the bus station and finally made it and squished onto a tour bus which we hoped was destined for the coast.

2.5 hours later we arrived in Cinque Terre after a crazy bus ride through the countryside stopping in several towns. When we finally realized that the train wreck wouldn't be cleared up by the evening, we knew we had to leave at least 3.5 hours to get back to Florence, which left us with about 2 hours in Cinque Terre (a 6 hour hike).

I was so disappointed, we were crabby from hours of travel, and tired. So we stopped in the first city (would have been the last if we'd have hiked down), Rio Maggiore and decided to just make the best of the few hours we had.

And after walking out to the coast...we realized it wouldn't be sooo bad







The afternoon started out pretty overcast





Cinque Terre is a vacation spot for the locals, so we saw very few tourists. Most Italians take extensive time off (usually a month) in August, so the first week of July was very quiet!



We found a quiet rocky beach, and sunned for a bit. We brought bathing suits, but no towels or dry clothes, so I wasn't sure I wanted to dive in





we lounged, ate lots of gelato and hiked up and down the trail to dry off after our dip



We had another crazy bus ride back, but I was super impressed with my new husband's foreign-country direction skills. We made it back safely and tucked in our last night in Florence!

Italian Honeymoon, part XII: The Most Romantic Evening

Our last day in Florence, we spent strolling the streets and visiting the Uffizi and Academia art galleries.

E and I both only have a moderate appreciation for art, so we tried to space things out and took other traveler's advice on seeing key pieces in the musuems, rather than trying to see it all.

That evening, we headed back up to Michaelangelo Plaza, where we were a couple days earlier...but not before stopping at central market. We picked up 15 Euro worth of meats, bread and cheese and just let the woman at the counter pick out a few things for us. Then we stopped by another counter and picked up pesto and olive tapenade [to dip the bread in] and some red wine.

Just as the sun was setting, we hiked back up the stairs



set up our little picnic in the northwest corner of the plaza, away from most of the sightseers.

well, E set up while I took a self-portrait

We enjoyed what may have been my favorite meal in Italy...

Then we checked out the view:

drank wine



and chatted and smooched while we watched the sun sink, and city lights come alive.

It was a totally magical night.

I can only end with this:

"For us to go to Italy and to penetrate into Italy is like a most fascinating act of self-discovery - back, back down the old ways of time. Strange and wonderful chords awake in us, and vibrate again after many hundreds of years of complete forgetfulness." --D.H. Lawrence

Italian Honeymoon, part XI: the FOOD!

This is the post I've been waiting for!

Yummy Italian food.

Some as expected, and some very, very different, but all delicious!

Enjoy this feast for your eyes (and for our tummies)...and I'm sorry if you're reading this at 11am!

First up:

Gelato

We made a point to have gelato at least once a day. I won't mention how many days we had it more than once--just that I'm still blaming my post-wedding weight on it!

Drinks:

The wine and cappuccinos were flowing like water...we had vino della casa with every meal, and a cappuccino after!

Italian beer

Meals:

Bruschetta

Pasta Carbonara

Pesto!

My seafood disliking husband and I compromised on seafood and ordered a platter of fried fish.

It was kind of disturbing.

the eyeballs! the scales!

E closed his eyes held his breath and ate the calamari and left the rest for me.

I was a good sport about it. Just stop staring at me, fishy!!

Ribollita (YUM) and more pasta carbonara for my less-adventurous husband :-)



I never noticed all the animal patterns on these plates!


Beef Braciola with boiled potatoes. *sigh*


Husband ordered essentially chicken fingers and chips.

Salad and Bruschetta

couldn't go to Europe without trying my first doner kebob!

Bakeries, Markets, and Delis:

central market in Florence

Obviously, I didn't take photos of every single meal we ate....but the food wasn't as much of a highlight as I had anticipated it would be. I wish we had been more prepared to read the menus and select restaurants! We never got terribly adventurous because we weren't quite sure what we were ordering most of the time.

My favorite meal of the honeymoon is the only one not included here, because it deserves a post of its own. And for anyone who is utterly sick of Italy...not to worry! I've determined to keep our honeymoon posts to less than 15.

Which means April= recaps!! (and I'm not foolin') ;-)