Honeymoon in Italy

Here is Part 2 of our honeymoon in Italy (Part 1 is in Rome and in another journal).

Day Four: We left for Florence via a train in the morning. It was also April 8, the day of the pope's funeral, and we were a little worried that taxis would not be running and the city would shut down, but everything was fine for us. We had booked first-class tickets on the train (EuroStar), and it felt fun and cool traveling by train. When we got to Florence, we were able to walk to our hotel (about 4 blocks away) and rest a bit.

We both loved Florence even more than Rome. It's smaller, quainter, and cute, and our hotel was adorable! Then we headed out to the museum where they have the most famous statue in the world, Michelangelo's "David." We decided not to pay for a guided tour since it was pricey, but we got a tape-recorded tour, which was only so-so. But wow, the David was so impressive! What a statue, and there was also lots of other cool art! Then, as we walked home, we walked by this amazing cathedral called the Duomo, with a big red dome, which the city is famous for. It was so cool looking, very Gothic and all different colors of marble! That night, we had dinner at a place recommended by one of my husband's friends, Il Latini (see review), and it was delicious! We were also seated at a table with another couple (Italian) and got to talk to them. They were sweet, and we even have their photo! After that, we decided to check out a local club, Cappocachia, and stop in for a cocktail. We were really tired and headed home at about midnight.

Quick Tips:

Day Five: We slept in until almost noon! But it felt relaxing and nice. We started the day by taking a local bus to a hill town called Fiesole, where we had lunch and also saw the panoramic views of the city Florence below. We felt really adventurous going it on our own, and we even walked down this really windy road to find some photo spots.

When we got back to Florence, we went to the Duomo, went inside to see the cathedral from inside (beautiful!), and then walked to the other famous area in Florence, the Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge. It had started lightly drizzling when we headed back to our hotel. We relaxed and then had our last dinner at a wonderful place called Cibreo, where we sat with a Japanese couple who hardly knew English. We ate some really interesting and different food. I think it was our second favorite in all of Italy.

Best Way To Get Around:

Day Six: We woke up at 3:30am and got to the airport by 4:30am and it was closed! They didn't even open until 4:45am, and then we had to wait and wait for people to check us in and let us through security—ugh!

All in all, it was a wonderful honeymoon!

This place is too cute! There is a very sweet, little lobby with lots of tour info and a free Internet computer to use. There is also complimentary breakfast. The rooms are also romantic, and we had a little balcony with French doors. We highly recommend it!

This place came highly recommended, and we could tell—there is almost always a long wait to get in! Luckily, they brought us wine while we waited. We were seated with another couple, which we thought was weird at first, but we got to know them quite well and enjoyed ourselves immensely! They started us with various appetizers. There was really no menu; they just brought us what everyone was having. I remember the fois gras, which was delicious. Then my husband and I shared the bisteca beef, which was really big! They provided each table with a HUGE bottle house Chianti, and it went well with everything! How bad could it be?

Friends we met at Il Latini recommended this place. We went to Cibreino, the smaller, less formal restaurant next to Cibreo. It was so cute! They had little chillies hanging from the ceilings. For appetizers we had crostini with pate and an interesting aspic-and-tomato jelly dish. For an entrée I had a chicken-and-ricotta meatball and my husband had a veal dish with tuna (of humus consistency) sauce. Their specialty was chicken neck, but it was too eerie to see the chicken's head on the plate! For dessert we had a very rich flourless chocolate cake. The meal was delicious, very unique, and what a cute place!

We went here after dinner when we were in Italy for our honeymoon. It's a fun, hip place for a drink. We both had tequila sunrises at the suggestion of our waitress (who was from New York!), and I was a little sad that there was no room to dance. It has good music, but, as in most of Italy, it is very smoky. Check it out; it's right on the water and a lovely walk after dinner.