Weddingbee Blog

Remember that one time I mentioned we probably wouldn’t be able to take a honeymoon? Yeah. Let’s talk about that.

We recently found out that Mr. CA will have about two weeks in late September/ early October between the end of his current job, and the start of his next job in DC. Which means (drum-drum rolldrum roll, please)…we have a little bit of time to work with for a honeymoon! Woohoo! It will be about a month after the wedding, but I am a-okay with that - it will give us a bit of time to simmer down after the whole wedding hoopla, get settled in as Mr. and Mrs., recoup, and then head off.

So, where did we decide on, you ask? Funny story…

As I mentioned in that previous post, if we did take a honeymoon, we were planning on using miles to fly. I had checked flights for several of the places that we had considered, but just wasn’t finding anything that really clicked. Also, we were still only semi-tentative about the whole honeymoon thing. Which means that we weren’t really looking in earnest, or very seriously.

Well, one day, on a whim, I remembered that Mr. CA and I had always talked about a certain location. A certain special location. A super-cool, off-the-beaten-path location. A location that was perfect for us - steeped in history, with warm, sandy beaches, incredible and ornate architecture, delicious, exotic food, and lots of things to do and see.

So I randomly checked flights for the potential week and, guess what? Perfect flights, and we had the right amount of miles. I emailed Mr. CA with a screenshot of the flights, and asked “Honeymoon?” I was really mostly joking at that point - I didn’t think he would take it seriously. He is, after all, the somewhat more financially responsible one in the relationship. But, a few minutes later I got an email back that said “Let’s do it!” Um. Excuse me?

I immediately called him (you guys know how I can obsess about these things) to verify that he was, indeed, serious about this. Amazingly, he was! So, we booked the damn tickets.

Since we’re insane, and have to make everything difficult for ourselves, we booked the tickets separately - our miles are in our separate accounts (did you know that it costs you a ton of money to simply transfer miles from one United account to another?? ridiculous). I knew this was dumb as soon as we started doing it, but Mr. CA was all gung-ho about this trip, so I didn’t want to do or say anything that would make him want to pause and rethink this decision. Yay for impulsive choices!

So, the first time we booked our tickets, he got on the flight and I didn’t. Yes. You heard me.

We were on the phone and filled in all of the information at the same time. When we clicked “confirm” (or “submit,” or whatever it is), he got a confirmation screen, and I got an error message. Crap. Mr. CA’s going on the honeymoon without me. He had to call the airlines and cancel his flight, although thankfully, they were quite understanding.

We ended up shifting the dates a little bit (to find flights that had more than one award seat available), and magically, an hour after I emailed Mr. CA, we were going on a honeymoon! Tickets booked. Easy as pie.

Oh, I suppose you want to know where we’re going?? Let’s see…I spy, with my little eye, a country named…

{Free World Maps}

Yes, that’s right! The Candy Apples are going to Turkey. And, Hive, I could not be more excited! Seriously, you guys. I have been dying to go there forever, and it is just such an “us” honeymoon destination. Woohooo!!!

{Frommer’s Istanbul}

At the moment, we have only booked the flights, so things are still up in the air a bit in terms of specifics. We’ll be flying into and out of Istanbul, and I am making sure we also hit Cappadocia, but other than that, our schedule is free as a bird. I can’t wait to visit the caves that early Christians carved out of stone pillars, stroll along the Bosphorus, explore the Grand Bazaar with all of its spices and scarves, ogle over the Hagia Sofia, touch the old mosaics and crumbling stone, and check out way too many mosques and museums. It is going to be simply incredible.

{Frommer’s Istanbul}

{Frommer’s Turkey}

{Frommer’s Turkey}

Why yes, that incredible place is our honeymoon destination.Watch out, Turkey! The Candy Apples are coming!

Next steps: buy slip-on shoes and a scarf for the mosques, guidebooks, and finagle a first-class upgrade! Oh, who am I kidding - I already bought two guidebooks.

Did you impulsively book a honeymoon trip? Were there any mishaps with booking?

Anyone been to Turkey for their honeymoon/ other random vacation? Any sweet tips for good hotels, eateries, etc? Would love to hear!