Trip Reviews from EUROPE

Trip Reviews from EUROPE ... Trip Reviews from EUROPE PHOTOS FROM HONEYMOON IN ENGLAND by Knottie randolph.67: ENGLAND PHOTOS FROM HONEYMOON IN IRELAND by ...
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PHOTOS AND INFO ABOUT KNOTTIE POSITANOBRIDE'S WEDDING IN POSITANO, ITALY: ITALY (POSITANO)

PHOTOS AND REVIEW OF KNOTTIE H.LO'S HONEYMOON IN TUSCANY, CINQUE TERRE AND VENICE, ITALY: ITALY

PHOTOS OF KNOTTIE MINNASMOMMY'S HONEYMOON IN ROME, POSITANO AND CAPRI, ITALY: ITALY

TRIP REVIEW AND PHOTOS FROM ITALY (Florence, Siena, Pisa, Cinque Terra) ITALY

TRIP REVIEW AND PHOTOS FROM FLORENCE, VENICE, PARIS(by Knottie NoAprilShowers!) ITALY AND FRANCE

PHOTOS FROM GREECE(by Knottie tweetie-bird) GREECE
DETAILED TRIP REVIEW FROM GREECE (by Knottie tweetie-bird) GREECE

TRIP REVIEW & PHOTOS FROM FRANCE, BELGIUM & THE NETHERLANDS (by Knottie TheHoneymoonBio) EUROPEAN HONEYMOON

PHOTOS FROM TRIP TO 10+ COUNTRIES IN EUROPE(by Knottie KappaUCF20) EUROPEAN HONEYMOON

PHOTOS FROM IRELAND, ENGLAND, WALES, SCOTLAND, NORWAY, BELGIUM, PARIS, SWITZERLAND, PRAGUE, AUSTRIA, GREENLAND (by Knottie KappaUCF20) EUROPE

Nearly 9 months after our wedding we were able to save enough money to visit Spain for 3 weeks in conjunction with several conferences which Alex was invited to present for. Combining our pleasure with business saved us about $3,000 and we were able to only spend $2,000 of our own money while enjoying more amenitites than we otherwise would not have been able to afford.

Places visited- Madrid, Toledo, Motril, Málaga, Sevilla, and Tenerife of the Canary Islands.

Hotels stayed in- see bio, all of them had nice amenities and service. The Mencey in Tenerife was definitely the best.

Transportation used- Delta Air, Spanair, Metro Trains, Renfe Trains, Local Bus, Tourism Bus, Hertz car rental, and a local car rental in Tenerife.... oh yes, and FEET! Walking is a major part of Spanish life. The Metro is definitely the best way to get around while in Madrid- the timing of the trains for transferring is very efficient. Renting a car allowed us to visit many places and see a lot of things that we would have otherwise missed on the train. The high speed train was worth the trip- but I probably would not take the slower train over a rental car. If you need one day to get around a city and see the major sites, the Red Double Decker Tour Buses are a good deal allowing you to get on and off as much as you'd like and they take you to the major attractions- they also provide historical and informational guides in several different languages.

Fiestas- they have fiestas for everything! Find out if there are any happening and where so that you can take part in them!

Siestas- between around 2 - 6 pm many good local restaurants and other shops will close for the hottest part of the day. Unfortunately this leaves a tourist without a place to take a nap as many of the locals do, but finding shade is usually as close as the nearest park and there are plenty of fountains suitable for dipping your feet in.

Their meal schedule is something like this... breakfast at 8 am, work from 9-2, lunch between 12-2 pm, siesta between 2 - 4 pm, work 4 - 8 pm, dinner between 8 - 10 pm, relax between 10 - 12 pm- head to the bar around 2 am and come home around 4 or 5 am. Of course, the last part only applies for those who are serious about partying- but you can get an idea of the time schedule. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day- often containing several courses. Dinner is usually just a few tapas (appetizer sized meals) and drinks. Beer or wine is acceptable for almost any meal of the day. Local foods to familiarize yourself with are Tapas (which come in many different types of food - pork, sausage, cheese, and olives are common), Sangria (a wine based punch), Rioja (a local wine), Manchego (local cheese), Olives and Olive Oil (served in almost everything), and Paella (seafood on a bed of saffron infused rice).

Find shade- many people walk in the shade or avoid the direct sunlight as it can be very hot. Many locals carried personal hand held fans.

In Tenerife- rent a car and see the whole island. There are many different eco systems within this small island and to experience them all you must rent a car. The top of Teide is a very old volcano with a very barron rocky landscape. Around the clouds is a very forest like atmosphere with dense foliage and spring flowers. At the base of the mountains is an island like atmosphere where it seems to be an eternal spring. Certain parts of the island are hotter than other depending on where the wind is coming from. It's a beautiful island and I really wish we could have stayed there longer.

If you have any more questions about my experience, please feel free to page me. ;-)

Review of Scotland/England HM
From: psychmesu Date: 7/23/2004 at 2:01 pm

Honeymoon: Scottish Highlights Cosmos Tour (see http://www.cosmosvacations.com/cosmos.aspx?section =vacations&content=itin&trip=49070 for itinerary)
Grade: A-
This was a great trip and a very solid tour. The tour was of the Scottish Highlands and was very picturesque and nice. Our tour guide, Megan, and our coach driver, Alistair, were superb (very professional and knowledgeable). We stayed in 3 diamond hotels so they were clean and nice but not luxurious. The food was good, not gourmet but very good (full English breakfasts were included as were most dinners). We did not feel rushed and had plenty of alone time to see things we wanted to see and to go shopping. We signed up for 2 of the optional excursions: the Loch Ness boat trip and the traditional night out in Edinburgh but due to weather could only do one (the dinner). We feel that the dinner excursion was not worth the money we paid for it. The food was very good, the sword dancers and piper were excellent however the emcee was a very cheesy accordion playing man in a kilt (that he would flip up at the audience) and his wife was the lounge singer-like chanteuse (picture bleached Farrah hair with blue eye shadow and multiple costume changes. She looked and sounded like she should be playing the airport Ramada). Other than the dinner excursion the trip was very good. If you want more info about this tour page me on the Chicago board.

4 nights in London at Country Inn and Suites Kensington
Grade: D+
We asked our travel agent to book us into a nice European hotel (namely The Jurys Kensington) that contained fabulous restaurants and an Irish pub for a few nights of pampering and instead they booked us into a not so nice small American hotel. The hotel knew we were non-smoking honeymooners and yet they gave us a smoking room with twin beds that reeked like a$$. The “restaurant” in the hotel was only open for breakfast and the breakfast was less than spectacular (the hot breakfast was cold and the Continental breakfast wasn’t anything special). I would not recommend this hotel if you are looking for nicer accommodations.

Original London Bus Tour
Grade: A
Reasonably priced and definitely worth doing. You can hop on and off the double decker busses at a number of different locations around London, the tour guides are knowledgeable and have a fun sense of humour, and the price of the ticket includes a river cruise and the tickets can be used as many times as you want (for the busses) within a 24 hr. period.

1 day Golden Tour coach tour of Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Bath
Grade: B-
We booked this tour through the front desk at our hotel. The tour felt VERY rushed and our guide seemed unfamiliar with the routes we were taking to get to the sites (would say we would see things from the bus that we were not going to go past) and provided random tidbits of information about the sites instead of coherent, useful information. I don’t entirely feel we got what we paid for out of this trip. There are other companies that do this same tour. You might want to give Golden Tours a pass and check one of them out.

DH & I have been back almost a week. I've included a very few of our pics in my bio. We had a great time! It was only around 70 degrees F the whole time, which was nice, considering the high on our wedding day was 97! We planned the entire trip ourselves, and stayed at Morriscastle Village outside Kilmuckridge in County Wexford. They were self service cottages. Then we stayed at Abbeyglen Castle Hotel in Clifden in County Galway. We finished up our trip at the Regency Hotel in Dublin. The last hotel wasn't the greatest, but we wanted to be near the airport before we left. It was a great time and I'd recommend it to anyone! It was great to be in the country in County Wexford. Hardly any other tourists!

I had a wonderful trip to Rome and Positano. It wasn't a honeymoon (I went to Italy to attend a friend's wedding) but I hope that my feedback will be helpful to others.

If you're planning to go to Italy, I highly recommend the following websites for planning:
Fodors.com- Great info about Italy and very helpful message boards
Italyby.com- You can book your hotel here. Lots of options with photos!
Venere.com- Another site where you can book your hotel. They have good budget options here, too.
Frommers.com- Great planning website

I arrived in Rome during the blackout in 2003. It was mildly chaotic (no trains to the city, no computers working to process check-in at hotels, many restaurants not able to cook) but I was able to share a cab into Rome and my hotel checked me in without their computer. I had an amazing time and saw most of the sights, as well as checking out a few other places that people on the message boards at Fodors.com had recommended. Here's my report from Rome:

HOTEL ROMANO- I stayed two nights here in a single with private bath. (80e /night). The room was very small, but also clean and secure. The best part of the Romano was the location (right next to the Forum at the end of Via Cavour) and the staff of the hotel (all the people at the front desk spoke English, were very polite, gave restaurant recommendations, lent umbrullas when it rained and hailed cabs for me). This place isn't fancy, and there are no elevators so you have to carry your bags up the stairs. I wouldn't recommend it for a honeymoon, but if you're traveling on a budget, this is a good place.

MECENATE PALACE HOTEL- I stayed here three nights in a triple room (after my friends arrived in Rome). This was a bit of a splurge for us (279e/ night) but I just loved this hotel! It's in a wonderful location (right next to Santa Maria Maggiore, a 10 minute walk from the train station). The hotel is very elegant, our rooms were large and furnished with beautiful cherrywood furniture (the bathroom was enormous and really luxurious). The service was outstanding. There is a rooftop restaurant/bar/patio here with great views that we really enjoyed. The hotel is also close to the Metro. I'd definitely recommend this as a honeymoon hotel.

SABATINI- This is a great people-watching restaurant in Trastevere (Piazza Santa Maria). You definitely want a patio seat at night. However, we thought it was really overpriced for the quality of the food. My pasta dish was great, but my friends had other meals that were just average). If you don't mind spending the money, it's a scenic place to sit outside. But we had better food in Rome.

RISTORANTE CLETO- We stumbled into this place entirely on accident and it ended up being the best meal we ate in Rome. It's tucked into an alley off of Via Cavour about a block and a half from the end of the street (near the Forum). It's got a tiny outdoor patio. The chef came out and greeted us personally and made dinner recommendations. The bruschetta here was the best we had on our whole trip, and the pasta Arrabiata was wonderful.

ANTICO CAFFE DELLA PACE- This was another wonderful restaurant (Near Piazza Navona) where we had an outstanding lunch. Tucked into a quiet and scenic little alley near Piazza Navona, this café has outdoor seating and some really great paninis and salads. If you're in the area, I highly recommend it.

TUDINI- This was the one restaurant that seemed to be open during the blackout in Rome. It also turned out to be the best pizza I had on my trip. Tudini is on Via Cavour, only a few blocks from the train station. It's rather elegant inside, but the prices are very reasonable. The pizzas have a wonderful, light, flaky crust and delicious cheese.

CAFFÉ SANT'EUSTACHIO- This was a tip from the people at Fodors.com and one of my favorite places in all of Rome. I ended up going here for capuccino every day! It is in Piazza Sant'Eustachio, right near the Pantheon and the cappuccino here is just exceptional. It's always crowded with Romans and a few smart tourists. The cappuccino recipe here is so guarded that the staff actually turns their back to you when they make them, which is funny. Be sure to buy a bag of the coffee beans and bring them home! Also, the chocolate covered espresso beans make great gifts.

BLUE ICE- I got lost looking for San Crispino (which is supposed to be one of the best gelato places in Rome) near Trevi Fountain and ended up just buying a gelato here instead. It was very, very tasty--- and they have a great selection of flavors. I recommend it! The gelato is Italy is to die for. I was having 3 cones a day (and still somehow lost weight with all the walking!).

We did a lot of wandering and exploring. Saw all of the major sights and lots of other places as well. I'm only going to mention the sights I have specific feedback on, but we saw a lot of other great places as well.

THE COLOSSEUM- You really get a better sense of this place with a tour, or at least a very detailed guide book. I recommend a tour! English speaking tours start near the front entrance all the time. It should cost you 10 euro or less.

ROMAN FORUM- I also recommend a tour here. Fortunately, many of the English-speaking tours here are free. Just look around for tour guides when you enter.

THE VATICAN- It is so, so crowded here. Even on a weekday, even in the offseason. And this is another place where you will want to have a good guidebook or take the audiotour. It helps to know what you are looking at.

ST. PETERS- They are very serious about covering your shoulders and knees, ladies! We saw several people who were made to stay outside because they were in tank tops. Bring a sweater!

GALLERIA BORGHESE- A great little musuem at the edge of Rome that I recommend seeing. You need to make a reservation online before you leave for your trip (or have your hotel call once you get there). I got hideously lost taking the Metro to the Borghese and wandered around in the park for 30 minutes. You might want to take a cab, or at least take along a good map and be prepared to ask for directions in the park. Also, you HAVE to check your bags here. They wouldn't even let me carry in my small purse. Still, I thought that "Apollo and Daphne" was worth the inconvenience! This museum is filled with little treasures. The park is lovely too!

BASILICAS- I was really impressed with Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano. These are both gorgeous churches with lots of detail and interesting artwork/sculpture. They were saying masses in both churches when I went in, and the sound of the mass echoing through the church was beautiful. Neither one is too crowded-- which is nice---and I'd really recommend seeing them.

TORRE ARGENTINA CAT SANCTUARY- I stumbled across this place and fell in love. If you're an animal person, you will definitely want to stop and check this place out. It's a quick 10 minutes out of your day, but I thought it was cute. I saw a sign here that said they offered tours, but it was never open when I was there.

THE PANTHEON- I just loved The Pantheon! The domed interior of the Pantheon is very impressive. It was raining when I was there, and the rain falls right into the building and then drains through holes in the floor. The art throughout the Pantheon is lovely, and you'll also find the tomb of the artist Raphael here. Outside the Pantheon is the Piazza Della Rotunda, at the center of which is a obelisk atop a fountain. This is such a pretty area and a wonderful place to have a leisurely lunch.

PIAZZA NAVONA- This is possibly the prettiest piazza in Rome. Filled with vendors selling posters, scarves and all sorts of things, the piazza is ringed by restaurants. There are three fountains in Piazza Navona. In the center is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, there's also Fontana del Moro and the Fountain of Neptune-- all gorgeous. Also in Piazza Navona, you'll see the lovely church of Sant' Agnese in Agone.

SPANISH STEPS- Crowded and heavily policed. Still, a great place to sit and people-watch after a long day of walking around Rome. Do not eat on the stairs, though. The police get very agitated about that.

VICTOR EMANUELE MONUMENT- Climb up to the top for great photo spots! We took some great pictures of the Colosseum and Forum from here. There is no tour or anything here, so bring along a guidebook for the history of the monument.

SCALA SANCTA (HOLY STAIRS)- The Scala Sancta is a staircase that is supposed to have been walked upon by Jesus Christ and is considered holy and sacred. This is a popular destination for those who come to Rome looking for Christian sites. I stumbled upon it by accident and was fascinated. You are not supposed to touch the stairs with your feet. You can only ascend them on your knees. When you walk into the building, you'll see the staircase right in front of you. Groups of people will be going up the stairs on their knees, praying with their rosaries. Quite a sight!

In all, Rome was wonderful! There were some things that took a little getting used to (the difficulty crossing the street because Romans drive like crazy people!) and some things we never got used to (the constant, non-stop smoking everywhere--even in restaurants!!). But we met so many wonderful people there, saw the most amazing sights and sampled some extraordinary cuisine. Rome was just incredible and I'd love to go back someday soon.

From Rome we went on to Positano (via Formia, Gaeta, Naples and Sorrento). I went to Positano to attend the wedding of a friend. If you're considering getting married abroad, look no further than Positano. It is unbelievably romantic and beautiful.

Positano feels very isolated. It's quite a journey to get here (from Rome: a train to Naples, then another train to Sorrento, then a bus) and once in Positano it seems very separate from the rest of the world. The city is beyond gorgeous-- building of every color spill down the hillside into the sea. Despite being perched on rock cliffs, Positano is filled with lovely foliage and blooms. The rock beach is wide and welcoming and the water is perfectly warm. After experiencing the hustle and bustle of Rome, Positano was a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable retreat. Funny note: while here to attend my friend's wedding I also saw part of PositanoBride's wedding, without realizing she was also a Knottie. Small world!

VILLA GABRISA- Villa Gabrisa is a wonderful, apartment-style hotel in Positano. We were so glad that we picked this place! Everyone at the front desk spoke English and was enormously helpful (directing us to buses, reserving boat trips for us, recommending restaurants). They also have a high-speed internet connection in the lobby. You have to pay for it, but it's not too much. We had a two-bedroom suite (shared between six people). It had a kitchen, two bathrooms, air conditioning and a small balcony with an amazing ocean view! The whole place was clean, comfortable and just perfect. The only downside is that it's rather far from the beach. If you have trouble with stairs, you'll want to stay further down the hill.

VILLA ROSA- I did not actually stay at this hotel, but several friends of mine did when we all met in Positano. I spent some time at the hotel with them and found it to be very charming and convenient. Villa Rosa is located not far from the beach, just across the street from Le Sirenuse, the famous resort. The location is very central and you won't have to climb all that many stairs to get to and from downtown (this is a GOOD thing in Positano!). The rooms are large and very clean and have good sized bathrooms. All the rooms that face the ocean have large patios with lots of seating room. You have a great view of the sea and coastline from here.

LE SIRENUSE- Le Sirenuse is the premiere luxury hotel in Positano and a popular destination for honeymooners and wealthy Europeans and Asians who want to be pampered on their vacation. This hotel is really expensive (rooms range from about 250e-700e per night), but if you're looking to splurge, this is the place to do it. Le Sirenuse is located very near the beach, so you won't have many stairs to contend with. It's also one of the only hotels in Positano with a parking garage (and there are a steady stream of Mercedes convertibles heading there every weekend). The lobby is white and crisp, with a gorgeous view of the ocean through big glass doors. The rooms and suites are very elegant, with tile accents and white linens on the bed. Most rooms have a balcony overlooking the ocean.

LO GUARRACINO- Lo Guarracino is a wonderful, unpretentious restaurant tucked away into the mountainside of Positano and overlooking the ocean. It's not as crowded as the restaurants down on the beach, but the views are just as wonderful and the food is even better. This was the best meal we had while in Positano. The wine is served in earthenware carafes. Order lots of it. I had a wonderful spinach and cheese ravioli dish and the bruschetta was very tasty. My friends enjoyed the lasagna and pasta l'arrabiata.

BUCA DI BACCO- Buca di Bacco is located right on the beach in Positano, a very convenient spot for dining during your visit. While it's always crowded due to its location, I found the service to be extremely good and the food quite tasty. They also have a gelato bar if you just want to pop in for sweets. I ordered the catch of the day, a local whitefish. Delicious!

HOTEL PALAZZO MURAT RESTAURANT- This is where my friend's wedding reception was held. The dining room at Hotel Palazzo Murat is entirely outdoors, surrounded by trees. It is gorgeous! If you're going to have an elegant, special night out while you're in Positano, this is the place to dine. It's expensive, but the atmosphere is so gorgeous, the food so delicious and the service so attentive that the experience is worth every penny. We had a five course meal that included salad, ravioli, John Dory (whitefish) fillet, gelato, cake, and limoncello. It was all really delicious!

SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA- The church of Santa Maria Assunta is the most recognizable landmark in Positano. Built in a moorish style, the church has a domed, brightly-colored roof (constructed of majolica) that really stands out on the landscape. Inside the church, you'll see a rare 13th century Byzantine Black Madonna.

LIMONCELLO- When you're on the Amalfi Coast, you'll notice that lemons seem to be a prevailing theme in restaurants and shops. Lemon flavored and scented items are very popular here, and none more so than Limoncello, a lemon-based liqueur. Limoncello is made by soaking the zest of lemons in whole grain alcohol for several days. The result is a thick liqueur that tastes strongly of lemons. Italians drink it after meals as a "digestive." I didn't actually care for Limoncello much, but you really have to try it at least once. If you become a fan (as several of my friends did) you can buy bottles of it to take home. They make a great souvenir or gift.

We booked through American Airlines so we stayed at an American hotel in the Opera District. It was your typical, small, but cozy French room. We found the French to be very pleasant despite stereotypes. There is so much to see there. We went to two shows, Moulin Rouge and the Paris Opera Ballet. We visited many cathedrals, and hit all the tourist spots. The university district was fabulous as well. The Metro was easy and safe. Versailles is breathtaking and the Louvre is everything you imagine. We got from place to place very easily. The flight was about 6 hours. Then the drive from the airport to our hotel was about 45 minutes. We booked through a travel agent who happened to be DH's aunt. I would definitely recommend Paris for any one looking to do something different. The museums are great, the wine fabulous, the food unique and delicious. We figured it was a great chance to see such a spectacular city. And it truly was. We also honeymooned in October when the Caribbean can be prone to Hurricanes.

I am happy to answer any questions, and or offer tips if folks want to email me at writetanya@gmail.com.

The first was near Gien (an hour south of Paris by train) at a B&B called Chateau de la Verrerie. It is a 15th century castle with a lake, row boats, and bicycles to borrow. The room was great with the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. The only strange thing was that it had no clock. The breakfasts were delicious and Chez Helene, the restaurant on the premesis was very good as well. Despite being a B&B, it was not social like I feared. The staff was helpful and friendly and spoke English. Our favorite part were the picnic tables by the lake where we sat, ate bread and cheese and sipped wine.

We spent our days driving around the small towns, exploring restaurants, and visited (or at least looked in the windows of) every patisserie we came across. We toured a cathedral, looked in a lot of shops, and had a very relaxing time.

Part 2: We took the train to Nice (10 hours!!) and then a taxi (VERY expensive) to a small medieval village called Tourette Sur Loup. We stayed at another B&B called Mas du Soleil. It is owned by former Americans and they cater to a lot of Americans, so the rooms had most everything you would expect to find here. Kurt and Barbara were extremely friendly and very helpful in terms of offering suggestions of things to do and places to go. They have a huge swimming pool that we lounged in and the rooms are very comfortable and impeccably clean. The breakfasts were excellent and served at small tables by the pool. Each room also has a patio and small table for picnics and lounging. From the front, you can look down the mountains and see the Mediterranean.

The area was much busier and touristy than the north, and though it had a different character, we still really loved it. Our favorite was exploring the medieval village, eating more bread and pastries, and walking around. We didn't have a car here and were glad since parking is tough and everything is so expensive. We braved the busses to go to Vence, Nice, and Grasse where we toured a few perfume factories. Just beware of the touristy restaurants -- had a few bad experiences at one or two of those.

We booked everything ourselves -- direct to the B&Bs, expedia for the airlines, and another company for the car/rail pass. I could go on at great length, but if anyone wants more info, you can page me on the Wisconsin board.

We spent our entire HM in Italy (about 12 days I think). We started in Rome for a few days, then headed down to Positano, by way of Sorrento. Then we went back to Rome and took a day trip to Florence.

Florence was our favorite, maybe because it was a spur of the moment decision. There's a quick Eurorail train that connects Florence and Rome.

We loved climbing the domes of St. Peters and the Duomo in Florence - the view is outstanding. St. Peters has an elevator but we walked the whole thing - my legs were killing me the next day! We could have skipped the Uffizi (make reservations online ahead of time - we did it while we were there) but I think we missed the room with all the blockbusters. We missed a few of the other museums in the area that we've heard are great.

We're both architects, so we spent a lot of time looking at buildings. Rome had so many amazing churches. San Carlo allo Quatro Fontane and its neighbor San Andrea a la Quirinale are both tiny gems, as is San Ivo alla Sapienza, which is only open on Sundays and sometimes Saturdays. The Pantheon is enormous and unforgettable. I think we actually went there 4 times. It's so insane to look at it and consider how old it is.

We stayed in a Best Western of all places in Rome. It was not in the nicest neighborhood, but we loved it. We stayed in a room that had just been completely redone, and it was fabulous. Very modern bathroom and an awesome balcony (which we sat out and ate pizza on one night). It was near the main train station, Termini, which was what made it not the geratest neighborhood, but it made it incredibly easy to get around, both in Rome and outside of it.

We originally wanted to go to the Como area, as there is great architecture there too, but Jon decided we'd get more bang for our buck in Rome. We'll go back another time and hit Venice and Florence again.

If you want more specific names and places, I'm happy to share. We highly recommend a particular guide, I think it was called Eyewitness. We bought it there after running into a friend who recommended it, and it was worth every penny. I usually frequent the Columbus, OH board, so feel free to page me there.

We went Rome, Florence, and Positano for our honeymoon and we had a fabulous time! Here are some recs and reviews:

Rome: We stayed at the Hotel Parlamento (www.hotelparlamento.it) and loved it. It was the most expensive hotel we stayed in, but the service and location were excellent. A nice breakfast in the morning was also included, but air conditioning is extra. The guys who run the place are awesome and so helpful. The hotel is within easy walking distance of almost every major sight in Rome. While you're there try Da Sabatino at the Piazza San Ignazio. On the sign it's a little confusing, it says Le Cave di S. Ignazio so don't get confused and pass it up! It's a great little restaurant- we ended up eating there a couple times because the food was amazing. For gelato, try Gelateria della Palma (on via della Maddalena near the Pantheon) or Giolittis (famous from Roman Holiday). We didn't have trouble getting into anything we wanted to see... even the Vatican wasn't bad. Everyone told us to get there early so we did and there was a huge line. It moved quickly so we only had to wait about an hour, but when left around noon, there was no line at all. So I don't know if getting there early makes it better at all. Bring water!! It is packed in there and superhot!

Florence: We didn't love Florence, but it was mainly through a lack of planning on our part. We didn't book anything except the hotel ahead of time and ended up losing a lot of time. We stayed at the Hotel Caravaggio (found on www.venere.com). Excellent deal... included air conditioning and breakfast. Service was very good. When you're in Florence, book ahead when you can especially at the Uffizi and Accademia. We didn't and ended up waiting a very long time to get in, even when we got there early. Try Acqua al Due for dinner and Bar Vivoli for gelato.

Positano: My favorite! What a great little town. We stayed at the Hotel Villa Rosa (www.villarosapositano.it)... awesome hotel! We got our own terrace and they served us breakfast in our room each morning so we had the great pleasure of eating breakfast while enjoying the fabulous view of Positano from our terrace. The service was great. While you're there, make sure you try Bruno Ristorante. It's just around the corner from the Villa Rosa and they had excellent food for great prices. It's higher up in town so it's not as expensive. The fresh seafood there is amazing. Also excellent: Caffe Positano. While we were there we took a day excursion to Capri with Gennaro e Salvatore (www.gennaroesalvatore.it). The BEST day of the trip. It was a boat trip where they gave us time to ourselves on the island, but they also offered a tour if you wanted it. Francesco's tour was excellent, but quite a hike so if you think you might be interested, take the right shoes. We didn't know about the tour ahead of time and didn't have the right shoes/clothes and paid for it later! The tour ended with an excellent lunch at a restaurant built into a grotto. After we met the boat in the afternoon, we sailed around the island and took a couple swims in some of the grottos. It was incredible. They provide drinks and a pizza snack on the boat. With the tour we got a deal on our lunch as well.

1. The best guide book is Doring Kindersly Eyewitness Travel Guides. They are so extremely helpful and informative.

2. Only take official cabs- don't be fooled by cab drivers who make their cars look like official ones. If you don't see a meter or it isn't running, make the driver turn it on or have him stop the car and get out. Do not believe a driver when he tells you there's an extra charge for a Sunday or whatever. There was a charge for baggage (1 euro per bag), but nothing else. We were totally cheated by a cab driver and I was so p!ssed at our stupidity, but at least maybe someone else will learn from our mistake. Also, take note of the driver's name and number if you feel that you are being cheated in any way.

3. Do not bother with expensive wines- the house wines are awesome and we never paid more than 8 euros for a bottle.

4. We trained it a lot. We did not book Eurostar ahead of time as most say to do and had no trouble getting on. We spent a lot of money on trains, but it would have been cheaper if we'd gotten a trenitalia pass for non-EU residents. If you have the time and patience, wait in the line for that.

5. Getting to Positano can be difficult, but I found a good rec on fodors.com. From Rome take the train to Salerno. Then at Salerno, take theferry to Positano. The ferry is just two to three blocks from the train station. If you walk out the front door you should see the port in front of you. The last ferry leaves at 3:30, but check the times ahead of time. I, unfortunately, no longer have the info for the the ferry, but I recommend going to www.fodors.com. You'll get great info there on it.

Hope some of that is helpful to those of you planning an Italy honeymoon! Have a wonderful time!!

Italy Wedding and Honeymoon Trip Review......tips and details - PART ONE
From: mgfit1 Date: 9/18/2004 at 5:09 pm

We got married in Positano on our trip, so our itinerary is a bit choppy due to wedding prep. So don't wonder why we were all over the place on this trip! Also note that we have already been to Rome and Florence so you wonder why we did not spend more time there. Here's the overview of our trip!

Day One: Arrive in Rome and train to Florence. Hang out in Florence. Hotel Hermitage - our second stay here. We love this hotel. Cost was 220 euros per night including breakfast on their beautiful rooftop terrace. Our room had a large jacuzzi tub/shower. Very clean....views of the Arno river. Great location and very clean. Love shopping in the Piazza Mercantile! Dinner at Aqua Alle Due back in Florence. GREAT MEAL!! We HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ONE! Reservations are a must. It is about at 10 min walk from the Ponte Vecchio towards Santa Croce. Get the Assagio (5 small pasta courses - they were all excellent). They also do an Assagio for the Secondi's...we did not have any, but others at our table did and they said it was wonderful. The Assagio for dessert had 4 small dessert samples. Also pretty good. Prices were good here 32 euros for 1 pasta dish, 1 pasta assagio, 1 dessert assagio and wine for 2.

Day Two: Day trip to Lucca. Lucca was pretty laid back. We didn't care for it that much. Definately not touristy. It took about an hour and 15 min by train from Florence. Regional trains - only second class seats available. Dinner at Bucca Dell Orafo back in Florence. Small, family run place and reservations needed. Dinner was good. This place is right near the Ponte Vecchio. Very tasty. Two pasta dishes and wine for 2 - bill was 40 euros.

Day Three: Day trip to San Giminagno. Great day! Beautiful city with great views. Climb the stairs to the tower for spectacular views. It requires train to Poggibonsi and a bus from there (15 minutes to San G). Bus schedules REDUCED on Saturdays. Know this before you go. There were not many bus choices back to Poggibonsi and many people had a tough time connecting with a train. We got stuck and had to manage our way back to Florence connecting in Empoli by train to avoid waiting hours for another train. Worth the Trip. Dinner back in Florence at Da Osvaldo. Ask for Marco....he is sarcastic and funny and took good care of us. Dinner for four, including 1 antipasti, 3 primis, 3 secondi's, 2 bottles of wine and biscotti for all - total cost 168 euros. Be sure to get the Biscotti for dessert - it is served with a dessert wine for dipping. Very good!!! I also recommend the Bruschetta, the salad with beef and romano cheese, ravioli and the pork chops! Yummy!

Day Four: Travel to Positano. Took the train thru Rome to Naples. Naples train station is not as creepy as we anticipated. We ended up taking a cab to Positano...115 euros! Ouch! I recommend having your hotel confirm a driver for you..we did that on the return and it only costed 90 euros. It was also better in a Mercedes sadan vs. a cab. The drive took about 1 1/2 hours. Very windy and easy to get nauseated towards the end...beautiful views though. The driver had to drop us off at Piazza Mullini as that is as far down the hill cars can go. We walked about 5 minutes down hill and down some stairs to our hotel Villa La Tartana.

Where do I start on the hotel??? Wonderful! We had room #48. Spectacular View!! Very clean room, ceremic floors and bath. Small shower. Bathroom newer and spotless. Room was neat with simple furnishings but offered a small refrigerator (Great for wine and happy hour snacks!!!). Room cost only 150 euros per night including CB served on your balcony every morning with linen table cloth and all. Breakfast is simple, but stock up on salami and cheeses at the local deli (only 5 min walk) and add it to the great rolls they provide. Perfect! Carmella at the hotel is the BEST! She will do anything for you. She helped us a ton with all of our wedding issues and such. They even sent us 2 dozen pale pink roses on our wedding day! She will make any arrangements you need and speaks excellent english. Dinner was at the Covi Dei Sarceni Hotel. A bit stuffy, but great service and an excellent meal. Dinner for two with 2 primi's, 2 secondi's, 1 dessert and wine for two was 112 euros. Get the chocolate souffle!!! I also recommend the Steak in Verde Sauce and most of all the chicken with Balsamic! Excellent~

Day Five: Wedding stuff.....photographer, flowers, paperwork. We did take the bus from Positano to Amalfi. It took about 30 minutes. Take the bus at least once to appreciate the driving and the spectacular views. Once was enough ont the bus...we took the boat back! More relaxing, but more expensive. Dinner tonight in Positano at Da Vincenzo's. It was about a 15 minute walk up the hill. Nice dinner and good prices. 1 antipasti, 2 primi's, 1 dessert and wine for two was 40 euros. Reservations recommended for a table outside.

Day Six: More wedding stuff. Lunch at La Pergola. Outside overlooking the beach. Ok especially if you want to be at the beach.

Day Seven: Off to Capri. Took the boat at 11am - cost was 26 euros round trip per person. Smooth 30 minute ride there. Capri was great. Visit the Garden of Augustus. Shopping was good. Very pretty and clean. Dinner back in Positano at Valle dei Mullini - the worst meal we had on this trip!

Day Eight: Morning boat to Sorrento - 10am. It took about 35 minutes. Smooth, easy trip. Visit the gardens along the water for great views. Lunch was at the Sorrento Inn. WONDERFUL! Indoor dining only, but very charming and excellent food. Get the Vedura alla Grilla (grilled veggies). They were great. The pasta and gnocchi were wonderful too! The restaurant had good A/C too and that was nice on a hot day! We then took the boat back to Capri. It only took 20 minutes by hydrofoil - cost 9.50 euros per person one way. Go to the TI office in Capri and get the maps they provide. There are some great hikes on the map! The grottos were beautiful!

Day Nine: Wedding day....got married at the town hall in Positano. Spectacular. Wonderful lunch at La Sponda at the Siruenese Hotel. Great service and excellent food. The salad with beef was great. The salad with buffalo mozzerella was wonderful! Pricy....2 antipasti, 1 pasta and 2 entrees plus an expensive bottle of champaign was 217 euros. (the champagne was 90 euros..it was our wedding day...what the heck???). Dinner later at Caffe Positano (owned by Villa La Tartana). Reserve a "balcony table" upstairs. One little table on a small private balcony by yourselves. Very romantic. Good food. We didn't eat much...1 pasta dish each and a small dessert 27 euros.

Day Eleven: Off to Umbria! Had a driver take us from Positano to Naples - train station. Tips on the train station....there is a tourist office in there where they speak english and can sell you train tickets. You will avoid the lines and the locals lingering around by purchasing your tickets here, plus saving the hassle of trying to speak Italian to the ticket vendor. As you walk in the station, walk straight back to the LEFT corner of the room. There are some sliding doors that will open into another area. About 30 or so feet to your left, you will see a booth with red trip along the top and it does say "Travel Office and Ticket" on it. Buy your tickets there. Better than the main ticket booths. Another key thing, the tourist lounge is a great place to wait (and safe...it was for eurostar passengers). There is no sign though...you have to know where to go. It is located to the right of the sliding doors you walked through...there are some smokey glass doors with "DO NOT ENTER" signs on them. Walk up to the door and a man will come out. Show him your ES ticket and you are in. We felt very safe in there and there are chairs and tables to relax at. We took the train to Spoeleto. About an hour from Rome. You must take a bus or cab from the train station to our hotel - the San Luca. The hotel was very nice and was 150 euros per night (4 star hotel) outside the main old city. Barbara was so helpful! Breakfast was very nice and included. Our room had a bathtub, clean, newer bathroom and was very clean overall. Walk around the old town..not touristy at all. Mostly locals. Charming, and romantic. Very historic. The Ponte Torre was beautiful. The hotel can provide a map and tell you what to see in the city. Do the walk all the way around the castle....a nice, scenic stroll. Dinner was at La Torretta. This was one of the best meals we had! The chicken with balsamic was Excellent! The steak with a truffle sauce was wonderful. Get the Pasta Spoletina...with peppers and tomatoes - a little spicey but the best pasta I had on our trip! We highly recommend. We had 1 antipasti, 2 primi's and 2 secondi's along with wine for 2 and the cost was 73 euros.

Day Twelve: Day trip to Assisi. This was an easy train ride. Some require connection in Foligno, others are direct. It only takes 30 minutes to get there from Spoleto. The city was charming. Visit the basilica. Lunch was excellent at Locanda Del Podesta. Gnocchi alla Sagrantina was very good. Get there before the lunch rush...they had to turn people away because it was full! Mostly locals....not many english speaking people there. Lunch for two - wine, 1 pasta and 2 primi's 24 euros. Dinner back in Spoleto was at Il Tempio Del Gusto. Charming, romantic place. Make reservations. They had a typical umbrian/tuscan rustic decor...very romantic and a bit ekletic. They had great food. The hotel made reservations for us and told them we were honeymooning. We were lead to a table with a beautifully wrapped longsteam rose from our hotel. When we ordered our food, the antipasti came and then, they brought out another dish that we did not order.....compliments from the chef! The chef came out of the kitchen and congratulated us and told us to enjoy! It was like a risotto made with grains instead of rice....excellent and creamy! Then, the main entree came...the chef came back and served us bringing out each plate covered with a silver serving lid....and presented the food to each of us....then after dinner, they brought a full plate of cookies out! The dinner was wonderful. Again, I highly recommend the risotto thing...and the pasta spoletina. The Best!!

Last Day: Traveled to Rome. Spent the day revisiting Villa Borguese, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain (of course we had to toss the coin in...we were there last May and it worked last time!!!).

I hope this helps someone in their planning. It was a wonderful, memorable wedding/honeymoon trip. Thank you to all of you for helping with tips along the way. We just wanted to return the favor!!!

One other tip....we stumbled on a website with restaurant reviews.... www.rediff.com. This was helpful in finding some of our great restaurants.

Honeymoon Review and Pictures-- Paris and Mauritius
From: am470 Date: 11/11/2004 at 11:23 am

Travel Agent: Tricia Townsend of Protravel: A+
This woman is amazing. I got her name because she was listed by Conde Nast as one of the top travel agents in the US. They were not lying. She spent so much time on the phone with me going through every single random locale that popped into my head. We decided on Paris and Mauritius, an island in the indian ocean. Tricia described the places perfectly. She told us all of the negatives, so there were no surprises after we traveled for 30 hours. In fact, she has so much pull in the industry that she got us upgrades at both hotels. We found out from other guests, that in Mauritius we were the only ones who got an upgrade. No one else did. Without going into a very long story, because of Tricia, we got a free vacation from the hotel in Mauritius (more explained in next paragraph). She does charge $250 for her services.

The Oberoi Mauritius: A+
We stayed in a private villa with its own private pool in Mauritius. The service was unbelievable. Twice a day they would come into the room and fold all of our clothes. Love that! The food was really good. The beach is adequate, but not great. Tricia told us this early on. We decided that we rather go to a place with better food and more to do, than another island that only had a good beach. The private pool was a little unnecessary (we never even used it). So I probably would not recommend it. But regardless it is cool to have your own pool. Anyway, there was a slight problem that we encountered in Mauritius on our last day there. But I wrote a letter to the company, and the next day they called us offerring us a 6 nights and 7 days with breakfast at any of their hotels to make up for the vacation that we were not completely satisfied with. This is worth about $6,000-$7,000. Their offer was so overly generous it is not even funny. We would have been happy with a free meal. So we decided to go to India soon to cash in on it. Anyway, I truly believe that they only did this because we used Tricia as our travel agent.

The Four Seasons Paris, George V: A
The service is amazing at the hotel. The room was gorgeous. We even had a prince staying in the room next to us. The hotel is ridiculously expensive. It is completely unnecessary to stay in such an expensive hotel considering its in a city so its not like you are paying for its beach. But if you want to splurge, you can't go wrong. Paris is also inanely expensive that I could not believe it. A soda is like $8. DH loved Paris. Frankly, I thought it was kind of overrated. I am glad I went, but I definitely prefer a beach vacation. We stayed 5 nights in Paris.
PHOTOS: PARIS & MAURITIUS (Scroll to middle of the page)

Here is my Italy honeymoon review. Page me on the Omaha board or email me for any questions!

Siena
We flew into Florence, then traveled by bus to Siena. Make sure you have really good directions to your hotels before you leave the states. Addresses apparently don’t help locals tell you where the street is located and it took us FOREVER! We stayed at the Piccolo Hotel Oliveta in Siena, and it was a bit tricky to find. We were there for 2 nights, and it is an absolutely charming hotel. The people are so warm and friendly with a great happy hour of wine and cheese! It is just outside the city walls beyond one of the gates, so the ‘backyard’ is rolling Tuscan countryside! It is just beautiful. The hotel itself apparently is an old farmhouse so has that kind of rustic charm to it. Another bonus: free Internet in the lobby! I would definitely stay here again!
In Siena:
We really just wandered around the town, hung out at the Campo, climbed the bell tower for a magnificent view, toured the Duomo, ate gellato, and really took it easy. Our favorite activity was just sitting in the Campo people watching. It was fun to pick out the other tourists and watch locals. I didn’t realize that Siena is a big college town, so there were plenty of students out and about.

Florence
We next went back to Florence by bus, where we had 2 days and 1 night, so it was a bit rushed. We toured the Pitti Palace, the Accademia (saw the David), the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella, ate gellato, and did some shopping. Florence is a really busy town with crazy traffic! We stayed at Hotel Domus Florentiae right near the train station. It was cheap, and we got what we paid for. It was perfectly sufficient for one night, although the front desk staff weren’t particularly helpful. It was clean, but the window was broken in our room so we couldn’t open it, and it was near 70 when we were there…..the attendant at the front desk didn’t seem to care that it was stifling in our room! We skipped the Uffizi gallery due to time constraints, but seeing the David was worth every second. It was truly amazing!

Venice
We took the train to Venice to stay for 3 nights. We stayed at Locanda Orseolo-if anyone has the chance to stay here while in Venice do so!! I can completely understand why they are rated so highly on TripAdvisor. Mateo, Barbara, and Fransico and so warm and genuine. They treated us like family the minute we walked through the door. The hotel is beautiful, breakfast is wonderful, and when we left, it felt like we were leaving our friends behind! They recommended some awesome restaurants and didn’t steer us wrong one time! Apparently three days before we arrived, all of Venice was under a foot of water! There was no sign of that other than the benches along the canal they use to walk on! While in Venice we went to Murano, Doge’s Palace, Correr Museum, St. Mark’s, shopped, ate gellato (sense a theme here!), and really wandered around and got lost! People have really varying opinions of Venice, but we loved it. It is touristy, but so magical and lovely. I think the combination of that being our longest stay, the hotel, and the beauty of Venice made it our favorite spot in Italy so far.

We booked the entire trip ourselves through the Internet and email. The main sites we used were tripadvisor.com, fodors.com, and (of course) theknot.com honeymoon board! We would have been lost without our Rick Steve’s guidebook. We also had the lonlyplanet guidebook, but didn’t find that one all that helpful. Rick Steve’s had lots of ratings of places to see and really great details about the specific how-to’s of things like bus/train/vaparetto travel and other tidbits. We used it TONS! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me at kate_deicke@hotmail.com! Hope to help!

Back from our 3 week honeymoon to Italy!
From: TeeGirl Date: 11/15/2004 at 10:35 pm

We traveled from October 23rd through November 14th. Here is a critique of the hotels and services we used! I also included just a couple of special restaurants worth mentioning! I did not include the museums and major sites we visited because I figured you wouldn’t want to hear about that! Everyone knows what to see according to your tastes! The Knot, Fodors website and the Rick Steve Guide helped us plan it all! Also, I am still a little groggy from returning last night so you may see multiple grammar and spelling mistakes. Please bear with me as I stumble through! Best advice—bring a journal and a roll of tape. Write and tape in everything you can! We put in everything from museum tickets, to train passes, pressed leaves, wine labels, business cards…then you will have even more memories to look at and read!

Rome-Hotel Regno (5 nights).
We loved this hotel because of its central location! Right on Via del Corso, we were minutes from the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. It was a very modern and clean hotel, with an elevator and good breakfast. Our favorite restaurants were those we stumbled upon down the side alleys! Also, the pizza was extra yummy! Hotel Regno Via del Corso, 330 Zip 00186 www.hotelregno.com/eng/ind-lingua.htm Tele. (+39) 06 6976361. Under E200 a night.

So thrilled we started in Rome to do the crazy site seeing first. I think if we had ended our three-week tour in Rome, we may have not done many sites because we were “museumed” out by the end! We used www.limoservicerome.com for our transportation to the hotel. They were very professional and on time. Cost was E45. Book at least 4 days before departing. We then took limoservicerome back to the airport to pickup our rental car. We didn’t want to attempt driving within the city. We rented through Hertz and got an excellent Mercedes A class. It was a simple drive to the autostrada where we were off to Assisi! LOVED driving in Italy! We actually fought over who got to drive! Definitely get off the autostrada and take the side roads. It is worth the extra time if you have it to spare!

Assisi-Hotel Ideale (1 night).
We loved this hotel because of the spectacular view! The rooms were very simple, clean, no elevator and had new bathrooms. We had a top floor room on the corner with a great balcony overlooking Assisi to one side and the Umbrian hills to the front. Wish we had stayed one more night just to sit on the balcony and sip wine! Hotel Ideale Piazza Matteotti 1 Zip 06081 info@ideale.it E85 Siena-Piccolo Hotel Oliveta (5 nights). We liked this hotel for many reasons. The first being its location. Right outside of Porta Romana (one of the city wall gates), it was very convenient with our rental car and free parking. It was about a 15-20 minute walk to Il Campo so if you prefer being closer to the city center, get a hotel within the city walls. We had friends who stayed at Palazzo Ravizza with their car and they said it was not difficult to get in and out.

Our first evening we did the wine tasting with Alexander on the patio overlooking the Tuscan hills. It wasn’t as much a wine tasting but a social event for the three of us. We all got a long wonderfully and ended up drinking wine together for hours. It was a great introduction to Tuscany! I believe it was E50 or 60 for the two of us. Secondly, Alexander, Alexandra and Fabio were remarkable hosts! I let all of our hotels know we were on our honeymoon and this hotel was the only one that offered us a complimentary bottle of wine or some sort of gesture. Definitely a special touch! The rooms were simple, but huge! Also a big plus was the shower in another room, separate from the toilet. E145 Piccolo Oliveta Via E.S. Piccolomini 35 tel 0577.283930 http://www.oliveta.com/ We also booked a private wine tasting tour with their business, Country Tours. Fabbio was our tour guide and it was an amazing day! We started out at the Constanti Winery where we toured the cellars and learned a TON about vineyards and all that goes into making wine. A great tasting of their brunello followed. We bought our first (of many) bottles of brunello here!

On our way to the next winery, we stopped at a great Abbey. We reached our second and last winery stop of the day, the Le Presi Winery, an extremely small winery outside of Montalcino. Here we met Bruno, his wife and son. His wife prepared lunch for us all and we wined and dined in their wine cellar. An amazing experience! We ate bruschetta, pasta, fresh turkey, desserts, you name it! One of our favorites was the one-week-old extra virgin olive oil we used on everything. Of course we had to buy a few bottles! Afterwards, we took Bruno to the one café in town for some espresso. With our bellies full we headed back to the hotel. Highly recommend this tour as it gives a personal and interesting look into Tuscan life! Expensive, but worth it! E120 each.

Our favorite part of Tuscany was the exploring we did with our rental car. I am thrilled that we decided to rent a car. It was extremely easy to get around as long as you follow the city signs and not the highway numbers! We knew this beforehand and never got lost. It was incredible exploring the countryside. We visited Montalcino, Montelpulciano, San Gimignano, Pienza, Castellina in Chianti and Radda in Chianti. But the best was just driving around! We were amazed at the landscape differences north and south of Siena. We bought a case of brunello at Enoteca Fortezza in Montalcino. Shipping to the states was E120. We bought a mixed case a few days before in Radda in Chianti at Enoteca Toscana. Shipping was E160, so obviously Fortezza is a better bet! We bought these bottles to serve as anniversary bottles! When they run out, we must return to Italy, if not sooner! A MUST do restaurant is La Torre! If you are in Il Campo looking at the tower, take the alley to the left. The restaurant is on the left. A local tratorria where the owner comes to your table and tells you what they have for the night. Listen closely when he tells the table next to you what he has…it will most likely be a different menu! Confused? Watch him go to the bar and swig from his wine glass all night. Entertaining, but even better than the entertainment was the food! Remarkable Tuscan cuisine! The best ribollita and homemade past you can find. We NEVER go to the same restaurant twice, however, we went to La Torre three times! You will not be dissatisfied! Go early, around 7 or 7:30, it fills up and is a small place. We also went to a futbol match. It was so much fun! The fans are great! Flares, singing and jolly good times!

On our way to Cinque Terre, we stopped in Pisa to see the tower and Lucca to do the bike tour. Dropped our car off at the San Bartolomeo Hertz location in La Spezia and then took the train to Vernazza where we stayed at Carmere Giuliano Basso for 3 nights. A steep climb (pack light or get buff before your trip), but worth every step. Guiliano has made a very comfortable space with a modern bathroom and down comforters. The shared patio overlooks all of Vernazza and the sea. The only minor complaint would be its nearness to the train station. We did not mind because it was cold and we had the windows closed. If you were there in the summer with the windows open, the train may be a problem. Inexpensive and comfortable, we would stay there again. We especially enjoyed drinking wine on the patio with some foccacia and tomatoes! Tele. 3333414792 giuliano@cdh.it www.cdh.it/giuliano E60 Got to hike the CT. Every minute was worth the sweat. We rewarded ourselves with a beer in each town we stopped in. We did the hike in 2 days. Florence-Soggiorno Battistero (3 nights) We loved the location of this soggiorno (right in front of the duomo), but did not like the room itself. The room made us feel like we were institutionalized…white, nothing on the walls, no attempt at giving it a homey feel. It was clean and quiet, great for the price. But if we were to go back to Florence, I would spend the extra money to go elsewhere. It was also a hike up the stairs. E90 LOVED the restaurant Aqua al Due. Has a great pasta tasting menu, second course tasting menu and dessert tasting menu. A must do if you love food and a trendy atmosphere. Also had a lot of fun at Il Latini (chianti anyone?), but I don’t think it was worth the stress of standing outside in a mob waiting for them to open and then once they opened, everyone pushed and shoved to get in. If you don’t have a reservation, just say you do. Shout out your name and party number. My husband did this and to my surprise they ushered us right in. I looked at the paper that supposedly had all the reservation names and there were only three names listed. They obviously don’t write them down! If you like trendy, 20-40 something crowds, have a drink at Slowly. They have a ton of delicious, free munchies to accompany your drink. Helps lessen the blow of the E10 price per drink! A cool spot before dinner! Sorry I don’t know the street name, just ask a local young person.

Leather shopping-we found the best handbag prices at Umberto on Via Guicciardini near the Ponte Vecchio. I bought 3 for myself and 3 for gifts! Whew! For a great view of the duomo and people watching, grab a beer at JJ Cathedral Pub on the square and take it upstairs to the balcony if its unoccupied. There is only room for 2 people. If you have time, check out the Science Museum and ask the workers to demonstrate some of Newton and Galileo’s experimental machines. We really enjoyed ourselves in this museum.

Took the eurostar to Venice where we would spend our last 4 nights of our honeymoon at Pensione Accademia. We took a taxi to the hotel (E45), and it was worth every penny not lugging all our stuff on the public boats. ADORED this hotel! Very clean and comfortable, with a perfect location near the Accademia Bridge. Our room, #28, had a nice view of the side canal and Grand Canal. Breakfast was great, no elevator. Dorsoduro 1058 Zip 30123 Tele. 0039 04 152101 88 The hotel runs a free taxi to Murano for a tour. We of course came home with some great pieces! E183 We went to symphony Interpreti Veneziani in San Vidal church and it was breathtaking! A terrific way to spend an evening! Tickets were around E22 each. Having a glass of prosecco at the famous Gran Caffe Chioggia was wonderful. We sat on the stage with the pianist and bassist, while looking at St. Mark’s and people watching. There is also a huge and wonderful Dali exhibit at Palazzo Grassi that will be there through January. I highly recommend the audio guide. If you need a restaurant that’s opened after 10pm, we ate at Casin dei Nobili near the Accademia and it was decent. An excellent restaurant near the Rialto Bridge was Ristorante il Paradiso on Calle Deparadiso. This place is incorrectly listed in Rick Steve’s as Miguel and Lucia’s private home dinner. We booked it and they told us they had moved and opened a restaurant. Disappointed that it would not be in their home, we decided to go anyway. Expensive, but the seafood was amazing. This was our last splurge and the last dinner of our honeymoon! Had our hotel arrange a taxi to the airport. E95…ouch! Then a double ouch for the E20 shuttle to the airport (less than 1km). We had a 6:30am flight and no other option because the E1 bus wouldn’t be coming for an hour!

LONG Trip Review From FRANCE
From: Scarlett03 Date: 11/15/2004 at 10:00 pm

This was not a honeymoon, but I thought the info might help other Knotties who want to honeymoon in Paris. First of all, Paris is the most AMAZING place. It’s the most gorgeous, romantic city and a place that I fall in love with over and over again. France gets a bad rap here in America, and this is largely unjustified. The city is incredible, the people are lovely and Paris is perfect place to honeymoon.

In general: You don’t need to speak French to have a good time in Paris. You should learn a couple of key phrases (things like please, thank you, where is…, how much is…) and you’ll be fine. Everyone speaks English and they’re happy to do so. They just appreciate it if you TRY to speak a little French. Just be respectful. I can’t speak a word of French and have never had a problem. If you go to Paris in the Spring, there’s likely to be a lot of rain, so bring an umbrella and a coat. In general, the Parisians dress quite nicely. You’ll fit in better if you do, too. Wear pants or skirts, not shorts. Get good walking shoes (but not those big, white, American basketball shoes)—you’ll be walking everywhere! For planning your trip, I recommend looking for hotel, restaurant and activity tips at www.fodors.com and www.frommers.com. The message boards at fodors.com are particularly helpful.

I flew to Paris on a non-stop flight from Los Angeles. Non-stop is really the way to go because it cuts your travel time down by several hours. I think it was like 11 hours going over and 13 or 14 going back… something like that. I flew Delta/Air France. I booked my flight through Expedia.com, which had the best airfare I could find (about $650 in April, the off-season). I flew into Charles DeGaulle airport. You can take a shuttle or the subway into the city from the airport, but I met a nice couple on the plane and we all decided to split a cab.

In Paris, I stayed at the Best Western Derby Eiffel Hotel. It’s right near the Rue Cler area on the Left Bank, walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, Invalides and Ecole Militaire. I highly recommend staying in this area because it’s so convenient to everything. The Ecole Militaire stop is right in the middle of the neighborhood and you can be anywhere else in Paris in 20 minutes or less. There are tons of hotels and restaurants in the neighborhood—it’s a lovely area to walk around and enjoy. While I know that Rick Steves recommends one or two hotels on Rue Cler, I don’t recommend actually staying on this street because it can get noisy—especially in the morning when all the market vendors are arriving. The Derby Eiffel was nice. The rooms are small (as are all rooms in Paris), but clean and comfortable. There is a dining room and an elegant bar downstairs. The people at the front desk are so wonderful—we adored them and they went out of their way to arrange things for us. Great customer service! In Paris, Best Westerns are pretty nice, so it’s different than you’d think of them here. If you’re looking for a 3-star hotel, Best Westerns are a great choice.

Other hotels I can recommend in Paris: Hotel Madison (on the Left Bank), Hotel Majestic (near the Arc du Triomphe), Hotel Splendid (right next to the Derby Eiffel on the Left Bank).

Restaurants I recommend in the Rue Cler area: Le Bistrot de Papa (81, Avenue Bosquet), and Brasserie de l'Ecole Militaire (3 place de l'Ecole Militaire).

There are so many things to see and do in Paris. You could be there for weeks and still not get to everything. Here are the things I recommend putting at the top of your to-do list. You can read more about them on any travel website.

Musee d'Orsay
Notre Dame
Jardins des Tuileries
Arc du Triomphe
Ste-Chapelle
Sacre Coeur & Montmartre (including Moulin Rouge)
The Luxembourg Gardens
Opera Garnier
The Eiffel Tower
The Louvre

The wait to go up the Eiffel Tower is always long, especially in the summer. While I'm glad I went, I still prefer the inexpensive hike to the top of the Arc Du Triomphe. I could stand up there for hours looking at the panoramic view of the city! I highly recommend it, espcially if you don't have time and euros to spare for the Eiffel Tower.

A couple of places I recommend in Paris. Laduree is a famous pastry shop that specializes in macaroons. There are a couple of locations around the city where you can find Laduree-- and I recommend stopping in. The macaroons are expensive (for such little cookies) but just heavenly and it's fun to admire all the lovely sweets. A Parisian friend of mine insisted I go to Wine & Bubbles, a wine bar that is very popular with the 20 & 30 somethings in Paris. It's at 3 Rue Francais in the 1st arrondisment. Metro stop is Les Halles. Lots of fun and a good, young Parisian vibe. If you want great food and an amazing view of the city, you have to go to Georges. It's at the top of the Pompidou Center. Expensive, but cool.

There's lots of places to go out at night in Paris, but one of the most fun experiences I've had I stumbled into at random. A friend of mine lives on the Rue de la Huchette (one of the oldest streets in Paris, FYI) right near Place St. Michel (Left Bank). That area is right near the Sorbonne and it's a madhouse at night! I went down to see my friend on a Friday night and the streets were packed. Young people everywhere, clubs, restaurants, music... it was really energizing and fun to hang out there for a while. This area is called the Latin Quarter and it's interesting to see during the day, as well.

Here's my suggestion for the Louvre. Go first thing in the morning, right when it opens. Then, sprint up into the Denon wing immediately and see Mona Lisa before the crowds get horrible. Then, you can wander around the rest of the Louvre at your leisure. Later in the day the mass of people around that little painting will be enormous.

We also took two day trips out of the city, to Versailles and Chartres. Versailles is about a 40 minute train ride from Paris. On the day we were there it was rainy and bitterly cold, so we couldn’t tour the gardens (evidently the best part of Versailles). The line to get into Versailles was easily an hour long, so we decided to purchase guided tour tickets. This got us in after only a 20 minute wait and was well worth the extra money. I wasn’t awed by Versailles, but I can see why other people might enjoy it. However, I highly recommend going to see Chartres, which was one of the highlights of our trip! Chartres is about an hour’s train ride from Paris. It features one of the largest and most magnificent gothic cathedrals in the world. If you’ve read “The DaVinci Code,” you’ll remember Chartres Cathedral as being important. Not only is the Cathedral is just astounding, but the town that surrounds it is lovely and charming in every way. I had the best time wandering around the town. As for the cathedral, you MUST take a guided tour given by Englishman (and Chartres expert) Malcolm Miller. I’m not a big “guided tour person”, but his perspective was so eye-opening and really made the Cathedral come to life. I believe the tours are 10 euro each and there are 2-3 every day. I think that ours was at 1 or 2pm.

At the end of our stay in Paris, we rented a car and drove to Reims, about an hour east of the city. We could have taken the train, which is inexpensive and direct, but I’m glad we chose to drive. We drove through all these little towns along the way—it was a great way to see the countryside and get off the beaten path. The car was inexpensive and the driving is very easy in France. Just make sure you have euros for the tolls!

Reims is the heart of France’s champagne region. There are tons of champagne houses where you can take tours. We toured the Mumm house and it was a lot of fun. Reims itself has a lot to offer. There is so much shopping there!! Great stores, too. Also, there were lots of good restaurants. The food here is slightly more Germanic (you’re close to the Belgian border), so lots of sausages and such. There is a gorgeous cathedral in Reims (more gothic architecture) that’s worth seeing. Also, you’re close to a lot of the major battlefields of WWII (like Verdun) so there are memorials, museums and graveyards everywhere. As you drive along the road in Eastern France you just see marker after marker commemorating battles. I think that Reims is definitely worth a visit, particularly if you’re a fan of champage!

From Reims, I took the train back to Paris and the airport, which required two connections but was pretty easy. It was a wonderful trip. Have a great time in France. It’s a spectacular place!!

p.s. I have to recommend a GREAT book about Paris that I recently read and loved. It's called "Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnick. Gopnick is an American writer who moved to Paris for 5 years with his wife and young son. He wrote a memoir about his time there and it's EXCELLENT. You should pick it up to read on the plane!

The flight was approx. 7 hours. The hotel room was great. Queen size bed, small balcony large enough for 2 chairs. Enormous bathroom with deep soaking tub. We could see the top of the Eiffel Tour from the bathtub, which was amazing. Breakfast was served for a very reasonable price, and was very good. Service was teriffic. I requested that a bottle of champagne be purchased using my credit card and left in the room on our arrival, and it was perfect. They didn't overcharge me, and picked a great bottle.

We did a lot of sighseeing stuff, but my favorite things were a trip to the St. Denis Basilica (in Paris), and a short train ride to Chartres. There is so much to do in Paris, you couldn't fail.

We spent a lot of time exploring, we weren't at a resort. The catacombs are crazy, not for the faint of heart. And difficult to locate. Many Parisians don't know that they're there.

There is a Chinese restaurant on Blvd. de Latour-Mobourg that is fantastic. I think it's called Mandarin due Septieme. Jardin des Pates can't be described by the word "pasta". It's truly magnificent food.

Would I recommend Paris to other Knotties? Absolutely. Some tips: Attempt to speak French, even if all you can say is thank you, please, do you speak Engligsh, excuse me, and I'm sorry. The rumor that all French people are rude is false. It's arroagant tourists who are rude.

We booked everything on our own. DH found the hotel at www.parishotels.com. I would definitely stay there again.

Novotel Paris Les Halles
8 Place Marguerite de Navarre
Paris, 75001
FRANCE
(33) 1-42213131; Fax: (33) 1-40260579
H0785@accor-hotels.com
www.novotel.com

* About 6 hours flight from NYC to Paris, France (depending where you travel from affects the length of travel)

* Room was a/c equiped, with a small freg and alcohol, juice etc., hair dryer, iron, TV, decent. Separate room for tiolet and sink/shower tub for privacy. Convenient location in the city of Paris that we were accessible via Paris Metro (subway) to museums, Effiel Tower, restaurants, shops, etc.

* We mistakenly received a tall bottle San Pellegreo and colorful meringue cookies congratulating our marriage. There was a pool, exercise room.

* We saw/did activites like these as we were out everyday:
• Eiffel Tower
• L’Arc de Triomphe
• Chateaux Country: Chenonceau, Cheverny, Chambord
• The Louvre
• Orsay museums
• Disneyland Paris
• Versailles/Chartres Combination Tour
• Sacré-Coeur Basilica
• Montparnasse
• Perč Lachaise Cemetery
• Les Invalides
• Musée Rodin
• Jardin du Luxembourg
• Shopping at Monoprix, Les Galeries Lafayette, and Rue Faubourg-St. Honore

* We were out everyday exploring the romantic city in the world of Paris, France. See the site/attractions above for them. DH and I were returning to Paris from oour day tour of Versailles and Chartres, we visited the Sacré-Coeur basilica, walking up the hill to where you can get a great panoramic view of the entire city. To get back down, we took a cable car down the hill and walked to the red light district of Pigalle to take photos of the famous Moulin Rouge. During our stroll, a hawker outside a live sex show tried to literally yank Nick into the theater saying… “just one look…free, no money… just look, free!” Unlike New York City, in Paris they put nude pictures and nude dolls in sex scenes in their window displays which were something different to us that Mayor Giuliani would never allow that to happen.

* Au Pied de Cochon is 24/7 they have the BEST onion soup ever! Their bowl is huge and their rossotto are very yummy! They're listed in Paris Zagat.com

* You've got to go to Paris, France as it's very romantic all over. Learn to speak some French, and the Paris Metro is the way to travel locally. Go to Moulin Rouge and definitely get a 5 day museum pass to hoop around as they've got a lot of great museums! Enjoy!

* We book our honeymoon thru a travel agent with including hotel, airfare, 2 day tours and 1 night bus tour.
Liberty Travel
120 Fulton Street
New York, NY 10038-2782
(212) 349-5610
www.libertytravel.com

We Did a 2 week tour of Europe through Cosmos Tours. We started in Rome, off to FLorence, Pisa, Venice, Austria, Switzerland, Paris & left from London. Too many hotels to remember

We had a 7 hr flight to Frankfurt Germany, then an 1 1/2 layoveer and another 45 min flight to Rome..very tiring.

We weren't in the rooms long enough to really experience any service. as long as the rooms were made up when we came back, thats all i cared about. cant be too picky when you're living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks.

We went on city tours, visited famous landmarks like the Vatican, Colleseum, Pisa, Eiffel tower. We went up to the top of Mt. Titls whichis 10000 feet high in Switzerland...and lots of shopping!

most of the restaraunts/dinners were with the tour and i didnt like most of them. our next trip to Europe we're having dinners on our own.

I would highly recommned a tour with Cosmos b/c they are very affordable and you get to see so many things. We booked through atlas travel (you can find them on the web) Tip: keep away from the optional dinners..they're expensive and most often the menu is fixed so you have very few choices and the food often times was crappy.

I don't think I have really done an all in one "review" of my honeymoon in France last June, and I feel kind of bad about it. I just wrote a long reply to someone who asked me about food tips in Paris -- and since I am opinionated and really care about food, I went crazy! So this is just food tips, not hotels or sights. Here's what I wrote:

First thing is start getting restaurant tips from people and save them. Make a note of locations (arrondissement) so you can then have several places in each part of town to go to. You can look at www.tripadvisor.com either to start with, or once you have a few names you want to check out. Don't feel overwhelmed by the idea of the "best" restaurant, or wanting to go to a super famous restaurant. We didn't try to do this. We did have a few blah meals, but mostly I think we had wonderful food (of course! It's France!). I like the book The Food Lovers Guide to Paris, by Patricia Wells. This is a must, although it is several years old. But even if there is no new edition out, get it. The reason is, it is great reading and will turn you on to some aspects of food there that you might not know about. There is a chapter on the street markets, for example. We went to one at my insistence, and my husband was so charmed by the market! We bought lunch, gifts for people, ingredients for dinner. There is a chapter on chocolate, on tea, on bread, on fancy groceries, on wine bars, on bistros, etc, etc. Some of the info will be outdated, but most of it is still right. We also took the book's tips on chocolate and got some additional bistro ideas for meals. Do you know about the differences between a restaurant, bistro, brasserie, and cafe? The book explains all that -- you'll enjoy things so much more! But if you already know all this, my apologies.

The restaurant names I hope I am remembering correctly are:
A la Biche au Bois. This was a very special little restaurant near the Bastille. We liked it so much we went back again. It's famous for its coq au vin, although the dish is so authentic that it's kind of weird -- if you get this, don't both order it as you might not love it. The owner is very friendly and lived in Canada, so if you want to be able to speak English and not feel too bad about it, it's a great place.
Le Petit Pontoise (I am not sure about articles - whether it's "le" or "la" or "les" -- can't remember). On Left Bank near the river, not far from the Place St. Michel I think. A lovely small restaurant with very hearty food. They were also very nice to us. A few tables on the street, in good weather. Got this from the New York Times.
Fontaine du Mars (again, not 100% sure this is the exact name) on the Left Bank but a little out of the way -- maybe it was kind of near Invalides or the Eiffel Tower, I'm not sure. We thought this restaurant was really wonderful. I love the starters they serve in France, and remember that I had a great one, maybe with goat cheese? Also very cozy, possibly the most expensive of the three restaurants I have named. Oh, this is strange, but Chinese food in Paris is really pretty different from what I am used to. We decided to go to a Chinese restaurant and really enjoyed it. Lots of little differences, but it felt French too in some ways - white tableclothes, well dressed waiters, a certain attention to detail. You could also try other ethnic food --

A food and shopping tip -- you can buy some things for yourself as well as gifts in Samaritaine, the big department store. My husband got really cranky there so I parked him in the tea salon on an upper floor, with a view of the river -- he was so happy, and I got to shop. There are also LOTS of food gifts for sale at Samaritaine. Bring back some things for yourself like peppercorns, French herbs, maybe a few cans of foie gras -- they're wonderful to have when you get home. They make great gifts, too. Also, kitchen utensils, dishclothes, wooden spoons - wonderful to remember you bought them in Paris!

Don'ts --
There is not wonderful food everywhere. It's hard to know how to spot it. But, I think that roughly speaking you get what you pay for. If you go for a cheap prix fixe (sp?) meal one night, say, 18 Euros a plate, it won't be as good as the place where they charge 30 Euros. On the whole. But, it's still France. And you can have several enjoyable cheap meals -- I got a wonderful omelette at dinner, we got deli food for picnic lunches, etc. The take out food is just amazing and I'm not sure you would even find everything in a restaurant anyway. Go into a butcher's or a big cheese store, or even a big patisserie -- the patisserie in our part of Paris had a big deli section, with wonderful salads, amazing sandwiches, all sorts of things. And of course then you pick up your tart au citron and your Opera (pastry) and your assorted other pastries . . . At the cheese store, buy a small cheese you've never heard of, and a stick of bread -- heaven.

A drink I first had in Paris, very good on a cold night -- red wine kir. I'm not sure this is what they call it, but it's just red wine with a dollop of creme de cassis.

Booked flights through Corniche Travel (LA travel agency) - great, saved $$$
Flights: @$600 ea.
Booked hotel online @ hotel site - hotel rec'd by a family friend... @$125/night
Hotel Beaumarchais in the Marais was just what we needed - affordable, clean, friendly and close to metro...walking distance to many attractions. Room was small, like most rooms in Paris!

Paris in February was COLD - the Eiffel Tower - freezing! Still, there were pretty good-sized crowds at popular tourist locations. We had a great time eating, going to the movies (they play American films in English), going to cafes and museums, and SHOPPING (we love to shop!). It was a little expensive, we spent about $200 a day on food and, well, shopping!

Also, everyone says how rude people are in Paris, but we learned a handful of polite phrases in French - excuse me, please, thank you, hello and good-bye - and used them often and everyone was very nice to us - especially the friends we made at a nightclub who showed us around the next day in their car....

Booked through Rail Europe - very friendly and helpful, good information on the train. $200 ea. This was cheaper than a separate round-trip flight to Florence would have been - plus we saved on the hotel room that night. It was also fun and romantic. The cars are teeny and we slept in bunks, not together...but they serve a full meal on the train and bring you cappucino and a crossaint in your cabin in the morning! Highly recommend.

Booked hotel through Venere.com - good reviews, accurate info, good price. @$120/night
Hotel Caravaggio was, just as described, clean, with modern bathrooms and big-ish rooms (big for Europe). The full bed was two twins pushed together :( but I didn't notice till the third night...the staff were outstanding, very helpful and nice, and they have internet in the lobby.

Florence was cold, too! The shopping was great, the movies were more scarcer than in Paris and mostly in Italian...but the food was AMAZING! We really regretted not renting a scooter - when we finally tried, on our last day, everything was closed because it was Sunday. :(

Museums are some of the best in the world - we particularly enjoyed the museum of the history of science - it's not very well displayed, but they have some amazing stuff there.

Florence is basically a small town and other than the art and the eating and the shopping, you run out of acitivities fast...but then, this is a honeymoon...so taking it easy was nice! It is a very beautiful and romantic place! Food was cheaper than in Paris, but we ate more, so expense were the same - $200-$250/day, including our shopping!

Flights were Air France booked through Delta and we had a lot of problems - delays and more delays - but then again, I've just had so many problems with air travel I'm not sure if any airline is better than the others!

Feel free to email for more info if you are going to Paris or Florence! awilderdrake@earthlink.net

This is a trip I took in early May last year. We started off in Madrid. We didn’t have a lot of time in the city, so we took a bus tour—it was a double decker bus that had stops to most of the tourist areas in the city and would go to each stop every 30 minutes—so you could stay 30 minutes or a couple of hours at each stop if you want. It was a great way to see the whole city in one day—then you could go back the next day to spend more time where you want. I think there were a few different companies that had these, and you will see them everywhere. Definitely go to the Prado and go to the palace. We also spent an afternoon in a beautiful park, but I can’t remember what it was called-but it was huge.

There is also some great shopping in Madrid and it’s really easy to get around on the metro. If you have time for a day trip you should go to Toledo which is a pretty little fortress town, or go to El Escorial-an old monastery. I think both were only about an hour long bus ride away. We then took the high speed train to Cordoba and spent a night or two there. Try to book your high speed train tickets ahead of time, because sometime they book up quickly. But for the regular trains I doubt there would be a problem.

Definitely go to the Mezquita-the architecture is really interesting. There were some nice gardens nearby also, but they were closed the day we were there. Walk across the river and go up the torre-it had a nice view of the city and you go through a little museum on your way to the top. We then took a train to Granada. You do have to buy Allhambra tickets ahead of time—it is really worth it. The gardens were my favorite part-they are beautiful—and if you’re going in April/May, it’s perfect timing because the flowers are everywhere. Also walk around the Jewish quarter, there are lots of winding streets and pretty whitewashed houses. From Granada we went to Cadiz— I didn’t want to go to Spain without visiting at least one beach! It’s about an hour train ride from Sevilla and was my favorite place we visited in Spain. The beach-Playa Victoria was really nice. We did go on one of the double decker buses here the first day-it was a great way to familiarize yourself with the city. Finally, we then took the train to Sevilla. We mostly just walked around the city while we were there. We toured the Alcazar, went up to the top of the Giralda in the Cathedral, and explored the many plazas. There are supposed to be some great museums there too, but we were a little museumed out by that time! I loved Spain and can’t wait to go back. Luckily, my best friend lives in Madrid, so I should have plenty of opportunities. Page me if you have any questions or want to see my online pictures.

This was more of a budget trip with friends-we stayed with a friend in Madrid and inexpensive hotels everywhere else. I can't remember the names of them! I wish I could remember the names of some of the restaurants, because we ate at some great ones. But, if you want any recommendations on things to do/restaurants in Madrid, I would be happy to ask my friend. She has now lived there for about 2 years, and her husband is from Madrid. Actually I do remember one hotel-Francia y Paris in Cadiz. It was in a great location near the center of town and close to the harbor. The rooms were nice and simple, but it was a great place to stay.

I have also been to Barcelona, on a backpacking trip about 6 years ago--but it was one of my favorite places! You are going to have a wonderful time!

RP from D.C. - Honeymoon Review -Greece (long)
From: Reims02 Date: 6/10/2004 at 11:07 am

We had a wonderful honeymoon in Greece (Athens, Santorini, Crete). There are a few pics in my bio, if you'd like to see all of our pics, just email me (cvilleva04@yahoo.com). We used Fantasy Travel (http://www.fantasy.gr/english/index.html) to book hotels (except in Crete), transfers to/from airports and ferries, and car rentals. We were very happy with them. We'd never used a travel agent before when travelling to Europe but since we were so busy with wedding planning, we decided to try this. Would use them again.

We flew on British Airways, I found airfare last fall for $400 each round-trip including tax, on travelocity. At the airport, we told them we were on our honeymoon and asked if they could give us an upgrade and they did! We couldn't believe it (our friends told us to try this but we didn't think it would happen). They also brought us Champagne on all legs of the flight (we only had the upgrade for the flight from Dulles to London).

Athens: We stayed in Hotel Electra, it was fine, nice rooms, good location (Syntagma Square). We did the usual sightseeing and walked around the Plaka, stayed 2 nights. Liked Athens more than we thought we would!

We took a ferry (8 hours) from Athens to Santorini. Next time we'd fly or take a high-speed ferry, we couldn't escape the cigarette smoke.

Santorini: On Santorini, we stayed at Volcano View Villas near Fira. The views were amazing, the restaurant was quite good. The room was a bit damp, I'm not sure why, but even when we opened the windows, it never seemed to dry out. It also was not in close walking distance of Fira, we usually took a taxi to get there. Next time we would stay somewhere in Oia.

We spent time in Fira and Oia, loved both towns, especially Oia. Loved the food! Usually ate at tavernas, enjoyed a meal at Selene restaurant, had great fresh red snapper at a restaurant at the port in Oia. We had a car for a couple of days and drove all around the island--enjoyed ancient Thira, the beaches, and the wineries the most. They make some great dry white wines in Santorini.

Crete: Also took a ferry (4 hours) to Crete. We were able to transfer a week of DH's timeshare here. We stayed at Leoniki Residence, near the city of Rethymno, it was nice and our room was huge. The beaches in Crete were beautiful, especially on the Libyan Sea side (pic at end of bio).

We had a car in Crete also, visited the Palace of Knossos, the archaelogical museum in Heraklion, walked around the cities of Rethymno and Chania (loved this city), hiked the Samarian Gorge, which is absolutely beautiful. If we go back, we'll definitely spend more time in Crete, we were there for 5 days and it wasn't nearly enough time.

We flew back to Athens and stayed at the airport Sofitel for our last night since we had an early morning flight home. This is a nice hotel! They asked if we were on holiday, we told them that we were on our honeymoon, they upgraded our room to a suite for free!

Well after months of planning and "lurking" on the honeymoon boards for advice on Greece, I am finally able to post about my own experience.

We planned out trip with the help of Hellenic Adventures and I have to say that they were fantastic. Everything about our trip was easy. They had previously made all of our travel arrangements both to the islands and within the islands and it was wonderful!

After flying from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Athens, and then AThens to Santorini, we FINALLY made it to our adorable hotel - Homeric Poems. Margarita is a doll and the place is exactly what we wanted. We walked into our room feeling exhausted but still excited and were welcomed to a dozen roses, a huge fruit basket and a bottle of chilled champagne (all were compliments of Hellenic Adventures). We arrived just in time to enjoy our first sunset in Santorini. I would highly recommend Homeric Poems. The service was wonderful, the daily breakfasts were yummy and the view was amazing. I honestly thought the view of the sunset from our private balcony was just as good if not better than the sunset from Oia. We had really good food at numerous restuarants and tavernas - Everywhere we went the food was great. By far our favorite place for dinner was Vanilla which happened to be just a few steps away from our hotel. We were in Santorini for 6 nights.

From Santorini we took the high-speed ferry to Crete. We spent one night in Iraklion which we actually found pretty enjoyable. The town is bustling and there are so many fun cafe/bar/clubs with TONS of people. We drove from Iraklion to Chania. We loved Chania! Very different from Santorini - the old venetian harbor is really quaint and fun to walk around in. We stayed at Villa Andromeda - again so cute! It is an old mansion that has been completely renovated. Again we were served breakfast every morning out on our balcony over-looking the Cretan Sea. Gorgeous! We did not hike the Samarian Gorge which was our original plan. We loved the town so much that we wanted more time to explore, shop, and just relax.

After 4 nights in Crete we flew to Athens. We had a FABULOUS meal at Symposium. Highly recommend that resturant. We had a private, guided tour of the Acropolis which lasted a bit too long for my enjoyment but was nonetheless very interesting. Our hotel was Herodion - just a typical 4 star hotel. But it was within walking distance to the Plaka and to the Acropolis.

After 2 nights in Athens we flew to Amsterdam. We only had 1 night a few hours the next day to explore but we managed to find a great Thai restaurant and did some exploring in the Jordan neighborhood. We stayed at Peter & Blaine's B&B - cute place and a great breakfast.

All in all our trip was completely relaxing. We really loved every part of it and would highly recommend Greece as a honeymoon destination.

Greek Island Honeymoon - Review
From: UsedtoBeMBG Date: 10/7/2004 at 3:22 pm

I also posted this on the Jersey board, where I spend most of my time. I thought it might help a few of you here too. :)

There is no other place in the world like Greece. I would love to have another two weeks to spend there and I think everyone should go there at least once. Here is a review:

Athens (two nights) What an amazing city! It's such an interesting mix between history and contemporary Europe - the streets are clean, the food is to die for and the scenery is gorgeous. We stayed at the St. George Lyncabettus right near Lyncabettus Hill and it was this great little boutique hotel - clean, friendly and perfectly welcoming for our first stop in Greece. Here we visited the Platka (their shopping district ... think Times Square), with cobblestone streets, restaurants galore, and a terrific taste of the Greek life. We went to the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the old Olympic Stadium the Temple of Zeus and many wonderful places that I am forgetting.

Santorini (three nights) Oh my! What a fantastic, breathtakingly beautiful island. It's actually volcanic and everything there is built into the side of a mountain. The major towns are Fira and Ia and both of them offer great shopping, authentic Greek food (we ate gyros and souvlaki every day - yum) and some of the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen - ever. Santorini is exactly what you picture when you envision the Greek Isles - be prepared to climb lots of steps here - there are very few elevators. We stayed at the Astra Hotel and on our first day the travel channel was there filming a show called 'Honeymoon Hotspots'. The Astra is known as one of the best hotels in Greece and it lives up to every bit of its reputation. The homes are built of stucco and are amazing in architecture, color and appeal.

Mykonos (three nights) This is a party island - known for it's great windmills and terrific nightlife. We stayed at the Mykonos Blu, a Grecotel chain hotel and it was just what I would imagine a luxury European resort to be. It was beautiful. We had a view of the Aegean Sea, like in Santorini, only it was right on a white sand beach. The town of Mykonos has quant little galleries and it's just charming. Here you can bathe in the sun all day, and party by night - there were people on the beaches walking around and giving massages and the food was TO DIE FOR!

Thelos (Day trip) This Island is so interesting - no one can be born or die there and it's only open from 9am - 3pm. It is where some of the most ancient ruins exist in Greece and completely worth going to see. It's a short boat trip from Mykonos via the Aegean and it's a must see for any history buff.

Rhodes (two days) This island was the furthest from Athens and it had spectacular views of the Aegean. There were castles here, and the Old City, built a long time ago (1400's I think) I don't retain the facts really well, but this island at one point was the center of trade for all of Europe - the castles were unbelievable and full of great mosaic floors, paintings and priceless antiques. Our only negative experience was at Rhodes, where we switched hotels from the Mediterranean to a wonderful spa hotel called Rhodos Park Hotel. We took a ride to Lindos which is the oldest Acropolis / ancient city in Rhodes and there were panoramic views of the islands surrounding us - just gorgeous.

I would love to go back to Greece one day. It was a honeymooners paradise, although there was SO much to see, that we were always on the go. Feel free to check out our photos, but let me warn you, there are 250 of them - so you will need lots of time.

Thanks for letting me share and I hope one day you too can visit Greece - GO, it's so worth going to see!

I'm back from Greece and we wouldn't change a thing about everwhere we went. The following are our hotels and restaurants we ate at:

1 night coming to greece and 1 night leaving - Divani Acropolis. Great location, clean and updated hotel. Great breakfast. While in Athens we ate at two of our top restaurants throughout the trip... Strofi and Daphne's. Highly recommend. Strofi was on a rooftop overlooking the Acropolis which is all lighted up at night. I had one of the best lambs of my life there, and I loveee lamb, eat it all the time.

Mykonos for 3 nights - Myconian Ambassador. We had a superior/VIP room. We were so relaxed here, our room had a great view, all the way up on the cliff, one of the last rooms on top. We rented a car one day to explore the island and all the beaches. We ate at Chez Catherines and Chez Maria in Hora. I'd recommend Catherines over Maria, but both delicious. Also, Nammous (recommended by Annemarie) was fabulous.

Santorini for 6 nights at the Astra Apartments. What a clean, romantic hotel. George is the best, he oversees everything and sets everything up for you. The travel channel and Samantha Brown were there the week prior to us arriving and stayed a week. Look for her review soon. The views are breathtaking, our rooms was clean, updated as well as the other hotels I mentioned. Restaurants to recommend in order of our liking... Our favorite was 1800, then Selene, Sphinx, Nikolas Tavern, and Koukoumavlis i think it's called. We rented a car here as well and saw the island and beaches. I do not recommend the volcano/hot springs tour. It was nice to be on the boat, but the girl leading the tour basically talked us out of hiking up on the volcano and swimming in the hot springs, told us it's not really worth it! I was shocked. Maybe it was just the boat tour we took, many companies do this tour. When you rent the car, make sure you visit wineries, we had the best time.

Topic: Honeymoon Review -- Greece
From: dxecc Date: 10/29/2004 at 4:27 pm

We arrived in Athens around 10:15 a.m. but was really 3 a.m. New York time. We were met by Robert of the Hermes travel Agency in Greece who assisted us with checking in to our connecting flight to Santorini. This was a difficult part of the trip because we were both very tired and we had a 5 hour layover before our connecting flight.

We had our first experience with on of our favorite drinks in Greece – frappe. This is an iced coffee beverage available everywhere, and we enjoyed our first at an airport café. We also had our first struggle with the language – we thought we ordered 2 ham and cheese omelettes but the waitress brought us one ham and cheese toast. This was also where we first discovered that breakfast in Greece almost always comes with a small salad of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, which I enjoyed very much. Everywhere the vegetables were so rich and tasty.

Our flight to Santorini was filled with honeymooners, and was a short flight. When we arrived at the airport, we were met by a travel agent there and transferred to our resort in Oia (pronounced eeeee-ya). The driver of the van was a crazy Greek with limited English, and he navigated the winding roads over the steep cliffs by honking at every turn – a skill that would come in handy for Jason later on. He played lively Greek music and laughed a lot. He reminded Jason of Artie from the Howard Stern show.

Our resort, Perivolas (www.perivolas.gr) greatly exceeded any expectations we had. The resort was beautiful, quiet, and romantic. We stayed in a beautiful cave room with a glorious view of the sunset from our patio or even from our room if we left the doors opened. Our bathroom was unlike anything we had experienced before. It was a fully functioning bathroom, but the floor was angled to drain the water and there was no shower curtain. We tried to take a picture of this but the bathroom like the rest of the room was in all-white and no picture would do this justice. We spent our first evening in Santorini gazing at the sunset and the view of town from our porch, and ordered our dinner from the resort to our room. The first night was rather chilly, so after dinner we stayed in our room.

We awoke to our first full day in Santorini and enjoyed Perivolas’ breakfast by the pool. Breakfast at this resort was amazing, and included fresh fruits and vegetables every morning, along with ham and cheeses, boiled eggs, nuts, warm croisannts, freshly squeezed juice, and several cereals and grains with fresh milk and honey. Breakfast was a very light and delicious meal there, and I wish I could eat that way every day. It was at this breakfast where we first encountered our new friends, Tim and Christine, who were inquiring to the staff about shifting gears in the Smart Car he had rented for the day. Of course Jason is such a car expert that he knew about the shifting in this car without ever seeing one. Tim and Christine live in Cherry Hill, NJ and were celebrating their 11th anniversary (Oct 2) in the same place where they honeymooned originally.

This day also brought the realization that this would be an extremely physical honeymoon. Because Oia is on the cliffs of Santorini, every place requires a lot of walking, including steep stairs and cliffs. The town itself is a good 15 to 20 minute walk from Perivolas. We spent this day exploring the town of Oia – shopping and taking pictures. We ate lunch and dinner in town and made our way to the castle ruins at the end of town. Oia is the 2nd largest town in Santorini and also the most beautiful. This is a town where everyone – residents and visitors alike – stop to take in the sunset every night. Tavernas advertise their breathtaking views, and around the time of sunset you can see many flash bulbs going off in town from people stopping to take pictures. However, we found that the best sunset was from our patio, and we enjoyed many of our Santorini sunsets from there. There are many stray cats and dogs in Santorini, and we tried to take pictures of many of them. The beauty of this town was breathtaking for us and it is hard to imagine that such a place even exists in the world.

There are 2 ports in Oia – Amoudi and Armeni. The second morning we wanted to take the infamous steps down to the port of Amoudi at the end of town. There are over 300 rough and unveven steps to make it to the bottom, and we did it. As difficult as it was to climb down, it was much more challenging to climb up. After this we treated ourselves to breakfast crepes in town.

We did some more shopping and exploring in Oia, but also enjoyed Perivolas’ world famous infinity pool. The water was ice cold so Jason only swam for a short while and I only sat on the edge. We enjoyed dinner at La Skala taverna where I enjoyed a delicious grilled octopus for dinner and Jason had cinnamon veal dish. We saw our friends Tim and Christine at the Taverna, and they had taken the boat trip to the volcano that day and we said we were planning that trip for tomorrow. They invited us to dinner the next day, which would be their last night on the island.

On Wednesday we pre-purchased tickets for a boat trip through the caldera to the active volcano. “Caldera” means cauldron and is the waters surrounding the volcano. Much of a bigger Santorini island sunk from a volcano eruption in antiquity, and the few smaller islands are in and around the caldera.

We took a second set of over 300 steps, this time to reach the port of Armeni and catch our boat. The first stop was the active volcano, and with our guide we climbed to the top of it. The volcano is still active and we put our hands over some of the steam vents where you can see evidence of the volcanic activity. This was a strenuous climb and we are proud that we did it. The view from the top of the volcano was breathtaking.

The boat then took us to a smaller island where there are some hot springs from the volcanic activity. This was interesting because to swim in the springs everyone simply jumped out of the boat and into the sea – no life jackets or anything. The only warning that was given to us was that if you cannot swim that you are advised to stay inside the boat. These springs were not extremely “hot” but were warm, especially compared to the cold sea. Also, the water was very salty, and you had to swim in the sea part-ways to get to the springs. Worse was swimming back to the boat going from warm to cold waters. It was really exciting to swim in the hot springs.

The next stop on our caldera adventure was to the island of Thirassia, where there are excavations going on because this is believed to be the site of the ancient city of Atlantis. We had lunch at a taverna there, and some people climbed another set of 300 steps (or rode donkeys) to reach the town there. We stayed at the taverna in port. Jason thought this was the best meal of the trip, where we had fresh calamari and chicken from the grill.

The boat then returned to the port and we rode donkeys to the top. The donkeys were expert in navigating the steps and went quite fast – my donkey was in front and then Jason’s, and then our guide’s. I don’t think Jason enjoyed the donkeys very much – they were very fast and took the turns quickly and carelessly. I enjoyed it and didn’t think I would make it up those steps otherwise.

That evening, we went with Tim and Christine to a taverna in the opposite direction of town. They enjoyed this taverna on their honeymoon eleven years ago and wanted to return. This was an amazing Greek experience. The taverna – Santorini Mou, I love You – was operated by a musician, Mickalis, who played for us the entire evening. The tourist season is coming to a close there, and this taverna was planning to close for the season later in the week so we were lucky to be there. Also, because this is in the opposite direction of town, many local residents eat there and there aren’t as many tourists. Mickalis played for us all evening, and shared his Greek spirits with us. Mostly he sang in Greek, but sang also a few songs in English and also sang Beatles songs.

We rented a smart car for Friday and Saturday to tour the island on our own. We drove all the way to the southwestern tip of the island to visit the lighthouse and take some pictures. Then we visited the red beach near the ancient town of Akoteri. This beach was interesting because in order to actually go to the beach, you had to climb these rocks and cliffs – something else you wouldn’t see in the United States. Everyone was wearing their bathing suits and beach sandals and carefully navigating these rough and slippery cliffs, so we did too. It was exhilarating to finally step on the red sand and put our feet into the sea there.

We also drove to the black beach in Perivolos. This black sand was very hot and the view of the sea was spectacular. We spent some time in Perivolos eating lunch and sitting on the beach there. We drove through most of the island and made it back to Oia before dark because we didn’t want to navigate the narrow and twist-y roads, with the steep drop-offs after dark.

We took the smart car to visit Fira, the largest town in Santorini and also the capital. This was a much bigger town than Oia, with many shops and tavernas. To reach the port in Fira, you could walk, ride a donkey, or take a cable car. We stayed at the top in town. It was amazing walking through this beautiful and busy town, and we did a lot of shopping. We also went inside several ornate churches there. Before leaving Fira we shared a chocolate crepe and had some frappes.

We wanted to spend our last full day in Santorini relaxing and taking in the beauty of the island. In the morning we walked to town to visit the castle one last time and also to peruse the shops again. We purchased some pistachios for the trip home, because they are so fresh and tasty from the local harvest.

We spent the afternoon enjoying the infinity pool at Perivolas where we both finally went for a swim. We wanted to stay at the resort for dinner as well, enjoying a candlit romantic dinner overlooking the infinity pool and the island before our morning departure. Goodbye Santorini. We’ll miss you!

The crazy Greek man who dropped us off at Perivolas also took us to the airport. He continued to laugh and play crazy Greek music, and honk at every turn. It was a riot.

There were tons of people at the Santorini airport preparing for big flights to Germany and other destinations. However, we registered and boarded our small puddle-jumper to Athens fine. We sat in the last row of the plane, which was great because it boarded from the rear instead of the front.

At our Arrival in Athens we again met Robert from the Hermes travel agency. We booked a tour of Athens and also a tour of ancient Mycenia with him. He arranged a taxi to take us to our hotel – the Grand Bretange. (http://www.grandebretagne.gr/) Only one word could describe this hotel – opulent! This is one of the world class luxury hotels in all of Europe and every corner was beautiful and luxurious. We got a room with a terrace overlooking the Greek Parliament building and could watch the changing of the guard (once an hour) from our terrace. We shared an elegant lunch in their Winter Garden café and went to the basement to visit the Spa at the Grande Bretange which was world class. We booked a couples treatment for later that day and also a hot stone massage for the next day.

We returned to our room to find a beautiful bottle of red wine compliments of the hotel for our honeymoon, but when we returned later the wine was replaced by iced champagne and fresh strawberries. We have pictures of the wine, but did not take pictures of the strawberries. We also made dinner arrangements at their world famous rooftop restaurant which has a view of the Acropolis.

We returned to the spa for our Ancient Greek Ritual treatments which we booked together in a couple’s suite. The treatment consisted of a welcoming foot soaking ritual, skin brushing and body exfoliation, and then an algae body wrap. Jason didn’t realize the wrap would be so warm and in the middle of the treatment laughed that he felt like a sushi roll. During the wrap we got a mini facial. The last phase of the treatment was one-at-a-time where (Jason went first) you go to this machine similar to a cat scan machine and water bed. Then you feel water pulsing under you massaging your back while the top of the machine dances with different colors to stimulate you. They also had a relaxation room with blankets and tea to relax after the treatment which was luxurious.

We felt so fortunate to have reservations in the rooftop restaurant and that was our first glimpse of the Acropolis. This restaurant was open-air and situated on the roof of the hotel, with a beautiful bar and an amazing menu. Jason and I both gasped when we first saw the Acropolis and we hardly took our eyes off it through dinner. Such an amazing sight!

We had pre-arranged a ˝ day tour of Athens through our travel Agent. We were disappointed with our tour guide but saw many exciting sights such as the Olympic Staduim build for the first modern-day Olympics in 1896, the Temple of Zeus, and lastly the Acropolis. Because the Acropolis was the last stop we left the tour there and saw it on our own.

It was amazing to climb to the top of the Acropolis, which means “raised land above the city” and see the many temples. Athens is unique because it is the only city in which their Acropolis was the religious center of town rather than a military fortress. We saw the Parthenon and the temples of Nike and Athena and went through a museum of artifacts. It was breathtaking to be so close to this ancient creation. The charger Jason bought for the camera and video camera was having problems, and it was our luck that while we were visiting the Acropolis the digital camera died. However, we got several amazing pictures from there before that happened.

We walked back to the hotel from the Parthenon and found many traditional shops and tavernas. In the afternoon, we had our hot stone massage treatments scheduled, and we arrived early to swim in the luxurious pool at the Grande Bretange spa.

For dinner we ate in the luxurious GB Corner at the hotel and the ambiance, service, food were remarkable. We decided to stay in the hotel since this evening was the only time during the entire honeymoon when it rained.

Our final full day in Greece was spent touring the Ancient Greek countryside to the South. Our tour guide, Yannis, was very interesting and informative. He pointed out many landmarks along the way and we were so glad that we booked this tour.

We saw several ancient cities that Saint Paul mentioned in the New Testament including Corinth, where there is now a modern canal connecting Greece to Italy. The highlight of the tour is ancient Mycenia, where it was originally believed to house the ancient king Agamemnon, but now it is known that the inhabitants of this ancient city came long before him. We explored several royal grave sites that had been looted and a mountaintop village including a palace, where it was evident that there was a throne room with a fire place. It was so interesting to visit this ancient place, where its utter existence remains a mystery. Historians and archeologists have determined how these people lived, but nothing is known about who they were or even when they lived. The only written records left behind by this ancient civilization were inventory records from their supply closets.

We also saw the original capital of Greece and also several other ancient ruins.

It was fascinating to visit the ancient Greek amphitheatre, which is known as the best ancient amphitheatre and the only one respected by the Romans because of its perfect acoustics. One side of the theatre was destroyed in ruin but has been restored and this ancient theatre is still in use for festivals once a year.

We spent our last night in Greece walking around the town and had dinner at a local café, where they gave us a free drink because we said we were from NY and this is the last night of our honeymoon.

A taxi got us from the hotel at 9:15 to take us to the Athens airport. We checked in and boarded the sold-out flight fine. Total flying time was 10 ˝ hours and including waiting at the airport and transferring, we made it home 19 hours after leaving.

This was truly a trip of a lifetime and such a wonderful way to celebrate the start of a marriage. As the song from our first dance says, “the best is yet to come” but visiting Greece was overwhelming and amazing and sharing it with my new husband brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions. I’m glad to be home but I’m so glad to have this amazing experience.

- We spent 10 days in Greece - 1.5 days in Athens, 3.5 days in Naxos, and 5 days in Santorini...it was AMAZING!!

- Our flight (from Seattle, WA) was LONG, but not too bad. It ended up being about 14 hours of actual flight time.

- Our rooms were perfect. We might have picked a different hotel in Athens - we stayed at the Hotel Achilleas which was a great location, but nothing spectacular. In Naxos, we stayed in the Porto Naxos Honeymoon Room which was beautiful and had an amazing balcony. On Santorini, we stayed 2 nights at the Princess Santorini in Imerovigli which was beautiful, but far away from everything. The next two nights we stayed at Hotel Esperas in Oia which was INCREDIBLE! I wish we had stayed there the whole time, or found a place in Fira for the first two nights. Service at all of the hotels was wonderful!

- Our favorite activities were the historic sites in Athens, relaxing on the beach in Naxos, and the historic Bella Aurora boat trip to the volcano in Santorini.

- Our favorite restaurant was 1800 in Oia - it was delicious! We also loved all of the restaurants in Oia and Fira overlooking the caldera - such incredible views and great Greek food!

- I would recommend Greece to ANYONE - there was so much to do, beautiful sites and scenery, so much history, romance, great weather - it was perfect!

- TO book our trip we used Fantasy Travel in Greece - they were so helpful, and let us pick our own itinerary and all of our tickets were waiting for us at check-in - it was wonderful!

the long awaited P-A-R-I-S trip review inside
From: palmbeachgirl, 5/2/2005 at 2:50 pm

Okay, so it's been almost a month since I've been back, but you will be happy to know that I have finally written my trip review as promised!

Oh my gosh, where to even begin! I will start by saying that I have been to Paris before, and am absolutely in LOVE with it! (Is it possible to be in love with a city? Well, regardless, I am!) My DH had never been, so I'd been really wanting to go with him. Anyway, we stayed in the Rue Cler area. It is the most adorable, charming little street that is so typical of an old "Parisian" street. It is a pedestrian-only street, closed off to traffic. The cobblestone streets are lined with little shops and cafés, bakeries and wine shops, fresh fruit markets, flower markets, etc. You literally cannot walk down this street without getting something fabulous to munch on. Fresh strawberries, chocolate eclairs, crepes, every kind of cheese you can imagine, mmmmm....my mouth is watering just thinking about it. So, our hotel was a block away, in a converted townhouse (very similar to a NYC brownstone) - Very cute, lots of character, and updated with really trendy and cool furniture. There are only 10 rooms there, I think. We were on the top floor (so I lied when I booked the trip, saying we were on our honeymoon so we'd get the best room!) LOL - it's not really a lie, I mean, technically the first two years are supposed to be the honeymoon, right?

We did most of the main touristy attractions (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc.) but wanted to really experience Paris like a real Parisian. Usually we'd do the touristy stuff in the morning, then take the afternoons to do the less-touristy stuff. So we did alot of going "off the beaten path" - we just wandered the streets and went into little areas that are lesser-known, with the help of lots of people I know who travel there a lot. Let me tell you, this was the BEST way to do Paris! I know you have to do all the major sites if you've never seen them, but seriously, Paris has so much more to offer than all the big attractions. I swear you can walk around any corner in the city and just be awed at how beautiful the city is, how much character there is in the streets, and the little things that we take for granted back here in the US. For example, every day we'd go to a café for lunch, and we could just sit there for hours drinking wine, not feeling rushed to get out of there. You could go by any park or square during the afternoon, and you'd see businessmen there in their suits laying in the grass enjoying the sun. (Can you imagine EVER seeing that here?) I just love the way of life there. So carefree and relaxed. They really take time out to ENJOY life, and that was why this trip was so great...we didn't try to rush around seeing 10 things a day. So many people go to Europe and try to take in as much as possible in as few days as they can, and to me it just seems such a waste if you can't really enjoy things because you are rushing.

I guess I don't really have anything specific to write about, mainly just being there in general was so great. I'm doing a story on this for the magazine I work for, so I took over 1000 pictures (DH was starting to get annoyed around the mid-600s). Obviously I couldn't put them ALL up for you, but I put a little section of pics in my bio for those of you who are bored or need a break in their day!

If anyone is going to Paris, let me know...I just LOVE to talk about it!! :)
Stacey

**Part 2 of my review...The Italian Honeymoon**
From: ellenaxo, 4/19/2005 at 3:02 pm

We spent 5 nights in Sorrento,Italy and 4 nights in Rome,Italy. Luckily, we got to Rome the Tuesday after the Pope's funeral so it quieted down.

Hotel in Sorrento: Bellevue Syrene
The hotel was beautiful...on a cliff overlooking the water. The room was big and we had a great view. One negative on the hotel is that its old and the walls are really thin. We heard people walking upstairs and taking showers. Also the staff working there were very nice but not that helpful.

From Sorrento we took a few day trips which were wonderful:
-We went to Pompeii to see the ruins.
-We took a fast boat to the island of Capri (the highlight of my trip)
-We took a bus to Positano.

I loved Sorrento! Such a cute town...the food was great and the people were so friendly. I hope to go back there someday!

Hotel in Rome: Capo d'Africa (near the Colosseum) This hotel was great. Its new and very modern. We got a deluxe room and it was huge! The staff was very nice and helpful as well.

We saw so many unbelievable sights...the Colosseum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps. Unfortunately the Sistine Chapel was closed. Oh well, just a reason for us to go back to Rome. We rented a scooter which was a bit scary, but worked out great. We got to see so much!!

We left on May 15th, day after the wedding. Flew Air France to Paris. We got really screwed in Paris because the Air France Traffic Controllers were on strike. Our flight was late and we ended up missing our connecting flight to Athens. So, they had to switch airlines for us. When we finally got to Athens, (4 hours later than expected, not too bad), they had lost our luggage.

We toured anyway in dirty clothes. We stayed near a very well known area of town called the Plaka. Tons of cafe's, shops, people watching. We had a blast just sitting and eating.

The next day we did the tourist thing : Acropolis, Pantheonon, etc. MUST SEE, IMO. It was amazing. It's quite a hike, so wear good shoes.

Day 3 - Ferry boat to Santorini. This took up the majority of our day - as it's an 8 hour boat ride. I didn't mind it too bad because we met some Americans and just talked with them all day about their backpacking adventures. I also slept a little bit. We arrived in Santorini - what a great, quaint place! We loved it! There is nothing like it in this world. You have to go to this island sometime in your lifetime. We stayed at a little place called the Blue Dolphins which is in Fira. It was not expensive - about 55 euro a night. We rented a scooter (very fun but Greek people drive like mad men, so be careful). We drove the scooter down to the black sand beaches - also a must see since it's so rare. We did a lot of wandering around, didn't really plan much because we aren't planners. We drove down to the town called Oia - also a must see. Wonderful, quaint little place.

Day 5 - Ferry boat to Naxos - biggest island in Cyclades -
Wonderful island! Very quiet, very country side. Beautiful flowers. Lots of farm land. We really enjoyed this island because it was so different from Santorini. Again, we rented a scooter and drove to two beaches - Plaka and Agia Anna. Both really nice. Plaka was almost desereted. At night we drove in to the port to watch the sunset and have dinner. We stayed at a place called Hotel Kavos. LOVELY.

Day 8 - Ferry to Mykonos -
Mykonos is very close to Naxos. We actually didn't book a hotel here. When we arrived, we got a taxi and told him to take us to the beach. He told us about a couple of places we could stay. We ended up at a place called Mykonos Palace at a beach called Platis Gialos. Apparently the most popular of the beaches in Mykonos. The gay beach is called Super Paradise (the one with pink balls).

On our last day (may 27th) we took a ferry back to Athens and left the following morrning back home.

Back from honeymoon in Greece--pics in bio!
From: kally, 6/8/2005 at 10:50 am

I just wanted to say that we had a fabulous time on our honeymoon. We started out in Athens and stayed at the Grand Bretagne Hotel. I absolutely loved this hotel--we were greeted in our room with a bottle of champagne and strawberries. Our bathroom was very luxurious with a huge jacuzzi. Their restaurant and bar was also good and I particularly liked their breakfast which was quite elegant. We had heard from many people before going to Athens that Athens was not fun and not worth going to. I couldn't disagree more. I really enjoyed people watching there and my husband and I wished that we had stayed there for another day or two!

After Athens we were off to Mykonos and we stayed at the Mykonos Grand. They upgraded us to a superior room which was very nice! I really liked the decor and the overall vibe at this hotel. Although we made quite a few excursions to town, you could easily have stayed at the hotel all day and enjoyed yourself. Their poolside restaurant was quite good with fun lounge music playing most of the day. Exploring the town of Mykonos was great, it is a quaint village by day and then at night it is totally transformed into this hip center beaming with energy and people out and about looking for a good time.

After Mykonos we headed to Santorini where we stayed at the Katikies Hotel in Oia. The hotel is absolutely beautiful on the outside with the gorgeous pool, beautiful views, and elegant nooks to dine in. Their service is also wonderful and they are very accomodating. We had a wonderful time in Oia; however, I have to say that I wasn't too impressed with our room even though we got a suite. The room was neat and clean but did not seem even remotely luxurious--our bathroom was not that great and the bed was in a loft like area which was annoying because you had to climb down stairs to go to the bathroom. I thought our accomodations at Mykonos Grand were significantly better. However, with that being said, we still had a great time at Katikies because the hotel common areas are just fantastic and lounging outside there was so much fun!

We used Fantasy Travel to book all the arrangements and I would HIGHLY recommend them. It was so nice to go there and not worry about transportation to and from hotels, getting ferry tickets, etc. and to just have a source to contact in case something went wrong. We spent one and 1/2 days in Athens, 3 nights in Mykonos, and 8 nights in Santorini. I worked with litsa at fantasy travel and this is her e-mail address: litsa@fantasy.gr

Italy Trip Review: Tuscany and Rome (very, very long!)
From: maybride07, 6/10/2005 at 1:00 pm

I tried to edit this as much as possible and it's still really long. The same review is also on Fodors.com-I took over 750 pics but put a few in bio.

Unfortunately we were both sick from a sinus infection. Actually, he was getting over one and I started the day before we left. We were sick the entire first week and then just had allergies the remaining of the trip. We went through four boxes of medication and I'm so glad I took them "just in case". This trip was to celebrate our 3 yr anniversary and it was our first real vacation since our honeymoon. I also planned this trip entirely on my own because my husband is usually very busy with work. All he knew was that we were going to Tuscany and Rome and that he had to drive!

We left for Italy on May 20. From LAX (Los Angeles) we had a layover in New York (JFK). It was a complete zoo at LAX and I'm glad we got there 2.5 hrs early. After waiting in line for about an hour, and having to walk to another terminal to go through security, taking a shuttle back to the American Airlines terminal, we finally got to sit down once we boarded the plane. The flight was scheduled for 8am but left about 15 mins late. We had a pleasant flight.

We arrived in NY at 4:30pm. I knew we were going to have a problem because our flight to Rome was suppose to leave at 4:50pm. It took another 10 mins after we arrived to actually get to the Terminal. We ran to the terminal with our carry on, went through security, only to get there and be told that the plane had left 5 mins ago The reps were rude and told us to go downstairs to see if it was possible to get a flight out but it would not be direct to Rome. There was an older couple who had also been left behind.

The first supervisor I spoke to was extremely rude. He told us to get in the very long line and ask to get the flight rebooked. I told him I was not going to wait in line since they knew we were on the incoming flight and that it was late. Once again he told me to get in line. I asked him his name, which he refused to give me, and then walked away. There was another supervisor there and at this point I was furious but again asked for him to do something. He also told me to get in line. I asked him if that was the service that American provided. Finally I told him that my husband was in the military and this was the first time in three years that he was given time off to take a vacation and that I couldn't believe that it had started this that way and that I could not believe their attitude.

He told me to wait and finally got a rep for us who booked our flight to Rome. However, it was four hours later and we had to fly to Zurich first. We had a 1.5 hr layover there and the flight left 1 hr late. I think the Swiss Air airplane was the oldest they had and certainly the oldest I had ever been on.

We finally arrived to Rome and picked up our car from AutoEurope. It was easy to get the rental agency from the directions listed in Slowtrav.com. The rep for AutoEurope didn't really speak English. I asked about having complete coverage (I had CDW) and wanted to know if we were covered in case my husband backed up into a pole or something. I could tell he wasn't sure because he would look at the computer and then say, uh... yes. The print out said we were not covered for single party accidents but the rep insisted we were. I made him cross out that line and had him initial it, just in case.

Car rental: AutoEurope. One week, $318 USD. They matched the price from Novarentacar. AutoEurope's quote was $500. We picked up the car at Rome airport FCO and dropped it off in Rome. We spent about $100 USD on gas during our week stay in Tuscany.

Tuscany:
It was easy to get out of Rome and we were on our way to Tuscany. We arrived around 7pm. We stayed at Le Manzinaie (www.lemanzinaie.it) in Montepulciano Stazione, about 5 miles from Montepulciano. Marzia, the owner, and her daughter Alicia greeted us. They asked if we wanted to get a few things to eat from the market before they closed so that we can have something to eat since the markets were closed on Sunday. It was easy to find the Conad. We grabbed a few things and water and headed back. Aside from the drama with the missed flights, we learned that our ATM cards did not work. We could purchase things but not take money out. We must have stopped at all of the Autogrill Bancomats and none of them would accept the card. We had to leave a deposit in cash at the beginning of our stay but once I explained to Marzia the situation she said not to worry about it and give her the deposit when we sorted it out with the bank. When we returned, Marzia checked us in, did a quick walk through, and after being up for over 24 hrs, we finally sat down and had some tea.

Sunday: Montalcino, Sant'Animo Abbey, and Monte Olivieto Maggiore. We slept in a bit, got ready, and were on our way. We bought a TCI Toscana map 1:200K before we left and it was very useful. We also used a Lonely Planet Tuscany guide book and found it useful for the information it gave us. I had printed StuDudley's (Fodor's member) portion of his notes for Tuscany as well as many restaurants that had been recommended on Fodor's. I'm glad I did, they came in handy.

We arrived in Montalcino and easily found parking. There wasn't that many people there and we walked around to see the sights listed in the guide book. We got hungry and found the Grappolo Blu restaurant. It was still a bit early and we were the only ones there. We ordered bruschetta, I had the cheese ravioli and my husband the gnochhi. The food was very good and inexpensive. It was under 25 € for our meal. We walked around a bit and found a wonderful pastry shop called Mariuccia. They had the best cream puffs and miniature cream pies. It was warm that day and both of us weren't feeling well so we decided to skip Monte Olivieto head to the Abbey. I personally did not care for Montalcino. I didn't feel that there was anything special about it. We rarely drink wine so we didn't taste any of the Brunellos (don't think I would have known the difference!)

We left for the Abbey and arrived about 40 mins before the chanting began. We decided to wait and hang out. When we finally heard the chanting and I'm glad we waited. What a wonderful experience that was. We skipped Monte Olivieto since we were not feeling well.

We also stopped in Pienza since it was still early. We absolutely loved Pienza. We thought it was so cute and quaint and actually stopped there three times during our stay in Tuscany. There was a shop near the main church on the right hand side that had great sandwiches that we picked up. The next time, we found another pastry shop, Dolce Sosta, where we also found delicious pastries and great gelato. We substituted the wine for pastries! We bought some Pecorino cheese during one of our stops as well. We kept trying our ATM everywhere we went and it finally worked in Pienza. We found the bancomat after walking through some side streets. My husband wasn't feeling well from his stomach the whole time in Tuscany so we didn't eat at any restaurants except in Montalcino and Montepulciano. We either picked up sandwiches or pizza and ate at our apartment.

Monday:We had planned to go to Chianti but went to San Gimignano instead. Having a sinus infection really took a toll on us. We were not in the mood to do anything. Well, we got there early and found parking at a lot to the left of the town. We were there a few hours and paid about $2 € for parking. We did not like San G at all. We both felt it was too touristy and when we got there there wasn't that many people but by the time we left, it was like Disneyland. There was a great pizza shop on the left hand side near the entrance. We bought some for the ride home and a few more pieces for dinner.

It seemed like we took the long way back to Montepulciano but eventually made it back. Again, we relaxed and had pizza again for dinner and called it a day. We pretty much followed this routine for the entire week.

Weds: Siena. We left early and followed directions to the Porta Turfi entrance from one of the threads on Fodors. We didn't have a problem finding parking. We didn't really care for Siena. I guess it's one of those places where you love it or hate it. I didn't hate it, just didn't care for it. It was interesting to read the history and to see a walled city but that was it. We were there a few hours and were anxious to leave. I think a lot of it had to do with us both being sick and that it was warm. By this time, I had lost my voice, I couldn't stop coughing, and felt like my head weighed a ton. We visited the main sights (tourist sights) and left. Of course, picking up some pizza before we left.

When we arrived to our apartment, Marzia called us over. One of the guests was making bread in the brick oven the brick oven that sits across from the apartments. The guests also turned out to be from California, not far from where my Mom lives. The guest had made bread with salt for Fiore, Marzia's husband. Fiore had complained that bread was not made with salt in Tuscany because the food is seasoned with a lot of salt. She made about 7 loaves and we all had some with olive oil and a few were saved for dinner that evening. Marzia then brought out some wine and some marinara sauce. Some of the other guests joined in and we feasted on bread with oil or marinara sauce. It was absolutely delicious and we had a great time with the other guests.

That evening, Marzia hosted a dinner for all the guests. It was at 8pm in there reception room. Upon arrival they had a very long table nicely set up for 18 people. The entire meal consisted of bruschetta, lasagna, ribs, chicken, potatoes, sausage, and all you can drink wine, natural or "fizzy" water. For dessert, homemade fig or pear pie. The dinner was delicious and certainly the best we had in Tuscany. We had a great time meeting and talking to the other guests whom all happened to be American except for one English couple. Marzia showed us pictures of what the farmhouse looked like when they first purchased it fifteen years ago. They did an absolutely wonderful job with it. We stayed up until 1am.

Thurs: By this day, we were tired of all the driving and since I don't know how to drive standard, I felt really bad that my husband wasn't getting much of a break, especially because he drives to work 55 miles each way. We were suppose to go to Assisi and decided to leave it for another trip. We slept in, and when we finally got up went to San Quirico d'Orcia, Bagno Vigno, and Montepulciano.

We found parking right away in San Quirico. We walked around and we felt like we were the only ones there. In fact, we only saw 2 other couples there other than the people who were filming the movie at a cafe. Just about all the shops were closed except for a bar (that I can remember). It was about 11am so I was surprised that nothing was opened. I really liked that San Q. We walked around for about an hour then headed to Bagno Vigno. We were in Bagno Vigno only for about 30 mins and then headed to Montepulciano.

Montepulciano. We found free parking right away. We walked around and then found Cafe Polizano. We sat in the terrace. It was a beautiful day and had a great view. We ordered bruschetta, both had lasagna, and fizzy water. It was less than 25 € for our meal. The food was great and would recommend it.

We ended up walking around and hanging out in Montepulciano for about 5 hours. We took our time strolling through town and taking side streets. We had gelato and sat down to people watch in front of the church closest to the entrance. I also found an internet store, checked my bank account and sent a quick hello to my sister to let her know we were alive and having a great time. Before we went back to our apartment, we stopped at the Conad to buy a few more snacks & some water. I didn't see many pizza or pastry stores there. We were a bit disappointed. I don't even remember what we had for dinner that day .

Friday: Early in the week, we had decided to leave Florence for another trip but my husband brought it up on Tuesday. He asked me why I wanted to go to Florence and I told him David, but we could go some other time. He knows that the last time I was in Florence I didn't get to see David and knew that we weren't too far from Florence. He told me that with his work schedule and his plans to stay in the military until he retired that he didn't want me to wait until who knows when to go back (what a sweetheart!!!!).

I told him I preferred to take the train but he insisted to drive. We got up early and left at 7:10am. I had made reservations for both the Uffizi and Accademia a few months before so we didn't have to wait in line. By the time we got on the highway and drove to Florence, it was 8am. (Yes, we got there really quick since my husband by then had adjusted to the Italian way of driving-he said it was like rally car racing!).We hit traffic getting into Florence and tried to follow signs for the Stazione parking garage. At some point, where we probably made a wrong turn, we no longer saw signs. We drove around a bit then decided to park in the first garage we found. We ended parking in the Ghiberti parking garage that was about a 10 minute walk from the Duomo.

By this time we had missed our reservations for David but went anyway. It was about 9:10am and there was a five minute wait to get in. We finally got in and made our way to see David--and there he was. I was in awe and got goose bumps. Finally, after all this time and there I was to see him in person. My husband was impressed as well. We joined a small group of high school students and listened to their guide. After we looked at the other art, we went back and sat down to admire David a while.

Since we still had about 2 hrs until our reservations for the Uffizi, we asked where to buy the tickets. After we purchased them, we went to Ponte Vecchio. There was a lot of people near the shops and since we were not buying anything, we went to the Santa Croce Basilica. We walked over and took a few pics. The line was long to get in and since I had already seen the inside, my husband didn't care to so we walked to the Piazza d. Signoria. We took pictures of the David replica. We were hungry and bought sandwiches at a place to the left of the Piazza. The sandwiches were delicious. We sat on a bench near the entrance to the Uffizi for those with reservations and people watched. We then went back to the same shop for gelato hoping the bench would be available when we got back. It was and sat there for about an hour until our reservations. Once in, we both purchased audio guides and went through the museum.

We headed back the apartment right after and picked up some more sandwiches for dinner. We paid $12 € to park there for 6 hrs. We relaxed when we returned and packed for our next destination, Rome.

Sat: Check out was before 9:30 so we got up early enough to make sure we left the apartment just as it was when we arrived.

Once we were on our way, we filled up right before we got into Rome and followed the directions that I printed from Via Michelin. I bought a Roma Atlante Tascabile spiral bound map and studied it the night before. I figured out that there were some extra turns so we were prepared once we got into Rome. We did have to pull over a few times because the directions told us to make turns that we didn't have to. Finally, we arrived to the Auto Europe location on 11 Via Calabria. The representative checked to make sure we had a full tank of gas and we were done. He called a taxi for us and within 3 mins he was there. He took us to the B&B near the Pantheon and we were charged $13 € eventhough it was less than 2 miles. Not sure if that's what the price really is but seemed expensive.

We arrived to the Pantheon View B&B and buzzed them to let them know we were there. I have a complete review of this B&B in Tripadvisor.com so I won't go into details. Let's just say that there was an awful smell that got worst as the days passed and it was dirty overall. The shower had soap scum and grime and the carpets were very dirty. What should have been white was grey. One of the lights in the restroom flickered on and off and one of them occasionally worked. We paid $130 € and the only decent thing I can say about this place is that it was close to everything. We even walked to the St. Peter's and didn't seem it was the 1.8 miles that mappy.com indicated.

While in Rome we saw the main tourist sights. We walked to the Borghese Gallery and purchased the audio guide.We stopped at the Trevi Fountain on the way back, took pictures and tossed the coins. We had dinner at a restaurant recommended on Fodors, Le Volte. We didn't care for the food and the staff was less than friendly. We wanted to sit inside and it seemed that all the tourists sat outside and the locals inside. It had just rained (as it did everyday for about an hour) and I didn't want to sit in the patio. When I asked if there was seating inside the waiter unwillingly seated us inside. We were given menus and then they were taken before we ordered. There was only one waiter taking orders so about ten minutes later when he had not taken our order, we flagged down one of the staff and asked when we could order. The waiter came and sarcastically asked if we had not ordered, given that he was the only one taking orders. In any case, we both ordered cheese ravioli and it made us sick. The cheese filling inside was hard. Anyway-not the best experience for our first night in Rome.

The next day, we were up early and stopped at Piazza Navona on our way to Castel Sant'Angelo. After going inside the Castle, we walked over to St. Peter's. On our way back, we stopped at San Andrea Della Valle church but it was closed. We went to a restaurant behind the church that was also recommended on Fodors, Ristorante da Pallaro. They were about to close but seated us anyway. We had a great meal here. It's a fixed menu for $20 € each. We had fried eggplant, cabbage marinated in vinegar, fried rice balls, fried veal balls, olives, bread, and prosciutto. While there, there was a huge gust of wind and it started to sprinkle. They told us to sit inside and we were the only ones there. After, they brought us pasta with marinara sauce. Next was veal, squash marinated in something-but it was good, mozzarella cheese balls, fried potatoes that looked like potato chips but thicker, more bread, and then came dessert. They gave us a shot of what looked like fruit punch and custard pie. Since they had closed, the staff sat in the next table and ate while listening to the soccer game. It had rained quite a bit but had stopped by the time we finished. Everyone was really nice and the meal was memorable.

Monday morning we got up early and headed to St. Peter's. I picked up something to eat on the way there at a coffee shop near Piazza Navona. It was a breeze to get into St. Peter's. We made the mistake of getting in line for the Vatican Museums before it opened. I had read in a guidebook that if you wait after 10:30am, the line is not as long. Well, since we had the Scavi tour that day, I didn't want to be rushed not knowing if it was true about the shorter lines. We waited about 35 minutes, purchased an audio guide and went through the museum. We had planned to take tours but decided not to before we left. I purchased the National Geographic Traveler Rome and it was useful, along with the audio guides. We were there for several hours and then headed to the Sistene Chapel. Sure enough, when we were done, there was hardly anyone in line.

Since we still had a few hours before our Scavi Tour (my request was submitted via email right before the Pope passed and they got back to me two weeks later). We were trying to find a restaurant recommended here nearby but couldn't find it and ended up stopping at a corner where there was a bakery. I looked in and they had calzones and pizza. We walked in and the bread and pizza smelled and looked good. We each ordered a cheese and tomato calzone and ate there and picked up some cookies before we left.

On our way back to St. Peter's I missed a step and nearly fell. I didn't actually fall but jammed my knee in the process. Worst, it's my bad knee that I injured many years ago while playing sports. I was in immense pain and thought to myself that the last thing I needed was to go to the hospital. I managed to stretch it out but limped over to St. Peter's. We sat on the edge of the columns and people watched.

We headed over to St. Peter's where we had to meet for the Scavi tour. While we waited a Senator from Minnesota showed up with his very young wife and 2 Americans from the Embassy. They were given a private tour. Our guide finally showed up. I was surprised to see the lack of security at the Vatican. The guide realized there was too many people in our group and 3 people didn't have tickets. He made one of them go back out for the tickets and left the other two behind, already inside where the tour starts, to wait for the person for the tickets. The tour was a great experience and I'm glad we had the opportunity to take the tour. It was the highlight of my trip in Rome.

We walked back to our apartment and decided to take a nap before dinner. We slept for about an hour, showered, and headed to dinner.We ate at Le Cave on Piazza di Sant' Ignazio near the Pantheon. They had great food and we ate here twice. The first day, I had spaghetti with mozzarella, basil, and tomato and my husband had gnocchi. The second time, my husband had gnocchi again and I had roasted chicken with potatoes. The restaurant can accommodate large groups and have seating inside and outside. Our meals were less than $30 € both days. You also get fried rice and cheese balls, and bruschetta.

After dinner we would walk around a bit and then head towards Della Palma for our daily fix of gelato. This place is absolutely wonderful and the gelato was to die for. They have so many flavors. We tried strawberry, banana, coconut, walnut, hazelnut, vanilla, chocolate, watermelon, melon, and lemon. Della Palma is located about 2 blocks north of the Pantheon. It was so good, we sometimes had gelato 3 times a day. In the evening, we would sit on the Pantheon steps and people watch. We enjoyed two men play jazz music and we stayed out there until 10pm every night.

The next day we headed to the Colosseum & stopped by Palazzo Venezia and went in to see their military museum. We we waited about 15 minutes to get our tickets for the Colosseum and had forgotten that if we went to Palantine Hill first, there would be no line (there was no line when we got to Palantine Hill). I was feeling the pain in my knee so we decided to skip San Giovanni Laterno and San Clemente Church. We headed back after seeing the Colosseum, the Forum, and Palantine Hill. We ate a pizza shop on the way back to the hotel. We also went to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva Church and inside the Pantheon during our stay in Rome, I just don't remember what day.

We were returning home the next day and by this time we were exhausted since we had walked everywhere and it was quite warm. We had our allergies during our whole stay in Rome and were lucky to have purchased a pack of tissue containing 12 individual packs that you can put in your pocket at the Conad in Montepulciano.

We read and showered before going to dinner at Le Cave. After dinner, we headed for our last gelato in Rome and sat on the Pantheon steps.

I had arranged with Limoservicerome.com to take us to the airport. The driver showed up right on time and it was $45 €. He took us to our terminal and the ride was about 30 mins. I highly recommend this service.

Our flights home were fine. There was less leg the international flights, yet more for domestic. The flight to New York was really cramped and at this point we realized that unless we can afford business class or can upgrade with FF miles, we were not going to Europe on coach. Nine hours is too long to be cramped up like that.

Overall, we had a wonderful time in Italy. We had great food, delicious gelato, and a fabulous time. The best part for me was being able to spend two weeks with my husband. It's rare that he can get that much time off.

BTW-I took No Jet Lag pills for the flight over and felt fine. No Jet Lag despite the fact that we had a really long day. However, I didn't on the way back and it took me six days to adjust.

italy honeymoon hotel reviews at bottom of bio!! :)
From: georgia_in_june, 8/1/2005 at 10:30 am

Honeymoon: ITALY - Tuscany/Chianti!! (we've both studied there separately in college, so we couldn’t wait to go back there together!)

ROME (1 night): Hotel Alimandi Viale Vaticano (directly across from Vatican Museums entrance)
www.romeby.com/alimandivaticano
Our splurge – a 4-star hotel! Great location, beautiful hotel, wonderful breakfast buffet (very American style!) that’s included with the room price. The same owners also run a 3-star hotel right around the corner. They will provide transportation to/from the airport if you set it up ahead of time. Very happy with this place.

SIENA (1 night): Hotel Arcobaleno (outside city walls)
www.hotelarcobaleno.com/welcome3en.html
It took us forever to find this place (poor directions), but it was comfortable and clean. We had dinner at the restaurant below, which was very good. Breakfast in the morning was also good, with a fantastic view off the terrace. Great deal.

TUSCANY (6 nights): Near Lecchi/Radda, private villa “Scorpione” booked through www.to-tuscany.net OH MY GOSH!!! We loved Montebuoni – spent hours on our terrace drinking wine and enjoying the countryside. It is absolutely beautiful here, and we were so spoiled and relaxed by the quiet beauty. The price was excellent, there was a pool on site, our little house was perfect, and we were within driving distance of several vineyards for tasting and exploring! Small grocery and bar in Lecchi; slightly larger grocery, café’s and restaurants in nearby Radda. We cannot wait to go back, and we probably will!

FLORENCE (1 night): Hotel Maxim (about a block from Duomo, near Orsanmichele)
http://maxim.hotelinfirenze.com/
Good location, right in the middle of things, if just a little noisy at night if we left our window open. Clean and comfortable, but the breakfast wasn’t too filling. Free internet at the hotel, though (2 computers for general use). Perfect place for one night and for convenient exploring in Florence. Good price.

ROME (1 night): Hotel Piemonte (about 2 blocks from the train station)
http://www.hotelpiemonte.com/home_en.htm
I chose this one based on its reviews on tripadvisor.com and its proximity to the train station. There was an insect problem in the first room, but we demanded they move us to another room (they did, and that room was fine). Someone was up early to get us juice and a pastry in the morning since we had to leave before 6 AM, so that was nice. Good price.

RENTAL CAR: In Siena, we rented a Fiat Idea from EuropCar, which I had booked ahead of time through www.kemwel.com - no problems with the reservation or the car. DH did all the driving!

i was not impressed with naples - but capri is BEAUTIFUL!! also, try to take a day trip to pompeii. so very interesting. i also LOVED the city of sorrento, which is in that area.

HM Review & Pics -Positano, Italy!
From: rmsjmz Date: 10/24/2005 at 9:46 AM

Flight: Alitalia. What can I say, they suck. I don't want to get into it on here, but they will be recieving a complaint letter from me. I knew they weren't the best, but schedule wise I had no other choice.

We rented a villa, La Torre, it was fantastic. A splurge, but totally worth it. We had the whole place to ourselves, semi-private beach, terrace, separate cottage...it was a 14th c. Saracen watchtower converted into a villa, STUNNING! ViaTravelDesign was wonderful to work with, extremely helpful and I would recommend them to anyone. The villa came out to be about $380/night, but there are 2 separate buildings that sleep 4, so if you have 2 couples there it would be very reasonable, esp. to be staying in a 5* property.

Airport transfer: Flavio Gioia, flaviogioia.com based in Positano, E95 from Naples airport. They were great, on time, poor driver was still waiting for us when we arrived in Naples after our flight was delayed 2.5 hours.

#1 was Donna Rosa in Montepertuso (small village on the mountain above Positano) fantastic (expensive but soooo worth it). Our driver said the walk to Montepertuso was 45 min, so we decided to do it, and it was 2 HOURS straight up the mountain! but it ended up being one of the best days.

We also loved Il Guarrancino in Positano (service not so great but the food & view were fantastic), Saraceno d'Oro in Postiano (cash only, super cheap), Chez Black (on the beach in Positano, they always hooked us up with free stuff), Mediterraneo (Positano).

Day Trips: Ravello was by far the most beautiful place, so peaceful and romantic! Sorrento has the best shopping in the area-its really a beautiful little city. Pompeii & Herculaneum we did in one day (exhausting) amazing. If you have time for only one I suggest skipping Herculaneum. Capri-we arrived in the middle of a torrential thunderstorm, hiked up to Villa Jovis for awesome views, but all in all we were disappointed with Capri but I'm sure it had a lot to do with the crappy weather. I dragged DH to Naples for the day, wanting to check out the Archaeological Museum & Capodimonte...we got there, wandered around a street market, had some great pizza at Trianon, checked out the Spaccanapoli district, but when a heroin addict puked on the street in front of us, we decided it was time to leave-glad we went but it was basically a waste of a day considering all the churches were closed (they were supposed to be open) so we really didn't get to see much.

Hi! I'm posting a quick run-down of my trip to Spain, by request of another knottie on my local board (L.A) for those of you thinking about going to Spain. Before, you wonder why I went alone, to save you from a VERY LONG story...I'm newly single, but enjoying it! Again, here's my experience in a nutshell, but please ask if you need more!! (I just C&P'd this from a post I did earlier today on my local board in response to a knottie's question about my trip--hope it's somewhat helpful!)

**I started my trip in Barcelona, where I spent 3 days, and I loved it, I'm sure I would've loved it more if I was with someone, but it's a HUMONGOUS city, with lots to see! I felt a little lost amongst it all, as it is HUGE. You gotta do the basic sight-seeing there: Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, the Cathedral, Las Ramblas, the shopping, the beach.

My next stop was nothing I could describe in words. Sevilla was by far, thee most beautiful place I've ever travelled to, and I cannot say enough things about it. It was a magical place. As soon as I arrived, I felt I belonged there. It's an amazing city along the famous Guadalquivir River where there is LOTS, and LOTS to see and learn about!! I walked my ass off...literally...some of it burned off from all the walking, which is good!!!

The cathedral in Sevilla is the 3rd largest in the world. La Giralda which is the tall bell tower there, is breathtaking. That whole city is breathtaking and VERY, VERY romantic!! You and your new hubby will make beautiful memories there, I'm sure!!! Sevilla is said to be where all of Spain's stereotypes come together, ie. flamenco, bull-fighting, architecture, etc., and it is very apparent. WOW, I could go on and on about that place!

I stayed at the Hotel Zenit Sevilla in Triana, basically a walk over the Triana bridge. It's only 10 minutes on foot into the centre of town where EVERYTHING is. I thought it was the perfect place to stay, and the rooms were very nice! I would totally stay there again.

Next, I visited Madrid, and honestly, I didn't dig it too much. To me, it was just another big metropolis with traffic, too many people, modern buildings, etc. I did visit the Prado, the Royal Palace, caught some theatre, and basically did all of the must sees, but if and when I return to Spain, I will have checked off Barcelona and Madrid off the list, and probably would not go back.

Now the shopping...WOW, I went crazy, I bought 8 pairs of shoes...I HAD TO!! They have the cutest clothes, the hottest shoes and purses, and WOW, I could not get enough!!

LOVED IT! It wasn't a honeymoon but just a regular vacation...i totally recommend it! Very romantic and it felt like we were stepping into a medievel fairytale...every single street is breathtaking.

We booked it through a special on travelzoo.com from Picasso Travel. We paid about 1200 total for two and flew Lufthansa with a layover in Frankfurt. Our hotel was called Denisa and was lovely - not ritzy but we never spent time there anyway. It was right near the metro and trams (never took a cab in prague!) and breakfast was included...a great deal. We spent 4 nights there and saw all the major sights but you can def spend a week in Prague alone.

Some of the things we did were visiting the Prague Castle, walking tour of Old Square, river cruise, climbed Petrin Hill for city views, visited an old brewery called U Fleku, had an amazing dinner at Palffy Palace (an old palace from centuries ago), walked the Charles Bride at night (very romantic), visited the Jewish Quarter...beautiful city! We didn't visit other towns because of time constraints but would love to go back and do that. Oh and the food is CHEAP!!! The beer is under a dollar! haha, hope this helps you guys!

Italian honeymoon review with links to pics (long)
From: Jen10-9-05 Date: 1/14/2006 at 7:41 PM

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a very happy New Year! We are back from our delayed honeymoon in Italy, and had a wonderful time! We spent some time writing a lenghty trip review, for any of you interested in honeymooning in Italy.

We found the Rick Steve's book very valuable for dining and tips on sights (but not hotels) and also used the Eyewitness travel guides, which had great pictures and maps. We booked the trip through Liberty travel, which took care of our flights, hotels and Eurostar train, which we took between cities. We opted not to do any tours (other than a day tour of the colosseum) because we wanted to be on our own schedule. Connections from the airport or train station to our hotel were up to us, which worked out fine since in Rome and Florence our hotels were walkable to the train stations, and in Venice the Vaporetto ride was a pleasure. The total price for the flights, trains, and hotels was about $3400 for both of us—this included free nights at hotels in each city that our travel agent got us, since it was the off season for travel in Italy (although it was still pretty crowded, most with tourist from other areas of Italy!)

If we go back to Europe, we will probably do it on our own next time, since we ended up doing a lot of our own research anyway (www.tripadvisor.com was helpful for hotel reviews), but since it was our first time to Europe and our honeymoon, we felt better having a travel agent book it.

Transportation: Took a non-stop Delta flight from NYC to Rome overnight. The plane itself was fine, and we even got 2 pretty decent meals, and 1 movie (2 movies on the return flight). Unfortunately there were lots of crying babies on board, and we didn’t sleep much on the flight. We took a train from the airport to Termini, the main train station in Rome, which was about 30 minutes (you can buy at ticket at the airport train station and then have to get it validated by sticking it in one of the yellow boxes near the platform which punches the time and date on it ---this type of ticket validation is necessary for train travel throughout the country, and water bus travel in Venice). From then on, we predominantly traveled by foot, a few times on the subway, and twice by taxi (which is one of the few cheap things in this city).

Hotel: located in the middle of a block on a side street, the hotel had an absolutely beautiful interior, courteous and friendly staff, yummy breakfast (called the “American breakfast” with hot food like eggs, pastries, toast, yogurt, meats/cheese & fresh fruit). The breakfast was served on the top floor balcony, which provided a beautiful view of much of the city (at 8 floors, this hotel was one of the tallest buildings in the area). The only downside was the location—kind of on the outskirts of the city, a far walk to any major sights or nightlife.

Food: expect to spend a lot on food! This was one surprise for us, even though we had done our research and knew that Italians eat multi-course meals. I guess we had just assumed that each course would be less expensive, but in reality, at what we would consider a “casual dining” restaurant here in the US, antipasta courses could run 10-20 euros, pasta/soup courses 10-25 euros, and meat/fish/chicken courses 15 euros and up (much higher for seafood and fish), and that doesn’t even include the 2-3 euro cover charge per person that most places charge, the 3 euro for bottled water, and however much you want to spend on wine, coffee & dessert. At fancy restaurants, each course is much more. Most restaurants expect you to order at least 2 courses (for a lighter meal I would do an antipasta and pasta, or a soup and chicken dish). The only upside was that tipping isn’t as high, usually 10-15% is appreciated, more for excellent service. Typical bills were around 70 euro for both of us for the basics without wine at a casual restaurant; 110 euro when we splurged and got dessert, wine, etc. The conversion rate was around 1 euro = $1.20, so this adds up quickly! We decided that to save money, we would alternate those multi-course dinners with less expensive meals like pizza and paninis, which were basically what comprised our lunch as well (breakfast in hotel). The lighter bites can be had at pizzerias café’s, and “bars” which are not like American bars, but serve light food, coffee, beer and wine. Coffee is very different—the coffee we were served in the hotel breakfast is probably what they consider “American coffee” but it definitely had a different (but good) taste. Espresso is too bitter for me, even with sweetener, since I like milk in my coffee, but latte’s and cappuccinos are soooo yummy! If you want to find an American bar, look for “American bar,” or pub. I had my first gelato in Rome, which was delicious, although I didn’t have it often because it was so cold out (although you did see plenty of people eating gelato in the streets).

Sights: So many sights to see! Let me preface this by saying that I am a fan of Dan Brown books, and have read Angels and Demons twice, so had a specific interest in seeing certain Bernini fountains. In our walks around Rome, we visited the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Forums, & Pantheon, as well as various beautiful churches (no fee to enter) such as Santa Maria della Vittoria, where the Ecstasy of St. Theresa can be found (Bernini). When we got to the Colosseum around 10am, we saw a HUGE line wrapped around the building (which is huge), and were considering leaving and coming back earlier another day, when a tour guide approached us and asked if we were interested in an English tour. For only 8 euro extra, we opted to take this tour, which was the best thing we could have done. We got to cut the line (although the first 45 minutes of the tour was from outside the Colosseum, but at least we were entertained), got free pics with gladiators (normally 5 euro), and even got a bonus tour of the Roman Forums for free after the Colosseum. On our last day in Rome we visited Vatican City, where we waited about 1.5 hours on line in the rain to visit the Vatican Museum, then walked over to St. Peter’s Square, where there somehow was no line (maybe people were scared off by the weather), and visited the Basilica. We looked at it from more of an artistic than religious perspective, since we are both Jewish, and found the architecture and artwork in the museum, square, and Basilica just breathtaking. Arrive early (we got there at 8:30) because the line continues to pile up as the day goes on. Rome is filled with great shopping, with everything from your top designers to vendors selling t-shirts and knock-off handbags on the street. Walking around and looking at the vendors and window-shopping was one of my favorite parts of the city, as well as visiting the beautiful squares, such as Piazza Navona and Campo de’Fiori. On just about every other block there is a historic church you can enter, with some of the most beautiful and intricate designs you’ll ever see.

Weather: More mild than New York (probably in the upper 40’s-lower 50’s during the day, 30’s-40’s at night), however we ended up with rain 4 out of the 5 days we were there. We made the best of it though, and just threw on the raincoats!

Clothing: I can’t emphasize this enough, bring comfortable sneakers! My husband thought his loafer-like shoes would be comfortable enough, but with the miles of walking we did each day and the uneven cobblestone streets, he ended up purchasing sneakers at Foot Locker in Vatican City! Otherwise, if you go this time of year, just layer because the temperature can be variable, and some museums & churches are kept quite cold, but some restaurants and shops are quite warm.

Overall Impressions of Rome: Rome is definitely a modern city, despite the thousands of years of history there. You can literally walk by the Colosseum and feel the subway underneath you! We probably could have done it in 4 days instead of 5, but since this was our honeymoon we didn’t want to be rushed. As it was, we probably did too much in one day, and were pretty exhausted by the end of each day since we chose to walk pretty much everywhere. We did take the subway a few times, which resembled New York’s subways in the 1980s as they were covered with graffiti, but we didn’t feel unsafe (just watch your belongings carefully—there are even signs for pickpocketers in the subway!). We were brave enough to take a cab once, on New Year’s Eve, which our hotel concierge called for us (we hailed one on the way back). Drivers are absolutely insane, and they don’t feel the need to obey traffic laws like lights and stop signs, or parking restrictions, so be careful crossing the streets! Not as much nightlife as we expected, which might have been because of our hotel’s location, although we did have a blast in Campo de’Fiori on New Year’s Eve. There are lots of warnings of pick-pocketers, so just be careful of your belongings. Once we checked into the hotel in each city, we put our passports, tickets, and any other valuables in the safe in the room (free of charge). I carried a bag that went across my chest and sat on my hip, so I kept a hand on it. The downtown area is really a maze, and it is not difficult to get lost. Part of experiencing this new culture is walking around through the many alleyways and enjoying all of the Renaissance churches, art galleries, cafés and shops you come across—just carry a good map (we found the B&B City Streets maps very helpful), and you will find your way back to your hotel or a major landmark (there are plenty of them!)

Transportation: First class seats on the Eurostar train from Termini to Florence’s main train station (1.5 hours). I think the upgrade to first class was worth it because we had assigned seats by the window—and the views of the countryside were amazing! By arriving about 30 minutes early, we were able to make sure we put our bags right above us, within sight. In Florence, it was all by foot, but since it is a smaller city, it wasn’t as tiring.

Hotel: to save money we chose to stay at a 3-star hotel here, and we definitely noticed a difference. The sheets were stiff and rough, the staff not very helpful or courteous, and the room very noisy. It is worth it to speak up, though, because at first they gave us a room with 2 single beds on the first floor, even though we reserved a double room. We said something, and they moved us to a bigger room with a King bed and bigger bathroom on the 3rd floor. We still heard noise from the maids pushing their carts around on the tile floors in the hallway early in the morning (the hallways and rooms were not carpeted). The breakfast was mediocre, called a “buffet breakfast” with no hot food, some weird-looking cold cuts, cheeses, pastries, yogurt and some fruit. The best thing about our hotel was the location, which was a five-minute walk from the train station, right near the Mercato Centrale (central marketplace, like a flea-market with indoor food vendors), and 5 minutes from the Duomo.

Food: Definitely the best food on our trip was in Florence. Such fresh ingredients, with olive oil on everything! It was also more reasonably priced here, and the waitstaff takes a lot of pride in the food, often checking to make sure you love it. I think our favorite restaurant here was the Osteria Golden View Open Wine Bar. It was right on the Arno river, and we asked for a table by the windows, even though we didn’t have a reservation. We only had to wait about 5 minutes for the table, during which time they gave us complimentary champagne, and the food was great and reasonably priced. Then there was Ciro and Sons, which had the best pizza in Italy, where we went twice. As for wine, we aren’t big wine connoisseurs, so it wasn’t a huge focus of our trip, but when we felt like wine, the house wine for about 10-15 euro per bottle was great for us. We used the Rick Steve’s suggestions a lot on this trip for restaurants.

Sights: Shopping is great here as well, with more discount stores (we saw our first $.99 store and a discount department store) and lots of street vendors/flea markets. The Duomo is breathtaking, and definitely take Rick Steve’s suggestion to climb the bell tower instead of the Duomo itself—the line was nonexistent, the price and views the same. The Ponte Vecchio (“old bridge”) is amazing, especially at sunset, although the jewelry stores on the bridge are quite expensive. We visited the Uffizi gallery and Academia museum, as well as the Museum of Science. Seeing the David in person is quite an experience! We visited the Pitti Palace, and finally the Piazalle Michelangelo, which is a must-do! It is about a 20-minute climb uphill, but the views of surrounding Florence are amazing!

Weather: Colder than Rome, but it was sunny every day. We just bundled up and enjoyed wearing our sunglasses.

Overall Impression of Florence: A very warm, friendly city; less urban feel than Rome, and smaller. As we were walking past a pizzeria near our hotel, the host called out to us and asked if we were from NY (which we are). Turns out his family also owns a place not far from where my husband grew up in New York’s “Little Italy.” He was the one who told us we must see the Piazalle Michelangelo. After that, every time we walked by, he shouted out jokingly “How you doin,” so of course our last night in Florence we had to eat there, and he gave us complimentary after-dinner drinks called limoncella (not sure of the spelling, but strong and bitter, traditional “palate-cleaners”). Again we probably could have done it in 3 days instead of 4, but by this point we decided to partake in the siesta tradition, where a lot of places close for a few hours in the late afternoon, so we went back to the hotel to rest and freshen up. Be wary of street vendors eager to make a sale—we literally had several follow us as we tried to walk away after viewing some items on their table, trying to bargain with us, and I hate to admit that we fell for it a few times when the price of something we didn’t really want was knocked down to a third of the original cost, because we felt bad and wanted to get this guy off our back. There was an internet café on just about every block in Florence, charging about .50 to 1 euro for 15-30 minutes. We found more American bars here, and even a great karaoke place we went to twice, which consisted of an older Italian guy playing American rock songs on his ipod and guitar, and some drunk people (Aussie college students on a tour) jumping up on stage to join him. If we go back to Florence again, we would like to visit some surrounding towns in Florence.

Transportation: Eurostar train again, first class seats, ride was 3 hours. Once in the main train station in Venice, you pretty much have to go by boat (unless your hotel is near the station). The Vaporetto is the water bus system, which is pretty nice. Since we were going to St. Marc’s Square, one of the last stops, for 5 euro, we got a nice view along the Grand Canal of the city. You can also hire private taxi boats, which are much more expensive. We opted not to do a traditional gondola ride, mainly because it was quite cold in Venice, and didn’t feel it was worth the 50-60 euro, however we did take the traghetto, which is a short ride in a gondola for only 1 euro, and takes you across the Grand Canal (useful if you aren’t near one of the 3 bridges that cross the main canal). Otherwise, we did a lot of walking, which involves crossing tons of arched bridges over the smaller canals, as well as the Grand Canal. Leaving Venice, we took the Alilaguna boat to the airport, which is a 10 euro, 75 minute boat ride from St. Marc’s Square, with a few stops along the way. We could have also taken a water taxi for about 80 euro directly to the airport from our hotel.

Hotel: I can’t say enough about how amazing this hotel was! Our room looked like a hotel room in a palace, very large for a European hotel room, ornately decorated with 2(!) chandeliers and Roman columns! We even had a bottle of champagne waiting for us there (thanks to our travel agent for telling them it was our honeymoon). The location was unbeatable—a 2-minute walk from St. Marc’s Square, right on one of the smaller canals. The staff was pretty helpful, and there was internet access in the lobby (for a fee). The breakfast here was also a buffet (not American) breakfast, but it was much better than in Florence, with more choices, and better quality meats, cheese, and pastries. They actually served us espresso with steamed milk here so we could make our own cappuccinos! I would strongly recommend this hotel for anybody who is interested in visiting Venice because it really had it all—quality and location.

Food: Most expensive here, with a mix of different cuisines (more seafood, with influence felt from nearby Germany and France). At one pizzeria, we made the mistake of ordering a bruschetta-type pizza with sardines on it (in addition to peppers, cheese, and tomatoes)! I guess making mistakes ordering is all part of the fun of being in a foreign country—and it actually didn’t taste too bad. We also made the mistake of eating our first dinner in a restaurant on a very touristy street, and getting the “tourist price-fix” menu. It was only 16 euro, and seemed like a good deal compared to the high prices at other places, or for the a la carte items at this place, plus seemed to have a good sampling of “Venetian cuisine.” Well, BIG MISTAKE. We should have taken the hint when the waiter made a face when we ordered it. It was definitely the worst meal we had in Italy. After that we learned to avoid any place that advertises a menu in 6 languages and offers a price-fix menu. We ended on a good note, however, because on our last night there, we had a great meal at a wine bar (really an American lounge) near St. Marc’s Square (all a la carte).

Sights: We visited St. Marc’s Square many times since we were so close. Beautiful with lights at night, and tons of pigeons during the day. They sell pigeon feed (with birth control in it) for 1 euro, and we enjoyed watching the pigeons all over the tourists feeding them. The Doge’s Palace is worth a visit (which also grants you access to the old jail), as well as the Basilica. Surrounding the square are many wine bars and beautiful glass shops selling everything from glass jewelry to figurines and picture frames. Glass shops are all over Venice, where Murano glass is made. We visited the Jewish Ghetto and museum, and also the Peggy Gugenheim museum, which has more modern art, and spend a lot of time just walking around the city. Here there were even more expensive designer stores—the Gucci near our hotel had a line out the door! The funny thing is that the knock-off handbag dealers would set up right outside the authentic shops! As in the other cities (but probably more so here) there were lots of artists on the street selling their paintings of the city—they are also willing to bargain with you, and we got a few nice small paintings here. We got to experience true Italian culture by watching a soccer match at a local pub two of the nights in Venice—truly a national obsession! The pubs were packed with avid, animated fans, even though it was just an off-season game!

Weather: Not a cloud in the sky the whole time. The temperature was cool overall, but was much chillier with the wind in the open squares and by the Grand Canal, and warmer with the wind blocked in the narrow streets and allyways.

Overall Impression of Venice: Be wary of the insistent rose sellers—they are also in Rome, but much more aggressive in Venice, where they follow you and aggressively try to get you to buy a rose or two. Our first night in Rome, I naively accepted three roses offered to me (I was still quite jet-lagged) by the Spanish Steps, which my husband nicely paid 10 euro for, but after that, we learned our lesson! Venice is definitely a romantic city, especially at night, and the water is not at all smelly as we had been told (but maybe it is over the summer). The same holds true here as in Rome, as far as getting off course amongst the narrow alleyways and backstreets—but you are on a small island, so it is hard to truly get lost!

English was not a problem in most cities, although they appreciate it if you use some key Italian phrases in restaurants and shops. If you have any student ID, BRING IT— even if it is years old! It will save you about 50% at most museums and some historic sights. To call the US and make local calls, we used a calling card, rather than renting a cell phone. A cell phone probably would have come in handy, since we had to use to use the calling card from the hotel, but they are more expensive. We got a calling card that had a voice mail service, which was nice, but the annoying part was that there were a lot of prompts to follow before checking messages or making a call, and we were charged minutes for all of that, before the call was even made.

Again, bring comfortable sneakers, since you will be walking a lot on uneven cobblestones, up and down lots of stairs— despite the large amount of food we ate, I don’t think we gained any weight because of the amount of walking we did! If we go back to Italy, we would probably go during the fall or spring for warmer weather, and would like to visit the Cinque Terre area, perhaps the Almafi Coast, and go back to Florence. Overall, we had an amazing honeymoon, and loved Italy! Hopefully this review will prove useful for those of you planning a trip to Italy!

We actually booked the trip through BJ's Vacations (yes, BJ's Warehouse). They work with Sceptre Travel, one of the more popular agencies that book fly-drive trips to Ireland.

We had vouchers for B&Bs, so we got to choose where we stayed. I had been there before, so I had a few already in mind. We loved all of them except for the one in Waterford. If you want more details I can provide.

Activities and sightseeing--what didn't we do? In Dublin we went to St. Patrick's and Christchurch Cathedral, and the Book of Kells, as well as a short drive through Phoenix Park. We headed up to Newgrange and toured the passage tomb there. We went to Trim in Co. Meath and toured Trim Castle, where Braveheart was filmed. We went to Waterford and toured the crystal factory, as well as purchasing some serious crystal! We spent two nights in Killarney. One day we used it as home base to drive the Dingle Peninsula (gorgeous, historical, and such varied geography). The other day we shopped in Killarney.

The best restaurant on the whole trip was Bricin in Killarney. 32 Euros for a price fixe dinner, which was a mix of standard fare and updated takes on Irish food. Fabulous!

The major areas for hotels on Santorini are Fira, Firastefani, Imerovigli and Ia. Fira is the main city area - shopping, restaurants, etc and it is where most cruise ships dock (results in it being crowded at times). Firastefani is just outside Fira (walking distance), but still on the bustling side Imerovigli is partway between Fira and Ia on the Cliffside Walk (a beautiful pedestrian walkway that goes along the caldera). It's mainly hotels and some small stores on the street behind the hotels. Ia is the part of Santorini that is usually shown on pictures, postcards, etc. It's very scenic with lots of neat buildings and twisty, windy pedestrian paths. You do need to take a cab to get to Fira from Ia. You can walk it, but it's about seven miles of up, down, up, down, etc and pretty much impossible to do safely at night (because of slipping and falling, not crime!). So, Ia is very beautiful, but far from the rest of the island.

DH and I stayed in Imerovigli at the Iliovasilema Hotel (www.iliovasilema .gr). We found Imerovigli to really be the best of all worlds -- very quiet, a 20 minute walk to Fira, a 10 eur or so cab ride to Ia and accommodations that were less expensive than Ia. We loved it and were very happy with our choice. It was not super luxurious, but it had all the amenities we needed (fully furnished efficiency apartment, queen bed, private balcony with table and chairs, lots of privacy). We also had a spectacular view of the sunset every night (PIB). In fact, we really had to push ourselves to see the rest of the island because we just wanted to sit on our balcony all day and watch the ships come in and out. Another Imerovigli hotel that receives favorable reviews is the Astra Apartments. They are located right in front of Iliovasilema below the Cliffside Walk, our hotel was above it. Definitely get a caldera view room at your hotel if you can, it will blow you away!

Check out tripadvisor.com for hotel reviews. We found that site incredibly valuable when planning our trip. Page me if you have add'l questions.

FI and I are planning our honeymoon to Greece in July and I thought I'd share some of the links, information and insights I've found. When I first started planning, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information and think I have a better grasp of it now. Most of my information has come from lurking on the TripAdvisor forums.

Nice hotels of Athens in walking distance from all the main attractions and areas:
www.freshhotel.gr
www.herahotel.gr
www.centralhotel.gr
www.herodion.gr
www.plakahotel.gr

Airlines: www.aegeanairlines.gr (I've read that Aegean is more reliable compared to Olympic) www.olympicairlines.gr
Ferries: www.bluestarferries.gr
Hydrofoils: www.dolphins.gr

Fira is the central and biggest settlement. It is where most amenities like banks, restaurants etc are located. Imerovigli is in walking distance from Fira ( although a short taxi ride may be needed for many people while returning from Fira ). Oia is the most famous, due to the sunset spot and is more remote. It is a 15 min taxi ride from Fira / Imerovigli.

We're staying in Imerovigli but here are a few hotels we researched and contacted.

www.astra.gr
www.homericpoems.gr
www.onrocks.net
www.tsitouras.com
www.iliovasilema.gr
www.anastasisapartments.gr
www.santoriniprincess.com

My new DH and I took a short trip to Paris to celebrate our first married Valentine's Day and I wanted to post a trip report to benefit any knotties considering Paris for their honeymoon.

Wednesday, Feb 15
We fly US Airways from Cleveland to Philadelphia and then from Philadelphia to Paris, Charles DeGaulle. We were able to use frequent flyer miles for one ticket, which was great, and each seat had its own TV with several movie options. The food was OK. The only issue was that our flight from Philly to Paris was delayed 2 hours due to unscheduled maintenance.

Thursday, Feb 16
We arrived in Paris at about 11:30 AM (due to the 2 hour delay) and got through passport control and customs fairly quickly.
We had reservations at Hotel D'Aubusson in the 6th Arr., very close to the Pont Neuf bridge. The Hotel was wonderful. We were able to book the "Winter Promotion" package on their website, which had low season rates, included private car pickup at the airport, 2 one day museum passes, champagne on arrival, drinks in the hotel bar (cafe laurent), a tea in their lounge, and tickets to a music concert. The hotel was also wonderful about setting up some dinner reservations before we arrived.
We were met by the driver right outside of customs and they took us to the car where there was bottled water and a letter from the hotel detailing the sites we would see on the ride. Check in was easy and we were upgraded a room category. We were even able to pay the difference to upgrade our museum passes to 3-Day passes.

We showed and headed across the Pont Neuf to the Ill. de Cite and walked past Notre Dame. We had lunch at a Creperie (Sarrasin creperie) on the Ill St. Louis. After lunch (9Euros included an entree crepe, dessert crepe, and alcoholic cider), we visited Notre Dame and then went to the hotel for a short nap. On Thursday nights, the Musee D'Orsay is open late so we then walked there and saw lots of Van Gogh's, Monets, and Renoirs. We were tired after visiting the museum and so just had dinner at the Museum Cafe - the food wasn't great - I had the steak (which I didn't like), my husband had the special of the day (duck), which seemed better.

Friday, Feb 17
After breakfast of croissants and cafe creme at the hotel, we took the Metro (which was very easy to Navigate) to the Arc D'Triomphe. We ascended to the top of the arch and admired the view. We then commenced our walk down the Champs Ellysees. We eventually got quite hungry and had lunch at a cafe (Madrigal) right along the Champs Ellysees. We continued walking all the way to the Louvre! The Louvre is open late on Fridays, so we spent a few hours there seeing the highlights - Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, etc. After the Louvre we took a Vedettes Pont Neuf boat ride along the Seine and say all of the buildings (And the Eiffel Tour) lit up! After a long and tiring day, we went to a famous cafe (Les Duex de Magot) in our neighborhood for dinner. The waiter was pretty unfriendly here and I had an unfortunate incident in which I ordered a green been salad and got just a bowl of green beans (no tomatoes or anything) - I was a little disappointed.

Saturday, Feb 18
After breakfast at the hotel, we took the RER train from the St.Michel / Notre Dame stop to Versailles. Versailles is also covered by the museum pass. It is huge. We did an unguided visit through the main part of the chateau and then took a tour through the king's private chamber and the opera house - I recommend trying to do some guided tours at some sights, since it puts everything in perspective. We spent about 3 - 3 1/2 hours at Versailles then shopped for souvenirs and had lunch at a Creperie along the walk back to the train station.
This evening we had one of my favorite dinners, at Tastevin on the Ill. St. Louis. It is a small family owned restaurant and our waiter was very earnest about trying to understand our pitiful French and also speak to us in English. We each had a 3 course menu - that plus a bottle of nice wine was 98 Euros. I had a great soup, a fish dish, and Profiteroles (which were heavenly). We went back to our hotel and were greeted with Orange Bon-Bons on our pillows.

February, 19
Again after breakfast at the hotel, we ventured out for lots of sightseeing. Today was the only really rainy day of our trip. We walked to the Pompideau center and took a peak inside the Modern Art museum since we had our museum passes - the ride up the escalator alone is worth the trip for great views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Couer. After that we walked to the Picasso Museum, which was very crowded - I wished I had gotten an audioguide here since I think I would have enjoyed the museum more with some more context. After the museum, we were hungry and tired of walking, so we got lunch at a nearby cafe. Afterwards, we took the metro and went to Sainte Chapelle (a beautifiul church with tons of stained glass - it is breathtaking) and the Conciergerie, a jail where many prisoners (including Marie Antoinette) were held during the French Revolution.

Dinner that evening was at Brasserie Bofinger near the Bastille. It is an Alsatian Brasserie. The food was nice - but my chocolate mousse was a bit too rich. We thought the service there was a little stiff. We got back to our hotel and found a gift wrapped brioche waiting for us.

Monday, Feb. 20
Today we headed to MontMartre and the Sacre Couer Basilica, which is beautiful and set up on a hill with great views. Just be careful of all of the aggressive peddlers near the base of the hill. We took a walk to see the outside of the Moulin Rouge and then headed on the Metro to our neighborhood in the St. Germain des Pres. We had lunch in a little cafe across from the Au Bon Marche department store. We checked out the Department store, but everything seemed really expensive. We did end up buying some nice souvenirs in their gourmet food section. After tea at our hotel, we were revived and headed to the Eiffel Tower at night. It is really impressive and we had it almost to ourselves on the 2nd level. After enjoying the Eiffel Tower, we headed back to our neighborhood and had dinner at Le Pub Saint Germain, which seemed to be filled with lots of young hip Parisians. We finished up the night with Nutella Crepes from a stand.

Topic: Just back from Amsterdam and Paris
From: LizzieB Date: 3/18/2006 at 3:35 pm

Hi everyone! We are just back from 3 nights in Amsterdam and 4 nights in Paris. Thanks to everyone on here who helped us plan our trip. Let me know if anyone has any questions!

We stayed at the Hotel Washington in Amsterdam (near the Museumplein) and the Hotel St. Jacques in Paris (in the Latin Quarter). I think they are excellent hotels for the price range (about US$150). We just returned from a separate month-long trip and were trying to keep costs down.

Highlights:
Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam
Food in Amsterdam (sooooo good and so inexpensive)
Segway tour in Paris
Night bike tour in Paris
Impromptu picnic under the Eiffel Tower on a sunny day
Versailles bike tour

For anyone going to Amsterdam, I highly recommend reading or re-reading the Diary of Anne Frank and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.

It was pretty cold in Amsterdam. It snowed two days and rained the other. In between, we had bright sun.

We really wanted to do the Mike's Bike Tour in Amsterdam but it was a blizzard that day. Google them for more info, it was highly recommended.We enjoyed the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, walking around, and taking the canal cruise. There aren't a lot of super touristy things to do in Amsterdam, it's more walking around and soaking it up. Next time we are going to take a day trip to see the Vermeers in the Hague. If you are there during the tulip bloom you may want to visit the gardens at Keukenhof (sp).

I just got back from my HM - 2 weeks in Italy. We had a great time and got really lucky w the weather. Had some really good expericnece that I think you girls might find useful.

We flew out on Virgin Atlantic. We wanted to upgrade to 1st class- but it was all booked- what we ended up doing on the way in and out was paid $150. and got the emergency exit rows- it really made such a difference- woth the $.

We started in Ravello- and stayed at Pallazo Sasso- This was our splurge hotel- (we got engaged there!) it is amazing and totaly luxury. Here is one thing to keep in mind- if you go at the start of spring or the end of the fall they run a special that is pay for 2 nights stay for 3 - it is totaly worth it- they have a really nice spa too!

Then we took the train to Florence- we stayed at hotel Europa on Via Cavour- it is a great location and about 150 E a night- ask to stay in the suites- they have been redone and are nice and spacious. We had dinner at the best place- Buca di Lappi - My FI wanted a big florintine steak and he was not disapointed. (Make a reservation) it is in walking distance from the duomo- off of via tornaboni-

Then to Lake COMO- this is my best recommendation. I took a chance and booked a place that was recommended by rick steve's travel book and it turned out to be the best- Albergo Milano in Varenna- We booked the three day HM package and it was awesome- Dinner at the hotel - which was amazing! with a view of the lake- then the next day breakfast in bed- I was expecting room service- but no they literaly came w trays full of amazing food and dropped it in our laps in bed- it was great. Then the next day a picnic lunch- which includes passes to a beautiful garden- We found a great spot near the edge of the lake- we were amazed when we opened the basket- Champagne, ckicken, panninis, fruit, cake! It was great- The owners speak perfect english and are sOO nice- the rooms are nice but a little on the small side.

Next to Venice- we stayed at Novecento - some one here on the knot recommended it and it was very nice- hard to find from the boat- so make sure that you get good directions from them. They recommended a GREAT place- we asked for something not touristy- since that is all there is in venice- and they recommented - il muro it is just over the rilato bridge and off to the right on a side piazza- the food was great !

Our last and BEST restaurant meal we had in Italy on our honeymoon (just got back last night) Was at a tiny little restaurant just off of Piazza Navonna called "Osteria Del Gallo". It was unbelieveably good, and really cheap. I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting rome! We didn't make a reservation, but we did end up eating at 7pm which is much earlier than the regular dinner rush.

You can escape the tourist traps of the Piazza Navona by seeking out this place in a narrow little alley off the west/northwest side of the fabled square. It's tiny, with a lovely area for outdoor seating, and definitely off the beaten track. The chef/owner comes out to take your order personally and is justly proud of his homemade pastas. We opted for the ravioli stuffed with porcini mushrooms and were so glad we did. Menu items include a variety of fresh fish dishes roasted in a salt crust to retain their juice and flavor. Other favorites include filet of beef cooked with green pepper. The homemade desserts include one of the best tiramisus in the area and a traditional favorite, panna cotta, an Italian pudding made with cooked fresh cream.

We ended up spending alot more time in Tuscany than Rome, partly because we had a free place to stay in Tuscany. I wish we had more time in Rome! We didn't do a lot of planning for the trip or we probably would have hired guides etc. The only thing we did in advance were book tickets to the Uffizi. In Rome we did the "hop on hop off bus" that leaves from Termini. It is actually a really good deal and a great way to see the city if the weather is nice because you can sit uptop on the double decker (its just like the one in london but MUCH cheaper at 13 euros a person for 24 hours.)

My only advice is DONT catch it at Termini to start unless you get there really early - people weren't getting off when the bus arrived there and so many people were in line to get on that some had to wait for over an hour just to get on. You can catch it at any of the other stops and buy your tickets on the bus.

We ended up buying tickets for the colosseum from some people selling them outside that had a tour of the outside included. To get in it was 11 euros. For 20 euros we didn't have to wait in the long ticket line, got a "tour" that consisted of a lot of info about the colloseum then you walk around inside yourself and it also includes a free tour of the forum. For the extra 9 euros and to not wait in the ticket line I thought that was worth it.

The people selling these "tours" are generally just milling around outside the colloseum.

Another thing I would do over is I would have booked tickets for the Galleria Borghese. I've heard its wonderful.

Greece Trip Report - Crete, Santorini, Athens (very long)
From: engaged514 Date: 6/2/2006 at 2:58 PM

My husband and I got married in September and went to Maui on our honeymoon. We did just take a triip to Greece visiting Crete, Santorini, and Athens, so I wanted to share our experiences since they might be helpful to folks planning a honeymoon there.

We departed the U.S. flying Newark to Milan, and Milan to Athens on Alitalia. The Alitalia flights were much cheaper than what we could find on other airlines. Our flight left Newark at around 10:30 PM – it was a little strange because the flight attendants served dinner about an hour or so after take off when most people just wanted to go to sleep. This flight didn’t have personal TVs, but since we mostly just wanted to sleep, it wasn’t much of an issue. My husband and I got a few hours sleep. The flight was pretty non-eventful. The flight attendants aren’t overly friendly or helpful.

We arrived on time in Milan. After a 2 hourish layover in Milan we boarded our flight to Athens which seemed to be primarily full of students on a class trip. Surprisingly we were upgraded to first class – the small section, extra room, and wine made the approximately 2 hour flight go quickly. Business class was nice, but the difference didn’t seem to be worth paying for. We arrived in Athens at 6:30 PM and our checked luggage made it!

We proceeded over to the Sofitel by the airport, where our travel agent, Fantasy Travel, had left all of our ferry tickets, plane, tickets, and hotel vouchers. We had a fairly early flight to Crete the next day, so we appreciated the convenience of the Sofitel. The hotel is very modern – extremely comfortable beds, high end “rain” showers, and very good dimming shutters so no light or noise from the airport will bother you. We grabbed dinner in the first floor, more casual restaurant at the hotel – which was OK, but fairly pricey.

We had a quick continental breakfast in the executive suite which was apparently included in our room rate (Executive room – booked online). We made the 5 minute walk to the airport to check into our Aegean Airline flight to Chania, Crete. The European airlines are much stricter about weighing bags and controlling carryon luggage. We had to check our rolling bags and just carried on our backpacks. This flight was nice – uncrowded and on a new plane with nice leather seats.

We arrived in Chania on time, our bags made it, and the transfer arranged by our travel agent, Dina at Fantasy Travel, was waiting for us. We went to check in to our hotel, Porto Veneziano (110 Euro per night), on the Chania Harbor. style="mso-spacerun: yes"> This hotel has a really nice location on the harbor and the front desk staff is extremely friendly and helpful – especially Annie; she was great. The rooms here are pretty simple – as image most in Chania will be. The beds were a bit hard and the bathroom small, but everything was very clean and the air conditioners worked well. We did LOVE our little balcony which faced the harbor – we would sit out at night and drink wine and enjoy the sea breeze. As a side note, I did notice the Casa Delfino Hotel on one of our walks and it looked really nice and was in a good location – I think this would be nice hotel for a special trip, like a honeymoon.

After getting settled, we visited the Chania Archaeological Museum which has an impressive collection of Minoan era pottery and other artifacts. We also walked around and oriented ourselves to the city – exploring the harbor, quaint Venetian era streets, and seeing many of the churches and mosques.

That night we had dinner at Amphora on the harbor. A lot of the restaurants on the harbor are pretty aggressive about trying to bring people in. We thought Amphora was the best of the bunch – the host and waiters were very friendly. We shared a Cretan salad and carafe of wine. I had fresh fish, which was good. My husband had veal, which he did not like. As seems to be tradition in Crete, we were served shots of Raki (the local firewater) and honey cake at the end of the meal. We enjoyed a long dinner enjoying the views of the water and people watching.

We had considered doing the Samaria Gorge hike, but we were tired from our long trip to Greece and the weather was unseasonably warm – I think it reached the low 90s Fahrenheit. Instead we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel – it was a pretty simple selection of breads and pastries. We did really enjoy the fresh orange juice making machine – the juice was wonderful and I am not usually a fan to Orange Juice.

We walked to Nea Chora beach about a 10 minute walk beyond the harbor and rented an umbrella and 2 lounge chairs on the beach (5 Euro total). We really enjoyed lying by the water, reading and relaxing. The color of the water was beautiful. We waded into the water a few times, but the sea was still a bit chilly. We spent about 3 and a half hours lounging at the beach. We then had lunch at the harbor and a brief siesta – which we were starting to find the value of during the hot afternoons.

We arranged a 2 hour walking tour of the city with a guide through Diktynna travel, who was Fantasy’s local rep in Chania. It was good to learn a little more about the many different influences – Venetian, Byzantine, and Turkish – on the city. The guide was not as informative as we might have liked though and took several calls on her cell phone during the tour, which we thought was rude.

After the tour we had dinner at Tamam, on one of the small Venetian streets, one in from the Harbor. I would highly recommend this restaurant – very good food, not touristy, and more reasonable prices, because I think more locals eat here.

Today we planned to travel from Chania to Heraklion. We were nervous about driving in Crete so we planned to take the KTEL bus. Buying tickets and the boarding process was a bit confusing, but we made it on to our bus. It was a bit of a winding ride through mountains and curvy roads – which made me feel a little sick. We made it to Heraklion in about 3 hours.

We went to check into our Hotel, the Lato (130 Euro per night), which I had heard good things about. I was a bit frustrating when we arrived because they told me that they had emailed me and told me that they were overbooked and were upgrading us to some other hotel, we had never heard of. I was 5,000 miles from home and clearly hadn’t had any access to email – and later when I returned home, there was no such message. We eventually worked it out and stayed at the Lato. This hotel is pretty modern and in a very convenient location in Heraklion, close to the bus station and the Archeological Museum.

We made a visit to the Archaeological Museum and spent about 2 hours there. It is a pretty large collection. I think we enjoyed the top floor which showcases some of the frescoes from the palace of Knossos the best. After the museum we had a quick lunch at a café near the museum which wasn’t very good.

Following the museum we returned to the bus station to get the bus to Knossos. There is a special booth outside with a sign denoting that is were you get the Knossos bus tickets. Buses leave about every 10-20 minutes and we were able to board one right away. There are guides that organize tours in a variety of languages at the Knossos gate. We joined an English speaking tour for 10 Euros each, which seemed to be the standard rate, and also included admission. I would highly, highly recommend seeing the ruins as part of a guided tour – otherwise I think it would be hard to make much sense of them. I think Knossos is a must see if you visit Crete. It was very, very hot the day we visited Knossos – I believe 91 Fahrenheit. Definitely wear a hat, sunscreen, and bring or buy water.

We retuned to the hotel to get refreshed and then took a walk around the city around 6:30 or 7:00 PM. It was cooling down and there was a nice sea breeze. We walked out on the harbor to the Venetian fortress. We ultimately ended up having dinner on the rooftop restaurant of the Lato – it was a bit expensive, but it had a great view of the harbor.

We woke up early for our ferry and managed to get a quick breakfast the included Lato buffet. There seemed to be several tour groups and breakfast was somewhat crowded. This was the best breakfast we encountered with a variety of pastries, crepes, Greek donuts, great rice pudding, eggs, etc.

Our transfer to the report arrived promptly at 8 AM. We were taking the Superfast high speed ferry to Santorini – it left at 8:55 AM and arrived in Santorini at about 11:05 AM. The boarding process was a bit of a mob seen, but otherwise the ferry was a really enjoyable experience. It left promptly and the crew was very good about making announcements in a wide variety of languages. This seems like the most efficient way to travel between Crete and Santorini when the weather cooperates.

When we approached the port of Fira at Santorini the island was beautiful, which the Cycladic villages tumbling out over the cliffs, on an island surrounded by inky blue seas. I knew this was what I was imaging a Greek island would be. Our private transfer here ended up with us being crammed into a cab with a another couple going to the village of Oia – not exactly what I was thinking, but you have to be relaxed on vacation.

We were staying at Esperas. We got dropped off at the car park and the bell boy came to carry our bags on the winding path. As we approached from the car park, I thought I was going to be disappointed in Esperas – the path from the car park isn’t that attractive. As we got closer, it was beautiful. There is an attractive pool partially built into a cave and winding stairways that lead you to the traditional Cycladic houses carved into the cliffs. The sundeck by the pool has amazing Caldera views. The location offers awesome views of the Ammoudi port below and the famous Oia sunset. The location cannot be beat. The hotel website’s pictures, www.esperas.com, do not due the location justice. I think this is the best price to value offering in Oia. The front desk staff, especially Yvonne, was extremely friendly and helpful.

We were shown to our Superior Traditional House ($225 Euro per night), I forget if it was 113 or 114, where a bottle of Santorini wine was waiting for us. We had a private balcony with lounge chairs, a bistro table and chairs, and an umbrella, a living / dining area, small kitchenette, separate bedroom, and bathroom. The balcony had truly awesome views and we enjoyed sitting out, reading, drinking wine, and enjoying the sunset, throughout our trip.

After getting settled in our room, we walked along the footpath into Oia. There are a lot of steps, but the Esperas hotel is well located in Oia with just a 10 min walk into the main town. We walked out to the ruins of the Venetian castle and enjoyed the magnificent view. Oia seems to get crowded during the day with tour groups who come off the Cruise Ships that leave them in Fira and navigating through the small streets can be tough with the crowds. We had lunch at a Patisserie with a Caldera view. The view was great and I had a nice Santorini salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, capers, peppers, and local cheese. Food in Santorini is definitely more expensive than in Crete. After lunch we wandered around Oia enjoying the amazing views, blue domed churches, and little shops. We stopped at a market and bought some water, snacks, and wine to enjoy back at the hotel.

It was very hot and sunny while we were in Greece, and by the time we returned to our hotel we were quite hot. We changed into swimsuits and took a really refreshing dip in the Esperas pool. The water was a little bit chilly but it was so hot that it really felt great. After spending some time in the water, we returned to lounge on our private patio.

That night we had dinner in Oia at Skala, which has great Caldera views. We enjoyed the house wine and Greek salads. I had a wonderful baked eggplant dish with tomatoes and feta. My husband had pasta with lots of seafood. I stole some of his calamari and it was quite good. After dinner we got ice cream cones and strolled around Oia. It is very nice in the evenings – the town is beautiful when all of the lights (and lit up pools) sparkle along the cliffs.

Breakfast at Esperas is fairly simple, with breads, cheese and spinach pies, cereals, juice and coffee. We enjoyed breakfast on our private balcony.

Today we wanted to explore Fira, so we took the bus from Oia. Fira is much bigger and more touristy than Santorini. It has more restaurants and tourist shops than Oia, but I preferred staying in Oia for its quaintness.

We strolled around Fira enjoying the magnificent views of the town, the sea, and the port and boats below. We ended up buying a few prints of Santorini scenes as a souvenir and had lunch at Dionysis (spelling?) – which wasn’t that great.

After several hours in Fira we wanted to take the bus back to Oia – we arrived 10 minutes before the bus was supposed to leave, but it was already packed (and May is the low season) – so we ended up standing.

We got off the bus in front of Santorini Mou, I love you Taverna. Our hotel had told us if we walked down the road about 20 minutes by the Taverna we would get to Sigalas Winery. It was a fairly long and hot walk – about 25 minutes. But when we got there we had the whole winery to ourselves and we shared a tasting of 9 wines. We enjoyed the dessert wines and bought a half bottle of one (all we had room for in our bags) as a souvenir.

The walk back from Sigalas to Esperas was about 45 minutes and we were very hot by the time we returned, so we took another dip in the pool

We enjoyed some wine on our patio and watched the famous Oia sunset and then went into the village for a dinner at 1800, probably the nicest restaurant in Oia. The walk to the restaurant took a little longer than anticipated because of all of the sunset watchers filling the streets and taking pictures.

1800 was definitely our best meal of the trip. They didn’t have house wines and the bottles were fairly expensive, so I just got a glass of read and my husband a glass of white. We were served complementary red pepper parmesan spread with our bread that was awesome. We shared a special eggplant goat cheese appetizer that was also really good. My husband had the baked rooster with gnocchi as its side dish. I tried the rooster and it was fabulous – wish I had ordered it – it was like butter, the best poultry I have ever tasted. I had a traditional Cretan pasta dish which was also very good. We shared their special honey parfait for dessert and were given a complimentary glass of Vin Santo dessert wine, which was very good. I think our total tab was around 110 Euro with tip, our most expensive meal of the trip.

We had gotten a bit sunburned during our long day in Fira and trekking back from the winery, so we decided to take it easy today. We enjoyed breakfast and then spent some time on our patio enjoying the views and writing postcards. We ventured down the 300+ stairs to see the Ammoudi port below – the views going up and down the steps are great and worth the trip alone. We explored the small port below and had lunch at Katina’s fish tavern. The fish is extremely fresh and grilled right outside on a charcoal grill. Some people even went inside to inspect and pick out their fish. As is common in Greece the fish is served whole with the head on. The waiter did split our fish in half and debone it since we didn’t know how to do that, being from America where most fish is served as a deboned fillet. After the long walk back up the steps, we stopped for a frappe at the Patisserie with views of the Caldera and then planned to visit the Maritime Museum. style="mso-spacerun: yes"> We got to the Maritime Museum only to learn that it was closed for 3 hours in the afternoon and reopened at 5 PM. We returned to Esperas for an enjoyable afternoon of lounging on our patio under the umbrella, reading, enjoying the view and the sunset. That evening we had dinner at Ambrosia and Nectar which was good – my husband had chicken stuffed with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese and I had Mediterranean pasta with lime, pine nuts, peppers and capers.

Sadly today we had to leave Santorini and beautiful Esperas and its very friendly staff. Our private transfer came to pick us up for the airport – it ended up being a mini-bus that picked up lots more people, and in the end there was so little room some people had to sit on others laps. The Santorini airport is very small and kind of disorganized, with lots of lines with poorly labeled or no signs for which airline or flight they are for. We finally made it to the gate where they crammed us into buses to take us to the plane – the bus was so jammed full of people that someone elbowed me in the eye. The boarding procedure was equally disorganized with fights almost breaking out among passengers.

We arrived in Athens and met the representative from Fantasy Travel at the airport who directed us to our private transfer to the Electra Palace hotel in the Plaka. The hotel has a great location where you can walk to the Plaka, Acropolis, Syntagma Square, Kolonaki, etc. We got a room on the 7th floor which was quiet and away from the street. It had a modern bathroom and good air conditioning. The staff at this hotel was not overly friendly, however.

After checking in we took a cab to the National Archaeological Museum – cab ride 8 Euros. This is a huge museum which lots of artifacts from different time periods. We really liked the exhibit with frescoes and artifacts from the Akrotiri excavation in Santorini.

Afterwards we walked back to the Plaka and had dinner at Platanos Taverna (?) – this was recommended in a lot of guidebooks and seemed to be overflowing with tourists, as were most places in the Plaka. I had stuffed tomatoes and my husband had moussaka. I thought the food was a little bit greasy.

Breakfast at the Electra Palace was nice, but like the Lato the breakfast room was quite crowded. Pastries, croissants, breads, eggs, hash browns, etc. were available. That morning our travel agent had scheduled a tour of the city for us with GO Tours. A representative of GO Tours picked us up in the hotel lobby along with some other guests from our hotel who were participating. The tour took us around the city and we got out of the bus and visited the stadium where the first modern Olympic games were held in 1896 and at the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The bus also took us by parliament and the president’s house. We then got off of the bus for a 2 hour tour of the Acropolis. We were at the Acropolis from 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM on a Sunday in May, but it was very crowded already and it was a little difficult to follow the tour guide with all of the other groups at the site. The steps up the Acropolis really weren’t bad and it was great to see the Parthenon and other temples. I highly recommend seeing the Acropolis with a guide. Afterwards we visited the Plaka where the Sunday flee market was being held.

We returned to our hotel to find sign up that a taxi strike was on for the next day so to confirm any transfers that were booked. We were a little nervous because we had an early flight the next morning and a 4:45 AM transfer to the airport. We called Fantasy Travel and they said that we should not have issues with our transfer since it was with a private company. Later that day we walked to Kolonaki, a more residential area of Athens with nice shops and cafes. Unfortunately, all of the stores were closed because it was Sunday but we were able to enjoy the cafes and people watching.

Up bright and early at 3:45 AM. We were downstairs for our 4:45 AM transfer only to get a call from them that they were running late. We were picked up at 5:00 AM but were at the airport by 5:30 AM, to get in line for our flight to Rome before the line got too long. Our flights to Rome and then to Newark on Alitalia were both full but on time. The food on the transatlantic flight was not very good and my personal TV system only worked 50% of the time – it kept saying “signal lost.” But all-in-all we made it home safely, on time, and with our luggage. It was a great trip.

A few favorites:
- Enjoying beach at Nea Chora in Chania
- Tamam restaurant in Chania
- Knossos ruins in Crete
- Friendly staff and great balcony at Porto Veneziano in Chania
- Beautiful views, cool traditional Cycladic house, and great staff at Esperas, in Santorini
- Eating at 1800 in Oia, Santorini
- The awe-inspiring views everywhere you look in Santorini
- Drinking Santorini wines and enjoying beautiful sunsets in Santorini
- Visiting Sigalas Winery in Santorini
- The Acropolis in Athensnt>

My husband and I just returned from a fabulous 15-day trip to Portugal. We really enjoyed the beautiful sights and scenery, delicious food, and wonderful Portuguese people. We had such a wonderful time and I hope that this report can help with your upcoming trips. Our itinerary worked well for us, it was a good pace.

I will complete my report in sections; starting with our itinerary, flight info, and Lisbon hotel accommodations…

Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon, sleep in Lisbon
Day 2: Tour Belem; sleep in Lisbon
Day 3: Tour Sintra; sleep in Lisbon
Day 4: Pick up rental car and drive to Salema; sleep in Salema
Day 5: Tour Lagos, Cape Sagres, Cape St. Vincent; sleep in Salema
Day 6: Pottery in Redondo, Tour Evora; sleep in Evora
Day 7: Drive to Obidos and tour; sleep in Obidos
Day 8: Drive to Nazare and tour; sleep in Nazare
Day 9: Tour Alcobaca, Pottery stop, Batalha, Fatima; sleep in Coimbra
Day 10: Tour Coimbra; sleep in Coimbra
Day 11: Tour some of Douro Valley, return rental car in Porto; sleep in Porto
Day 12: Tour Porto; sleep in Porto
Day 13: Tour Porto; sleep in Porto
Day 14: Train back to Lisbon, tour more of Lisbon; sleep in Lisbon
Day 15: Tour more of Lisbon; sleep in
Day 16: Return to USA

Our flights, through Continental Airlines, went very smoothly and without a single delay. We flew from BWI to Newark to Lisbon.

Taxi ride from airport to hotel (near Rossio Square):
Make sure that the taxi driver turns on his meter. Later on, we learned that our ride should have cost about 10 E, but our driver charged us about 25 E. Live and learn

Hotel: Pensao Residencial Geres
Website: http://cb2web.com/geres/index-en.shtml Price: 60 E for double room with private bath

Pensao Geres is a wonderful choice if you’re looking for budget accommodations in Lisbon. It’s a very clean, safe, family-owned pension located centrally off of Rossio Square. With the inexpensive price tag, there are some amenities you will not receive such as an in-room safe and continental breakfast. I also strongly recommend earplugs since the street noise was very loud – this may have more to do with the location than the pension.

Note: You do NOT have to sign up on shutterfly to view the album. I’ll continue to add photos as I update my report.

Le Sirenuse in Positano, Italy Grade: A
We were upgraded to a Junior Suite because they knew we were honeymooners… so lucky! Our room was beautiful and we spent a lot of time on our terrace overlooking the town and the sea…gorgeous view. The hotel has perfected the art of hospitality… very charming and the lobby is filled with antiques and records of guests from the past hundred years plus. We loved how the room came with ipod speakers… you can either borrow a loaded ipod from them or use your own… we had our own party in our room. :) The service at the hotel was impeccable and we had the best time just walking around, soaking up the environment, eating long dinners, etc.. there isn’t much to do in Positano besides smelling the flowers and eating great food. Our best meal was at a local restaurant Max. The food at the hotel was good and the ambiance was very romantic, but I think the best food is at the local restaurants. We also went to San Pietro for dinner – unbelievable hotel location… it’s perched on the side of a cliff and the gardens are absolutely gorgeous…maybe better for drinks than for dinner… we also went on a ridiculous hike up the mountain one day… definitely do this only if you have been working out regularly! :)

Capri Palace Hotel in Anacapri Grade: C+ Definitely stay in Capri if you go to Capri. We decided to stay in Anacapri because we had heard that Capri Palace was the best hotel in the whole Amalfi coast area… but definitely, Caruso and Le Sirenuse are infinitely better in terms of service and luxury… once again, the management lied to us when we arrived and said they were giving us an upgrade… which they didn’t, but at least this time, we had a nice view. Eventually, they moved us to the Skadinsky suite, which was a really nice room…but still not of the same standard as the two previous hotels. Also, we were kind of bothered that all of a sudden the hotel staff was nicer to us once we were staying in a better room! We paid about 12-15 euro to take taxis between Capri and Anacapri... the taxi drivers will try and rip you off if you don’t negotiate beforehand. Capri was fun for walking around, shopping (though super expensive!) and celeb spotting… we had really amazing food there too... Aurora was really good and the restaurant at Capri Palace is the best element of the hotel. Otherwise, it’s completely overrated!

Overall, we had an amazing time in Italy… so relaxing and beautiful... plus we had incredible food everyday!

Back from Spain, info and pictures in bio
From: MDGirl Date: 7/5/2006 at 1:05 PM

In June of 2006 we took a long-anticipated trip to Spain. We only had a week so we kept it to Barcelona and a small resort town on the Costa del Sol (southern coast) called Puerto Banus.

Hotels Jazz Hotel: We found this one thanks to a fellow Nestie and it gets rave reviews on TripAdvisor. It's in a fantastic location one door down from a Metro stop and two blocks from the Plaça Catalunya. The rooms were a good size, very modern and spotless. The staff was very friendly and spoke good English. B Hotel: We had a very early flight out of Barcelona to go back home, so we spent our last night there. I stayed with the same hotel chain but chose a cheaper one that was also closer to the airport than the Jazz. The B was possibly even more modern than the Jazz, and still very nice with a friendly staff. The location at Plaça Espańa would be convenient for the trains, but it didn't seem like there was a whole lot right around the hotel.

Our first day we arrived around noon, so we just wandered out to La Rambla and explored the Gothic Quarter a bit.

Our second day was our big Gaudi day. We bought all day passes for the Metro (which is very easy to navigate) to save ourselves from walking. We started out with the Sagrada Familia, which was absolutely amazing. It was 8€ each, but for 9€ you could get a combined ticket for the Gaudi museum at the Park Güell. If you're planning on doing the park as well it's a good deal because the museum is 4€ if you buy it there. There was a 45-minute wait to take the elevator up to the tower, so we just elected to look around.

Next stop were La Pedrera and Casa Batllň. We decided to just go into one, and we chose Casa Batllň. It's not especially cheap (16.50€ each), but an audio tour is included and it's gorgeous inside. We also checked out the shops along Passeig de Grŕcia, which were very nice.

Our last stop on our Gaudi day was Park Güell. It's a bit of a hike from the Metro stop, but there are good signs telling you where to go and it's a nice park. We went to the cafe at the top to have a beer, rest in the shade and enjoy the view. We also hit the museum since we had purchased the passes earlier in the day, but I'm not sure it would have been worth it otherwise.

The next day we did a day trip to Montserrat. In hindsight I don't think this was the best use of our time, but I think I see it that way because we didn't get the last evening in Barcelona we thought we were because of bad flights on the way from Malaga back to Barcelona. However, it's an easy trip and a nice break from the city. The scenery is spectacular, and I wanted to see the black Madonna at the church. You take a suburban train from Plaça Espańa to get there, and you can purchase a combined ticket for either the cable car or funicular to the top of the mountain right at the station. If you have a problem with heights I suggest the fucinular. Be careful about getting off at the correct stop for what you purchase, though. The cable car (aeri) is the first Montserrat stop, and the funicular is second. If you get off at the wrong one you'll either have to pay extra to take whatever is there, or you'll have to wait for the next train, which was an hour when we were there. For this same reason, try to find the train schedules posted at the top so you can time your return trip to make the train back to Barcelona.

When we went the line to see the black virgin was long. We were probably in it an hour. However, it doesn't look that long from the entrance outside the church, so keep that in mind if you think you're just going to jump in line and see it fast. I just kept thinking about the pilgrims who probably endured a lot worse to see it. Also keep in mind that you're in a church and to act accordingly. I saw quite a bit of what I considered disrespectful behavior.

PUERTO BANUS
We spent the second half of our trip in Puerto Banus in a condo owned by my husband's uncle. We really liked this town a lot. It was like something out of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The focus of the town is a marina, which is packed with huge yachts from all over Europe. All the yacht owners then park their Bentleys, Ferraris, and Benzs on the little street along the marina while they shop at Dolce & Gabanna, Louis Vuitton, and all the other shops in town. There were a ton of bars and restaurants, and you could easily walk to everything. Did I mention the beach? The beach east of town is nice. There are several bars on it that rent chairs and umbrellas for the day, and you can get drinks delivered right there. We did this at Aurora Beach (5.50€ each for the day). The water was a little cold and the bottom was rocky, but it was nice up on the sand. Our favorite restaurant was called Los Banditos. Reservations are must to get into any restaurant on the weekend, but this was even packed on Wednesday. There were also a ton of clubs, but we're not big club people so we stuck to the bars along the marina to watch World Cup games. We never felt unsafe anywhere, just maybe underdressed and poor.

Gibraltar: My husband was really keen on seeing Gibraltar, so we went there for a day since we had a car (took about an hour). If you're going to be on the Costa del Sol for a while it might be a good break from the beach, but I think we both thought it wasn't worth the trip with our limited time. We arrived around noon and the line of cars to cross the border was huge, so we parked on the Spain side and walked across. There were a couple parking garages close by and it was only 5€, and then a city bus to the city center was 1.5€ each roundtrip. We ate at a horrible restaurant called The Tunnel and did some shopping. Apparently this is a huge draw since Gibraltar doesn't have a value added tax (VAT), but I really didn't see anything worth making the trip for. We didn't do any climbing on the rock because I was hiked out after Barcelona and Montserrat.

Getting to P. Banus: To get to Puerto Banus you fly into Malaga, and then it's about an hour drive west, near Marbella. We flew on SpanAir down, which was OK, but they completely screwed up our flight back. It was a mess and basically destroyed the last day of our vacation, so I really can't recommend them. We booked our car through Thrifty/Crown, and while the price wasn't bad we had to wait an hour for our car because they didn't realize it had been returned and was sitting right there.

Greece Trip Review and Pics in Bio-Athens, Naxos, Paros, and Santorini
From: lauren27 Date: 7/9/2006 at 4:32 PM

We just returned from Greece. This was not a honeymoon, just a trip with friends. But I thought the information might be helpful to Greece honeymooners. I posted pictures below the review.

We stayed in mostly midrange hotels, and splurged on one really nice hotel in Athens. We were pretty happy with all of our hotel choices, and they each were very comfortable.

All I can say is WOW! I knew that Greece was going to be beautiful, but it really exceeded my expectations. If you’re thinking of going to Greece, you should definitely do it. We are already thinking about what islands to visit next time!

Flight We flew on United and Lufthansa from DC to Germany and then on to Athens. The flights were fine and uneventful. One thing I would recommend is that if you’re flying coach on United, to try to get seats in the Economy Plus section. We sat here on our way back to the US, and the legroom was much better, and the seat just slightly bigger, so it was much more comfortable overall.

Athens (Night 1) We arrived in Athens around 5 pm, and this really was perfect timing. We took a taxi to the hotel, the Holiday Inn on Attica Avenue. We chose this hotel because it was only 10 minutes from the airport and much less expensive than the Sofitel which is adjacent to the airport. We were flying out the next morning for the islands, so we wanted to stay as close to the airport as possible. We also knew that there wouldn’t be time or we’d be too tired to do any sightseeing in Athens when we got there. We took a taxi to the hotel and it was about 18 Euros. I think he overcharged us, but we were just too tired to argue. Our friends who were on a later flight took the bus-paid about 2 or 3 euro a person. If we were to go back, I’d take the bus because it was an express bus, so it took about the same amount of time as the taxi and was a lot cheaper. We got to the hotel, had dinner at their restaurant (it was good, but not cheap!), relaxed in the hotel for a couple of hours and went to sleep early. This was definitely the way to do it because we didn’t feel any jetlag the next day. The hotel is only a couple of years old and very modern. I thought that the hotel itself was quite ugly in their decorating, but it was comfortable. The room was average size and had a nice bathroom. The bed was one of the more comfortable ones that we slept on in Greece. In Greece everywhere seemed to have hard beds. The hotel also has a complimentary shuttle that will take you to the airport. We took that the next morning back to the airport and it was very easy. We didn’t think about it when we arrived, but they may also pick you up from the airport and take you to the hotel. Our friends arrived late at night, so we met them the next morning for breakfast. We were really hungry, so we decided to go to the breakfast buffet, even though I knew it would be overpriced. It was 22 euro a person and definitely not worth it. We would have been much better off getting breakfast at the airport. I would recommend this hotel to anyone who needs to get to the airport early the next day.

Naxos (Nights 2-6) We flew on Olympic from Athens to Naxos. I was amazed at how quickly we were able to get through the airport to our gate. We had wanted to fly Aegean, but they don’t fly to Naxos. We had heard lots of bad things about Olympic, but our flight was just fine. It only took about 30 minutes. We were SO glad we flew instead of taking the ferry. We paid about 70 each for the flight and it was worth it.

We stayed at the Hotel Glaros after hearing lots of good reviews. This hotel was a great find and Alex at the reception desk was just fabulous. He was extremely helpful and answered all of our questions enthusiastically. We were greeted with glasses of delicious orange juice, and I thought that was a nice touch. The hotel was only 55 euro a night and included breakfast. We opted for the highest room category. We were on the third floor and had a shared balcony with our friends room, and one other room. There were plenty of chairs and umbrellas and was very spacious. We had a great view of St. George Beach just across the street. The location was perfect—just on the edge of the main town, Hora, so it was away from the hustle and bustle (if you want to call it that!), and only a five minute walk from the port. The breakfast was sufficient and included bread, cake, butter, jelly, hard boiled eggs, orange juice and coffee. It was basically the same everyday (with just a different variety of cake on some days), so if we had stayed any longer I think it would have gotten a bit old. My only complaints about the hotel (there really wasn’t much to complain about!) were that the bed was hard (typical of our hotels in Greece). It was not that big of a deal though because we slept great every night after having traipsed around the island and spending so much time in the sun; The shower was quite small and it was hard to keep the water from getting on the floor.

We had two other friends who were in Naxos at the same time, so the first day we rented a van and drove around the island. This was my favorite day on Naxos. Alex at the hotel arranged it for us—it was 90 euros for the day, not bad divided by the six of us! We visited the Temple of Demeter (nice site with gorgeous views at the top of a hill). Drove to Chalki—such a cute town to walk around and where kitron (a liquor made only on Naxos). We had lunch at a place called Yianni’s in Chalki and it was great. We also visited Apiranthos, another hillside town. The streets were paved in marble and we really enjoyed just strolling around the winding streets. We continued on to Mountsouna—the drive was a bit scary, but the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. We found a pretty secluded beach and we were the only ones there. We then went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. One thing I’d recommend is to avoid the harborside restaurants on all the islands in general. Stick to the ones that are harder to find and tucked away on the side streets. The food was better, more authentic, less touristy and less expensive. We did eat at a couple of the harborside restaurants too and it was still good. But the other restaurants were a better value.

We dedicated the next day to beaches. We took the bus to Prokopios—white sand, clear water, very pretty, but quite crowded. Spent a couple hours here then walked to Anna—even prettier, calmer and less crowded. After a couple hours here, we walked on to Plaka. This was our favorite beach on the island. It’s long enough to find a quiet area and the water was as clear and calm as the Virgin Islands.

This day we rented atv’s from a place called Billy’s Bikes and visited more beaches. We drove to Vigla, further south from Plaka. This beach was wide and sandy and there were lots of waves and wind. It was perfect for wind and kite surfing and fun to watch. It was just too windy there to spend much time, so we made our way to Mikri Vigla just across the way. This beach was well protect by lots of rocks, so the water was clear and calm. There were some large boulders that would make for fun rock scrambling. The snorkeling here was pretty good. I even saw a starfish, and much more fish in general than I expected.

On our last day we took a day trip to Delos and Mykonos on the Naxos Star. It was 40 euros a person and just covered the boat rides. Delos was just amazing. The ruins were extensive and the views breathtaking. We had about 3 hours on the island, and we could have used another hour or two for more exploring. We then went on to Mykonos for around 2 and a half hours. We only had lunch and walked around the port town here. I was not impressed. It was really crowded with cruise ship passengers everywhere. Unfortunately we did not see more of the island, so I can’t really comment on the island overall. The restaurants were definitely more expensive than Naxos, and the port area just not as pretty. But cruise ships don’t visit Naxos. I wish that we had done some sort of island tour so we could have seen more, but we just didn’t have much time.

That night when we were back in Naxos, we walked up the hill to the Portara to watch the sunset. It was gorgeous and I highly recommend doing that one night.

We took the highspeed ferry to Paros—it cost about 13 euro a person and took about an hour. The boat was much more comfortable than I expected. We came in to the main port, Parikia, but chose to stay at a different seaside village called Naoussa. It was a little quieter than Parikia and we were happy with our choice. We really enjoyed strolling around both towns and enjoyed restaurants in both.

We stayed at the Kalypso Hotel and Apartments. We had booked a studio for 60 euros a night, and they upgraded us to an apartment. We have kind of mixed feelings on the place. Our apartment was very nice, had a large balcony and a great view. We were extremely happy with the accommodations, much nicer than I expected. However, for our friends accommodations there was a miscommunication between them and the owner. He didn’t even apologize for the misunderstanding. They weren’t looking for anything for extra, just an “I’m sorry” The apartments were about a 10 minute walk from town and a five minute walk to the beach.

We rented a car with our friends for our entire stay and were so glad that we had it. My friends and husband decided that they wanted to try kite surfing. We went to Pounta Beach. They took lessons but unfortunately didn’t realize that in the initial lesson you don’t even get in the water. You just practice with the instructor and kite. They were pretty disappointed because they didn’t really like the practice session too much and didn’t want to pay for future lessons where they actually go in the water. We then went to Santa Maria beach. It was a nice small bay with calm water.

The next day we spent the entire day at Columbythres beach. This was our favorite of all the beaches we visited. It was such a unique place. There were boulders everywhere. They actually divided the beach into three smaller coves. The water was crystal clear and calm. The bay itself was pretty narrow and shallow so the water really sparkled all the way to the opposite coast. It was very picturesque and relaxing there. We also had lunch at a great nearby tavern.

On our last full day we rented a car and drove around the island. It’s much smaller than Naxos, and we only drove along the coast. It only took a couple hours included our stops. We just did a lot of photo stops at different viewpoints, churches and beaches. It was beautiful. We visited Golden Beach and New Golden Beach; as well as Faragas. But none of these compared to Columbythres. That evening we took the bus to Lefkes Village. It’s the highest elevated village on the island and such a charming place. We really enjoyed just walking around it’s winding streets. We took the bus instead of driving because we planned on walking the Byzantine path. It was paved in marble and much of it remains, but a lot of the walk was dirt road. Parts of the path were narrow and filled with bush—the guidebooks didn’t mention that part! The road began in Lefkes and was mostly downhill (though there were more uphill portions than I expected), and ends in Prodromos. So we wouldn’t have to walk back to Lefkes we could drive and instead caught the bus in Prodromos. I highly recommend doing this walk—we didn’t do it until the evening (started the walk at about 6:30). We were so glad we didn’t do it midday, because it was HOT even at 6:30. It was amazing walking through the countryside and there were beautiful views.

Santorini (Nights 11-14) We took the ferry to Santorini. This time we took the slower Blue Star Ferry. It took about 3 ˝ hours as opposed to 2 hours on the highspeed ferry. But the highspeed ferry didn’t work well with our schedule. Santorini is just stunning- one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been. The scenery is really dramatic. We were in a bit of tourist shock when we arrived. So much more crowded than Paros and Naxos. Fira especially was a madhouse since there were so many cruise ships around. We were so happy that we chose to stay in Ia. We loved that town so much. It was really quiet except for sunset time when all the tourists would come in. I have never taken more sunset pictures than I did on this trip!

We stayed at the Delfini and loved it. We had booked a studio for 100 euro a night, but were upgraded to an apartment. It was in the perfect location—still quiet, but close to the shops and restaurants of Ia. The hotel rooms, where our friends stayed is right next to Katikies. Our apartment was about a block or two up from there. The view from our balcony was stunning and the balcony itself was huge. The apartment itself was very comfortable and a lot nicer than what I expected. I would definitely recommend reserving something other than their regular rooms. They do have balconies with the same nice views, but the rooms themselves were tiny with even tinier bathrooms (our friends stayed in one of these rooms, and tried to upgrade, but unfortunately the hotel was full.). I personally wouldn’t recommend renting a car in Santorini. The roads are on cliffs, are very curvy and mostly without guardrails. I had the scariest taxi ride of my life here!

The first full day I didn’t feel too well. So my husband just walked around Ia, and I hung out at the apartment. It was so nice to just relax and take in the views. I loved, loved the balcony of our apartment. A kitty cat even visited a couple times.

The next morning we took the bus to Perivolas, one of the black sand beaches. One downfall of not renting a car is that the busses take quite a bit of time to get you places, especially from Ia. All the busses stop in Fira where you have to switch busses to your final destination. Even though it took a while to get to the beach, it was worth it and we had a great time there. The black sand is really hot. I think the water there was actually a little warmer because of the sand. That afternoon we took a daytrip on the boat Thalassa. We had to catch the boat in Fira, so we walked around the town for a while. And were still really happy we stayed in Ia. We took the cable car down to the port in Fira, it was interesting and much better than walking. We hiked the volcano, went to the hotsprings (more like warm springs, but still a fun thing to do) and then watched the sunset from the boat. It included wine and appetizers and cost 40 euros a person. They also had a trip in the morning/afternoon which was cheaper. Instead of watching the sunset that trip stopped for lunch at a nearby island in the village of Thorassia. We were glad we chose the sunset tour though because it was great watching it from the boat. We had dinner in Ia at a place called Scala, and it was one of our favorite meals.

On our last day we took the bus to the red beach. After the bus drops you off you have to take a little hike to get to the beach. Very worth it to us because it was another unique place. This is a pebbly beach. There were lots of rocks around and the snorkeling was the best that we had seen in Greece. I saw tons of fish. (The snorkeling was nice, but it’s all rocks, no coral, so it doesn’t compare to snorkeling in the Caribbean—there were lots of fish in Greece, but not as colorful as what we have seen in the Caribbean) Later that day we took a taxi to Santo’s winery and did a wine tasting. They give you 12 different wines, bread and cheese for about 16 euros. It was really fun and we bought a couple of bottles that we liked. I think this place has the best view on the island. We watched the sunset here and it was the most stunning of all the sunsets we has seen in Greece. Great place to go for our last evening there!

Athens (Nights 15-16) We flew from Santorini on Aegean. We got a great fare of about 36 euro a person. Another 30 minute flight and again we were so happy we did this instead of the long ferry ride back to Athens. Our flight was early in the morning so we had a full day in Athens to explore.

We stayed at the Grand Bretagne. The hotel is immaculate. This was our splurge hotel and our room was beautiful. The bed was SO comfortable especially after 2 weeks of sleeping on really hard beds. The room was larger than I expected it to be and the bathroom was huge with marble, two sinks and huge shower (with a rain shower head, I love those!) and a separate tub. When we got back to Athens it was hot, hot, hot. We rested in the room for a few hours before heading to the Acropolis. It was sweltering, so we saw as much as we could in the shortest amount of time possible. It was nice and I’m glad we saw it, but after everything else we had seen it was a little disappointing. I feel like we should have spent our first few nights in Athens, instead of saving it until the end. We had dinner in Plaka. It’s a very touristy area, but we liked being able to pick up some last minute gifts. We had some great gyros that night. But, beware of ice cream shops. We went to one called Lato that night and got ice cream and then took it with us and ate it while we walked—the price was a total of 5 euro. The next night we went back because we liked the ice cream so much. They pushed us into sitting down, we were tired so we sat. Little did we know that the price of the ice cream would triple because we sat down! We basically ordered the same thing as the night before, except when you sit they put whipped cream and a sparkler (seemed to be a popular thing to put in desserts in Greece, we saw this a lot). We get the bill and it was 15 euro. Not to mention that my husband ordered a waffle cone and they brought it in a cup. They offered to “dump” it in a cone, instead of preparing a new one. I cannot recommend this shop to you!

On our last full day in Greece we took a day trip to Delphi. We arranged it through the hotel and it was through Chatours. It was 90 euro a person including lunch, transportation and entrance fees. I sort of wish that we had just rented a car and done it on our own. It was a long drive, about 3 hours from Athens. We drove in the mountains and through some cute mountain towns. I would have liked to have been able to make some photo stops and explore some of the towns (Arachova looked really cute from what we saw on the bus). The drive was very scenic. We arrived at Delphi and took a guided tour of the museum and then of the site. I absolutely loved the setting. After about an hour at the site we were done with the tour and had time to roam around on our own. Unfortunately it started pouring. Luckily we saw it coming and made it back down to the ticketing area before the storm, and only got a little wet before getting on the bus. This was the only time that it rained for our entire trip! There was marble all over the site, and it’s slippery when it’s dry; I didn’t want to think about walking on it in the rain because I know I would fall! We then stopped for lunch in the village of Delphi. It was a set menu, the food was ok, but nothing special. Again, we enjoyed it and liked having a guide, but I still wish we had just done it on our own.

We spent a week on an Ireland fly/drive/B&B honeymoon package. We used BJ's Travel, who works with Sceptre Tours for the package.

Spend the morning in Dublin, drive to Newgrange. Visit Newgrange in the afternoon.

Spend the evening south of Navan, drive to Trim. Tour Trim Castle. Drive to Waterford.

Drive through Cork to Killarney. Stay in Killarney 2 days, doing a day trip to the Dingle Peninsula.

Our notable lodging were the Temple Bar Hotel in Dublin and the Windway Inn in Killarney.

In Dublin, we went to Christchurch Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Both were walkable, and were very cheap to get into. We did self-guided tours and had good tour guide brochures available. We also saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College. The tour was OK but there are a lot of tourists crowded around the books. It's better to continue the tour in their amazing old library, and to look at their other copy of the Book of Kells upstairs. No one realizes they're there, and the library is breathtaking.

Newgrange was impressive as a historical site. The main tourist center gives a nice overview of the ancient Irish culture and the history of the passage tombs. Our tour guide was really knowledgable. My husband really enjoyed it.

Trim Castle was an accidental gem. It's a 3 acre site that's been extensively excavated and restored. You can get a tour of all 4 floors of the castle, and it's quite impressive. Parts of Braveheart were filmed there.

Waterford was a waste of time for us. We stayed at a bad B&B, were directed to a bad pub for dinner (nice atmosphere, not so good food), and the factory tour was a giant marketing gimmick. It was cool to see the crystal being made, so that was its saving grace.

Killarney has been my favorite Irish town for a while, and it didn't disappoint. Our B&B was very nice, we were directed to the BEST meal we had at Bricin's, and we could easily have spent more time there. The shopping is good, there are a lot of castles, manors, and parks nearby, and there are lots of pubs to hang out and hear good music.

Dingle Peninsula was also lovely. The beach at Inch is to die for. Dingle itself has struck a balance between old fishing village and tourist town. Along the peninsula are a ton of ring forts and beehive huts, most of them in the middle of farmers' fields. They usually charge a couple of Euros to check things out, but it's mostly worth it. We were told that to see the Galarus Observatory we didn't have to go through the visitor center. We just drove straight to it and wandered around.

Adare is an adorable town. A manor owner decided to make it the prettiest town in Ireland, and it is full of thatched roof homes in brilliant colors. There's a nice park in the middle of town, and Adare Manor is a great place for high tea.

Askeaton is a hidden gem. If you find Anthony at the tourist office, you're in for a treat. He'll give you at least an hour tour with the history of Desmond Castle, and if you're nice he'll give you an equally good tour of the Abbey.