European Honeymoon

First, I love my husband. He has been working so hard and is supporting me through moving, school, and general life transitions; in addition, he had to deal with my first attempt at overseas travel. The important things that I learned: 1. Look at the map before you book a hotel. 2. If you have the option of flying or the train- fly. 3. Stay in one city as much as possible. 4. Europeans don't pee even though they drink wine like water- that is why there are no bathrooms anywhere. 5. Europeans have no idea how to get through security. The reason you have to be there an hour before boarding time (instead of 45 mins in the US) is because they have no clue. 6. Paris drivers are nuts- I am never allowed to drive in Paris.

So here is the trip :D

Paris:
My husband arrived in Paris a day before me, so he stayed at The Kube Hotel. It is ice-cube themed with an ice bar, so everything is square with cold climate accents. He had a blast, so much so that we changed reservations to stay there later in the trip. I arrived the next day, and my wonderful Love met me at the airport. We rode the Roissy (pronounced Waussy) Bus to the Arc de Triomphe Hilton. All the Hiltons that we stayed at were a gift from my dad as he had lots of points to give us :) (Thanks Dad!) The hotel was nice (Orbitz charges around 500 Euro a night), but if you ever go to Paris, there are much nicer hotels for much less. It was all location-not the niceness of the hotel. That night we went to the Arc, and walked the Champs Elysees (and got everything we wanted- Dinner!).

Versailles:
The next day we stayed at the Palace of Triannon in Versailles. It was GORGEOUS. We walked the pleasure gardens of King Louis and walked by the palaces of the King and Marie Antoinette. There is a big man-made lake that we walked around looking at the baby swans (which Husband insisted on calling ugly ducklings...) There was a dog swimming in one of the small ponds- I am pretty sure King Louis was rolling in his grave....
That night we went on a dinner cruise down the Seine. We had a bottle of champagne and wine and took in the sites (The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Statue of Liberty, and more). We were right in the front of the boat, so we had spectacular views of everything.

Barcelona:
We took a plane in the morning to Barcelona. The city is beautiful and the Spanish are more friendly than the French. We stayed at the Hilton near the dock, and had an ocean view room:) We walked around the mall, and I got to speak real Spanish!


Cruise:
This was my favorite part of the trip. It was the best way to see Italy (especially because I don't speak Italian) and everyone on the ship spoke English, I didn't have to worry about food, unpacking, water, or activities.

Monte Carlo, Monaco: We docked with yachts. Multi-billion dollar yachts- Mel Gibson's yacht was there. Then we took the Bateaux Bus (Boat Bus) across the harbor, and walked up to Monte Carlo. We had drinks in the Hotel next to the casino, and then watched them filming "Casino Story" (working title) while we waited for the casino to open. We went in, and payed our 10 Euro to gamble (that is how ritzy this casino is- you have to be dressed up too!) We played black jack and roulette and felt like James Bond! It was awesome. Afterwords, we walked around the city and I looked at the cars. I have never seen so many nice cars ever. And not BMW or Mercedes nice- Lamborghini, Rolls Royce- AMAZING cars. And the even more amazing part- they were dirty because the people there actually drive them. That is true wealth, when you drive your $100,000+ car to run errands and don't mind that it is dirty.

Pisa: Husband took me to see the Leaning Tower and I took a ton of pictures. The buildings are so beautiful and easy to photograph. The white stones and Saints are gorgeous and we of course got the obligatory picture of Husband pushing the tower back up:) There are these amazing trees on the drive there and back- Pine Umbrella Trees. They are very unique looking, and are everywhere. It was a beautiful place. When we got back to the boat, Husband went and played poker. He had gotten third place in the tournament the night before, and was determined to get first. He did- and then cleaned up in a cash game after.

Rome: We took a tour into Rome. (It is a 1 hr 45 min bus ride inland) We saw the Colosseum (SO COOL), the Forum (where Julius was buried at one point), Trevi Fountain (yes I did throw in coins for a wish), and the Vatican. The Vatican was so ornate and stunning it almost made me want to be Catholic. Almost. :D Rome was such a beautiful city- so much to see and do. I was so glad to have a tour guide or I would have been ridiculously lost and I got to learn a ton.

Napoli: We climbed Mt. Vesuvius! They bused us up most of the way, but we climbed up the the top and looked down into the crater. The Valerian was in bloom, so the entire mountain and bus trip had this amazing sweet smell. Vesuvius is the world's most dangerous volcano right now, as it is set to go off any time now. It used to have a vent, but the last big eruption sealed it- which is bad because that means it will explode instead of just lava-ing- and there are 3 million people living near it. We could see the steam coming out of the rocks. Real Italian pizza for lunch and then we went down to Pompeii and walked around a city that is from 79AD. Amazing place- the art in the houses, on the walls, and even the streets was amazing. It was fascinating- and tragic- the people had horrible deaths. It was a beautiful place with so much to learn.
We had all-you-can-eat Sushi that night. Yum! And we went to the "White Hot Party" that night and boogied down because we could sleep in the next day!

Sea Day! This was such a nice relaxing day. We made friends with Amy from Canada (and her parents) and so we hung out with her and relaxed in the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean. Yummy Italian food for dinner, with amazing Tiramisu for dessert.

Palma de Mallorca: This is part of the Balearic Islands (same chain as Ibiza) Amy and her family went with us to the beach. It is apparently a big German tourist destination, so everyone on the beach was speaking German. They had these buckets for sale. For 11 Euro, we got a big bucket, a bottle of coconut rum, orange juice mixer, ice, and straws. We also got one with vodka and lemon-lime mixer for a little more. It got all of us very happy. The boys were enjoying the European "scenery". Amy and I got tattoos. (Don't worry- they were just Henna!) and we all got a little sunburned- but it was a GREAT beach day! It was the perfect way to end the cruise.


Cannes: We took the train from Barcelona to Cannes (14 hours of it). It was a long day, but the countryside of France is beautiful. Tons of grapes, hay, and produce.
We stayed here for 2 nights, and did go to the beach. For being one of the most famous topless beaches- no one was topless. It was beautiful weather though, and we had fun walking around and eating lots of pizza. (I had pizza with smoked salmon on it!)

Paris (again): We took the train back to Paris, and stayed in the Kube. It is a unique place! Fake fur accents (curtains, upholstery, even the elevator!) and a fingerprint based key system so you never forget your key. We went to the ice bar and had vodka drinks. You get a coat and mittens, and then 4 different vodka cocktails and then one of your favorite. The drinks were: Bubblegum (tasted like grape bubble gum), Blueberry, Mint/Basil (my favorite), and Chocolate. I know, why wasn't the chocolate my favorite? It was dark chips with a shot of straight vodka. It was good, but brutal. The mint/basil one had a fresh sweet taste- I could have had that all night! Then we stayed at the Charles de Gaulle Hilton. We stayed in and just enjoyed our last two days together. We got room service (fun!). We also had the best meal of the trip. We went to a restaurant called "The Place". OH YUM. I had escargot (mmmmm) and Husband got a artichoke salad. I have never had a salad as good as this. (The chef wouldn't give us any hints on what the dressing was though) Then I had Sea Bass in a butter sauce (I think I died for a moment and went to heaven eating that) Husband had filet mignon. I also had the best mojito I have ever had in my life. It even had a sparkler in it! Creme brulee for dessert (lit on fire in front of me!) It was SO good.

The next day we had to return to reality. I missed my flight (oops) but I got home safe. Husband made it back safe too. Overall, it was an amazing trip. I can't believe it is over. At least I only have to wait 6 months for my Husband to come home!