(Euro) Trip of a Lifetime: Venice

It's that time of the year - Our annual HONEYMOON has finally arrived! (Yes, we go on an annual honeymoon) We had our bags backed, our GoPro Storage Renewed, and our passports ready! Just like that, we were off for an adventure through the big hitters of Europe and our first stop was Venice, Italy.

We decided to do an Italian Tour with GoAhead tours, which was actually really nice - everything was easily mapped out for us before hand so our only job was to get there. We hopped on our plane from London, headed to Venice and then off to our fairytale hotel on the CUTEST little Island outside of Venice named Lido. To be completely honest, at first we were bummed that we weren't staying on the famous island of Venice but by the end of our stay - we completely understood why GoAhead selected Lido as our escape. It was a small island feel minus the "island time" pace - the drivers don't mess around, the food service was speedy (and delicious) and we felt like we were on set, filming for a retro Italian movie the entire time we were there! That's how perfect this place was.

After aday and night of exploring our cozy new home, Lido, we made our way to Venice. We lucked out and had an amazing tour guide that shared with us the in's and out's, do and don'ts, facts, and opinions about the amazing "sinking city". So incredible! We made our way through the alley's of Venice, learned about the art of glass blowing (ain't no walk in the park!), and of course toured Saint Mark's Basilica. The entire tour only took about 30 minutes and we then had some time to wander on our own. Wandering aimlessly in Venice is highly recommended. Between all the canals, greenery, gondola's and amazing architecture/building structure, you cannot go wrong! Even when the island became extremely crowded with people, it was easy to find some backways that were quiet, serene and empty.

We hung around Venice for a couple of hours after our GoAhead headed back to Lido as we had previously booked a gondola tour though our Chase Sapphire Card. Great option if you're not already on a tour but we failed to realize that we'd be doubling up on adventures and tours. Not to mention it was hotter than the devils armpits, a really long day (about 12 hours on the Island), with minimal shade, and little, to no free, open seating. Once we realized what we had done, we almost instantly regretted the choice of "saving a couple pennies) and booking a tour on our own with points as opposed to the optional tour with GoAhead. Despite the heat, long day and feet cramps we stuck it out like champs because... GONDOLA RIDE! Isn't that one of the main reasons people go to Venice? Let's be real.

So after about 3 hours of delirious conversation and eating our 8th meal of the day (just so we could sit down somewhere) it was time for us to go on our "one of kind, romantic, gondola ride, just the two of us" - little did we know... By this time we were already somewhat over the day thanks to jet lag and we were really looking forward to just relaxing on the Grand Canal together. So off we went! We ended up getting lost finding trying to find our next tours meeting spot (by this time, we were about 2 hours into our aimless walk through the maze that is Venice Alleyways). However! We're proud to say we were able to find our way back to Saint Marks Square and navigate to the tour meet up spot from there. TIP: If you end up lost on Venice, just head back to the Square and start over.

The tour that we had booked through Chase offered a walking tour of Venice but seeing as how we had already been walking for 6 hours at the time and had already experienced a separate walking tour through GoAhead, we opted out of the tour and just met up with our tour group at the Gondolas. We tried to lead the pack as we made our way to the common gondola port in attempts to snag the first gondola for 2reasons: 1. To wrap things up on Venice as quick as possible so we could go home and rest up & 2. We were hoping to snag a duo gondola or at least the front two seats on the gondola that sit together. BUT! As luck would have it, we got to the front of the line and heard, "You 2 - you go on this gondola". Aaron and I looked at the Gondola, looked at each other and then hesitantly wobbled our way on to the Gondola. We were with 4 other women that were selfie stick happy. Aaron had to sit up front by himself and I had to share knee space with not one, but TWO perfect strangers. Had we known that this is what our "romantic gondola ride" was going to look like, we would have skipped the gondola all together and headed back to Lido for a romantic cat nap and some gelato. But... as goes life. Here's a couple of shots we got on the worlds most romantic glide around the Grand Canal.

Clearly BEFORE we knew we were going to ride with 4 other women...

At the end of it all, we decided that truly 4 hours is more than enough time to spend on Venice.  As beautiful as it was, and how impressive the history and traditions are on the island, the fact that there wasn't really a place to sit, recharge and keep it pumping (unless you're staying on the island) trumped all Venice wondering desires that we had.

• Get there EARLY to snag photos without 8 billion people in the background. We're talking 6am early - it's worth it!
• When you fly into Venice, you can either take a water taxi or take public transportation (bus) to get to different areas
• There are ZERO cars on Venice so wear comfy shoes and bring that Fitbit to easily win any "steps challenge" you're a part of
• Be prepared to pay about $40-70(USD) for a couple cups of coffee and ice cream in Saint Marks Square - no joke, no exaggeration. Ironically, purchasing food/drink is the only way to get you a seat and some shade in the Square
• There are public toilets, but be prepared to pay to use them
• If you're not sure which boat to take when leaving/going to another island, ASK! There are few things worse than hopping on the wrong boat
• Gondola's are cool, but some may not think they're worth the ride and/or the price that you have to pay - it's pretty hefty!
• Tours are great for the history buffs out there! If you're there just to stroll and take pictures, no need to book a tour in advance

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Ia Orana! (yo-rah-nah)

For our honeymoon, Aaron and I had the pleasure of getting to travel a quarter of the way around the world to one of the top destinations on most people’s bucket list, Bora Bora. For those of you that don’t know where Bora Bora is, we’ve got you covered. Bora Bora is an Island located next to Tahiti in the French Polynesia. Still don’t know where we’re talking about? Simply put, Bora Bora sits in between Peru and Australia, nearly directly south of Hawaii - out in the middle of nowhere. #paradise

Even though this amazing island is known for its crisp, clear blue waters and overwater bungalows, there is so much more to see and do! Over the next couple of days/weeks (depending on how chatty Cathy we decide to get), we’ll be sharing our Bora Bora journey with you through pictures, stories, tips and more. Aaron and I will be switching off between writing posts so you’ll have the chance to view our different perspectives and also learn more about us individually, as well as together. Don’t worry, we’re both equally dramatic so each post should be amusing.

Sigh, let’s see… where do I even begin? Welp, they say a picture is worth a thousand words so let’s start there, shall we?

A 30 minute walk through a highly populated downtown (with suitcases in tow, *not recommended*), a 3 hour train ride, 5 hours of layover, 10 hours of flying, 20 minutes of dodging stray chickens strolling around the Tahiti Airport, true story, and 2 leis later … We finally made it to Bora Bora! Instantly, we were hit with breathtaking views. This place is so beautiful that you almost forget that you're dripping in sweat and your hair is the size of Texas, thanks a lot humidity.

You guys know all the pictures you’ve seen of Bora Bora? Well, they aren't all photoshopped! That’s exactly how it looks in real life, but even more amazing! Who even knew that was possible!? We’ve never seen water so blue and so clear in our life.

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we arrived to our room only to find floral petals everywhere (Literally, everywhere. To this day, we still find a couple in our suitcase randomly), a bottle of champagne on the house, a bottle of Tahitian wine (which wasn't our favorite but hey! It was free), a Le Meridien sarong for myself and a Le Meridien T-shirt for Aaron. Oh, and then there was our see through FLOOR! Let us not forget about that. Can you say heavenly? It was truly a surreal moment when we arrived to our room. We could not have created a more inviting "welcome" - that is truly the essence of Bora Bora.

Le Meridien was such a great hotel from customer service to amenities, they had everything covered. The staff was one of the friendliest groups of workers we’ve ever encountered and they were super helpful throughout our entire stay. I don't think there was ever a time that we had to worry about getting anywhere on time or remembering our extensive itinerary, they were on top of it all! We highly recommend this resort.

The resort was so perfect that we couldn't find anything bad to say about it. However, If we had to pick one, the only downside we can think of is that the room sizes at Le Meridien are a little smaller than the rooms at other resorts... but that really boils down to personal opinion. We honestly thought it was more than enough space - We had been married for all of 3 seconds so we appreciated the cozy space. And plus, we spent most of our time exploring and/or enjoying our backyard, AKA swimming in the ocean.

Now that you know a little bit about Bora Bora and where we stayed, I think it’s about time to dive in to the number one question we received roughly 1.32 billion times before, during and after our trip: “so… what exactly is there to do there?” This is actually where the fun really begins so check in with us soon to check out the amazing activities we explored while on this magical island. And don't fret, once we cover all the "to-do's" we'll be sharing ALL of our time, money, and energy saving tips with you guys. We won't leave you hanging, our job is to encourage you to explore and show you that it is possible no matter how much vacation time you have or how tight your budget is, it is always possible.

P.S. "Ia Orana" is how you say "hello" in Tahitian :)