Italy Honeymoon Journal

Our honeymoon was full of great memories, history and beautiful cities. We broke down the trip in a day by day summary. Use the links below to skip to a certain day, otherwise scroll down to start reading.

Quick Links: Day 1/2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Day 6 - Day 7 - Day 8 - Day 9 - Day 10 - Day 11 - Final Thoughts

Day 1/2: April 13/14 - Depart the USA / Venice (Photos)

We started off the morning by waking up at 7am to meet Seth's family for breakfast and then head to Rebekah's parents house to finish packing our bags and head to the airport. The flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt, Germany was 10 hours long. It sounds like a long time but it wasn't too bad. Rebekah was very tired from the past weeks events and she slept most of the time. I was able to sleep a few hours but had to endure 3 bad movies along the way (Becoming Jane, The Chipmunks and The Golden Compass). After that flight, we had a quick 1 hour flight to Venice, Italy. Where we passed over the Alps, a really spectacular view.

Upon arriving in Italy we were greeted by an associate of Gate1 Travel (our tour company for the trip), where we met some of our other tour group members. They lead us out of the airport to a water taxi, which brought us to our hotel that sat directly on a canal in Venice.

We checked into our room and found out that they are quite small in Venice. Luckily we weren't in it too long, otherwise we would have had cabin fever. We had an orientation dinner with the group at 6pm that night and had a couple of hours to kill before then, so we decided to walk around Venice for a bit. The city is truly beautiful. There are no cars because Venice is just a group of islands connected via bridges. You have to take a water taxi to get from one area of the city to another part. Venice is relatively small so you can walk to every place if needed (this was the main way of transport for us). A lot of the buildings looked run down from the outside but turned out to be very pretty on the inside. The canals were also surprisingly clean, the water was a greenish color but there was barely any litter in it. The people are also pretty nice and keep to themselves. The crime level is almost none existent, you can walk down a dark alley at 2am and not have to fear for your life.

At 6pm we had our orientation dinner, where we met our tour group guide Vanni. Our first introduction with him was to drink some fine Italian wine. We met the rest of our 41 other group members. Our group turned out to vary in age quite a bit. There were couples celebrating anniversaries, another honeymooning couple, a family, a mother and daughter couple to name a few.

We had a nice 5 course Italian dinner. Little did we know in Italy that dinners are not just about eating but more of a social event. They usually start around 730pm, last for 3-4 hours and are never rushed. Wine is served right from the start. You usually get an appetizer, then choose your first entree; which is a pasta or soup dish. Your second entree is a meat/chicken/pork/fish type dinner. Then to top it off, you get a dessert and coffee. The check is never brought to you, you have to ask for it yourself. The wait staff doesn't like to rush you. This was a far cry from America, where its get in as fast as you can and get out. The food was excellent but by the end of the trip we had more pasta and pizza to supply a small army. Needless to say we are staying off Italian food for a while.

After the dinner we called it a day and tried to get some sleep. It had been a long day.

Day 1/2 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 3: Tuesday April 15 - Venice (Photos)

The day began with our group taking a boat to the island of Murano to tour their world renown glass making factory. The island has been in the glass making industry for many centuries and has some of the best glass made products in the world. They showed us the process of heating the glass and using a long rod to roll and blow through it to expand the glass into different shapes. After the demonstration we were ushered into their showroom to see if there was anything worth buying. We were intrigued but decided we didn't need anymore stuff for our apartment.

We left the island and headed back to Venice for a walking tour of St. Marks Square, which is the central square and gathering place for Venice. The square contains the Golden Basilica of San Marco, the Bridge of Sighs and the Doges' Palace; which we took a walking tour through through.

After lunch, we met up with some of our group members to take a gondola ride through the Venice canals. Although it wasn't as romantic as doing it at night, the ride was enjoyable. Our oarsmen was very skilled at navigating through the tight areas of the canals. He didn't sing to us but we were close enough to another gondola that had a singer on it.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Venice and eating gelato. We found a great italian restaurant for dinner that served sensational pizza and pasta. We ended our time in venice with a nice stroll through the city at night.

Day 3 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 4: Wednesday April 16 - Pisa & Florence (Photos)

Today we had to leave the quiet safety of Venice for the rolling hills and beautiful landscapes of Tuscany. Our destination was first a tuscan farm in Lucca for wine tasting and dining. Then to Pisa to view its Leaning Tower and finally arriving in Florence for a two night stay. We met our bus driver Paolo (whom didn't speak a lick of english) and stepped on the tour bus that would eventually take us all the way to Sorrento.

It was about a 2 hour drive to Lucca from Venice. We could see the snow capped Alps in the distance to the North and beautifully green farms of central Italy to the south. We arrived at the farm where we met a hilarious local farmer, whose name I forget. Apparently she has a bitter rivalry with the town of Pisa. She would often refer to the town as "the dirty stinky town of Pisa". And since this was the next stop on our tour she would often fill our heads with knowledge on why it was so stinky (mainly because of the way they produce their olive oil).

She informed us of the way olive oil is made and why the type we buy in America is really bad. Following her tour we sat down to try some of their red and white wines along with some pasta and brushetta. The meals and wines were fabulous, lets just say the bus ride to Pisa was a lot more enjoyable after our stay at the farm.

On our way to Pisa our tour guide Vanni prepared us for the possibility of encounters with Gypsies. Gypsies are typically homeless woman (and sometimes children) that will try to pickpocket you. They are deceptively clever and usually strike without notice. Some of their tactics include waiving a clipboard in your face to sign up for something, while using their other free hand to rummage through your purse/wallet. One other plan involves them throwing their baby at you so that you catch it, then with your hands full they go through your belongings. You laugh, but I wish I was making this up!

Once we arrived at Pisa we took the obligatory "trying to hold up the tower" pictures, bought some tacky souvenirs, dodged some sneaky Gypsies then proceeded on our way to Florence.

Florence is known throughout the world for its art. The city holds some of the most famous paintings and sculptures on the planet. One of them including Michelangelo's David, which we saw the next day. We got to our hotel room, dropped off the bags and decided to "explore" Florence on our own. This would have been a good idea except I forgot the map and therefore got us lost for a good solid hour. Rebekah's innate directional skills kicked in and got us to the hotel safe and sound. After that we decided we had had enough adventure for the day and called it a night.

Day 4 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 5: Thursday April 17 - Florence (Photos)

After our regularly scheduled morning breakfast we gathered the troops and set our sights for the Accademia of Fine Arts, where Michelangelo's David is housed. Because the lines to the museum can get long quickly, Vanni suggested we get up a little earlier to beat the rush. I'm glad he thought of this because after we were firmly first in line, not long after did 10 other tour groups show up. Seeing David was one of the highlights of the trip for me. I had always seen the sculpture in books but always wanted to see it in person.

The Accademia of Arts is quite small and unimpressive from the outside. It holds some other "unfinished" pieces done by Michelangelo, which all lead up to his most recognizable piece. David is an enormous sculpture when you see it in person. I think it goes up as high as 25' in the air. The attention to detail was remarkable. You could see a vein running up through his arm all the way to his neck. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures of David. You once were, but since they opened the gift shop they disallowed picture taking.

After David, we walked over to the Duomo. Which has a magnificent dome designed by Brunelleschi and Baptistery known for its "Gates of Paradise" doors. Later on in the day Rebekah and I had free time to actually go to the top of the Duomo's Dome and see some great views of Florence.

The tour brought us through the open air art museum of Signoria Square ending at Ponte Vecchio, known as the "Old Bridge." This was the only bridge saved by Hitler when he conquered Florence. After the tour ended, we had the option to follow Vanni to an authentic leather shop that houses some of the finest leather clothing in Italy. Rebekah was hand picked to model one of the leather jackets they offered. I ended up buying a new leather belt. Sadly, Rebekah did not get the jacket.

After the tour, Rebekah and I explored Florence on our own. We didn't get lost once!

In the evening, we had an authentic Tuscan dinner at a restaurant in the countryside of Florence. We were served some excellent strawberry sparkling wine and more food then anyone should ever eat in one sitting. The evening closed with us taking in one more view of Florence from the roof of our hotel.

Day 5 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 6: Friday April 18 - Perugia, Assisi, Rome (Photos)

Today we made our way to Rome but stopped at the towns of Perugia and Assisi while on the road. To get to Perugia we traveled on the famous "Sun Route" motorway. Its a windy highway that passes through beautiful Tuscan farmland and high mountain passages.

Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria. We toured an old medieval castle and learned about the cities presence in some of Italy's' wars. Although known for its art and medieval buildings, Perugia is also famous for its chocolate. The best chocolate in Italy is made here, so we had to do our part and make sure this statement was true. We ended up buying 4 or 5 different chocolate bars. After some not so great lunch and a little rain, we got back on the bus and headed to Assisi.

Assisi is world-known for its 13th century Basilica of St. Francis and painter Giotto's frescoes. The church sits atop a hill overlooking the city. St. Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208, is buried in a tomb underneath the church.

After our self guided tour, we explored the small town of Assisi. There was a fairly large village that shared the hillside with the Basilica of St. Francis. Besides the many tourist traps that lined the streets, there were many old churches and architecture to keep our attention. After Assisi, we boarded the bus and made our way to Rome or as the Italians say. "Roma."

We got into Rome at around 5pm. The city is quite large and more urban that I would have thought. In my head I pictured a city trapped in the 11th century but with so many designer clothing shops and Internet cafe's the city is right in the middle of ancient history and the 21st century.

After checking into the hotel and discovering free wi-fi, courtesy of the neighbors in the adjacent apartment, we ate dinner with the group at an authentic Italian restaurant. The highlight of the day was our 1 block stroll from the hotel to the Colosseum. I didn't know much about Rome before I went but I did know about the Colosseum. The view of it at night was great. Each section is lit up with different colored lights and, quite remarkably, remains nearly intact after all these years.

After the Colosseum, we called it a night and rested up for the long day of touring ancient Rome ahead of us.

Day 6 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 7: Saturday April 19 - Rome (Photos)

We began our trip today with a tour of the Vatican Museums and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Vanni woke us up especially early knowing that lines for the Vatican Museums can get very long, very quickly. Lucky for us, we ended up being the first group to tour that morning. Our tour guide for our Rome stay was a nice italian man named Paulo. He knew more about Rome and its museums then I could imagine. I guess when you do these tours for a living you have to know a little of everything.

Since we did not have all day to tour the museum, we were led through one wing that led to the Sistine Chapel. The wing we did see past through many centuries of sculptures and paintings. The Sistine Chapel was one of the many highlights on the tour. The paintings that Michelangelo did on the ceiling were unbelievable. The attention to detail and sheer magnitude are hard to put into words. We were not able to take any pictures but I don't know many people that have not seen his work in books.

We sat there for a while and took in all the paintings while Paulo described the meaning of each work on the walls and ceiling. After the Sistine Chapel we headed outside to see St. Peter's Square. This is the square you will often see filled up with people when the Pope gives the blessing or when a new Pope is chosen. Unfortunately for us, the Pope decided to visit America the same time we were in Rome. He ended up coming back the day we left; maybe next time.

Next, we headed over to St. Peter's Basilica to view Michelangelo's first sculpture, Pieta. This highly-finished marble sculpture depicts the body of Jesus in the arms after the Crucifixion, and was created for the funeral monument of French cardinal Jean de Billheres. The church also contained many works of arts and still conducts mass on Sundays.

The rest of the day was allotted for us to spend at our leisure. There was also an optional Rome walking tour that the tour company provided. Since we had no idea where to go in Rome, this was a no brainer. The tour brought us through the many Piazzas and Fountains of Rome, including the famous Trevi fountain. Which will grant you wishes if you throw coins in it. It is said if you throw one in, then you will return to Rome one day. We will if that is true.

After the walking tour, we ate at a very nice outdoor italian restaurant and ate until we couldn't move. We did a little more exploring of Rome then called it a night.

Day 7 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 8: Sunday April 20 - Rome (Photos)

Today began our second day of touring ancient Rome. We walked over to the world famous Colosseum, which was the largest amphitheater built in the Roman Empire. I was surprised at how good the Colosseum looked after all these centuries. For the most part, it was pretty much intact. There was only a small part of the outer walls that were missing.

Inside the Colosseum you could see all the different levels the spectators would sit. The lowest being for the wealthy, while the "nose-bleed" seats were saved for the poor (similar to today's stadium seating). In the center of the Colosseum you could see a partially built stage where the gladiators would perform. Under the stage was the area the animals and gladiators would wait before they battled. There were also underground tunnels that lead from the performers "locker rooms" to the area under the stage.

After the Colosseum, we walked over to the Roman Forum; the political center during the Roman Republic. This is the area where Rome began. You could see the remains of many ancient buildings. Most of this area was hidden under many feet of dirt and mud, only to be discovered many years ago.

The guided tour ended and we were left to explore Rome on our own for the day. We walked around some of the areas of Rome we had not seen before. We had read in our Italy for Dummies book about a place where the Romans used to bathe and exercise called The Baths of Caracalla. Since it was fairly close to the Colosseum, we figured it was worth the walk to check it out.

The Baths of Caracalla covered over 33 acres and could hold approximately 1,600 bathers. The complex was more of a leisure center then just a series of baths. Although only used for about 500 years, the methods in which they heated and filled the baths was impressive for its time.

That night we boarded the bus for dinner at a great italian restaurant and a guided tour of Rome at night.

Day 8 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 9: Monday April 21 - Pompeii & Sorrento (Photos)

We left Rome this morning, got back on the tour bus and headed south to our final destination of Sorrento. On our way we passed by the famous Monte Cassino Abbey, founded by St. Benedict of Norcia in 529. It was destroyed on four separate occasions, it was last built after being the site of fierce fighting during the Second World War.

Along the way we passed by Mt. Vesuvius, an active volcano. Mt. Vesuvius is most found for its AD 79 eruption that destroyed the nearby cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. This volcano is considered to be one of the most dangerous in the world today because of the nearly 3,000,000 people that inhabit the surrounding cities.

Before heading to Sorrento, we visited the city of Pompeii. As I said early, the city was completely buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. It wasn't until 1748 that the city was accidentally discovered. Today, the city is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Italy. The city streets and buildings are still standing and provide detail to how ancient Romans cities were inhabited.

We toured through the streets and saw there bakery, Forum and prostitution house (to name a few). This house consisted of 4 rooms that the Romans could take their "ladies of the night" into. There were explicit paintings on the walls of some their "activities." The detail and technology that they used over 2,000 years ago is remarkable. You can see a lot of similarities of how our cities are built vs the way ancient Romans built their cities.

Continuing on the road, we made our way to Sorrento. The city of Sorrento is best known for its ocean views and lemon farms. Scooters are a must in this small town because there is only one main road that goes through it. There are many shops and places to eat and is a quick boat ride away from the island of Capri.

After settling into our hotel room, we had dinner in the hotel restaurant then headed over to a Tarantella show. These shows are basically Italian musicals. It was nice to see, except I didn't have any idea what was going on because it was all in Italian. After the show we headed back to hotel and called it a night.

Day 9 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 10: Tuesday April 22 - Capri (Photos)

Today we headed off to the island of Capri. Capri is a small island off the coast of Italy. We left from the Sorrento harbor in a brand new boat. I think we were the first people to actually travel in the boat. The waters were pretty calm on our way to Capri but we were in a catamaran, so the boat swayed a lot. A bunch of a people had to get up and go to the bathroom.

Capri has been a resort island since the time of the Roman Republic. Some of the features of the island include the Belvedere of Tragera, which is a high panoramic promenade lined with villas, the limestone masses called Sea Stacks that stand out of the sea (the Faraglioni), Anacapri, the Blue Grotto, and the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas. The Blue Grotto is one of the best known areas of Capri. It is a small cave on the northwestern side of the island. You can only get to it by boat and when the ocean is calm. Unfortunately for us the water was too choppy on that side of the island so it was closed for the day.

When we got to the island we boarded a small bus and headed up to Anacapri. The roads are so narrow that only one car can pass through at a time. Automobiles have to pull over to the side of the road while cars come through. The views on the road are great, you can look directly down to the ocean right from the bus.

Capri is very similar to Martha's Vineyard or Catalina Island. There are only a few towns and they are usually swarming with tourists. When we got to Anacapri the first thing we did was get on a chair lift that took us to the highest point of the island. The chair was a single seater and looked like it hadn't been serviced in 40 years. Not to mention the fact that you only had a small bar to hold you in. Fortunately for us we were never higher than 20 feet off the ground during the 12 minute ride.

The views from the top were spectacular. You could see a full 360° panoramic view of the island. The day was clear and sunny so we could see the top of Mt. Vesuvius and the bay of Naples. After the lift back to Anacapri, we met our tour guide for a walking tour of Capri. We headed over to the other side of the island to see August´s Garden and sample local lemon chocolate.

After the tour we had the option of taking a boat ride around the island. Because the waters were choppy on the northwest side, we couldn't completely circumnavigate the whole island. We were 2 of the 7 people that opted for the boat tour. I guess people had had enough boating experiences for the day.

The boat tour was the best part of the the trip to Capri. We were able to see the island towns from the ocean and see the different colored Sea Stacks close up. It was nice to sit down, relax and enjoy the views.

Once the boat tour ended we had to get back to Sorrento. The time couldn't of been better because there was a storm heading right for us. When we docked at Sorrento harbor it started to hail outside; only moments before it was a little overcast. The downpour only lasted 10 minutes or so but it was funny to see every tour group huddled under a overhang at the harbor.

Since this was the last day for a lot of the people on our tour, we had a "going away" dinner to celebrate the trip. We ate at a little restaurant in front of the ocean. The sun had come out so we could get a nice sunset view. We all exchanged email addresses, gave some toasts and ate like kings.

Day 10 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Day 11: Wednesday April 23 - Sorrento and Amalfi Coast (Photos)

With today being the last day of the tour, we were left with the option of exploring Sorrento by ourselves or joining Vanni on a tour of a lemon farm and driving up the Amalfi coast. Rebekah and I decided on the optional tour. We were still left with enough time afterwards to do a little souvenir shopping in Sorrento.

The lemon farm was located in the hills above Sorrento. Because the ground is so fertile they are able to grow lemons, oranges, and olives (to name a few). They told us about the lemon process and the extreme completiveness of the area, since there are a lot of other lemon farm. Another interesting fact was that when they start growing lemons, they actually plant an orange tree then graft it into a lemon tree later on. They do this because lemon trees are weaker than orange trees, so its better to start with a stronger orange tree then just turn it into a lemon tree. I didn't know that was possible but interesting nonetheless.

After walking through the farm we were led to their dining area where they showed us how to make mozzarella. Then we were able to sample different food, wine and dips from their farm; my favorite being the artichoke dip. We ended up buying some olive oil and that artichoke spread.

Once the lemon farm was done we got back on the road and headed for the Amalfi Coast. The Amalfi Coast is a stretch of coastline on the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula. Its comparable to the Pacific Coast Highway in California, only the big different being that some stretches of the Amalfi Coast are only passable by one car at a time and in some instances you can see right down the edge of the cliff to the sea.

The views were spectacular; the water was beautifully blue and calm. Along the coast were picturesque towns whose roads were so narrow they had to have traffic officers on each side of the town entrances to regular how many tour buses could go through. We were on the coast for a couple of hours driving through many different towns that reminded me of beach towns in America, except with out the surfers and beach bums.

Back in Sorrento, we were left to spend the rest of the day and night doing whatever we pleased. We decided to go to downtown Sorrento and buy some souvenirs for the family. For dinner, we ate at a restaurant that overlooked the ocean. This was our last 5 course meal in Italy so we tried to eat as much as we could; knowing that we weren't going to be eating this cuisine for sometime.

The trip ended with us being transported to the Naples airport. We said goodbye to Vanni and our fellow tour travelers and got ready for the 11 hour flight back to the US.

Day 11 Photos: Check out the photos from today's summary »

Final Thoughts

Overall, we couldn't of had a better time in Italy. Since it was both our first times there, we were able to explore everything without having already experienced it individually. We were told by many people to watch out for the pick pockets and fortunately for us they were never a problem. But seriously, the art, buildings, food and people were all great. We had reservations about taking a group tour for our honeymoon but it ended us being the best decision. We were able to relax and let someone else worry about hotel reservations and tour schedules. The tour itself was never overwhelming, we had many hours to ourselves each day to do what we wanted. If you don't mind following someone else's schedule and being in a group then I recommend it to anyone that just wants to get away but without doing much planning themselves.

Obviously I didn't go into as much detail as I could've in these summaries. If you got this far down on the page then I commend you for following along. I know its been a lot of reading but hopefully you got something out of it. If you have any further questions or want more information about the tour then just send us an email. Thanks for reading!

Complete Pictures

View all the sets from our trip, along with the photos from our wedding.

View all our sets of photos