A honeymoon in Italy – Part 1 – Venice
We had the most wonderful honeymoon in Italy, in May this year. It sounds totally corny but it was everything we had dreamed of. The sun was shining (almost continually), the water was glistening, the food was outstanding and the Prosecco was flowing.
When picking a honeymoon destination, all the usual hot spots came up for discussion; The Maldeves, USA, The Bahamas, The Carribbean etc etc. All of which would have been amazing I’m sure. However, we wanted a honeymoon full of culture, food and relaxation and Italy came to mind. It also has the added benefit of being just a 2 hr 1o min flight away. We both like to relax, chill and sunbathe on holiday, but both also get bored quite quickly, so wanted somewhere with plenty of towns to visit and experiences to have away from the pool. Italy was the best honeymoon choice EVER!
So we chose north Italy and because we had 19 days to spend, we thought we’d stop in a few places to make the most of it. We didn’t want to plan too much though or feel like we were constantly on the move, so it was a balancing act in the planning stages. We eventually decided on Venice as our first stop…the city of romanace. This was truly enchanting. There’s no where else like Venice on earth. We just walked the streets for 3 days, stopping off for food and Prosecco, drinking it all in (not just the booze!).
We spent 3 nights in the amazing Starhotels Splendid Venice (pricey but worth it), which was our most luxurious part of the honeymoon. The hotel was in a fabulous central location, just minutes walk from both St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge and in the high-end Mercerie shopping quarter – the perfect spot for a fabulous honeymoon full of treats. The hotel had its own jetty where we caught our private water taxi to and from the airport and train station (for that added bit of VIP treatment). It also had incredibly comfortable bedrooms; ours had 2 sets of windows opening onto the canal and a very plush marble bathroom. Champagne breakfasts in bed were the order of the day…everyday! We only had to walk 20 metres along the canal to jump into a Gondola for an incredibly romantic trip along the back canals of Venice, whilst sipping a bottle of Veuve (yeh baby, that’s how we roll!).
Every restaurant we stumbled across was delicious and reasonably priced. Our criteria for a restaurant was somewhere with outdoor seating in the sun and that offered Prosecco (you may notice this is a running theme of my honeymoon posts). As it was the beginning of May, it was nicely busy and atmospheric but not too crowded, which meant we had no trouble finding spots in the nicest restaurants and bars. We ate out twice a day without fail, each time with 2 courses and bread and a bottle of bubbles (or 2). We felt like we were living out our dreams and being truly spoilt – which is what you should feel on your honeymoon right?!
A special point of our time in Venice, was our trip to a Jazz Club. For a few hours that night, I felt like I was actually in A Talented Mr Ripley…it was so freakin’ cool! We had a reserved table at the front and spent the evening drinking Cuba Libres and nodding along to the jazz vibes. The musicians were effortlessly cool and incredibly talented. I wanna do that stuff all the time! Jaaaazzzz maaaaan.
Every which way you turn in Venice is a treat. The vibrant colours, the glistening water, the boats, bridges and alleyways.
There is so much I could say about our time in Venice, but I fear I may begin to ramble on and bore you. So instead, here is our time in Venice in pictorial form…photographs taken by myself and my incredibly talented hubby…
