How to Honeymoon

Hey there hive. Mr Corn and I are a month out from our one-year anniversary. As cliche as it sounds, it feels like the wedding was ages ago...yet I can't believe it has almost been a year since the big day. I still have some posts in me that I think will be beneficial to the hive, so strap on your favorite summer sandals and join me for my How to Honeymoon series.*

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Mr Corn and I started our Italian Honeymoon on the Island of Capri off the Amalfi Coast. We chose this destination because after the hard work of planning and executing our wedding, I knew I wanted to go to a place where I could get some R&R before becoming a full blown tourist.

Honeymoon Tip #1: Always, always ask for an upgrade.

Mr Corn is pretty shy and doesn't like to make a scene...me, well...I have no qualms about talking to strangers. So when we finally got to the JW Marriott in Capri, after two plane trips, a bus transfer, a seriously rough ferry ride (I'll spare you the gory details), a ride in a mini-cab, and a walk through the center square of town, Mr Corn was ready to just check us into our hotel. I however said to the lady at the front desk, "it's the first night of our honeymoon, is there any chance there is an upgrade available?" She went into the back for a bit and when she came out they had upgraded us to a sea-view suite. We had to wait about an hour for the room to be available, but it ended up being the difference between this:

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and this...

A king suite with a double balcony overlooking the ocean and a bottle of champagne on ice...not bad!

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While we were waiting for our room to be ready, Mr Corn and I had a chance to talk to one of the hotel staff while we had drinks on the front veranda overlooking the Mediterranean Sea (I told you it wasn't such a bad thing to have to wait an hour!)

This brings me to Honeymoon Tip #2: Ask the locals where they like to go

It seems like such a simple concept, but really some of the best times we had on our honeymoon were when broke away from the guide books and asked the locals for inspiration.

Of course, being a good hotel staff person, they first suggested the hotel restaurant...but after some chiding, we were able to get a recommendation to head up the hill and go to La Savardina.

So we headed up the hill on foot, along the tiny 'roads' that lead to Villa Jovis.

Along the way, we saw signs like this, along with posters for the restaurant which had me convinced we were headed to the 'Chili's' of Capri.

But when we got there, it ended up being a tiny restaurant on a terrace under a grove of lemon trees overlooking the bay of Naples.

No one in Italy even thinks about eating dinner until at least 7:00pm, so even though we got there when it was daylight, we ended up walking around until it was night time, which made the whole experience even more magical.

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Hive, this was hands-down, the most amazing meal we had in all of Italy. I don't know if it was because we were the only ones there for an hour or because it was the first time we truly sat back and relaxed since the wedding, but the meal we had at La Savardina was phenomenal! And when it was all over, they served us a bit of Limoncello, straight from the freezer. A deliciously cool, tangy drink that had been made from the fruit of the trees hanging right over our heads. Obviously this meal was beyond anything we had ever imagined, as I ended up naming my company based on this experience alone! And all of it was because I talked to a local and found out her favorite haunt.

Speaking of locals, here are some fun kids playing soccer in the largest area on the road they could find. We sat and watched them play while waiting for the restaurant to open. They all had bikes so they could chase the ball down the mountain when it inevitably rolled past the goal tender.

* Clearly our honeymoon is just a very small example of the many types of trips you can take with your new spouse, so obviously this series is not supposed to be the be-all/end-all of honeymoon advice...but while our trip was one-of-a-kind, I think the general advice applies to most.