Honeymoon {Rome, Italy}

Two weeks after our wedding, two of our best friends were married just outside of Chicago. Tyson was the best man. It was a stunning ceremony and a fabulous party. The following day we jetted off to Greece. Two days after that, they were off to Italy. Our original honeymoon brainstorm included Turkey and Greece, but when we learned that we could possibly meet up with these fabulous pals somewhere in Italy for a big honeymoon hullabaloo, we quickly refined our plans.

hul·la·ba·loo

   [huhl-uh-buh-loo]  

noun, plural -loos.

a clamorous noise or disturbance; uproar.

It is rare to travel with other adults as jobs and families and timing all make things complex as we get older. Throw in the fact that the four of us were a pack of newlyweds, and I think you'll agree this was a wise decision. BOOM < Rome! We agreed to meet-up at the Trevi Fountain at 5pm. Below you see the photo of us arriving in Rome, at the Trevi Fountain, horribly dirty and exhausted after the transportation strikes in Athens. That's right, NO TRANSPORTATION. We had to pay some random guy on the street to take us to the airport for $100! Luckily Tyson followed the map the entire way guaranteeing that we were in fact going to the airport and not to some dungeon somewhere with perfect strangers.  

First of all I'll just say this: Rome is the bomb. I studied abroad in Italy, specifically Florence, and had been to Rome twice before this trip. I find that the city is endlessly romantic and beautiful, the people are great, and of course no one can complain about the food or the wine or the prosecco. Or the espresso. Yum.

We rented an apartment in the city, which was relatively inexpensive and a great way for us all to stay together. Two bedrooms, a great living room/dining room, and a perfect kitchen for Tyson to make us espresso every morning. That mixed with the fact that in the first floor of the building was a BAKERY! Yum. Each night we'd pop in and buy - first two, then four, and then finally eight pastries. Hazelnut. Lemon. Nutella. We'd eat some in the evenings and save some for espresso.

That first evening = Excited discussions and honeymoon story exchange over countless glasses of wine for several hours. Then we headed to dinner around 11pm. Sleepy time around 3-4am. Yep.

All subsequent days went a little somethin' like this = 

+ Rise somewhere mid-morning

+ Tyson's espresso and pastries

+ Decide on a site-seeing item of the day - usually just one

+ Maybe find a place to sit and have a glass of wine and a snack
+ More espresso
+ Back to the apartment to change and then sit at our table and sip wine chatting for several hours
+ Late dinner

Paradise. Daily.

One day we rented bikes and pedaled all around:::::::::::::::::::

We eventually found our way to the Villa Borghese Park. The boys played games like Who Can Pedal Around Three Trees The Fastest (using an iPhone as a stopwatch), and also Who Can Catch a Buckeye Nut In Their Basket "going long".  

Eventually we sat and sipped some wine and prosecco. This made for a lovely afternoon in the grass.

 

And heaps of FLIRTING:

Rome was so great. Our friends are great. I wish I could go back and do it all over again. All of the Segments. Milos. Folegrandos. Santorini. And Rome with our fellow honeymooners.

Cheers to your next adventure! Whatever it may be. As for us, back to real life. I must admit though, its trips like these that make me psychotic and get out the 2012 calendar to begin to plan...