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As a few of you know I will be getting married at the end of the month.... Dual Income = More Watches

Another post on here about traveling to Istanbul got me thinking

However I had a question in regards to where we are headed for our honeymoon and was wondering if anyone has been to these places

We are taking a 10 day Eastern Med cruise. Which we are very excited about. We do not travel alot due to my job and hope this turns out to be a trip of a lifetime. Because I told her we wont be traveling for another 10 years or so.

We are flying into Rome a day earlier and spending the day there
After that we board the ship in Rome

Itinerary
Rome, Italy
Naples, Italy
Valetta, Malta
Athens,Greece
Mykonos, Greece
Kusadasi, Turkey
Santorni, Greece,
Venice, Italy for day and night

My questions are
Has anyone been to any of these places?
Anything besides the large tourist areas (Coliseum, Pompeii, Parthanon, etc...) that anyone thinks is a must to do in these areas?
Anything we should avoid doing?
Anything we should def do?
Any tips for traveling in these specific areas?

Thanks in advance.

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take plenty of condoms or your double income still won't be enough to accumulate the watch collection you deserve!

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I currently live and plan on living by the creed D.I.N.K = Dual Income NO Kids for a bit longer at least. She tells me 2 years, I say 3. But I am sure she will win. I have to get the watches in now.

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Right on, man. Grab everything you can now before she thinks disposable diapers are more important than shiny bracelets attached to precision clocks

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Just realized I didn't put this in the right section. Meant to put it in the general off topic discussion.

Is there a way to move it there?

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I am pretty sure she thinks that now. That's the problem. Haha

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Roff will move it if its miscategorized.

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Yeah I figured. I was hoping there was a way I could do it. Thanks for the info.

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Past:
Black Dial Super Avenger with Numerals
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I've been to Venice and Rome, but nothing else on your list. Given your chosen trip format (i.e. cruise ship), you won't have time to do anything but the big tourist things. My wife and I will usually pick a country and spend three weeks driving around it. We still see all the big tourist sites, but this format allows us to explore the bowels of the country that we wouldn't see otherwise.

That being said, hit up the big stuff in Rome- Colosseum, Pantheon, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain (at night preferably). If you have time leftover, go to the Vatican to see St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. I could make an argument that the latter sites are more impressive than the former, but you'll have to decide what's most important to you. You'll need at least a half-day to see the Vatican sites, as the only way to get to the Sistine Chapel is to go through the entire Vatican museum, which is actually very nice.

Regarding Venice, I found walking the streets to be the most interesting thing. It's definitely a bizarre place unlike anywhere else in the world. However, you do want to go to Piazza San Marco as well as the Basilica. You could take a gondola ride, but they're ridiculously overpriced, in my opinion.

I swear by Rick Steeves' travel guides. I suggest you pick some up to help with your planning. I have over a dozen of them and Rick has never done wrong by me. He has all sorts of tricks to beating the lines in a lot of the touristy places in Rome and Venice.

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Great thanks for the tips. We are spending a whole extra day in Rome and a whole extra day in Venice since they are our entry city and exit city. Plus we figured there is alot more to see in these 2 areas so we decided to fly in a whole day early (arrive at 9am local time) and do not leave until 2pm the next day. Venice is the same we arrive there at 9am on the last day. Spend the whole day there and leave the next day around 2PM.

I will check around for those travel guides. it def wont hurt to have them.

thanks again.

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it seems as if you have a bit more time for Rome and Venice, and probably just a few hours in the other places ?

when are you going, this spring or summer or in the autumn, "must see or do's" are a bit different in different seasons, are you looking for restaurant recommendations too ?

Rome: The Vatican & St. Peters are extremely crowded and you'll wait for hours to get in, so maybe just a walk on St. Peter's square; similar for the Colloseum, have a look at it from the outside and walk through the Forum Romanum. The Parthenon is a must, but also Piazza Navona with the most beautiful fountains of Rome (preferrably a night, beats Trevi anytime; some nice and not too cheap cafés, good and romantic for drinks) and the Campo de Fiori; a lovely square with market stalls (an a shop with the best boar & truffles salami in the world); you might also like Piazza del Popolo (Café Rosati is nice), walk a bit through the Borghese Gardens, the Spanish Stairs (danger, some VERY expensive shopping in that area, Cafe Greco on Via Condotti is charming but crowded, but right in the middle of the shopping dangers), if you have a bit more time in the evening walk along the Tevere, visit Castel Sant'Angelo, then go to Trastevere (Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is beautiful, two decent restaurants).

Naples: one of my favorite cities, though not the cleanest .... you might love the bustling market, the café at the Excelsior is nice; Pompeji is interesting, if you are offered a tour to Sorrento/Amalfi this would be very nice too, or some hours on Capri, but not in summer high season.

Valetta is nice and surprisingly British, nice old town, Barakka Gardens.

Athens: the Acropolis, obviously, an evening in the Plaka ?

Mykonos is nice, but nothing would classify as a "must see; Santorini in itself is the "must", breathtakingly beautiful, but a lot of up- and downhill walking, Café Del Μar e Sol (great views) and Franco's Bar are nice.

Kusadasi: you might stay on board the ship and enjoy your honeymoon ?

Venice: now where do I start, so much to see, so little time. The Rialto fish market, the Zattere, the Giudecca - just walk a little, away from the main tourist attractions. Make sure you take a vaporetto boat on the Canale Grande, take that gondola tour, no matter how expensive, this hopefully is your only honeymoon. Some very nice restaurants off the beaten paths, but if you have only a day go for a drink on the terrace of the hotel Europa e Regina (Giorgone is their specialty, Prosecco with fresh strawberries; a much nicer place than Harry's Bar) and enjoy the view towards Santa Maria della Salute, have a honeymoon dinner on the terrace of the Gritti. a little culture, maybe? The Guggenheim is a gem !

enjoy !

WatchFred. Thank you so much, this is all great to know!!! We are going this July, so I plan on it being hot and crowded.
But we plan on jamming as much as possible into a 8-10 hours on land in the other ports, but still have a relaxing time. It will be a fine line I know.
Restaurant recommendations are always welcome. Looking for more local eateries and staying away from the tourist traps (that say this is what the locals eat). Seems to me places like that usually have no locals that eat there at all.

My travel agent keeps telling me to not bring much cash and put everything on a card as the exchange rate (capital one) is very good. But I still think while on land in ports cash is the way to go. I know I do not want to carry to much cash on me wile traveling. But want to have enough on me where we can do what we want while on port. I just dont want to run out. What are your thoughts on this? How much to carry, what currency to use?

But what is a good amount to carry with me for the 10 day cruise and 8 port cities that are all different countries? Do I get euros or just use dollars, if so how much? I am at a real loss when it comes to carrying that much cash I usually have none on me because I use my debit card everywhere.

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clearly Euro in cash, not dollars; most restaurants and shops will accept cards, but I'd look at having Euro 200 in cash per day, just in case, you can negotiate discounts for cash payments in some shops.

Rome is not really a foodie city (sorry, Romans), here are some good places:
"Sabatini" (more elegant) & Galeassi (interesting, as the resistance against Mussolini used to meet here in the cellar); neither is spectacular, but the beauty of Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere makes up for that !

some "local" places:
Marco&Fabio; Via Silla, 26, +39 (06) 32 12 362, near Vatican
Gallura, Via Giovanni Antonelli 2+39 (06) 8072971, near Borhese
Il Portico, Via del Portico d'Ottavia, Tel: +39 066830793, Ghetto

Venice:
again, it is your honeymoon; dinner on the Gritti Terrace is something you will remember for your life; expensive, but by far not the most expensive in the city.

upmarket: very good fish at the "al Covo", but quite expensive too, "Fiore" is excellent but outrageously expensive, "alla Testiere" (if you are lucky), "Corte Sconta", "da Franz" are good and more reasonable.

very "local" and excellent food at the "Hosteria Al Vecio Bragosso", Strada Nuova 4386, +39-041-523-7277, do not tell this to too many Austrians & Germans, please , I still want to get my table there when I'm back in Venice.
"local", on the Fondamente Nove (near the cemetery, quite romantic): "Da Alvise", 041.5204185
nice "snack bar" or Bacaro: "Al Mascaron", quite expensive.
another favorite w/ the locals is "Da Fiore", Bacaro w/ good snacks at the bar, small restaurant, quite cheap, near Accademia. http://www.dafiore.it/main.asp?pg=prese ... e&lang=ita

should be enough for two days

Your secret is safe with me. Sounds like we should stay an extra week just so we can fit everything in. Thanks for the tips, they are greatly appreciated. They all sound fantastic. I just searched for a pictture of the Gritti Terrace. That looks amazing and it looks like a must.

_________________
White Dial Super Avenger with Batons
Grey Dial Breitling Bentley 6.75

Past:
Black Dial Super Avenger with Numerals
Countless "high priced" cheapos