Our Honeymoon Itinerary | Honeymoon Planning | Live Lovely Travel

All the way back in 2010 I was studying abroad in Canterbury, Kent, England when Matthew flew over to the UK to visit me and we took an overnight bus (and even an underground train while on the bus) to get to Paris for our two year dating anniversary. (The photo above is from our visit to Versailles and the photos below are from our trip through the city. It was when I was travelling with my first ever digital camera and I was very new to digital photography so I am excited about taking better photos this time around! I hope you enjoy all the funny throwback photos in this post.) It was one magical long weekend, but it was not nearly enough time. Now that we are coming up on ten years this year and our wedding in June, we are planning to return for our honeymoon. While at the Eiffel tower we made a promise to ourselves that we would go back again some day. I still cannot believe that someday is nearly here. 

Instead of three days, we have three glorious weeks (that I am sure will go by just as quickly) to explore more of France as well as Italy and Greece. We purposefully left out some of the major cities because we did not want to squeeze in too much at once and we plan on going back again one day.

I am looking forward to seeing more of the iconic places that we saw last time, delving deeper into the history, experiencing the cities and the country side when the weather is warm (it was chilly last time around), and dressing better than I did last time! (I was not expecting the cold so I was a mix-match of uncoordinated jackets, scarves, boots, gloves, and bags. One walking American fashion disaster, although Matthew looked very handsome!) 

All of the plane and train tickets are paid for, the airbnbs are booked, the suitcases are starting to be packed (too early?), and the rental car is selected. I wanted to share my itinerary with you to brighten this rainy day because we plan on taking plenty of gorgeous photos and sharing some amazing travel tips, insight, and photographs when we return. I have pages of blog inspiration in my notebook that I am preparing to compile. When I travel, I travel completely unplugged except for my camera. You can learn more about my unplugged travel philosophy here.  

I am so excited about this trip and to share it with friends and family after we return. I will not be online making constant updates while we travel because I will be enjoying the moment. I figure that the photos and the travel tips will be just as beautiful and useful a few weeks later as they are right there and then. Our wedding is on Saturday, June 16th and then we fly out that following Monday! We will probably be leaving a few clues to what we are up to on Instagram, but I wouldn’t count on it too much as we’ll be living in the moment. You can follow along on our journey by checking out our itinerary below. 

Week One

• Mon. 6.18.18 -Depart to Paris from New Jersey (overnight flight) 
-Departure: 11 p.m.

• Tues. 6.19.18 -Lazy Paris day (jet lag day)
-Dinner at Le Jules Verne atop the Eiffel Tower (7 p.m. reservation)

• Wed. 6.20.18 -Breakfast under the Eiffel tower (picnic style)
-Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore, Musee d’Orsay & Musee Marmattan Monet
-Monmarte & Place de Tertre (street artists)
-Notre Dame (climb to top)

• Thurs. 6.21.18 -Morning photo shoot in Paris with Oliver Fly (Eiffel tower & Notre Dame)
-Unplanned exploring 

• Fri. 6.22.18 -Rental car: Drive 6 hours to Montignac
-‘Breakfast in America Diner’ in Paris before our road trip 

• Sat. 6.23.18 -Hike to the early human cave paintings in Vezere Valley 
-Lasceaux IV caves
-Late afternoon: Drive 5 hours to Provence

• Sun. 6.24.18 -Visit small towns in Provence -Gordes

Week Two:

• Mon. 6.25.18 -Senanque Abby & Lavender fields
-Explore Provence (spontaneously)
-Mid-afternoon: Drive 2 hours, 15 minutes to Nice
-Have dinner in Nice

• Tues. 6.26.18 
-Morning train from Nice to Verona, Italy (3 hours, 15 minutes)

• Wed. 6.27.18 -Visit “Juliet’s house” in Verona early morning
-Visit amphitheater and the city
-Afternoon train to Venice, Italy (1 hour)

• Thurs. 6.28.18 -All day & night in Venice (TBD)

• Fri. 6.29.18 -Venice in the morning
-Afternoon train to Rome
-Unplanned exploring

• Sat. 6.30.18 -Rome (early morning photos in front of the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain)
-Visit the Colosseum and rent a Vespa
-Visit the Sistine Chapel and then spontaneous exploring

• Sun. 7.1.18 -Flight to Athens, Greece

Week Three

• Mon. 7.2.18 -Early morning at the Acropolis
-Late afternoon flight to Santorini

• Tues. 7.3.18 -Quiet day in Santorini, unplanned exploring

• Wed. 7.4.18 -Sail boat around the islands

• Thurs. 7.5.18 -Unplanned exploring

• Fri. 6.6.18 -Small plane from Santorini to Athens, return flight from Athens to New York 

Some studies have claimed that planning a trip has nearly as many benefits as experiencing the a trip (as does appreciating the memories long after they have passed). There are so many wonderful aspects to travel and Matthew and I have been dreaming of this trip long before we were ever engaged. To many Americans, three weeks sounds like a long time, but compared to other countries around the world, it is a short holiday. One motivation has remained clear for us throughout the process; experiences truly mean more to us than collecting more things. Matthew and I cannot think of a better way to begin our marriage together.