Wedding Blog
With only a little over a week left until the wedding, I cannot help but look past the wedding and move on to the honeymoon. Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited for the wedding, the marriage, and everything that comes with being husband and wife. But at this point I am slightly stressed, a little anxious, and looking forward to VACATION!
The morning after the wedding we’ll be waking up early (well, relatively early, considering the fact that it’s the day after our wedding) and making the drive back to Chicago. We’ll be switching our bags with our pre-packed honeymoon luggage, grabbing a bottle of champagne, and taking a nice ride in a town car to the airport.
Wondering where we’re going?
Well let’s see. We’ll start in Barcelona, where we board our 12-day Mediterranean cruise!
On the way, we’ll take in sights in Monte Carlo before heading to Italy. We’ll visit Florence, Rome, and Naples (and let’s not forget, eat lots of pasta and drink some vino!). Then we’ll be off to Greece, where we’ll see Santorini and Athens. Our next stop will be Dubrovnik, Croatia, which I’ve heard is absolutely breathtaking. We’ll end the trip with a night in Venice (and a gondola ride, of course) before making our way to the US and back to the real world.
Now do you understand why I can’t wait? I thought so! I even bought a Sea-Band and some Dramamine today, just to be prepared. I’m hoping my motion sickness won’t affect me, but I’d rather be safe than sorry!
Have I mentioned I haven’t been on a real out-of-the-Midwest vacation since I graduated from college 3 years ago? This honeymoon is much needed. I can’t wait to spend 2 whole weeks cruising the Mediterranean and exploring Europe with my HUSBAND!
Is anyone else on pins and needles waiting for their honeymoon? Has anyone else (besides our lovely Snappy on her Sistamoon) been on a Mediterranean cruise? Anything I should be aware of?
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Share this post: Planning the Escape
That is SOOO awesome. I used to sell cruises in college and I remember always wanting to go on this one.
i haven’t been on a cruise, but we were in Italy and Venice is just magical. Hubs and I both decided it singularly our favorite place ever. You just get swept away in time. Gondola rides are expensive, but a must.
Florence is pretty too–have lots of gelato!!
I’m dying to go to Greece…someday 
Enjoy Miss Mascara! the whole trip sounds wonderful!
This sounds super amazing =)
I love cruises …
and cruises + mediterranean = fabulouso to the max!!
What cruise line are you travelling with? This looks so awesome, and I love that you see Barcelina, Nice, and Florence! (The one’s I’ve found start in Venice and do mostly Greece and Turkey) I wanna go!
This sounds amazing!! I can’t wait to hear all about it!! I’m feeling a little envious of your trip. Ok, a lot envious.
That looks like fun! I’m not sure if I would be up for that type of cruise though as I’d want to spend longer than 1 day in each place!
But it’s great that you get to see so many countries! You’ll love Santorini. Make sure to see the beaches there. They are beautiful!
Oh lovely! I’m so jealous. Sounds so romantic and lovely
oooohhh so jealous, you are going to have a wonderful time for sure! ENJOY
@ myself: I see now that the picture you posted says “celebrity summit”, so I assume you’re traveling Celebrity cruise-lines. Silly me!
Wow! That honeymoon is awesome! I’ve still got a way to go, but I feel sure I will feel the same in the days before the wedding. Can’t wait!
I have been to all of those places and you will love every single one of them! PM me if you want more info on any of them, I’ll be glad to help. Enjoy!!!
Amazing! You will have a great time!
My only advice is to plan ahead.. really ahead… for your stops in Florence. When I went there in 2007, everyone on the cruise stops was harried and rushed and didn’t get to do what they’d wanted. That’s because the lines to get into the major museums are LOOONNNGG.
Just remember that Dramamine makes you verrrryyy sleepy! So don’t take it unless you’re ready to nap/go to bed.
Some Venice-specific advice:
You will for sure get lost in Venice. You will see signs for ‘Piazza San Marco’ and the arrows will be pointing both right and left. Enjoy being lost! The gondolas are expensive and they will sometimes try to cheat you out of time - make sure to agree upon price and length of time beforehand. And buy street art! Also, there are lots of shops that sell masks, but you should hold out for the well-made ones.
Wow, that looks like amazing trip! Be sure to take lots of photos to share with us.
This looks absolutely divine. Might have to start exploring cruise options for the honeymoon…
@melodicsighs1: yep, Celebrity Cruise lines!
@marigold: Thanks for the advice! We’re planning on doing some type of excursion through the cruise line so hopefully we won’t have that problem!
@hotchildinthecity: I hate how sleepy it makes me! I bought the less drowsy kind but it’s still just my backup plan because I want to sleep forever when I take it!
@Rachel: Hopefully we won’t get so lost we can’t find our way back the the ship! Thanks for the advice!
I don’t know how much time you have in Barcelona, but that’s where me and the mr went on our honeymoon. You should definitely check out La Boqueria, the big market there, and eat paella down in Barcelonetta if you have time.
I’m sad that you’re breezing by Sicily, since I studied abroad there and LOVED IT! But I mean… your destinations are nothing to sneeze at, LOL! SO lucky… enjoy the once in a lifetime journey, it sounds amazing!
We went on our honeymoon last month and did a cruise with Norwegian that covered half of the route you’re doing. Ours was a 7 day that did Barcelona, Malta, Naples, Rome, Florence, Cannes. It was fantastic and very busy. We wanted to see everything everywhere we went. We booked excursions through the cruise ship and they were all quite good. My only advice is not to do a tour in Rome, just wander around on your own if time permits. There’s so much to see around every corner. You will probably have to book an excursion just to get to Rome because is an hour and a half from Civitevecchia, but we did one called “Rome on your Own” that was just a bus ride to the city. Have a great time!!
That’s awesome!!!! I got engaged last year in Venice before going on a Mediterranean cruise.
You will love everything about it. Venice has the best carbonara pasta EVER. Make sure to go to town of Oia when you get to Santorini.
Take plenty of pictures in Dubrovnik’s old city with its shiny floors and beautiful marina.
Me me me! We’re leaving on a “best of Europe” 13 day cruise with Celebrity in just a 8 short days! Ours ends in Barcelona where we will be spending 4 days together before we have to return to the real world! West Coast Groom hasn’t been on any kind of vacay for 2 years, so he’s getting seriously stir crazy….especially since we got married in May but delayed the honeymoon to a less busy part of the season. Have so much fun!!!
I’m so envious! Ever since reading Miss Snappy post about her cruise I want to go on one too! I just have to talk my fiance into it, he’s been on a cruise with his family before and he didn’t really enjoy it.
What an amazing honeymoon - have an amazing time, I’ve always wanted to do a cruise like that!
OMG- You are doing the same cruise as my brother and his wife just did for their honeymoon! They really enjoyed the Blue Grotto in Capri. They said it is a must! Also, you might be cautious the drinks on the ship are crazy expensive. They bought stuff at the airport in duty-free and took with them. If you want more tips let me know and I can ask them. They went July 11-23. So it is still fresh on their minds! Have fun!
Oh they only did the first half of your trip. They stayed in Barcelona for 3 days prior.
Oh my gosh, I am so glad that someone else feels the same that I do! I am almost more excited for the honeymoon than the wedding!
We are also doing a 12-night Mediterranean cruise in October on the new Carnival Dream! Hope you have a blast!
I just got back from a trip to Croatia and I’ve got to say, you have to do the city walls - well worth the price of admission with stunning views. : )
Sounds like you’ve got a fabulous cruise planned.
I’m on pins and needles waiting for my engagement! What an amazing honeymoon. You’re going to have a blast!
OMG my mom and I looked at this cruise! haha. Sounds awesome! I am on semi pins and needles since we cut back and are going to Hawaii. Still great but not France and Italy! Sigh. We’re planning to go next year. Hope you have so much fun on your cruise (as though you could have anything but)!
What an amazing honeymoon! I’ve been on a handful of cruises, and you might want to look into ginger pills to help with the sea sickness. We didn’t have to use them on our last cruise this past April, but my mom brought them just in case since it was my FI’s first cruise.
be sure to visit the acropolis in Athens. trying their gyros, spanikopita, baklava, moussaka and (obviously) greek salad are a must! santorini is beautiful… many cute shops and restaurants. take a picture by the famous blue dome/cross and show us!
venice was quaint and lovely… i’m so jealous of your honeymoon! have a fabulous time w/your hubby 
I would love to go to the Mediterranean for our honeymoon. Either for a cruise or to Santorini.
oooh! that sounds like so much fun! i can’t wait to hear all about it
Your homenymoon trip sounds AMAZING!! I’m now trying to figure out how many vacation days I have stored up…
That cruise sounds amazing. The first thing I thought of i all the delicious food you will have in each stop. I’ve been to a few of your stops, so here’s my highlights. Barcelona has a great market street but I don’t remember what it was called also, La Segrada Familia is a masterpieces you must see. One day is not enough time for Rome so I would recommend you know what you want to do ahead of time and make a plan if you are not doing a tour otherwise you will become completely overwhelmed. My first time there, we tried to do everything in 2 days and almost missed the Trevi fountain! Florence has great wine and if you don’t feel like waiting in the super long line to get into the museum where the David statue is located, there are several fakes located around the city. I would highly recommend walking up the hill overlooking the river (near the train station) for some really nice views of the city. It has been mentioned you will get lost in Venice and I can’t agree more, pick up a map and remember landmarks. Enjoy getting lost and take in the smaller streets, you will find authentic things like glass making shops. Buy lots of Venetian glass jewelry it is so much cheaper than anywhere else and if you find these small shops, you are literally buying from the artist who made it. Also, take advantage of the water buses, they are cheap and will take you to an island. We could not figure out how to buy tickets or where they went so we skipped this but I later heard it is nice to go to the island and look at the city and the boats are cheap. Venice is, IMO, super touristy, if you are looking for a place to eat and want authenticity, try avoiding places with set menus or tourist options. As a rule, the best food in Italy comes from places that do not have English speaking staff. Enjoy your trip!
That sounds really amazing!
If you want an amazing locals-only place to eat in Florence, I have a great one.
It’s called Trattoria del Giorgio (I might have spelled it wrong, but that’s good enough), and it’s around 12-16 bucks (equiv in us currency, that is) for unlimited table wine, flat and gas water, plus 4 courses. It’s tiny and fantastic, and filled with locals. You’ll get weird looks going in there, but it is a great, great place. I’ve sent many a person there, and they’ve all returned with rave reviews. One of the most fun/best meals I had in Florence, and definitely the cheapest!
Oh, and for some fantastic eye-candy shopping that has furniture, art, tableware, random fabulousness, visit Ducci, which is a few blocks from the Ponte Vecchio. My brain-dead self right now can’t remember what side it’s on, except relative to other things. But Ducci! Fantastic and major drool-worthy.
Sounds like so much fun! You’ll get to see all kinds of places! Looks like you might have some early mornings, though
I can’t wait to hit the sand! Don’t worry, it seems like lots of us are in the same boat!
This honeymoon sounds FANTASTIC!
FYI…if you are worried about being sleepy because you took Dramamine (I know I zonk out when I take it)…I highly recommend that you get Bonine instead! It won’t make you drowsy. Just remember to take one each day before you even have the possibility of getting sea sick regardless of what you end up taking, because once you get ill, the drugs won’t help you!
I am so jealous! If you want to brush up a little on what to see in Croatia, check out the Croatia episode (Season 2, episode 1) of Three Sheets on Hulu.com. Three Sheets is this great show which used to be on the Mojo channel but is now on Fine Living. The host is this comedian, Zane Lamprey who travels around the world drinking with the locals in different countries and visiting local hangouts and offering a little history about each place. The Croatia episode is one of his best and made me want to book a trip to Dubrovnik immediately! Have a great trip!
Oh, that looks AMAZING!! My FH and I hope to do something like that for our 1st anniversary vacation next year (since we are doing a mini-moon right after the wedding). Hope you have a fabulous, relaxing honeymoon!
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Mrs. Mascara, Chicago/Upper Michigan
Age and Occupation: 25, Biomedical Engineer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Process Engineer
Engagement Date: July 27, 2008
Wedding Date: September 2009
Venue: Catholic ceremony, reception at local armory
About Me: A lover of Mr. Mascara, crafting, baking, Gossip Girl, diet soda, and all things wedding. A Yooper girl somehow displaced in the Chicago suburbs, planning a wedding from a distance, and counting down the days until I marry my best friend.
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