Italian Honeymoon

I can’t believe my two week Italian honeymoon is over!! It flew by! Before I knew it I was back at work staring at excel spreadsheets *tear. So I thought, what better way to relive it than by telling you guys all about it?! Lake Como – Bellagio Dave and I began our Italian adventures on Lake Como in Bellagio. Something I didn’t really realize until I was doing research for our honeymoon is that Lake Como is pretty big, and there are quite a few towns to choose from when picking your hotel location. Lake Como is shaped like a pair of pants, and the town of Como is at the bottom of the left pant-leg. If you are taking a train into the area, like we did, then this is probably where you will be coming in to. From Como, Dave and I took a ferry to Bellagio (basically the crotch of the pants). We chose to stay in Bellagio because of the incredible views. Bellagio is where the lake splits, so the scenery is breathtaking. Where we stayed: Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni. This hotel is GORGEOUS! The hotel was one of the few hotels in the area that had a pool, and Dave and I definitely took advantage of it. The hotel also has a Michelin Star restaurant on the main floor. We chose to skip it since I’m pretty picky and the menu was definitely on the adventurous side, but the reviews of the restaurant speak for themselves. What to eat: Seafood is very popular in the Lombardy region. If you want to feel like a local, order the risotto and fish. I’m not a huge seafood eater, but this dish was amazing. The risotto was so buttery, and the fish was cooked perfectly. I definitely indulged in this dish more than once. Touristy Attractions: The hotel we stayed in was originally part of a much larger piece of property. Since its construction, the original owner sold the majority of land and other properties to the Rockefeller Foundation, who now maintains the beautiful park on the top of Bellagio. Tickets for a tour of the park are a few euros, and well worth the breathtaking views from the top of the mountain! MilanFrom Bellagio, Dave and I took a ferry and train ride to Milan! We only spent 24 hours in Milan, so we had to make it count. We went to our hotel, dropped our bags and headed straight to the Milan Cathedral (i.e. the Duomo). The Duomo was breathtaking! There are multiple ticket options for visiting the Duomo, but Dave and I purchased the ticket that let you go inside and outside on the roof! The inside was beautiful, but I have to say most of my fascination with the Duomo was sparked when we visited the roof. The views are spectacular, and you can really appreciate the incredible detail that went into making the Cathedral what it is today. Definitely do not skip the opportunity to visit the roof! After our visit to the Duomo, we headed to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. This is basically the most beautiful outdoor mall you’ve ever seen. Dave and I spent quite a bit of time in Prada (you know, to get the complete Milan shopping experience haha!). To find out what we purchased, take a look at my blog post titled “Katie’s Prada Obsessions.” Where we stayed: The Westin Palace Milan. I booked this hotel because I had Starwood points that paid for our night here. In general though, the hotel was very nice, and only about a mile from the Duomo, which is where we knew we would be spending most of our day. Also, since it’s a Westin, the beds were guaranteed to be heavenly =). What to eat: Unfortunately, Dave and I didn’t have much luck with good food in Milan. We had pizza in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, and we are 100% sure it was just a frozen pizza. Very disappointing. We tried a saffron risotto that was supposedly a local specialty, and again, were very disappointed. The risotto was not cooked correctly, and was still a little crunchy. Touristy Attractions: The Duomo– absolutely spectacular, and not to be missed. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele – fun to walk around even if you have no intention to drop hundreds of euros in the upscale stores. Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” – Unfortunately, Dave and I didn’t know you needed to book tickets for this at least 3 weeks in advance, so we didn’t get an opportunity to view the painting, but if you are planning a trip, I would definitely suggest adding it to your trip! Shop the looks: Seersucker Dress Well that’s all for part 1 of our trip! Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3!