Honeymoon: Venice

More about our honeymoon!

Honeymoon: Prague

charles bridge with prague castle in the distance

finally i'm posting about our honeymoon!  before planning our trip we thought of all of the places we wanted to go and we treated this vacation as a sort of trip of a lifetime.  i always choose italy, but i also thought it would be nice to go somewhere together where we both have never been.  enter Prague.

i am so happy we chose to start our journey here.  it was a long travel day for us.  we took off from NYC and had a layover in Amsterdam so we were beat by the time we got there, but after seeing the city from the cab ride we felt energized.  it is really such a beautiful and very, very cool city.

we got to our hotel and unpacked a bit and being that my stomach is pretty much in charge of my life, i decided we had to eat right away.  we went down to the hotel restaurant and got some potato dumplings, salad and beer.  that heavy lunch did us right and sent us back to our room for a nice nap. i love that vacations give you the clearance for any kind of behavior.  naps everyday?  sure, why not? wine at 11am?  go for it!

museum at night

we awoke to the hotel ringing us with a bottle of champagne to congratulate us.  so sweet!  so, after showering and feeling like humans again we decided to take in the city by walking around a bit.  at this point it was a little late, but we walked around Wenceslas Square and past the beautiful museum. we got a bit lost and after roaming decided to head back to the hotel for nightcap and some UNO.

my favorite statue in Old Town

the next day we ate breakfast at the hotel and took in the city and walked and walked and walked.  we were so lucky that the weather was gorgeous.  we saw Old Town and walked the beautiful square and saw the famous clock.  so many people watching that thing!  from there we walked to the Charles Bridge and the river and just enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.  we walked over the bridge and stopped along the way to admire the statues and art.  crossing the bridge was one of my favorite moments.  you see Prague Castle in the distance and the most beautiful architecture you can imagine. it didn't even look real.  it looked like something out of a movie.

dorks in Prague

at that point my stomach begged for lunch.  we found a terrific place from our Time Out Prague book.  Cukrkavalimonada was a find.  i was craving a delicious salad and they had plenty.  gorgeous salads, terrific wine by the glass and tasty desserts.  heaven.  all of that did the trick and got me ready to explore the castle.

cathedral at Prague Castle

the castle is enormous (and also a rigorous walk up a hill) and there is so much we weren't able to explore.  but it is stunning.  the cathedral took my breath away.

inside the cathedral

that evening we had dinner at an American steak house.  it sounds weird to visit a place like this while in another country, but we had heard such great things about it and it was worth the trip.  they also had Weller 12 which made J very, very happy.

inside the music room.  i'd like to think i'd dress like this woman back in the day.

the next day we headed back to Prague Castle to listen to some beautiful music.  we sat in a gorgeous room and listened to a pianist, flautist, and violinist.  it was a wonderful hour and i highly recommend doing this if in Prague.

we ended our last night at a traditional Czech restaurant called Bredovsky Dvur (don't ask me to pronounce that) and had goulash and nice, cold beer.  the perfect last meal to our time here.

goulash

pilsner

another great thing about the city is that we found it very affordable, at least compared to NYC and other places we have travelled.  i suggest learning a few words (please, thank you, hello) just to show a bit of an effort.  it seemed to go a long way.

lennon wall

we really did love it here and it is a great place to go for a romantic getaway, but i can also see this city as a great place to visit with some friends.  we will definitely be back! 

a few things about the hotel: it is very near sights, but on a quiet street which we appreciated.  the breakfast here is fantastic!  there is a bar, but it does close early on some nights.  

adventures

lately i've been thinking about adventure.  at first glance i might not seem like the most adventurous person.  in fact, sometimes i'm a downright baby.  i will not skydive, bungee jump or participate in paintball (for some reason that seems nuts and it would hurt so bad!) and flying in a plane is all sorts of crazy for me, but there are other ways to have adventure.  life is the adventure.  okay, that might have sounded a bit too sappy and cliche, but i do believe it!

my biggest adventure dream and bucket list item is to meet an elephant face-to-face.  like, not just at the zoo.  i want to go to an elephant sanctuary and help feed or wash them.  we were originally planning on thailand for our honeymoon and i was super excited because you can totally do that at some of their sanctuaries.  anyway, that didn't work out and J says that if i actually met an elephant face-to-face i would be terrified and i would run away.  jokes on him though because you probably shouldn't run from an elephant.

all i'm saying is that i try looking for adventure in different ways and in everyday life. i'm an actor (which can be sad adventure!), i travel and take italian lessons,  i live in NYC which is its own adventure!  i'm curious to know what adventure means to other people...

at the batting cages which was completely an adventure

home again

i will have all details of vacation with pictures up on here soon, i promise myself that.  we got back this weekend and real life starts back up again and this has caused a major case of the blues.  believe it or not i was homesick towards the end of our trip.  i think i mostly missed Boo, but i also just missed the comforts of home.  my pillow and blanket, the sounds outside my window in the morning, NYC.  it's funny how attached we get to places and things without even realizing.

it is nice to be back in NY though.  spring sprung while we were away and it is gorgeous out.  i feel like giving this city a giant hug!

getting ready for vacation

Photo Credit from Blizzard-Secret

so, J and i leave for our honeymoon in less than three weeks.  to say that i am excited is a major understatement.  i am not ashamed to admit that i have started packing.  i may have even started a few weeks ago.  there's a logical reason for this though!  our itinerary has us on a few planes, trains and automobiles and because of that we have decided to not overpack.  i am so scared of the airline losing my luggage (we will be on 5 planes total) so we also decided that we will only do carry-ons.  and this is my dilemma...  how do you pack for two weeks in a duffel bag?  and then i found these.  it has completely rocked my world.  you can fit so much in this thing!  and then i just stick it in my duffel.  i also got this one for my unmentionables.  again, amazing.  now, i have to figure out how to pack my shoes.  any ideas for that?