Our Honeymoon: Layover in Amsterdam

Our flight back to New York from Venice had a layover in Amsterdam.  We had about 8 hours from landing of one flight to take-off of the next.  Not super long, but long enough for one last honeymoon adventure.

After locking up our baggage in the airport lockers, we took public transportation into the heart of Amsterdam.  We were on a mission to visit the Anne Frank House so we didn't waste much time along the way.  We managed to see a few neat sites as we walked to the museum though.

We arrived at the Anne Frank House to discover an incredibly long line.  We took turns standing in line and exploring the nearby area.  We ended up being in line longer than we were actually inside the museum, but it was totally worth it!

It is difficult to describe the feeling of being inside the area where Anne and her family spent years hiding.  It is quite moving.  The rooms are decorated simply with quotes and passages from her diary.  One of the most unique museums I have ever visited.  So devastating yet also so empowering and inspiring.  What a truly remarkable life!

After our time in the museum, we had to high tail it back to the airport.  We made time for a quick treat at Melly's Cookie Bar though!  We didn't spend nearly enough time in the lovely city of Amsterdam, but our glimpse was enough to intrigue us to come back someday for sure.

Andrea :)

Our Honeymoon: Quick Stop in Pisa

After our first night in Florence, we took a quick day trip to Pisa. We arrived via train thinking that as soon as we came out of the station we'd see the Leaning Tower on the horizon.  We saw no such thing.  Instead, we hopped on a bus that dropped us off near the landmark. 

To be honest, we were a bit underwhelmed.  I mean, the whole leaning part was neat, but the tower itself isn't very tall at all.  Our apartment building in New York is much taller.  Regardless, we bought tickets to climb the 257 steps to the top.

Climbing up the tower was a tiring, but worthwhile experience.  The stairwells were extremely narrow, but the views at the top were lovely.  I had fun attempting creative photos for the brief time we spent at the tip top.

The cathedral just beside the tower proved much more impressive.  We quickly stopped inside, but didn't stay long since they were conducting a service at the time.  Both inside and out, it was beautiful.

And just like that we were back on the bus to the train to spend a second night in Florence.

Have you ever visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
What did you think?

Andrea :)

Our Honeymoon: Fun in Florence

We disembarked our cruise ship to a rainy Venice.  Fortunately, we didn't have to go far to get to the train station where we would board our train to Florence.  We waited for a couple of hours there before moving on to our next adventure.

On our way from the train in Florence to our hotel, we passed by a bakery.  It smelled so good that I had to stop.  We found THE most scrumptious pistachio cookies at that shop just down from our hotel...and went back each day for more!

We didn't have a chance to see all the sites in Florence, but we did manage to spend some time inside the Duomo.  It is absolutely stunning and SO big!  It is actually the third largest cathedral in Europe.  We spent part of the next day (after a quick trip to Pisa) climbing the 414 steps up the bell tower for some amazing views...breathtaking...literally!

We stopped for gelato on more than one occasion and managed to have two delicious Italian dinners while we were in Florence. So tasty!

When we decided to visit Florence, seeing the David was top of my list in terms of things to do there.  We didn't waste any time heading over to the Uffizi Gallery to check out all the artwork and see the David up close and personal...only the David is NOT there.  What a fiasco!  It was already pretty late in the day by the time we'd roamed through one too many rooms at the Uffizi without discovering the David.  Finally, I asked a guard where we could find the piece we desired to see.  And then proceeded to sort of freak out that we weren't going to get to the other place in time.  The Uffizi was the most difficult gallery to escape...especially in a rush!  Eventually we made it out and began to trek all the way across the city just in time to make it to Accademia Gallery...and see the David.  We were so befuddled by the time we arrived that we even left our bags in the bins at the check point when we entered!  Immediately, I asked the first guard I saw where we could find the David.  She gave me a little smirk and pointed just around the corner.  And sure enough, there he was in all his glory.  For those that haven't been there, the David is pretty much the only thing to see so my question was pretty ridiculous.  Ah, well.  At least we made it!

We loved exploring Florence!  It is definitely a place that we hope to return one day.  We enjoyed wandering along the streets both during the day and in the evenings. 

After a full couple days (day trip to Pisa included), we headed back to Venice via train.  Our flight to the States was calling our name...but not without an adventurous layover first!

Andrea :)

Our Honeymoon: Dubrovnik, Croatia

We were up bright and early for our day in Dubrovnik.  The day began with a gorgeous scenic drive that allowed us to check out the city from afar before exploring up close despite the rainy conditions.

Our excursion provided a tour of the Old Town as well as a monastery.  Our guide was full of unique and interesting stories making this one of my favorite tours of the trip.  It was particularly interesting to see how much of the city was damaged by the bombings in the early 90's.  Looking down on the city, it was easy to see the difference between the orange and brown roofing materials used either before or after these turbulent times.  Our guide also pointed out the wooden replacement panels inside the monastery as shown in a photo below.

Just as the tour finished up, you can imagine our surprise when we turn to be greeted by one of the ladies from our Murano and Burano day trip in Venice.  It was wild...especially since she wasn't on our cruise AND we weren't originally slated to make a stop in Dubrovnik at all!  It was nice to catch up for a bit before we continued on our way.

There were several intriguing features along the main street inside the Old Town.  First, two gutters run along each side of the walkway.  It is believed that if anyone walks the entire length of those gutters, they will not marry.  Additionally, the tower boasts a beautiful clock on its wall that has to be managed by hand.  That responsibility has been passed down within a local family for many generations now.  Finally, we were stunned by how many languages the vendors spoke in this town.  They offered to do business with us in Dutch, English, or German.  Impressive!  Dubrovnik is a lovely place that we could have spent much more time exploring if we'd been permitted.

Once back aboard the ship, we played more trivia - winning hats at movie trivia and silver medals at sports trivia.  We also managed to work in one more game of Bingo, too.  At dinner, we splurged trying a little bit of three different treats to cap off our wonderful time in the Mediterranean!

Fortunately, we still had a few days left in Italy to continue our honeymoon adventures...

Andrea :)

Our Honeymoon: Day at Sea

After a rocky night at sea, there wasn't much news in the morning about our status.  We knew there was a major Mediterranean storm brewing, but no official announcements were made.  Given the unsure status of the day, we just kind of lounged around after we grabbed breakfast.  Finally, we were given some news - due to the storm, we wouldn't be able to dock in Agostoli, Greece, as originally planned.  We were bummed.  Happy they were more concerned about our safety than our adventures, but bummed we'd miss out on the one excursion we had been looking forward to from the moment we booked the cruise.  And then, more news - instead, we will spend the day at sea today and stop in Dubrovnik, Croatia, tomorrow.   And the excitement for adventure returns!

The cruise staff quickly got to work putting together a list of activities for passengers.  We were happy to spend the day playing bingo and trying our hand at an ABBA trivia competition.  Let's just say we were much more successful the previous day.  Although, we did manage to win a t-shirt.

Overall, it was a pretty lazy day, but exactly what we needed to allow us some time to recover and prepare for the final leg of our honeymoon adventure!

Andrea :)

Our Honeymoon: Mykonos, Greece

Mykonos was our quintessential Greek stop.  And we loved every moment of it!  Upon first glance of the city as our ship approached, I knew it was going to be a great day.  The sun was shining bright and the white-washed landscape was stunningly beautiful!

We signed up for an excursion of Ancient Delos and were whisked away on a much smaller boat immediately upon arrival.  This excursion was hands down our favorite of the entire trip.  It was SO cool to see all the ancient ruins and hear the stories about everyday life back then.  The temperature was the highest of our entire trip and with minimal cover throughout our tour we really felt it!

Delos, serving as a trade center, was one of the most sacred places in Ancient Greece...claiming to have been the birthplace of Apollos.  The island is quite small is size.  In fact, we covered most of it via foot during our roughly three hour tour.  I kept waiting and waiting to see the famous Terrace of the Lions and the Sacred Lake they watch over, but it turned out to be the last stop on our tour.  And, come to find out, those lions are replicas!  The horror!  Fortunately, they had the originals stowed away in the archeological museum that we briefly visited before departing.  Truly a fascinating adventure back to the early days of civilization!

Back in Mykonos, we chowed down on some Greek cuisine.  Delicious!!  And then, we explored the area.  We walked through their Little Italy section of town to get to my favorite site of the entire trip - the windmills!  I spotted these from the boat and adored them at first sight.

Eventually, we made our way back to the ship.  And just in time for Chris to win football trivia.  No big deal, right?  Nope.  Wrong.  It WAS a big deal since he was the only American in the competition.  The shock on the faces of the Englishmen and Irishmen when an American outwitted them at football (you know, the kind you actually play with your foot...aka soccer!) trivia was priceless.  I was SO proud of him for winning us shiny medals!!

The rest of the night we played some bingo, checked out the cruise's version of Dancing with the Stars, and even spent a little time in the casino.  Mostly, we were intrigued by all the rumors.  There were several stories being circulated about the weather and its effect on our plans for the next day.  We heard one thing from the wait staff at dinner, another from a couple whose grandson had been to see the doctor in the infirmary, and a totally different tale from our Captain over the intercom system.  I felt like I was in a real life scene from the Titanic.  Except, well, maybe that isn't the best analogy, but the point is rumors were running rampant about what the day ahead would hold...

Andrea :)