

Hi, my name is Miss Espresso, and up until yesterday, I thought booking an international vacation was going to be a breeze. Ha! No- no it wasn’t.
Send me to “Overconfident Travel Agents Anonymous,” because I was wrong! The websites, they all say different things and make me feel crazy. Yay- I’m getting a cheaper flight over here- but hey- I’m getting a cheaper hotel over here- and guess what… they both equal out to the same price! I’ve never booked international travel…I’ve booked travel deals within the state before, but never anything like this, and never for this much money.
So let’s just say I spent waaaayyyyy too much time trying to figure out our honeymoon travel arrangements, because I thought I could, nay, I was determined, to crack the system and get an awesome deal.

Mr. J and I are off to Hawaii tomorrow for our honeymoon! Initially, I was against a beach vacation. I’m very much a city girl at heart and I wanted a honeymoon of urban exploration. Think Paris, London, Rome! But now I’m *so* glad Mr. J convinced me to go to Hawaii because I’m completely exhausted. Since our wedding in LA and second reception in Detroit, I’ve moved into a new apartment, gone back to work after being away for two weeks, and attended two out-of-state weddings. I need a beach towel, tropical drink, and mindless book stat!

Alternatively titled, “The New Mrs. Toucan Gets In Trouble with THE MAN.”
Normally, people don’t write about leaving for their honeymoon. It’s usually not too exciting, and there isn’t much of a story…but our story…
I should say, I’m super embarrassed about writing this, but I will because then it’s documented about what really happened (I’m sure future versions of this story told by Mr. Toucan will be MUCH more exaggerated).

The super excited Toucans looking forward to newly-wedded bliss and vacationing in Italy.
Excellence Playa Mujeres is a fairly new, all-inclusive hotel located approximately half way between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. The resort is completely flawless, boasting eight different restaurants, several outdoor and indoor bars, free entertainment, unlimited drinks, 24 hour room-service, fully stocked inclusive in-room mini-bars, a private beach, and scheduled day and nighttime activities, all secluded in a fairly remote and undeveloped stretch of beach. We had to travel through two large security gates to get into the resort, both fully staffed with security double checking our names and room numbers every time we entered and exited, so there was a pretty decent feeling of security.

The hotel lobby leading downstairs to the Martini Bar
It’s back to reality here at work. Sad face. Just as Mr. Penguin and I were getting used to the slow and steady seep of alcohol into our bloodstream, we’re both back home.
But ahh, the memories! We spent our honeymoon at the less-than-one-year-old Excellence Playa Mujeres Resort, 15 minutes north of Cancun, Mexico. It was all kinds of excellence, all over the place.
We headed out to the airport on Monday morning after the wedding. I use the term “morning” loosely, as there is no good reason to call 4AM anything other than the hour of the dead. But we were 50% awake and 100% excited to get our booties to the airport!

What can I say, I’m a procrastinator! With about two weeks until the wedding, Mr. Lovebird and I finally booked our honeymoon! We are taking an 8 Night Greek Isles And Turkey Cruise on Royal Caribbean!
I have to the give the boy props cuz I basically said, “You figure it out.”
Dearest Weddingbee readers!
I desperately need your help with honeymoon planning. Mr. CC and I know we want to go to Italy in late May ’09 for roughly 10 days (a belated honeymoon since we want to wait until he graduates), and we know we want to go to Florence, Rome and Venice, but trying to figure out how to piece it all together is making my head spin.