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THE SUMMER OF "I DO"

Honeymoon in Greece, Italy & Croatia

By Where We Wander

August 18^th, 2007

For Stan and I, 2007 was the start of a new era. We bought a home together, took our first dance as husband and wife, introduced our families and, of course, planned our honeymoon. Without a doubt, it had to be the Mediterranean: one (or three) of those amazing sun-kissed countries every European identifies with summertime vacation. Whether strolling the streets and hearing dozens of languages in passing, sitting in crowded curb-side cafes, or navigating the metro to countless World Heritage Sites — feeling at home even while getting lost in new places does not come easier anywhere else. Having grown up in Eastern Europe and always dreaming of a summer in the Mediterranean, it was an easy choice for a couple of nostalgic newlyweds.

GREECE

Athens

Our Mediterranean summer began in Athens. Wandering through the heart of the city lined with ongoing archaeological digs was like stepping in an open-air museum where the views from any vantage point are nothing short of dazzling. Dotted with temples and churches, and crowned with the ever-famous Acropolis, the ancient white-washed city of more than five million people shimmered in the hot sun and seemed to melt into the Mediterranean horizon.

We walked for hours in 40C sunshine taking short breaks under the generous cooling mist on cafe patios, lingered in the quiet side streets of Plaka, shopped for overpriced souvenirs in Monastiraki, ate ice cream on the steps of Syntagma Square and climbed Lykavittos Hill just in time for sunset. Dusty but beautiful, covered in graffiti yet gleaming like a jewel in the sun — Athens is inevitably either hated or loved by first-time visitors, and I definitely counted myself among those who fell in love.

GREECE

Santorini

Santorini was our honeymoon pièce de résistance. We arrived just as night fell and zig-zagged up the hill into the town of Imerovigli. Taxi driver let us out in the middle of a small square and pointed towards a tiny alley that seemed to disappear down into the black abyss — the rest of the way would have to be done on foot with luggage in tow. Off we went down countless stairs, past small tavernas and people's rooftops towards Sunny Villas beautifully carved, like many other hotels on the island, right into the cliffs above the Aegean Sea.

We tried not to get too excited about the view that was hiding in the darkness, but the next morning left even the highest expectations in the dust. Shaped like a half-moon and almost unbelievable in its beauty, Santorini rises from the depths of a massive underwater crater left by a volcanic eruption that centuries ago gave birth to the entire archipelago of Cyclades. And there we were, standing barefoot on our little terrace at the edge of it all.

GREECE

Mykonos

Named in honour of Apollo' s grandson Mykons, the most cosmopolitan of Greek isles is small in both landmass and population — only 10,000 people live here permanently. Everything changes in June, when crowds descend and make Mykonos into the hedonistic party spot that rivals Spain' s Ibiza. It may be hectic and more affected by mass tourism than any other place in the Aegean, but the beaches are still superb and seafood is plentiful.

We hid from all the hustle and bustle in a small, hilly town of Elia, where parking correctly is a skill essential to survival, and dedicated all our time to enjoying views over the Mediterranean from one of the many patios in The Royal Myconian. It was a quiet week with just a couple of evening trips to Chora, the central part of the island famous for its windmills overlooking the Old Port and nostalgic sunset views from the tavernas of Little Venice.

ITALY

Rome

A short flight from Greece, we checked another big item off our bucket list. 2.5 millennia of history rightfully earned it the title of Eternal City, and with Vatican tucked away in its very heart, Rome continues to live on as the enduring home of the papacy and one of the founding centres of Western civilization. One of the very few European cities to escape the ruins of World War II, central Rome remains the cradle of Renaissance and Baroque influences and is the third most visited destination in the European Union.

We spent our days going between the Roman Forum and the Pantheon, eating slices of pizza on the Spanish Steps and gelato at Trevi Fountain, strolling along the Tiber River and lingering in countless piazzas and cafes. We caught a papal Sunday address in the Vatican and climbed 551 steps to the dome of St. Peter's Basilica for a view that was second perhaps only to the crater of Santorini. Every day we walked until our feet ached and eventually would fall into the nearest restaurant chair to feast on wine and pasta late into the night.

ALL ABOARD

Legend of the Seas

I have to be honest, cruising is not the best way to experience Europe. Too many things to see, too little time in each port, too many tourists being shuffled to and from the ship — the negatives of seeing new cities from a cruise ship far outweigh the positives. It does however afford the opportunity to relax while moving between places, and after 4 weeks of getting around on our own in Greece and running all over Rome, we were looking forward to someone else doing the navigating. The Legend of the Seas welcomed us in the Italian port of Civitavecchia for an 8-day journey to the fortified Croatian city of Dubrovnik.

ITALY

Portofino

We almost didn't get off the ship at our first port of call. Exhausted by our time in Rome, we fully intended to sit this one out by the pool with umbrella drinks in hand like proper lazy tourists, but when we stepped onto the deck in the morning the views were just too perfect to ignore. A small town in the province of Genoa that existed for centuries as nothing more than a simple fishing commune, Portofino is now a charming spot in the posh area known as Italian Riviera.

True to its name, it is home to one of the prettiest harbours in the country, and the epitome of picture-perfect coastal Italy. We ended up spending every waking moment of our two days here off the ship, walking the paths along the coast between Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure, eating fresh seafood, lounging by the beautiful water and lamenting the fact that we had to leave before we had our fill of charming villages lining this gorgeous coast.

ITALY

Florence (& Pisa)

For our second stop the ship docked in Livorno, a coastal town an hour away by train from its more famous neighbours: Florence — one of Europe's most impressive hubs of art and architecture; and Pisa — an otherwise average Tuscan city, but for the famous tower that proudly leans over an aptly-named Campo dei Miracoli / Field of Miracles. Undoubtedly, Florence is the more impressive of the two and hails its greatness from the 15th century when it rose to power under the influence of the Medici family. It is home to prolific pieces of Renaissance art, such as Michelangelo's David and Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, and line-ups to enter the Uffizi Gallery can be upwards of 2 hours.

We learned all of this from the good old fashioned paperback travel guide, while we rode the train like clueless tourists looking for a stop named Florencia, without realizing that the proper name for the city in Italian is Firenze. Luckily Pisa in Italian is still Pisa and we had no problem finding the miraculous tower and a very delicious miracle-adjacent pizzeria that we returned to twice in the two days our ship remained in Livorno. Doing this seriously cut into our time in the capital of Renaissance, but in our eyes pizza so good that it warrants a train ride from another city is an art form that can compete with David's naked butt any day.

ITALY

Venice

Despite the bad rap it gets for being a tourist trap, we were amazed by this city. Every summer the local population of just 300,000 gets supplemented by millions of visitors arriving to behold the feat of human ingenuity that is Venice. A lot of these are day trippers who rush the streets and then move on to their new destination by late afternoon, so staying a couple of nights in the core of the city is a definite must to experience the magical urban landscape that's as unique as they come. Luckily our ship stayed in Venice for two days, and although it was pretty inconvenient to have to catch the tender back and forth, I was glad we had the extra time.

Venice is impossible to appreciate in one day, and the best way to appreciate it is to get lost in it. The crowds, the lineups, the bad food in the main squares — it's all true, but there's simply nowhere else in the world quite like it. Built on an archipelago of 118 islands and connected by 150 canals and 400 bridges, the city reportedly sinks deeper and deeper into the Adriatic every year. And yet 1600 years later, Venice defies reality and stays afloat against all odds. Like in centuries past, all transportation within the city remains entirely on water or on foot, and the graceful gondola still reigns here not only as transport, but as the ultimate symbol of romance.

CROATIA

Dubrovnik

The final port of call for the Legend of the Seas was a formerly independent Republic of Dubrovnik, now a happening Croatian city and one of the prime vacation spots on the Adriatic Sea. Dubrovnik was the only European city-state in the Middle Ages to rival Venice as a maritime powerhouse and that grandeur is still present in the imposing fortress walls that have protected the city for centuries, and today stand guard around its vibrant Old Town. Our days here were spent walking the city's marbled streets and its famous ancient wall, enjoying tremendous views over the terracotta rooftops, baroque buildings and the endless blue of the Adriatic.

On the last day of our honeymoon, we joined Sunday morning crowds spilling out of the Assumption Cathedral, and as evening fell we watched another newlywed couple toast their own union right in Luza Square surrounded by falling flower petals aglow in the setting sun. In the morning, we boarded the flight back home and towards new beginnings. What was meant to be a once in a lifetime trip, lit a spark of wanderlust that would eventually take us places we didn't even know existed when we said "I do". Our honeymoon may have ended in Dubrovnik, but a lifetime of wanders began.