Did I feel the special feeling where you cry and say “YES!!!!” to the dress?
YES! But it didn’t happen quickly and easy…
I went to 9 different bridal shops before I said “Yes to the dress!!!”
I went to my first bridal shop and I tried on 3 dresses but at this bridal shop I wasn’t allowed to try on dresses I wanted to try on, only dresses the consultant thought would look good on me and some that she thought I would hate to show that the one she loved was the one I should get. I tried one on and I loved it but I only think I loved it because EVERYONE else loved it and not because I loved it for myself. So I didn’t say yes but I did go back to the shop and try on the dress again to see if my feelings changed… they didn’t I loved it but it just was not the “one” for me. So I began to do a lot more research on bridal shops!
I knew I wanted a more boho wedding dress. I knew I wanted it to be ivory (which is total opposite of what I got haha) and I knew my dress could not be an arm and a leg in price so I looked up wedding bridal shops near me that sell boho dresses for reasonable prices. My parents and I went to 3 Bridal Shops in one day and tried on probably 20 dresses and at this point I just thought maybe I will never feel the spark that other girls do when they find their “Perfect” dress! But then we went to Bacio Bacio in Wellington Florida and we tried on 10 different dresses and I was exhausted. I went in with photos of dresses I loved and wanted to try on but there was one dress I had on my phone and didn’t ask to try on. As I was trying on dresses one of the consultants brought in a dress and it was the dress THAT I HAD SAVED ON MY PHONE AND WAS TOO SCARED TO ASK FOR (scared because it was out of my comfort zone) so I was like okay maybe this is a sign. I try on the other dresses and didn’t love any but then I tried on THE DRESS! And wow I don’t cry over things but I put on the dress and instantly felt beautiful and instantly saw myself getting married in this dress! My eyes watered and my parents loved it but…. it wasn’t a traditional dress, it wasn’t completely conservative and it wasn’t ivory! So my parents had to “think about it” They were gifting my dress so of course I had to respect their opinion. We tried on more dresses at other bridal shops and we all just knew that the dress I loved was the one from Bacio Bacio! So we made another appointment and went back! We made it back to the bridal shop, I put it on and said YES!!!! I love this dress so much and I am so happy I am able to say this was the dress I was able to marry the love of my life on and will be able to show my kids that this is the dress I wore ♥️♥️
I wrote a Blog called My wedding Vendors where I talk about all my amazing vendors and how amazing this bridal shop was during my wedding dress appointment!
If you have any wedding dress questions I would love to answer them!
AHHH…. IT FEELS SO GOOD TO FINALLY SAY I WENT TO SEATTLE, WA!!! I say that because this was a surprise christmas present for my boyfriend Ryan! Seattle has been on his bucket list for years and I love traveling and looking for cheap plane tickets and found some and book them without telling him. We went to the airport and I have known about this trip for a month Ryan thought we were going to Colorado only BUT we got to the airport and I printed out a ticket and asked him to read it in which he found out!!!! He cried I cried it was great then began out 8 and a half hour travel day!!! WATCH RYAN’S REACTION HERE ON MY VLOG CHANNEL!!!
We got to Seattle at 12:00pm Seattle time and as soon as we arrived we rented a car through the app called TURO. We picked up the car and check in our hotel, The Hyatt in Renton next to Lake Washington. By the way the Hotel was BEAUTIFUL!!!! It is a brand new hotel we paid $130 a night and it is near so many food places and things to do, they have a plaza called The landing that has EVERYTHING!!! Not to mention all the hotel employees learned my name and always took the extra mile to make us happy and feeling at home. It was so peaceful and is on Lake Washington. I was in love with this city and would recommend taking a visit!
However, as soon as we dropped off our bags we headed to Everett, WA which was less than an hour north of Renton. Everett is the home to FUNKO! Funko is the company that creates the collectibles called POP! figures. My boyfriend is a huge fanatic and knows the store managers and people all over the world that also collect. This was the main reason for this surprise trip!!! So we got to the store and Ryan went on a shopping spree!!! BUT then the store Manager gave us a huge behind the scenes tour!!! This office is the most magical fun office ever!!! They have slides to go down every floor, they have a private gym, arcade, and bowling alley!!! Who wouldn’t want to work there!!!
We bowled and hung out at the Funko store all night!!! Special thanks again to the Funko community for their hospitality!!! After our visit we just went back to the hotel to catch up on sleep and get ready for the next day!
Our next day was our last full day in Seattle! We first woke up and headed to Pike’s Place! We ate at a restaurant right next to Pike’s Place Fish Co that had the most unbelievable view ever!!!! The food was okay but the view was everything and more!!!
After, we walked around all 5 floors of the market before heading to the gum wall which is to the left of Pike’s Place when you first enter the Public Market! We added a Polaroid and our gum to the gum wall and took photos like any tourist would haha!
After our gum experience we walked over to the first EVER Starbucks!!! The store is small and there is supposedly always a line but we got lucky, however, a tip when you go is do not waste time look at the cups and souvenirs because they give you a brand new one at the cashier desk and they have a menu of all the souvenirs that they have in the store so as soon as you get there just get in line!
We then went to the Space Needle, which is under renovations so it is not a full 360 view but is deff worth the view of the city, mountains and lake!!!
We had so much fun in this city and can not wait to come back to see more!!!
People who were not wearing masks in picture took it off just for a photo and right back on.. which I do not know if allowed but they were a safe distance.
Today I had the pleasure of attending the cast member previews with my best friend and her boyfriend! Now listen, I am the worlds biggest worrier EVER! I am terrified of everything but I told my self I will not say no to any opportunity that came my way and within two hours I had to decide to go to Orlando and go to MK for the day or wish I would of said Yes and stayed home. So I researched how safe it would be and let me say, experiencing it confirmed what was said was going to happen was true because I felt extremely safe and here’s why…
So again this was cast members only and very limited amount were allowed in, they had to reserve a spot in order to get into the park. So the park was extremely quiet! All the rides had little or no wait time!
So before you enter the park you must get your temperature scanned and cleared. You then go into security, which are Metal detectors, and when entering them you do not remove your bags, just walk through it with everything on you.
Every cast member is wearing a mask and face shield as well! Also every entrance and exit of a ride, restaurant, etc. had a hand sanitizer dispenser and/or a hand washing station throughout the park.
They were sanitizing rides and social distancing everywhere! Including parking!!! No cars can park next to each other at the same time so families can keep their distance. Also trams are not working so plan to walk a little bit! They had tape everywhere to allow distance. Also rides were empty allowing one party per car. For example splash mountain, space mountain etc. we had our own log! On the Buzz lightyear ride, there was no one 10 cars in front of us and no one behind us for a mile! Haunted mansion, they are not doing the room experience and are doing every other car and stopping to sanitize. The park was completely distant from each other and also only allowing a certain amount of people into stores at a certain amount of time with one entrance and one exit.
They are also social distancing with the monorails and have a shield in between the cars, along with ride lines, they also have plastic shield to separate the lines.
Shield is seen behind me!
In order to eat, you must order your food through the My disney experience app and then you will get a notification on when your food is ready. You then go to the station and pick up the food and go to a social distanced table inside or outside the restaurant. They are also limiting the number of guests and watching to make sure you have your mask on. Only allowing people to take their masks off when food is present.
Now the mask! I for sure thought I was going to be extremely uncomfortable wearing a mask in Florida especially during the summer. But I’m not going to lie… it really was not that bad!!! I think the excitement of being in the park took my mind off my face. But I wore a heavy mask and didn’t feel uncomfortable once.
I was extremely impressed with Disney. I know this was only cast members and there was a super low amount of people but I was extremely impressed and didn’t get near anyone and didn’t feel like I put myself or others in danger. Which is extremely impressive if I feel like this because again if you know me I’m the worlds biggest worrier about anything and everything! I honestly felt more in danger going to Walmart and target than I did today at Disney.
In my opinion, have fun, be safe, stay hydrated, put on a cute mask and follow the guidelines to have fun!
So grateful my bff invited me for a day of magic! Hope this helps you if you plan on going to Disney Post Covid! If you have any questions do not be afraid to ask!
Hi Everyone! Welcome back to my Blogs where I want to share more of what I have learned! Today’s topic is… Podcasts! If you do not know my husband and I recently started a Podcast! Our Podcast name is FYLO, short for “Figuring Your Life Out.” Because we are a young married couple slowly figuring ours lives out together.
Before starting my podcast I always thought it would cost loads of money. Do not get me wrong, you can invest into your Podcast as much as you want to but you do not have to if you are just getting started. So that is why I am going to tell you, how you can start a Podcast of your own with zero dollars!
So first, Write down a Podcast Plan. What Topics will you talk about? Are these topics that you can come up with a new podcast every week. Will you do weekly podcasts, monthly, or daily? You can write out your podcast plan and this will help you with step 2.
Step 2, you want to come up with your Podcast name! Think of something unique, relatable and can picture it on Merchandise. If you love it stick with it! However, you then want to make sure their are no other Podcasts with the same name!
Once you have your name you want to create a cover photo for your podcast! This is what you will see when you upload your podcast and what they will stare at while listening to your podcast. This is something you can invest money into if you would like too. Ryan and I decided we wanted to invest into this, as we wanted it to be something BOLD. So we decided to support a friend and a local artist @barsnetti on IG! HE IS AMAZING AND SO SO TALENTED IN HIS CRAFT! However, You do not have to spend anything for this cover photo. You can go to photoshop and draw something or any adobe app honestly… or use canva.com and create a completely free photo to use as the cover.
Next, you have to decide where you want to host your Podcast! There are so many options. If you decide you want to also film your podcast, Youtube would be your main source to upload video Podcasts. However, keep your eyes open and ready as Spotify is going to start to using video podcasts. But for now audio podcasts can be hosted on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Etc. Ryan and I use Anchor! Anchor is like the one stop shop for podcasts. You just have to tell Anchor where you want it to be uploaded and BOOM you are done. You can add music and edit directly in Anchor as well! It is amazing!
So now you have a name, cover photo, a hosting site and now you need to start RECORDING!!! The best and most exciting part of having a Podcast!
So you may be asking me, “Andrea, don’t you need a $100S worth of Microphones to start a Podcast?” The answer is no! You can use what you have and use everyday… Your Phone! Yes you can record on your Phone using Voice Memos! We’ve tested the quality of a Mic and our iphones and found it so much easier to record on our iPhone than it was on the Mics and honestly the quality sounds almost the same if not better. Once we are done recording I do take the mp3 file and put it into Adobe Audition and put a MutiCompressor called Broadcast on the mp3 file. I feel like this adds to the already good quality and just makes it clearer and better! Again, it is not needed but it is what I do.
So once you have a name, a cover photo, hosting site, and started recording… It is time to post your first Podcast!!!
If you are just starting your Podcast! Have fun, be yourself and get excited to start a community of listeners. Make sure to Comment on this blog post what your Podcast name is so we can all listen and DM me on IG @Jaraandrea and @Fylopodcast . Can not wait to listen to them all! I truly believe Podcasting is the new wave of entertainment and education.
Hope you learned something new from this and do not forget to be you and be happy!
We had our first special GUEST on this Podcast Episode, Andrea's Dad! We talk all about College. Our experiences, Regerts, My Father having a child who went to college and kids who have chosen not to go to college and his beliefs! The world is ever changing and we discuss our opinions on the ever changing world and the "Need" To have a degree or not have a degree. This is an open conversation and we hope you enjoy!
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fylo/support
Andrea talks on her Journey of how she started her Boutique and the steps you can take to start your Business!
Welcome to a part of my world! I recently started my own Boutique called Motishops https://motishops.com/ and I have gotten so many questions on how I started my own Boutique and how you can do it too!
First things first come up with a name! I came up with Motishops as I wanted to have Motivation some where in my store’s name. So Moti is short for Motivation and shops because I did not want to limit myself to only being able to sell one item or type of items. So what ever name you choose, you want to go to sunbiz.org and make sure no one already has your name or trademark!
If your name is taken then I am sorry… but it wasn’t meant to be and think of another powerful name! If your name wasn’t taken then you must register it and create your LLC.
Once you have an LLC, you want to create an EIN which you will need for everything Business related you fill out. I got my EIN on IRS.gov. Be careful as there are websites that will charge you hundreds of dollars to create an EIN and it is risky. I would suggest doing it directly through the IRS and it is free.
Now for the trickiest part of paper work that is needed to start a Boutique. You need a Reseller’s Permit from your state! This was the hardest part for me because I could not find it anywhere on how to specifically get this permit! So I went to https://taxapps.floridarevenue.com/TaxRegistration/ and filled out Florida Business Tax Application and they provide me with my permit which allows me to purchase wholesale and resell and file my state taxes.
After you have all 3 create a Business Email address! You can make a free Gmail with your business name.
After all 4 steps are completed, create a website! I first began my Boutique on Wix.com and after a month I decided its great but with the direction I want to go I wanted to try Shopify. Shopify connects to Instagram and Facebook and allows you to create advertisements and link your items directly on the social media accounts and photos. Shopify was actually cheaper and I love the layout of my website so much more than the original site! I only have had it for a week so I will talk more once I learn more!
So once you have everything set up it is time for you to start your Business! Take it where ever you want to go!
Good Luck with your future Business! Follow your dreams and do not give up!
Since I was a little girl, I always said Santorini was my DREAM destination. I always said that with the mindset that it will never happen… that it was never achievable. That it probably cost thousands and thousands of dollars… AND MAN WAS I WRONG!
If you do not know me, I am terrified of flying. Yes I have an airplane tattoo and that’s just a reminder that I can do anything I put my mind to. But Ryan and I knew if we were going to Europe for our Honeymoon, we were going to make it a trip that would last a lifetime. I am also a super big “fly cheap” kind of person so I will find out if it is cheaper to fly from another City, Country, or etc. Hence why we flew to London to fly back to Miami, USA because rather than a $1,000+ flight from Athens, Greece to Miami. We paid $26 from Athens to London and then $200 to Miami.
So I found a $50 flight from Milan to Santorini, Greece. We flew Aegean Airline to Athens and then a small plane from Athens to Santorini. There is only one Airplane strip on the Island and a tiny airport with one luggage carrier pickup. We also noticed we did not go through any customs from Italy to Santorini. I also forgot to mention that in my Italy Blog… I never got a stamp from Italy because we never went through customs!
As soon as we got to Santorini the sun was beginning to set. We did not book a transfer to our hotel as we did not know how transportation was going to be as many people we know have never flown to the island. So as soon as you leave the airport you will see a few pop up tourism buildings. The best way I can describe Santorini is like being on a cruise. Everyone on the island is hired to work for 9 months straight and then have 3 months off for off season. But… we went to the transfer booth and asked about the transfer to our hotel which was in the city of Oia, the city of the best sunsets. This was about a 30 min drive to the other side of the island. We paid $45 for a private transfer round trip to the hotel and back to the airport. Our driver was the same person there and back and was extremely helpful and kind. We were dropped off at the tourism center where we had to check into our hotel.
When we checked in we were then greeted by a extremely nice gentleman and his dog Roxy, who wasn’t his dog but you will see the island is filled with dogs and cats EVERYWHERE! They seemed to all be extremely taken care of and are allowed in most stores. They helped us carry our bags to our hotel as it was a 10 min walk up and down flights and flights of stairs. The whole island is stairs as it is mostly cave like buildings. We got to our hotel and BOOM! No power! They were experiencing their second power outage on the island. We traveled there mid November which is just about when offseason is going to begin which I did not even know was a thing as well before our trip. When we got there a lot was closed but there were a lot that was opened. The island was pretty empty compared to what you see and read on the island. We did not have to wait to enter any restaurant, bar, or store. We got the best seat in the house, with the best views on the decks. It did not rain but twice late at night the whole trip. We ate at beautiful restaurants and I literally can not say one thing negative about anything I had ate or drank. Even the apple juice was the best!!! They say they grow everything on the island which is how they get the sweetest and greatest flavors.
Restaurant Recommendations-
Our Hotel had the best view and hot tub and was my favorite part of the whole trip! We stayed in the honeymoon suite and was greeted with a note and a bottle of wine! One thing to also remember when traveling to Santorini is since it is an island plumbing is different and difficult. You can not flush ANYTHING! Not even toilet paper… which is really hard to remember when you are half asleep to not throw it in the toilet when you’ve been raised your whole life to do so… So yes it is disgusting but they provide you a trashcan that is inclosed for you to throw away anything. Our hotel provided a coffee bar every morning. We had our own table and hot tub but the hotel also had a beautiful deck with huge chairs and two in ground infinity life pools with an amazing view for all guests to enjoy as well! Our hotel was literally in the center of Instagram photoshoot EVERYONE came a few steps from hotel to take their IG pics with the beautiful water and white and blue churches. Which we also learned on our tour that the churches are blue on top to represent the heavens.
We decided in order to see the rest of the island, as Oia is on the other side of the island and Fria was more in the middle, and that the only way to see the Red and Black beach on the other side was to take a bus tour! We booked it at the same place we checked into our hotel which was at the tourism center. Which I forgot to mention the tourism center is also filled with convenience stores, restaurants and bars. We booked it and a Big Private A/C Short VW Tour bus came and picked us up! We were the only ones at the Oia Bus Stop and was the first of passenger pick ups. We picked up the rest of the passengers which was a lot of fun as the tour guide had everyone introduce ourselves and see where everyone was from we had people from Jamaica, UK, Ireland, America, Canada it was really awesome to get to know everyone and their cultures and come together as a tour group to make our experience the best! Our first stop was at the highest point of the island. We went up a huge mountain and was able to get out of the bus and see the whole island from this point, which was extremely awesome to do!
Our next stop was to the oldest city in Santorini, Greece that was preserved into a museum that you are able to even walk through! This was fun as Ryan is 6’3 and the Greeks are known to be short, our tour guide said the tallest greek person is usually 5’2 which is what I am. So all the doors Ryan had to duck under haha! This was a lot of fun and was an extra $6 but worth it to see original history of the city!
Our next stop after was to the Black Sand Beach, the black sand is made from lava which makes the sand warm! We were able to eat at a nice beach restaurant where Ryan was able to try Greek Octopus! We played in the sand and water after and then headed to one of the world famous Wine Museums! We were able to try Greek Dessert Wine which is what they are mostly know for as their grapes are grown to be sweet and they build unique nest like vines. After our tasting we were able to go into an underground Wine museum where you can visually see how they produce their wine and also purchase wine to bring home. When ever you are drinking wine in Greece they always say “Yamas” which basically means “Cheers!” before every drink or meal!
I really enjoyed this trip and the last stop was Oia which is where we stay anyways but for those not staying in Oia they were able to experience the world’s best sunset! I would highly recommend this tour. It was very well paced and we were able to explore at times at our pace rather than feel like we were being dragged along, very personable and worth it. It was $22 but worth every minute! The tourism center offers different tours all the time as well, for example, they also had a volcano tour as well! Just do your research and make a list of must haves and see what season they are offered at in Santorini. Our main goal was to relax which I think we were able to achieve.
On one of our last days we decided to go down the 300 steps which this is where you can go to see the beautiful sunset if you do not have a villa facing the water. We went down and we decided to walk it ourselves, you can get a donkey but we did not want to do so as they are kinda abused. We walked down and all it was is restaurants and a pier. We just sat down and enjoyed the view and then struggled on the way back up haha We got ice cream to make it worth it as well.. which to me Greece had better Ice cream and Pizza than Italy.
We made friends with lots of locals who worked at stores and restaurants and felt like we were at a home away from home. I can not wait to one day go back to Santorini and even though we went on an offseason with everything not completely open I completely loved it as it was quiet, romantic and wasn’t interrupted by thousands of tourists.
Remember we are two recent college grads and we paid for our honeymoon ourselves. We researched cheap flights and flew to Italy to go to Greece, you do not have to pay $3K to get to this island just be smart and you can travel on a budget!
Hope you enjoyed and if you have any questions I may of not had answered in this Blog I would love to try my best to answer it!
Hope you one day can experience this beautiful Island!!!
It has always been a dream of mine to go to Italy and specifically go with my husband! Movies always showed Italy to be Romantic and Rome to be the city of love. I found extremely cheap tickets to go after our wedding. So we booked our $150 ticket on Air Portugal from Miami to Rome and head off to Italy before our week in Greece.
I would recommend this airline and we paid for extra legroom since Ryan is 6’3 and needs all the room he can get! Luggages, Food and wifi were all included in the price for economy.
Our flight to Italy was a breeze! We had one quick lay over in Lisbon, Portugal and then landed in Rome, Italy. When we got to Rome, our luggages were in a whole separate terminal so we had to walk and try to figure out where our luggages were and after an hour we found them! We took our taxi to our hotel into the beautiful Vatican city. The hotel we stayed at was Suites Giulia and was in an amazing location.
Our first day we spent the day napping and getting adjusted to the time change. We went out for Dinner and Gelato and went right back to sleep.
The next day we started our Journey of exploring! We took an uber which I believe is now illegal in Europe but was the easiest way for us to get the train/bus station in the heart of Rome where we needed to get to our Bus. Which fun fact we found out even though it says you have to get on the bus for the first time at the Bus station you actually can start at what ever stop is closest to you. We got on the Bus went to the colosseum and waited for our tour time! We decided to do a tour because you can skip the LONG lines and when I say long it was hours long and we went during the end of season travel. So extra money is so worth it. We waited and we showed up 30 mins early to check in and found out you had to be there 45 mins early and they wouldn’t let us on the tour. They rescheduled our trip and we got an even better tour as they added the Palatine Hill and Gladiator Area and Walk through the Loser gate. We began to wait for the next tour time which was only an hour and a half later but I began to feel extremely sick. I have never felt so fatigue and sick to my stomach. I have never wanted to faint or felt dizzy in my entire life. We went to the check-in counter and explained to them how I felt and they reschedule us again for the next morning. We quickly called an uber and headed back to our hotel. We ate Tums, ate a meal and slept for hours. After sleeping I began to feel like myself again and we decided to continue exploring. We walked to our closest bus stop and headed to the Spanish steps, Fountain of Trevi and walking around the whole city before we went to Dinner.
The next day we spent going to the Colosseum and the Vatican. We did not do the Skip the line tour for Vatican or the Sistine Chapel. The line looked long but it was only because no matter where you go in Italy you will go through extreme security. Most places you have to be wearing proper clothing, can not carry weapons, can not bring in liquids, must take jackets off and go through metal detectors. We waited in line for 20 mins and the line moved extremely quickly. We then walked to the Sistine chapel to go and see the famous Michelangelo painting. Which is about a 20 min walk from the Vatican that turned into a 2 hour walk for Ryan and I as we got lost and because of the language barrier it hard to ask for directions. Once you enter the Sistine Chapel it was hard for us to get around the crowds and explore in our paste, also the Museum is HUGE!!! Bring your student IDs, yes even from America or any country, as you can get a discounted ticket. Once you make it to the famous painting at the end of the museum, You can not take photos of the famous painting and they will have security everywhere watching and yelling at people who do.
… Now for my favorite part of Italy Florence!
Florence, Italy
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Florence! It has romance, kind people, shopping on every corner. It is a city where you can feel safe walking around and exploring. Amazing foods and views! We stayed at Palazzo Alfieri Residenza D’Epoca Alfieri Collezione and they kindly upgraded us when they found out we were on our Honeymoon to the Executive Suite and gave us free Breakfast! I mean it when I say the SWEETEST PEOPLE WORKED HERE! The room had an amazing waterfront view and was the perfect location to be in it was directly in the middle of the city! We were able to walk everywhere!!! We also found out that Florence is where Gucci is made, which is the reason they have so many Gucci stores and the Gucci Museum and Cafe! Ryan and I obviously had to purchase and when I say that I mean Ryan convinced me that we deserved it for all the work we have done and as graduation gifts haha Gucci as it is also cheaper since it is where it is manufactured and since we are Americans we get our Tax money back as they include tax in all their prices.
No matter what you buy in Europe… SAVE YOUR Receipts! once you are at the airport about to leave any place in Europe to go back to the states you can go to the exchange desk and get back your Tax money. We got back $300 and we didn’t even save everything. Pro tip is though they will ask to see the items you want to receive money back on.
We decided to go on a Wine tour!!! The tour was a small group, on a small private A/c Tour bus and it was the best! The bus was comfortable, had wifi and the tour guide Leo was extremely entertaining and knowledgable! We learned that almost everyone in Florence speaks english and Rome is one of the only places that speak Italian. Every city is almost a different language speaking city.
We also visited the Duomo and the Accademia Gallery where we got to see the Statue of David!
The whole city is literally beautiful and filled with restaurants that are authentic and beautiful unlike Rome where you mostly eat outside under a tent.
Restaurant Recommendation:
Venice, Italy
We were only in Venice for a day. We got off the train and walked to our hotel (A/C Marriott) which was only a one big bridge and one small bridge from the train station we did not need to take a water taxi or walk miles of stairs and bridges to get there. I spoke to a friend before going to Venice and did not realize how it is not easy to get around venice. So be aware where you book your hotel because you will have to carry your suitcases up and down stairs/bridges for miles to get to your hotel. Venice is like one big circle as well! We arrived in the morning, checked into our hotel and walked around the big circle till we got back to the hotel and got ready for Dinner. We went to an “exclusive” reservations only restaurant called Hostaria Osotioosopra and it was delicious!!! We noticed it was raining which is why we bought an umbrella from Rome with us as it was rainy there as well. However, we noticed that earlier in the day we saw EVERYONE with bags on their feet and rain boots on and they have a portable elevated flooring kind of like a stage but literally throughout the WHOLE city. We did not realize, nor were we told by anyone, that the city was about to FLOOD! As we were walking back to our hotel, the same route we just took to get to Dinner was completely flooded!!! We had to take a different route with bridges and such and made it back but… We spent the next hour in our hotel blow drying our shoes dry so we didn’t have to pack wet shoes. So the next morning we decided okay the city is flooded we saw what we came to see.. besides go on a gondola which I was SO excited about until I saw it in person and realized it was nothing like the movies due to the weather the water was extremely rough and you can see the captains were struggling and no one seemed to be enjoying the experience so we decided to use the cash we took out to buy souvenirs for our family. We decided to book a last minute trip to Milan, Italy. We booked a stay at the Milan Airport which we were flying out of to go to Greece anyways so we decided let’s explore the city a little!
Milan, Italy
Milan is filled with stores you would see in America. It was a little bit of fresh air. Starbucks and Uniqlo and the beautiful Duomo !!! We ended the night of shopping by getting gelato and then headed to the Hotel which was an hour train and bus ride back to the hotel. While we got on the train I was randomly selected by Italian police, 4 Military members and a cop approached me and asked for my passport and questions of where I am from and where am I going and what I am doing in Milan. Once they got word from their boss that I was cleared they got off the train and we were off to our stay at the Moxy Hotel in the Milan Airport! This is a Marriott hotel and was extremely clean, up to date with technology, modern looking and had good quick food that you can heat up and eat!
What I learned about Italy and would suggest to anyone going to Italy.
First tip: Study and ask anyone if they have been to Italy and ask what they suggest to eat in that city! Trust me you want to find these authentic restaurants. Do not waste your time just going into a restaurant to eat just because trust me it is not worth it!
Always carry your passport with you! They literally have military everywhere and like stated before I was randomly selected to be checked, don’t know why but I was.
Do the HOP ON HOP OFF BUS in Rome!!!
and Have Fun!!!
Hope you enjoyed the Blog about my trip to Italy!!! Hope it helps you on your next Italy trip!
Up next is our Blog about Magical Dream of a Trip to Greece!
Hi everyone, I wrote a few wedding blogs that will be coming out this week along with Honeymoon blogs! I wanted to start off with all our wedding photos! I hope you enjoy and a HUGE shout out to Ana Lara Cruz for being the best photographer ever ever ever! Next blog will be all about our vendors and venue!
