Honeymoon Travel Tips: Nashville

Today’s post comes to us from my new sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Tami and Steve!  Tami and Steve spent their first anniversary in Nashville and thought it was an incredibly fun place to travel.  If you’re looking for an upbeat, friendly atmosphere that isn’t too far from home, and if you love country music even a little bit, Nashville could be the right place for you.  Read on for more!

During our one year anniversary we took a little trip to the heartland of America and experienced everything Nashville had to offer.  Weeks of planning, googling, and interviewing friends who had been to the city prepared us for the perfect long weekend in early August.  We found the below items the most important points for a fun trip that experiences everything the Country Capital of the World has to offer!

Above everything else understand you are going to the Country Music Capital of the World.  While Nashville is the birthplace of most musicians careers, ranging from rock to rap, country music is the backbone of the city so be ready to jam out with the top country songs of the year!

When searching for a place to stay, make sure to stay in downtown Nashville.  Anywhere within 5 blocks of Broadway and 2^nd street will place you right in the heart of the action.  We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Nashville which was perfect.  One block of Broadway and two blocks off 2^nd so all of the nightlife was within walking distance.

Everywhere you turn there is live music rockin’.  The street corners and establishments line up and down Broadway and 2^nd streets with young musicians playing their dreams for anyone who will listen.  Any night of the week you’ll hear covers of Brooks & Dunn, Toby Keith, Travis Tritt, or Kenny Chesney to name a few.  The hot spots for the best up and coming performers are Tootsie’s, the Wild Horse Saloon, Legends, The Stage and the Cadillac Ranch.  Also, note if you are walking by one of these spots and hear a cover that is curiously close to the real thing, pop in and check it out – many of today’s stars often stop back to their Nashville stomping grounds to treat the crowds with a free little concert.

Being in the heartland of America means southern style cookin’.  A great lunch spot is Jack’s Bar-B-Que on Broadway.  Keep an eye on Jack’s as you walk up and down the street during the day because the line can stretch out the door.  We would not recommend waiting too long but the food is certainly worth at least a 30 minute wait.  The best dinner spot that we hit was BB King’s House of Blues.  The Country Fried Chicken and White Cheddar mac-n-cheese was outstanding and the live music provided an upbeat and energetic atmosphere!

2 must-see places in the Country Capital of the World include the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame.  As soon as you book your visit to Nashville, check out the Grand Ole Opry’s lineup for the nights you’ll be in town.  The Grand Ole Opry has been the “You Made it Sight” for all the new comers to the county music world.  Check out this link for the history and upcoming schedule http://www.opry.com/ You’ll have to take a taxi to Opryland since it is about 10 minutes outside of the city, but the history in the theatre is a must.  The hall of fame is walking distance from any downtown hotel.  You can walk in and purchase a tour whenever you arrive – don’t worry about booking this in advance.

Two fillers that we enjoyed during the days include a drive out to Brooks & Dunn’s winery (Arrington Vineyards) and hitting the cowboy shops on Broadway.  The winery was about 25 minutes outside of the city in the hills of Arrington, Tennessee.  The views are beautiful and the wine is good (not great, but good.)  Pack a lunch and enjoy a bottle of whatever you prefer while taking in the countryside.  The shops on Broadway give you a sense of being a true country girl or guy as the salesmen dress you in boots and hats along with any other accessory available.  The experience is fun and the charm of the city makes you feel like a regular, however, much of this wardrobe is priced high and looses its flavor once you are home.

Lastly, our trip was just the two of us and a perfect experience for our first anniversary.  We went for four nights and enjoyed every bit of it.  In the future though, we recommend 3 nights as the perfect tenure and also a party of at least 4 friends to make the experience even more fun.  Most of the time is spent drinking, eating and enjoying live music so the more eyes in your group the more likely to catch everything the city has to offer!

Honeymoon Travel Tips: Honolulu

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Today, my dear cousin Laura is our guest blogger, and she’s got some incredible tips for you if you are considering honeymooning in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Laura honeymooned there herself with her husband Greg (these are photos from their trip), so she’s definitely the expert on this topic- one I fully intend to listen to!  Read on for her excellent suggestions on how to make the most of a Hawaiian honeymoon!

1.  Keep in mind: during all the hugs, kisses, and handshakes on the big day you will exchange many germs! USE GERM-X OFTEN because the stomach flu makes for a LONGGGG 8 hour plain ride!

2.  Don’t have high expectations for that first night when you arrive.  The wedding day, in combination with the jet lag, will make you feel like an old couple who has been married for years!

3.  You will receive leis upon arrival at that airport.  Preserve them by hanging them to dry, and bring along some preserving spray (got mine at JoAnn Fabrics) so you can enjoy them for many years to come.  I have my own hanging from a shelf in my bedroom with my bouquet!

4.  The homeless sleeping people on the beach won’t hurt you!

5.  But you know what will hurt you?  Sharks!  Keep your eyes out on Waikiki at all times for fins, and don’t swim in risky conditions- choppy water, overcast weather- we’ve all seen enough Discovery Channel to know the drill.

6.  Don’t buy drinks at the hotel bar for $20 apiece… instead walk a block or two to the “everything store” where you can grab six packs of Bud Light for $10 (which, hilariously, is still expensive).

7.  Oh, and that reminds me, BRING A LOT OF $$$$$$$ because everything is expensive!

8.  Take the North Shore Tour.  It is awesome!

9.  Go snorkeling in Hanauma Bay and make sure to bring your waterproof camera!

10.  Bring an umbrella because it rains nearly every day in the rain forests (yeah, what a surprise right) but it rarely rains on the beach.

11.  Enjoy a lovely dinner cruise and watch the sunset from the water… its amazing!  But don’t forget your Dramamine because cocktails and motion sickness do not mesh well!

12.  Know that no matter how sneaky you think you are, you won’t get away with stashing that pineapple in your suitcase… They will confiscate it at the airport on your way home!

Reminds me of Lost

Gorgeous view!

The lovely bride and handsome groom!

Honeymoon Travel Tips: Italy

Today’s post comes from one of the most sophisticated world travelers I know- my friend Phara!  Who, with her fiance Jeff, are planning to honeymoon in Italy!  Here are some of her favorite tips for planning a memorable and romantic Italian getaway!

1.  With any honeymoon, make sure you have a large enough memory card in your camera to cover this special vacation.  However, when traveling in Italy, be aware that most museums will not allow picture taking.  Even in the rare location that the museum you are visiting does allow cameras, flash photography is definitely frowned upon. 

2.  Many museums are closed one day a week, often on Monday.  Plan your itinerary accordingly. 

3.  Most churches are open from early morning until noon, when they close for three to four hours, before reopening again, and close at 6 p.m.  A few major churches, such as St. Peter’s in Rome, are open all day.

4.  If you’re traveling in the Amalfi Coast or Capri, make sure you adjust your itinerary based on the weather.  If you are planning on traveling to Positano or to visit the Blue Grotto, make sure to go on the first sunny day you have.  Ferries and boats will not run in the rain, and may not even run the day after rain. 

5.  It is best to travel with your own medication.  Aspirin is generally easy to find, but specifics like Motrin, Tylenol and Advil are not.  Pharmacies are generally open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., plus a few hours on Saturdays. 

6.  Pickpockets and purse-snatchers are common in any large city.  Be alert and exercise caution, especially when traveling on the trains.  Try to avoid carrying passports, credit cards, travel tickets and cash together in handbags or pockets.  Only carry with you what you need for the day.  Your hotel will have a safety deposit facility that you can use (but do not leave valuables in your hotel room).  You may also want to make use of a money pouch that can hang around your neck, and tucked inside your shirt.  Watch your luggage, as well. 

7.  Make a copies of your passport before you leave.  Leave one at home with a family member or friend, and keep the other copy with you.  This way, in case your passport is stolen, you have the information you need.

8.  It’s best to drink bottled water or mineral, as Italian tap water is sometimes heavily chlorinated.  The “table wines” in Italy are fantastic.  They are often served in jugs or pitchers, and will be just as good, if not better, than most bottles. 

9.  Try to book a hotel that includes breakfast, especially when traveling to the Italian countryside.  In the cities, it will not be difficult to find a quick breakfast, though it may take you out of the way of your sight-seeing.  Smaller hotels in the countryside will charge an exorbitant rate for breakfast, sometimes upwards of 35 Euros per person.  It’s best to know that your breakfast is taken care of, even if that means paying a little bit more per night. 

10.  Don’t wait for the check at an Italian restaurant; you must ask for it. 

11.  Tipping is usually done with cash, even if you’re paying your bill with a credit card.  However, be sure to check if “servizio” or “mancia” is included on your bill.  A service charge is usually included.   

12.  Both lunch and dinner are usually several courses.  A restaurant may think it is strange if you do not order at least two courses (not including dessert).  Pasta usually takes the place of an appetizer, not an entree.   

13.  Do not be surprised if your entrees are not served together.  Many restaurants will serve each dish as it comes out of the kitchen. 

14.  Rent a car for travel in the countryside (i.e., Tuscany), but definitely not in the cities.  Be extremely careful if renting a car in the Amalfi coast.  The roads are notoriously difficult to drive, especially if you’re not accustomed to such twisty, narrow roads.  You will also be surrounded by Italians driving very fast and honking at you.  You’re better off taking a taxi than risking it yourself.  (Plus, Italian traffic police can charge on-the-spot fees for infractions – meaning you need cash on hand.)

15.  August is the worst month to travel to Italy because most of the country is on vacation.  It will be very difficult to shop and truly enjoy Italy this time of year.

16.  Train travel is a great way to get around Italy.  If possible, buy your train tickets online or in advance.  In the cities, you can also buy your tickets from a ticket agent.  However, be careful with ticket machines.  In Italy, as with many other countries in Europe, credit cards have a chip that American credit cards do not have.  It may not be possible for you to purchase your train tickets from a ticket machine, unless you have cash.  After you purchase your ticket, be sure to “validate” it before you board the train.  There should be a yellow box posted on the wall near train boarding.  Simply insert your ticket into this machine to validate your ticket before boarding.  After boarding, it is customary to greet your fellow passengers with a simply “buon giorno” when you sit down. 

17.  Taxis in Italy are metered (except for flat rates to and from airports).  It’s still a good idea to ask the cab driver for a fare estimate before you go, so you can have cash ready and to try to protect you from roundabout trips.

18.  Be sure your hotel is at least a 3 star.  You may be disappointed, as the European hotel rating system is different from the U.S.  Two-star hotels can be very questionable.  Try to request a room that does not face the street.  Lesser expensive hotels may not have air conditioning, so facing the street can be a noisy venture. 

19.  Every restaurant is required to give you a receipt.  (As a general note, you should keep all of your receipts from hotels, restaurants and stores.)  Be sure to carry your restaurant receipt with you when you leave the restaurant as an “Inland Revenue Official” can ask to see it to make sure you paid your bill.  This usually happens within a few meters of the restaurant, but you can be fined if you cannot produce your receipt. 

20.  Italians celebrate many holidays.  In addition to Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter, Italy celebrates Epiphany (January 6), Liberation Day (April 25), May Day (May 1), Festival of the Republic (June 2), Farragosto (November 1), All Saints Day (November 1), Immaculate Conception (December 8), and Feast of St. Stephen (December 26).  Feast days for saints are also common in local cities and towns.  If your honeymoon falls over one of these holidays, plan on relaxing that day as small cities and towns may come to an almost standstill. 

21.  Let your hotel know in advance that it’s your honeymoon.  Italy is a very romantic culture.  They may be more likely to upgrade you, or just to scatter rose petals or chocolate in your room before you arrive.

Honeymoon Travel Tips: Safari

Well everyone, this is it!  J. and I are officially off on our Honeymoon!  While we’re gone, I’ve taken the liberty of scheduling some fun, helpful and hilarious guest posts which I hope will provide you with hours a few minutes of entertainment, and help you plan your own potential getaway!  I may even check in with you all from Hawaii.  Gotta love modern technology!

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Heather.  Heather is my dear law school friend, who with her husband Greg, spent her honeymoon on an African Safari.  Heather has a variety of excellent tips to keep in mind if you too are planning such an adventure!

Honeymoon Travel Tips: Safari

Tip #1: Hot air balloons do not land gently.

 

More tips to know…

Don’t wear blue (it attracts tse tse flies).

Deet does not repel tse tse flies.

Tse tse flies bite through clothing, but you should wear long sleeves and long pants anyway.

Yes, your malaria medicine will make you have very vivid nightmares!

Don’t pet the hippos.  Don’t pet the elephants.  Actually, just keep your hands to yourself.

The “African Massage” (the car bumping along the dirt roads) is not relaxing.

The best dehydration salts (which you should be sure to bring) are made by the World Health Organization!

Lions do not roar very often, generally they make huffing noises, all night long, and that IS them outside your tent.

The “loo with a view” is generally a bucket.

Bring boots, there are snakes.

Pack a liver.  There are brunch drinks, drinks at lunch, drinks at the “bush bar” while on safari, sundowners, cocktail hour, drinks at dinner, and after-dinner drinks.

Put items that you don’t want messed with in the monkey box.  The monkeys will destroy whatever isn’t in there while you’re sleeping.

Bring long sleeves, long pants, and a headscarf so that you can be appropriately attired if going somewhere predominantly Muslim (like Zanzibar)- your “Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl” t-shirt should be left at home.

Keep in mind that you can pretty much wear whatever you want on safari, so pack clothing that is comfortable.

When a hotel says “laundry included” – this means everything except women’s underwear – pack accordingly.

Bring extra cameras and memory cards- we took 3300 photos and would have taken more.

Bring an SLR or DLSR if you want good animal photos.

Actually, bring everything you might need (including plenty of batteries and battery chargers) - there’s no Walgreens.

At the same time, don’t pack too much – they won’t let you on the small planes without a soft satchel that doesn’t weigh much.

Wildebeests do not necessarily cross the Mara River like National Geographic suggests.  They often stampede all the way to the waters’ edge, mill around for hours, think about crossing, and disperse.

No TV, no radio, no phone, no internet, no newspapers make for a very romantic vacation

If you like chess, checkers, monopoly and scrabble, you are in for a treat.  They are everywhere.

Your guide may think your name is VERY funny.  Everyone I met laughed and laughed when I introduced myself as “Heather.”  Eventually I got used to following that up with “like weather, but with an H.”

When you’re the only people on a plane its not because you’re flying privately.  It’s because you’re going to be on a cargo flight with a bazillion vegetables.

Despite being required to throw out tweezers and nail scissors, you WILL be allowed to bring a Masaai spear on the plane – ours was disassembled and wrapped in newspaper.  They make awesome souvenirs.

In whole foods, you can buy amazing coffee from Tanzania.  In Tanzania, however, there is no coffee (which, in retrospect makes sense).  Instead, enjoy your morning tea and cookies (the buttery sugary dutch kind)!

I’m a Mrs! And I’m Not Home!

Peace out! 

the lodge lobby

the relaxation room at Reflections Spa, fancy pants

Restaurant Latour

(images link to their source)

How to: Save over $10,000 on Your Honeymoon

As J. and I get closer to our wedding day, one of the things we’re starting to get especially psyched about is our honeymoon!  We’re going to be spending 14 days in Hawaii on three different islands, and we are SO excited!  Of course, a trip like this does not come cheap, so in planning we spent a great deal of time thinking of ways we could maximize value on our trip.  One such way was to delay our honeymoon for about 3 weeks after the wedding- which pushed us out of peak travel season (and also boded well for my work schedule).  Read on for this and many more tips (twenty!) which ultimately have saved us $10,334.98!

(1) Include luggage in your wedding registry so you don’t have to buy it yourself!  Estimated savings for two Hampton 5 piece luggage sets from Bed Bath & Beyond, $199.98

(2) Work with a travel agent!  For our honeymoon in Hawaii, we saved an estimated total of $1500 over the list prices for resorts and car rental for a two week trip.  Contact Lika at Blue Hawaii Vacations to work with the same person we did (no, they aren’t paying me, they just did a great job)!

(3) Register for your honeymoon with a site like Honeyfund.  Every gift you receive gives you a dollar amount toward your honeymoon.  So far, J. and I have received $1180 towards activities for our Honeymoon in the form of shower gifts.  And if you are reading this and you gave us one of those gifts, we heartily thank you!!

(4) Watch currency rates.  If there is a particularly good rate, contact your hotels.  They will be more than happy to let you prepay for your room, and maybe even meals or activities.  This can amount to hundreds of dollars of savings, especially with the dollar as volatile as it is right now.   Since J. and I aren’t going abroad, I’m not going to credit us with a dollar amount for this tip, but hopefully it will add up for you!

(5) Commit with your fiance, for the length of your wedding planning, to save all your spare change at the end of the day and keep it in a jar.  Bring it to a Coinstar machine before you leave for your honeymoon.  Estimated savings for J. and I: $300. Continue reading »

The Pros and Cons of a Honeymoon Registry

One of the hot topics on all wedding websites is where to register. And for us, that one was tough! John and I are not exactly spring chickens. We both own our own homes, we’ve spend considerable time and money furnishing them, and somehow our lives have come together in a comfortable, adult kind of way. We like it. We don’t need towels. We don’t even want more towels.

So when we got engaged, we were immediately drawn to the idea of a honeymoon registry. A honeymoon registry is a place where, just like a traditional registry, guests can buy you a gift– only instead of towels, you receive a portion of your honeymoon (a night in your hotel, a portion of your airfare, or an activity for two)! For two people who don’t need anything, we were pretty thrilled with the idea! So we set up our registry at www.honeyfund.com, which was one of the only websites we found that did not charge a “commission” on our gifts. The website is user friendly, and allows you to customize your requests to your honeymoon. And if you upgrade for about $20, you get a space that is ad-free!

Since setting up our registry, I’ve heard a few comments from people saying they feel honeymoon registries are “in poor taste” or that “people should pay for their own honeymoons.” I was totally taken aback by these comments though. Of course we can pay for our own honeymoon. We would never have booked it otherwise. Yikes!

Frankly, neither of us really cares if people buy us anything. It will be wonderful enough to have family and friends around us to celebrate our special day with us. But alas, registries are one of those “things people expect.” So to satisfy any concerned citizens, we also set up a registry at Bed, Bath & Beyond. And, happily, there are no towels on it! Rather, we registered for a nice set of sheets, some kitchen gadgets and appliances we’ve managed not yet to acquire, and shamwow (holds twelve times its weight in water, or so I hear)! If people want to buy us gifts off either registry, we’ll be honored and thrilled. And if not, we’ll still be honored and thrilled that they came to the wedding. Hopefully now the distasteful comments will come to an end!

Has anyone else heard negative feedback on their registry ideas?