Casey and I went on our “honeymoon” back in October for a few weeks and I never got around to starting my blog until now. This post was written a few months ago so I apologize for any confusion. It was fun for me to relive these treasured memories and hopefully you will enjoy reading about our adventures too!
We just got back two nights ago from the most amazing trip of our lives! Truly looking at the pictures is like a reality check for me that this is MY life. I love pictures, as most of my Facebook friends are readily aware. Our first stop of the 17-day dream vaca was Venice, Italy. We left our little Spanish apartment around 7 pm for our train to Sevilla. We arrived to the Sevilla airport around midnight and thus began the wait for our 7 AM flight. After a quick layover nap in Barcelona, we found ourselves in Venice looking for a vaporetto, or waterbus, to our hotel. Pleasantly surprised, we entered our hotel at Locanda Antica and were greeted by the sweetest Venetian man and an adorable room.
Our Venetian style Locanda
All I have to say is WOW! Going places without preconceived notions is truly a blessing. The most I knew about Venice was from Angelina Jolie and hottie Jonny Depp’s “The Tourist.” The canals, the buildings, and the overall atmosphere of the ancient city are breathtaking, unlike any other city I have ever been to! Our first pit stop was a tourist trap right along the Grand Canal. I don’t remember the food being anything special, but the view was certainly worth the 50-euro charge. I do remember the waiter being especially rude and not allowing us to split a pizza.
My sweetie enjoying our first meal in Italia!
Lunch on the Grand Canal
The weather was a bit dreary but certainly something we were able to look past being in such a beautiful city! We didn’t end up indulging ourselves in the 100 euro Gondola ride, but to me that is a perfect reason for a return trip.
Next, we took an elevator (pleasant surprise) to the top of the bell tower for heart stopping views of the city 70% under water; here are a few of the pictures we snapped.
View from the bell tower. Public executions were performed between the pillars.
Venice is beautiful!
The pigeons made for an adorable picture, but they gross me out otherwise. yuck!
We strolled around the city awhile longer and came across a Hard Rock Café, which has provided us the only real American food in our tummies since moving to Europe. We snagged a quick 13-euro (yikes) magnet for our collection and headed to find some yummy Italian food instead! Dinner on the Grand Canal: pasta and a bottle of Venice’s fine Prosecco wine! I couldn’t believe we stayed up all day after not sleeping the night before, but we slept great in the hotel that night.
Grand canal at night.
Fabulous dinner on the canal!
Next morning, breakfast in bed arrived as a wake up call. We did a little more exploring, hit the famous Rialto food market, had the best pizza (or so we thought) of our lives with a little house prosecco (I’m so hooked), and then boarded the Norwegian Jade!! And that was all in a little over than 24 hours folks. 16 more days of bliss to go!
Breakfast wake up call.
Mercato di Rialto: This marketplace has functioned as a center for exchanges of all sorts – economic, informational, social — for centuries.
Aboard the Norwegian Jade!
The beautiful Adriatic Sea!
Embarking onto the Norwegian Jade was something I will never forget! Dragging a ridiculous amount of luggage around Venice’s canals during a downpour was certainly the lowlight of our journey. Truth is, we regretted traveling so heavy the moment we left our apartment. However, once we dropped off our luggage and went through security, we were blown away by the Jade! This being our first cruise, we truly didn’t know what to expect. The luxury of the ship and friendliness of the employees was immediately apparent. We first checked out our stateroom and I found my first sweet honeymoon surprise from Casey! He ordered us the honeymoon romance package, which came with delicious chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of my newfound favorite Prosecco wine, and a dozen red roses!
Honeymoon Package for two, please! 🙂
Eager to explore the gigantic ship, we followed our ears to Bernie Martini’s first show of the cruise, a Michael Buble tribute. We spent many more nights sailing the Mediterranean and enjoying his jazz entertainment. There aren’t enough words to describe how wonderful the Norwegian Jade was. I knew that food was included, but I assumed it would be a buffet style, similar to my college cafeteria… However, when we made reservations at Grand Pacific, I quickly realized that it was a four course lavish restaurant! It felt a bit weird to just get up and leave after our meal without asking for the check. The entertainment aboard the ship was also extremely impressive! I felt like I was at the Broadway theatre each night, and of course there was no cover charge. Okay, enough about the beautiful ship, it was now time to get a good nights rest because we had already crossed the Adriatic sea and would be in Corfu, Greece early the next morning! My lifelong dream location was just a slumber away…
We looked forward to these adorable towel animals every night.
The shows on the cruise were a blast!
We were way too ecstatic to discover a Hibachi restaurant on the ship! It rivaled our favorite back home in Ohio.
Have any of you been to Venice or any other areas in Northern Italy? I would love to visit one of the vineyards in the area.
Colossal Dreamer 