This morning, Aaron and I were pleasantly awakened by our cats stirring and stretching in preparation for their 7AM meal of the morning. Aaron fed them but then went downstairs to make some coffee. I quickly fell back to sleep, only to wake up sometime later and realize he wasn’t next to me, drinking his coffee and reading his Kindle. He texted me to come downstairs, needing help with the dishes from our Valentine’s dinner (he made me Chicken Piccata with roasted vegetables, sweet German wine, and fresh baked bread. HE BAKED. BREAD). I don’t know if it was just a subconscious thought, or my brain registering the scent of foreshadowing, but as I stood up I thought, “Wow. Our honeymoon was so special. We should go back.”
I walked downstairs to see Aaron had taken his fresh baked bread and served it up as a mini palate of shakshuka for us to enjoy for breakfast. My heart sang. How lucky am I? The spicy tomato spread he had prepared and the perfect texture of the bread reminded me of the tasty foods we enjoyed while sailing through the Dalmatian coast on our honeymoon. I wanted to give a day-by-day play-by-play of each moment, but no one has time for that. So instead:
TOP TEN MOMENTS OF OUR HONEYMOON
- Breakfast at the Majestic Hotel. Our flight from the US to our honeymoon landed in Barcelona, giving us about 24 hours in the city before boarding our ship. We’d had a brief but fun first day walking the city, but on October 30, it was about getting to the ship and sailing away on our adventure! We were set to head to our ship at 11, so we decided to enjoy a nice breakfast at our hotel: the Majestic Hotel, located ten minutes from Las Ramblas. It was all marble, rooftop pool, and the greatest complimentary breakfast I have heretofore experienced (okay, tied for the one we had in Venice ten days later). I made myself the most perfectly proportioned mimosa, and enjoyed a little bite of each of their offerings: pancakes, fresh fruit, eggs as you like it, charcuterie, muffins, and yes… breakfast pizza. This was only a foreshadowing of the deliciousness to come.
Okay, so this isn’t from breakfast, this is from the day before, when the staff surprised us with a welcome and congratulations complimentary cake! Note the little card, addressed to Mr. Brunet and Mrs. Mallory - The View of Monaco from our ship. We boarded the Celebrity Constellation later that day and set sail to our first stop, Monaco. We spent the day walking the old city, tasting the best chocolate I’ve ever had, walking coastal gardens, and walking through the nicest shopping center filled with shops of clothes I can’t afford yet. I’ll get there though. The memory alone makes me want to work into billionaire status. That night, Aaron and I had a fabulous dinner, went to a fabulous performance of a violinist, and then parted ways for a bit while he took a shower. I took to the deck to watch us drift a few miles away to Nice, our next stop. The coastal city was all lit up with the night lights, twinkling not so distantly. I don’t think they’ve created the words to describe that view yet. All I’ll say is every bit of pain I’ve experienced, every heartbreak, sorrow, or silly mistake I’ve made, has been worth it, because it brought me to that night and that view. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced gratitude more intently.
This view at night was everything. - Serenity at the Trevi Fountain. My mom, sister, and movies told me that I would love Rome. Maybe it was just the day of our trip, but wow… we really did not. The city was full of history and though we appreciated being there, it was just SO crowded and SO dense. The most crowded spot in our entire day trip was visiting the Trevi Fountain. Aaron, myself, and probably a thousand other tourists were all packed like sardines into this tiny square with the iconic fountain. Aaron was NOT having the crowd, and to be fair, I wasn’t very enthused either. But what, are we NOT going to take a photo of it? We shuffled our way to the front of the fountain and down the steps to be right at it’s edge. Despite the horde, for a moment there, everything froze. It felt like the crowd of a thousand dwindled down to a few small families. The sounds of every language in the world was lost in the sound of rushing water from the various fountain spots. I tossed a coin into the fountain, closed my eyes, and made a wish. The world is wide enough for all of us.
Are there ten dozen other tourists looking to get the same photo behind me right now? I hadn’t noticed. - The Gelato in Sicily. If I could narrow down the food of this trip, it was all bread and cheese and champagne and chocolate and yes, gelato. When we arrived in Sicily, I expected to have spicy pizza and maybe some wine. While I did have some wine, I instead learned about other specialties in Sicily, like pistachios. It was that day that I tried pistachio gelato for the first time. Growing up, my mom had always ordered pistachio ice cream, while my dad and siblings would go for cookies and cream, vanilla, chocolate… you know, normal flavors! I never understood how my mom could like pistachio, a nut based ice cream, when hot cookie dough ice cream with hot fudge was an option. Then I had fresh pistachio gelato, paired with Nutella gelato. I was overwhelmed. Overjoyed. Speechless with happiness. I ate pistachio gelato with nutella almost every day for the rest of the trip. Each gelato place was delicious, but that scoop in Sicily was my favorite. It was on my mind long after we returned home.
My body ate the gelato before my camera did, so enjoy this photo of the sea from our restaurant that day. - The Streetcat of Greece. There was plenty to enjoy on this trip, but we had a bit of excitement every time we saw a dog or a street cat. Greece had multiple street cats. We did a food tour of Corfu, enjoying fresh cheese, kumquats, and limoncello. We also indulged in a five course lunch, where we were served bread baskets and wine and salad and fish. Halfway through our meal, a street cat traipsed into the restaurant. I don’t know if he could sense that Aaron was the cat person of our trip, but he strolled right up to Aaron, who quickly fed him some fish. The happy little kitty jumped into Aaron’s lap for cuddles. Aaron smiled the way he does when he’s really happy but is trying to be cool about it. By the time we left the restaurant the cat was moving on to the rest of his day, but Aaron gave me a look that said “Well, maybe we COULD take him home with us.” We would never! Too dangerous! And yet. Jake and Rosa were born four days later.
Very good cat jumped in Aaron’s lap. - Montenegro wine. We were scheduled to go into Montenegro, the next day, but the sea was angry that day. The coast guard of the nation did not feel comfortable (nor did our captain) letting us tender that day in the choppy, windy waves. We were given a day at sea in exchange. Aaron and I were really looking forward to our tour through the city, but instead went onto our stateroom’s balcony to at least look at the view. Our surroundings looked like something out of “Game of Thrones” (they actually filmed the show not far from where we were). With that in mind, Aaron grabbed a bottle of wine we had been given by the staff as a welcome/congratulations present. Fun fact about me: I’m not a big drinker. If it doesn’t taste like juice (think champagne or Riesling) or a smoothie (think a frozen margarita), I’m probably not interested. I’m certainly not a fan of red wine. That said, standing on our deck, looking at the windy moody seaside of the Balkans, sipping red wine… I felt a sudden need to crush my enemies and set them ablaze in the scept.
Remember the Iron Fleet before you sail your thousands of soldiers in for a sneak attack. - A cold Croatian night. That night was just as fun. The live performance from the night before wasn’t able to get back to shore, so they agreed to do another show that night. Lucky for us, since we hadn’t gone to the show the previous night! It was a group of UK boys performing soul music, and they performed Boyz II Men, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson. At one point, they invited everyone to dance to one of their songs. I loved their energy and wanted them to feel encouraged. I also love dancing. So I went for it, and thankfully other people did too! After the show, Aaron and I grabbed a drink and went to the top deck. It was FREEZING, but Aaron didn’t notice. We walked and looked at the stars, and Aaron delightedly talked about the constellations. If it were ten degrees warmer I would have stayed up there for hours… but it wasn’t, and we made our way back to the room. That said, the Baked Alaska for dessert that night would only be the beginning for one of my favorite nights on our honeymoon.
The Celebrity Constellation is a very nice ship in which you feel like a Celebrity and stare at constellations but also interesting light fixtures. - The Royal Vineyards of Zadar. On our last day of the ship, we toured Zadar, Croatia. The city was quiet, but remarkably beautiful. The day ended with a wine tasting at a vineyard at the top of the seaside hills. That view was almost as good as the one of Monaco. Aaron and I stole a few grapes from the vineyard vines, then followed our group to the scenic tables set up for us to enjoy the wines (they were paired with cheese, carpaccio, and yes, bread). I would go back just to picnic and enjoy that view for a day… and stargaze from the hill at night.
They say “take only pictures, leave only footprints.” I agree. Except in vineyards. Then it’s “Take photos and grapes like a goblin when no one’s looking.” - The boots in Venice. For those who didn’t know, Venice is a canal-based city. You travel by foot or by taking a gondola. The ancient city was not built for modern society, and neither is their plumbing. When we arrived to the city, the streets were HEAVILY flooded. It was just par for the course for everyone else! They set up high rise planks to help tourists avoid flooding, and by flooding, I mean literally wading through the streets in a foot of standing water. As Aaron and I walked the city in this plank, we saw people walk past us in knee-high, poncho-plastic boots. Street vendors were selling them left and right. I thought they were a cheap tourist trap, and I was hesitant to spend the money, especially when I was sure they’d be expensive by tourist standards. They were ten euros a pair. WORTH IT. Aaron and I got bright neon boots to cover our sneakers and pant legs so we could walk through the city with ease. The typically jam-packed St Mark’s Square was near empty because of the water. I got a near-perfect photo without crowds. They may have looked a bit silly, but they were money well spent. They’re sitting tucked into the ottoman at the foot of our bed. Who knows? Maybe we’ll need them again one day!
It’s called fashion sweetie, look it up. - The cafe in Amsterdam. After our two days in Venice, it was time to return to reality. We woke at 3AM to catch a 5AM flight to Amsterdam for a five hour layover. We landed at 9AM Amsterdam time. We decided to make the most of the layover and took a train from the airport into the city. I had fallen in love with the city when I had been there a few years earlier, and I was excited to share it with Aaron. I had the idea to find the Nutella cafe I had gone to then to get a crepe for breakfast, but Aaron requested we not venture too deep into the city, lest we get lost and end up sprinting through the airport to get to our flight on time. We wandered for ten minutes, enjoying the sunshine and the way the city felt clean and peaceful. Suddenly, there he was. A cat in a window of a bar. Turns out that bar was actually a restaurant (that yes, served alcohol at a reasonable hour). I grabbed Aaron and showed him the cat, and insisted we see if there was breakfast in this restaurant. We walked in and just as our feet passed the threshold, a piano version of “Someday My Prince Will Come” from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” began to play. My mind was made up as I turned to Aaron and said “Oh. We’re staying here.” Aaron had a coffee and I had a hot chocolate, which was served with whipped cream and gingerbread cookies and it coincidentally (?) looked like Mickey Mouse ears. It felt like fate. We took a canal tour before making it back to the airport, but I think we took a bit of Amsterdam back with us. We’ve mentioned going back again. I think we both fell in love with Amsterdam that day (or for me, my love grew deeper).
If you look really closely, you can see a cat’s head poking out on the left.
Aaron and I had many adventures on our honeymoon, and saw many beautiful places. We sipped the best champagne, slept in the most beautiful hotels, and shared many moments of genuine freedom, happiness and love. That’s what honeymoons are all about, at their core: starting your life as husband and wife as a mood-setter. Our lives together will be filled with happiness, beauty, indulgence, and love. If the past three months are any indication, we are off to a great start.
