the honeymooners

when liz and i booked our vacation it dawned on us that this would be the most romantic trip either of us had ever been on. it was basically a honeymoon. Lake Como, the Italian Riviera, Venice!? now we could've been depressed and frustrated to be in these super romantic places with each other instead of someone we were actually attracted to... but not us. we decided to embrace the romance.

Como was a destination for couples celebrating anniversaries, reigniting the passion, or starting their lives together. by our last night in Como, the romance bug had bitten us. it was time to give into the beauty that surrounded us. we decided to have dinner right on the lake. we location scouted the perfect restaurant with water views, ordered up 2 glasses of red wine, some taglietelle bolognese and lasagna and took it all in. within moments, the waiter brought over watery red wine, microwaveable meals in plastic trays and some stale bread. my heart fluttered.



after our incredible meal, we went to the highly recommended Villa D'Este for a cocktail. i would say this is probably THE MOST romantic hotel around Como for people who are truly rolling in it. we put on our best dresses and tried to blend in at the bar. which, of course, we didn't since we were the only same sex "couple" in the room. after getting our glasses of 18EU prosecco (that's per person) the piano player started serenading us with tunes like Human Nature, the Theme from Ice Castles, and my personal favorite: Chariots of Fire. talk about romantic!

the next day when we arrived at our hotel in Rapallo we were encouraged by the front desk clerk to make reservations for dinner at their Roof Garden restaurant with "breathtaking views of the Riviera." we got all prettied up and headed into the restaurant to have it even more romantic than we could've hoped for. we were the only ones there!

and last night, our first night in Venice, we decided to take advantage of a 20% discount by eating dinner at our hotel. the food, the wine, the atmosphere were all perfect. there was even a lounge act to set the mood. who knew after all these years that the real words to Cyndi Lauper's famous hit are, "and I see your TWO colors... shining through... TWO colors... and that's why i loooove you…” i think this will be my wedding song one day.



after dinner we went to Piazza San Marco where we actually did take in some serious romance. a battle of the bands, if you will, between the various outdoor cafes.




it was really cool. we kicked back with our Tizianos and let it all sink in.

by the end of the night I realized something. all these canoodling couples have nothing on us! liz and i know romance. and our future husbands are totally screwed cause our real honeymoons will have a lot to live up to!