January 2, 2026
It’s been a little over a year since the honeymoon of my dreams, and I have yet to share ALL the details and photos here?!
First, I wanted to give a shoutout to ELx Travel. We had to plan a last minute honeymoon due to some work conflicts, and they were able to plan us 2 weeks in Europe filled with tours, activities and of course lounge time. Did I mention this did this in the matter of 2 weeks? Helped us book our flights, got us private transportation from all of our flights, and got us the most amazing hotels to stay at. Not only did they do all of that, but they gave us guides specific to each city with their recommendations, and they did not disappoint – i.e. a super cool speakeasy that only gives you the address instructions after you make a reservation. Think 1920’s prohibition era vibes with a to die for whiskey sour (ps, I hate whiskey, but YUM). Seriously, we won’t be planning another international adventure without them.
ROMA
This was our first stop. Our arrival here was probably the worst part of the trip. We were FRANTIC inside the Roma airport. We technically had 45 minutes to get to our private driver after landing, but then he started messaging me over WhatsApp telling me he’s going to leave in 5 minutes. Mind you, it had only been like 10-15 minutes since we landed, and we were struggling to find the baggage claim because the airport was under construction. So we make it to baggage claim, and it decides it’s a great time to break down lol. I’m constantly updating our driver so he doesn’t leave us stranded, and he says okay. We finally get our bags, and now we can’t find the exit where our driver is HAHA. We’re looking at the diagram THEY provided us for where they would be, and it was completely wrong. We finally figure out the way to go and the driver basically makes it sound like he did us a favor by waiting a ‘little longer’ – even though he was contracted to be there for at least another 15 minutes?? Okay, whatever, we got into the car.
We make it to our lovely hotel tucked away in an alley in Rome – Domus Libera. We got there after staff had left (it’s only a 8-9 room hotel), but they provided instructions on how to check in after hours. Well, I needed my phone to do this and it was at 2% lol. I just wanted to do it real fast before my phone died, and I didn’t want to waste any time trying to send it to David’s phone, which was also almost dead. Meanwhile, our driver was hounding us for a tip…I had double checked prior to this moment that we had already pre-paid a tip for all of our private transfers. He tried saying this was not the case, and we’re just trying to make sure we have a place to sleep tonight. Eventually, my husband reluctantly provided him 5 euro just so he could leave.
ROMA adventures
When anyone asks for recommendations on places to eat, I can truly only give them one. We got sucked into all the touristy restaurants (which we had been warned about). We wanted to find more local spots, but I had busted my ankle a few months prior and walking super far was not great – I know, I’m in Europe, you can’t NOT walk a ton. Needless to say, we wanted to keep it light since this was the beginning of our trip.
The first spot we went to the night we arrived was 10/10 – Hedera Osteria Contemoranea. I got a steak with a tasty peppercorn sauce and of course some AMAZING bruschetta.
One of our tours included a stop at the Roman Forum, Palentine Hill, and of course, the Colosseum. Highly recommend tour guides, because otherwise you’re looking at all this beautiful history without knowing a single thing. It made the experience so much better. Vatican City was also quite extravagant, and I don’t think even a full day there would be enough to soak in all the history there.
I heard that the Trevi Fountain had been constantly surrounded by crowds, so I figured we’d go at night with hopes to avoid a crowd. Well, it was still pretty packed around 8:30-9pm haha. It was beautiful though! I wish I could have one of those on my property hahah.
FIRENZE – AKA Florence
Our shortest stay, but still filled with great food and another amazing tour/activity. We stayed at the Gallery Hotel Art – one of our smallest hotel rooms, but very trendy and modern. Plus, it’s right around the corner from the famous Ponte Vecchio on the Arno River. We were pretty hungry when we got there mid-afternoon, so I pull up my Google Maps and only like to look for places with 4.5 stars or higher. Also right around the corner from our hotel was one of my favorite places to eat – Mangiafoco Osteria Tartuferia. I think I am obsessed with truffle now. Wish we eaten there more than once!
The next day was our wonderful wine tasting and vespa riding tour with the most fun tour guides we had – Cami, David and Giacomo. Vespas are not for the weak let me tell you. We did a test run to see if we were comfortable driving on our own, and needless to say, I was indeed not comfortable hahah. I chose to hop on the back with David instead and had the best time looking at the beautiful scenery in Tuscany.
I’m not a huge win fan, but who couldn’t love all the wine when in Italy? Plus, I probably haven’t had any truly great wine until this tour. Had my husband thinking he could become a wine snob haha. Cami, one of our tour guides also gave me a ton of her personal gelato recommendations that I’ve saved in my notes app haha – Vivoli, Badiani, Perché no, La Carraia, Gelateria deli Nerj.
Genova
Where pesto was born – and lemme tell you it did not disappoint. I may have stolen some of my husband David’s pesto hehe. We had some more downtime here, so one of the places we went to was the Royal Palace Museum. I was (still am) in complete awe of the architecture, the decor, the luxury of it all. I can’t wait to incorporate pieces like these throughout my home.
We stayed at the Hotel Bristol Palace, which was my fave of course because it was just so beautiful and grand. Probably one of the higher end hotels/rooms we stayed in as well.
Soon, I’ll cover the second part of our honeymoon – the trés beautiful France🇫🇷
As someone who loves to travel, I would fly anywhere, including back to Italy to capture your own adventures – whether it’s your wedding, honeymoon, or just another vacation in your fave city. Inquire through my website here!
