Friday, September 14, 2012

Mediterranean Honeymoon Highlights

After spending two weeks the Mediterranean on our honeymoon, we're convinced that taking a cruise is completely the way to go.

Denver
Bye bye, Denver! One of our friends had a flight out at a
similar time, and she graciously offered to give us a ride.

The trip began with a flight from Denver to New York, and from there it was off to the Roma Aeroporto di Fiumicino - Leonardo da Vinci.  On the flight from New York to Rome we slept about as well as could be expected thanks to our handy neon green earplugs and classy eye masks (or eye bras as one our friends likes to call them).

Upon arrival in Rome, we exited the plane on the tarmac sans jet way and were taken by bus to the airport building itself.  Due to some unfortunate timing, Ali and I got split up during this process and it wasn't clear if the buses were taking passengers to the same entry way door.  Luckily, everything panned out just fine and we did end up at the same location prior to going through customs.  It was a bit stressful, but everything after that was smooth sailing, pun intended!

We picked up our checked bags from the carousel and then the cruise staff took care of the rest.  With all of the staff members on site, it would have been nearly impossible to get lost at that point.  After a short shuttle ride through the Italian countryside we arrived at the Civitavecchia port.

Check-in was smooth and included much appreciated cookies and punch.  From there, Ali and I spent 12 fantastic days aboard the Celebrity Equinox in a veranda state room seeing the following cities:

Santorini
The lovely whitewashed buildings surround the caldera.


Istanbul
The Hagia Sophia is a pretty amazing place!


Ephasus
  These ancient ruins bring a whole new meaning to the word "old".


Athens
It was crazy windy, so that's why Ali looks like Medusa.


Mykonos
 [ Sorry, no photos! We went to the beach and cameras can't swim.]


Naples
Herculaneum - Fewer tram stops from Naples,
 one tenth the tourists of Pompeii, and arguably 
better preserved!

Along the way, we met two cheery friends that we had dinner with nearly every evening.  One, a Facebook employee, and another a PhD candidate studying microbiology.  Wow, talk about curious coincidences!

I suppose now is also the time to say that the food was absolutely fantastic.  We thoroughly enjoyed every meal we ate, both on shore and on the ship.  Ali, the more experienced cruiser of us, can confirm that the food we had was better than any cruise she'd been on prior.

After the cruise ended, we were back in Rome for a few more days of site seeing (and food eating).  Three days seemed just about right for seeing most of the highlights in Rome, and by the end of the last day we were tuckered out and ready to come back home.

Rome
The Colosseum is much like today's modern sports 
arenas. They were so ahead of the times with their
running water, bathrooms, and shade covers.


All in all, it was a fantastic trip.  Thanks to everyone who helped to make it possible!  We wish everyone the best and hope you've enjoyed your summer as well.


Cheers,

Matt & Ali

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