Honeymoons on the brain part Trois - la piece de resistance

After lots of thought and research, i was about to throw in the towel and just go anywhere for this honeymoon, it's a lot of work! and i'm having this conversation one day with my boss and i was just saying, "if it was up to me i'd be in europe, maybe the french riviera or something" - this is the crux of everything i suppose...i like cultural old things sorta trips, and chris likes beachy do nothing sorta trips...we don't really meet eye to eye here...but Saint Jean Cap Ferrat actually seemed like it might fit the bill for both of us at the suggestion of my very french boss!

Saint Jean Cap Ferrat is a peninsula located in the Cote D'Azur (thats the french riviera to non french speakers) and according to my boss P, is heave on earth and you'll find no where more relaxing and beautiful on this planet...the creme de la creme! so i began my research and what do you know, it truly is a very beautiful place...favorite vacationing spot for european millionaires, royalty and celebrities...it's truly not a place to miss, st tropez doesn't even hold a candle to this gem in the mediterranean

Saint Jean Cap Ferrat is surrounded by the villages Villefranche Sur Mer and Beaulieu Sur Mer, both very nice little Frenchy towns with lots of yummy food and very easily accessed by WALKING! score!! car rental is completely optional as railway and buses are very easy to use and closer sights are within walking distance...30 minutes from the Nice airport, you can always head into the city if you want to take a break from relaxing and wanna get into some hustle and bustle of a larger city...bonus Nicoise cuisine! you're right here! i'm sure the most snooty foodie won't find much to complain.

the resort we're considering is the Royal Riviera, it's a 5 star boutique resort sandwiched right in between beaulieau and Cap Ferrat...

it boasts its own little private beach

heated pool

home away from home

and sharing a meal with your new hubberoo in one of the best restaurants Saint Jean Cap Ferrat has to offer accompanied by views of the mediterranean sea

sounds wonderful doesn't it? a true romantic european honeymoon if you ask me...but the downside to this is that in November its a bit on the cooler side.. 60s to be exact so we wont really be able to take advantage of the pool and beach...but sightseeing will be very comfortable...

another pro would be we can probably take 2 days and go to Corisca to visit where Chris' Meme (grandmother) is from and discover some of his heritage and maybe even see some relatives...

i'm totally loving this pick and it's evolving into my dream honeymoon :)

(note: booking a standard room at this hotel might not be ideal as reviews will tell you it is so tiny you can barely fit your luggage in and overlooks the railway tracks...better off booking a room with gardean and sea views)

honeymoons on the brain part 2.5

Last i left you off with the awesomeness that is Blancaneaux, here i'll show you what the sister property Turtle Inn would have to offer you.

while Blancaneaux is situated in the mountains and in the forest, Turtle Inn is built on a beach in the Caribbean! How's that for a paradise honeymoon eh?

to start your honeymoon in a place like this, who can say it's not paradise in your own little bungalow?

the chinese matrimonial suite is perfect for the most discerning honeymooner
and who can turn down a fancy shmancy japanese bathroom such as this

i really have to hand it to Mr Coppola for building these fantastic resorts...while i haven't been to either myself, the reviews i've read and judging by what i've seen, it's a pretty sweet trip to take with your new spouse if you want to be somewhere a little different. Belize has a lot to offer for everyone with different interests...you can relax , you can explore and you can play in the sun!

while there are all these pros and i clearly am in love with these locations, Chris and I ultimately decided that its a lot of travelling to be done for our shortish honeymoon and with the unpredictable caribbean weather in November, we didn't want to chance it...so we went back to the drawing board

Honeymoons on the brain part dos

yesterday i left you all off with why we chose and didn't end up going to Hawaii, where did we next consider you might ask...well we were heavily considering, wait for it..... BELIZE

it's a little off the beaten track...but it was one of those places that they recommend for honeymoon destinations if you google honeymoon november...whats great about Belize is that it is english speaking, not THAT far in the caribbean and very eco tourism friendly (this was what would've sold us)... upon further investigation though i realized that it's not that easy to get to the major resorts...you will have to either take a boat or plane to ambergis island or in our case a commuter flight to placencia or drive like 2 hours on some not so great roads...but let me show you the awesomeness that is Blancaneaux and Turtle Inn before you knock the travel
firstly they're both Francis Ford Coppola resorts... the man opened them!

Nestled in the forests and mountains of Belize you'll find the 5 star luxury resort known as Blancaneaux, feast your eyes on THIS paradise:

imagine your honeymoon dinner here
imagine your first nights and husband and wife in your own private forest cabana

frolic and play with your new husband in the pool
wake up to this spectacular view:
not enough privacy? how about your own plunge pool?

In Belize you'll be able to hike mountains, explore rain forests, mayan ruins, horeseback riding and canoeing...sounds pretty awesome for a little something different from your average tropical honeymoon right?

unfortuntely though, there was a recent beetle infestation and a lot of the forestation has been destroyed, i've read that it's started to grow back but who knows when it will return to its formal glorious self...but i'm sure one day chris and i will make our way to Blancaneaux...

oh and to make matters even easier, you can book a honeymoon package or adventure package where they will take care of EVERYTHING for you. arrange the travel from the belize city airport, to the private air strip, francis ford coppola champagne welcome, all meals will be taken care of and all excursions will be planned for you with guides, and of course arrangements to go home...what more can you ask for in a luxurious forest retreat?

but there is one big downside, for those that are very heat sensitive, there is no air conditioning on the properties...so you might wanna consider the season and location before you book...

stick around for what turtle inn has to offer, you won't wanna miss it, i promise

Honeymoons on the brain part one

with a little under three months left until the wedding, i'm shamed to admit we have not yet booked out honeymoon yet...but it's not for lack of trying though...there are just a couple of factors that have been digging us in the side that won't go away and because of we haven't booked anything yet...

firstly, we both want to take the honeymoon right after the wedding and not postpone it...we see eye to eye, great! one hurdle down...this means we have the option of flying out on monday wherever we decide to go.

Second, Chris is only allowed to take 5 working days off...now this is where it gets a little sucky..since our wedding is on sunday...we lose one weekend and means we can only go somewhere for 7 days including travel time...but not to be discouraged, 7 days is nothing to sneeze at...it's a week...we can do honeymoon in a week... so monday to sunday it is...this is non negotiable.

third hurdle is, we're getting married in november, which means 2 thinks, winter approaching in the northern hemisphere and hurricane season tapering off in the caribbean...uhh where does that leave us that we can go???

our first instinct was to think, oh this is easy, we'll just go to HAWAII! number 1 honeymoon destination in the world, beautiful weather all year round...and look i even had my dream hotel picked out! the Halekulani on Oahu!




this is also the home of the famed vera wang suite (pictured above) ...HELLO! perfect honeymoon resort right!?!?!

so chris and i were all set on this place and then disaster...we realize that we'd fly out on monday, won't land until monday night and would have to leave by saturday in order to be home before monday so chris can get to work.. that means we'd only be able to enjoy Hawaii for a whopping 4 full days?! o_O this can not be...all this money and all this time travelling and we only get to be there for 4 days?! i was crestfallen...this won't work...so we had to go back to the drawing board..

note: for a shortish honeymoon like 6 days i think Oahu would be really great... you can do hiking in diamond head, visit the dole plantation, see pearl harbor, go to a luau, lay out on the beach, play by the pool, snorkel, surf... SO MUCH TO DO and it would be a pretty good time me thinks..not to mention you probably won't have to worry too much about the food situation for picky eaters...Alas, Halekulani and we are not meant to be this time around... maybe a 1st anniversary trip would be still doable?