History of the Honeymoon. I started planning our honeymoon in Jan. 2004 while I was in London for work. All of my plans were made in 'top secret' and remained that way until the day after the wedding.

I looked into various trips such as re-positional cruises and transcontinental rail trips. But the idea I liked best was a trip around the world. The first thing I had to decide was where we should go. I remembered various places Elizabeth had talked about wanting to go, and put a list together. I checked the major airlines for rates on their RTW (Round the World) tickets, but the lowest fare came from a consolidator, AirTreks. I told the travel agent that I didn't want to purchase the tickets until after I proposed in April. After she agreed to marry me, I finalized our air tickets and over the next several months I planned every detail of the trip as far as getting there, staying there, and getting around. I kept my plans "top secret", by keeping everything at work. Thinking that Elizabeth might try to uncover my plans (she's kind of curious), I planned a second diversionary honeymoon. That way, if Elizabeth were to discover my 'plans' she would find a fully planned trip for three weeks in Iceland.

October 24th. The morning after our wedding, we had breakfast in our hotel room. My original plans were to tell Elizabeth where we were going after we got on the airplane. She knew we were flying to Chicago, but after that had no idea. But by the time breakfast was over, she had convinced me to tell her where we were headed (something about packing lighter if she knew where we were going.) So I gave in and handed Elizabeth a gift wrapped book, which I said was our destination. She opened it to find a Lonely Planet guide to Iceland. Elizabeth was quite surprised, although excited, as she "never would have considered Iceland". After a minute or so, I fessed up and told her we weren't really going to Iceland, instead were taking a trip around the world.

I gave Elizabeth five Lonely Planet guides, all wrapped individually, each one for a different stop on our trip: Paris, Bangkok, Sydney, Fiji, and Maui. I had considered only letting her know each location before we went there, but after nine months of planning, I couldn't keep the secret any longer (hence my quickly giving in to her pleas to know at breakfast!) By the time Elizabeth opened the last guide she was crying with joy.

Finally Elizabeth understood why I kept telling her the temperature could be between 50-90F. Due to various restrictions throughout the trip, we were only allowed 44 lb of luggage each including our carry-on bags, so before we left the hotel, true to her word, Elizabeth unpacked some of her cold weather clothes and packed more warm weather instead. We checked out of the Omaha Sheraton and traveled to the airport in a vintage Rolls Royce.

Our first stop was Chicago O'Hare. Upon arriving, we went to the gate and checked to see if we could be upgraded to first class. I had been doing everything I could to make sure we had the necessary miles in order to get upgraded(including eating Eggo waffles for breakfast every morning for weeks to get the 1,000 miles on the back of every box!) Thankfully, we did the upgrade, and soon boarded our overnight flight to Paris.

October 25th. After landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport, we met our driver took us to the hotel. Our hotel was on the Ile Saint Louis, a small island in the middle of the Seine River, and very near the Norte Dame Cathedral (which we soon found out was visible from our hotel room window.) We stayed at Hotel de Lutèce until Friday.

We managed to get an early check in, which is great when you get off an overnight flight. Our room was small, cozy, and located on the top floor, which gave us a beautiful view of Paris from the window. The lift was so small only two people could fit in it at a time. The staff delivered our luggage by putting it in the lift, then running up the stairs to meet it at our floor.

We decided the best way to get acquainted with Paris was to take a tour. So from our hotel, we took a short walk over a foot bridge to the Notre Dame, where we "hopped on" an open top tour bus (the kind that allows you 24 hours to hop on and off at as many stops as you'd like.) The first place we "hopped off" was at the Academie Nationale de Musique (also known as the National Opera House). This famous opera house is where the Phantom of the Opera is said to take place.

Before touring the Opera House, we were both in desperate need of food! So we walked into the first cafe we found. This was our one, and only, experience in France with having a rude waiter. When we asked for more water, he brought us our bill (yes, he understood English--he spoke fluently.) But, it didn't ruin our day--it was just another experience we get to remember from our honeymoon! After lunch, we walked through the Opera House, which is absolutely beautiful, and then hopped back on our tour bus.

It seemed that about half the time on the bus was spent in this one crazy intersection near the Champps Elysses. The bus route was such that the tour managed to go through this intersection after almost every attraction. We got off the bus again at the Eiffel Tower. We didn't climb the Tower (a minimum 2 hour wait was enough of a discouragement!), but we walked around the base and had fun taking lots of pictures and watching the crowds of people.

Once again we boarded our bus to continue the tour. This time when the bus got caught in the crazy intersection, we gave up. We got off and took the Metro back to the hotel!

October 26. Tuesday we decided to "take it easy" and go shopping (who said shopping with a woman in Paris is "taking it easy"?!) We ate at a couple of typical Parisian cafes, and walked around various parts of the city. That evening we got dressed up and went on a dinner cruise on the Seine. The cruise was wonderful. The food was great and we got to see the 'city of lights' at night.

October 27. Today we discovered that we could have breakfast brought to our room for only 10€ per person (we slept through breakfast the day before!) We received coffee, tea, croissants, bread, & jam. The coffee was some of the best I've ever had, as were the croissants, but then, what do you expect in Paris?. After breakfast we went to the Louvre, the largest museum in the world. We took a 'highlights' tour, which showed us a few of the more famous pieces in the museum, including the Mona Lisa. But alas, no success in finding the inverted pyramid or other such claims from The Da Vinci Code (which Elizabeth was excited to see what she could prove or disprove from the book at the museum.) However, I should clarify, she doesn't necessarily believe some of the claims aren't true, she just gave up out of exhaustion and decided she'd have to be satisfied with wondering. The Louvre is quite overwhelming, and a lot of standing/walking, so we chose a less 'strenuous' activity: we saw the movie Wimbledon at a nearby movie theater. It was in English with French subtitles.

October 28. We got up early and boarded a train for Disneyland Paris. It is about an hour outside the city. The first thing we noticed about Disneyland: everything is in English. This was great for us of course, but the French didn't seem as quite as appreciative. Unbeknownst to us, this week happened to be a break for the school children, so the park was packed with kids (think 2 hour waits for Dumbo.) The park was very similar in layout to Disneyland California or the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, except much smaller and much smokier.

October 29. After checking out of the hotel, we took the train to the airport. Parts of Charles de Gaulle airport are very nice, but we found the terminal serving the different ethnic airlines to be rather plain and primitive. We took an overnight flight on Thai Air to Bangkok.

October 30. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Bangkok our hotel room wasn't quite ready for us, so we dropped our bags off and headed to the "weekend market". This market is where the local people shop. Elizabeth found some 'tropical weather' clothes & I purchased a "Ralph Lauren" shirt and some "Birkenstock" sandals. We took a taxi from the hotel to the market. The ride was about 15 minutes and cost 75 baht, or about $2 USD. On the way back we tried our luck with the Sky Train. This is an above ground subway, much like the Air Train which takes you to JFK airport in NYC. The nice thing was the air conditioning, so we were able to cool off a bit. Unfortunately, it was a small trek from the nearest stop to our hotel, which probably seemed longer than it was considering the heat and humidity--and our lack of sleep! Once back at the hotel, our jet lag finally caught up with us--we took a 6 hour nap. Elizabeth was the first to awaken and she set out to explore the hotel. Her first and only discovery was the hotel spa. She returned to our room to inform me we would be having a massage later that evening, but not to worry, it would only cost us $8/each for 1 hour. Elizabeth now wants to move to Thailand and hire a full time masseur!

>October 31. Back in the States today is 'Halloween'. Here you wouldn't know it, (except for the rather odd party we happened upon at the club in our hotel.) Tonight we found the flower market--Elizabeth had read about it in the guide book and wanted to go. It was a wholesale market, where the growers sell to the local shop owners. I saw more flowers in one place than I think I have in my entire life. For the average person like us, you can just stop by and pick up a bundle (4-5 dozen) long stem roses for less than $1. The only hard part of the night was finding a taxi driver who would actually take us to the market. Every taxi driver wants to take you to some place where they can get a commission. Sometimes they want to take you to a jewelry store, and other times they try to take you to a 'sexy show'.

November 1. We took a tour of the Royal Palace (this is the Palace where 'The King & I' takes place). Before the tour, we saw several traditional Thai dances in authentic costumes. In the afternoon, we went to 'IT City', a five story mall full of electronic stores. It kind of reminded us of an electronics show--where representatives from different companies are giving presentations on their newest products. We thought about buying a digital SLR camera, but found the prices were about the same as here in the US. Walking back to the hotel bought pineapple from a street vender--it was some of the best pineapple we've ever had. For dinner, we took a cruise on the river. It was quite a beautiful river cruise as many of the Wats (Buddhist Temples) were lit up. We ended the night shopping at one last night market, where we bought silk pillows, handmade paper lamps and other souvenirs for friends and family.

November 2. We got an early start for our last day in Bangkok. We found a cab driver outside our hotel and asked him to take us to the Sheraton Hotel. Near the Sheraton is a boat dock where I wanted to get on a long boat (see my note below). The taxi driver informed us that the Sheraton was closed because "the prince is there today". We told him to take us as close as he could. He said ok, but when we got into the taxi, he said "I'm sorry, my meter is broken. . .I will just charge you 200 baht for the trip" (this is about three times what the fare should have been, so we got out of the cab!) We found another taxi a few minutes later who took us there no problem--and go figure, the Sheraton wasn't closed!.

Once at the boat dock, we chartered a long tailed boat to take us up the river. A long boat is the boat James Bond drove in The Man with a Golden Gun. We took the boat up the river to visit one of the largest Wat's, which is called the Golden Wat--everything, inside and out is made of solid gold. It's really quite an impressive sight. Once we got there, we found out it was closed for a private ceremony. In this case, it really was closed (though we've been told since then, it wasn't really closed, it was just another scam--guess we'll have to go back someday and find out if it's still closed for that private ceremony!) Fortunately, there were plenty of tuk-tuk drivers who were happy to take us to a nearby Wat that was open. (A tuk-tuk is a three wheeled open air taxi which runs off of propane. They can move around traffic easier than a cab can, and are good for short trips, albeit sometimes a bit scary!)

Finally, we returned to the hotel, picked up our bags and headed to the airport. Our next flight would take us to Sydney. We flew on Vietnam Airlines, and changed planes in Ho Chi Min. The planes we nice and modern (we can't say as much for the 4 layer carbon copy printed tickets), but the flight attendants didn't seem overly thrilled to be serving us. When the person behind us wanted a drink (at 2am), they woke us up and told us to sit up. A few hours before landing in Sydney they were serving breakfast. When they got to us, they told us we had a choice of an egg omelet, or seafood rice, oh but wait, sorry, they were out of omelets. I ate both mine and Elizabeth's seafood rice that morning. I thought it was pretty good, but Elizabeth didn't think it was something she wanted to try for breakfast.

November 3. Sydney's airport is clean, modern, and efficient. We got through custom's and picked up our luggage in literally less than 15 minutes. We took a car from the airport to our hotel. Our experience at the Shangri La was fantastic. At 9:30 AM, our room wasn't quite ready for us, but they took us to the business center where we were able to take a shower, change clothes, and eat a normal breakfast--if only all overnight flights ended like that! We even watched a little bit of the US election coverage while eating breakfast. Our driver from the airport had recommended that we take a ferry to Manly Beach. The ferry terminal was just a few blocks from the hotel, and it took about 20 minutes to get to Manly. We saw the beach, had fish & chips for lunch and wandered in and out of some of the town shops, then headed back to Sydney Harbor. You'd think with only 24 hours in Sydney we'd try to take in as much as we could. We had lots of things planned, but in the end we rented European Vacation, ordered room service and watched the sun set over the Sydney Opera House & Sydney Harbor Bridge. Don't worry, we'll go back and see it all--it's high on the list of places to go!

November 4. Our stay at the Shangri La was so nice, neither one of us wanted to check out in the morning. But alas, we had a plane to catch! We took a train to the airport. It was a quick 15 minute ride, and the train lets you off inside the main terminal. We boarded an Air Pacific flight, and four hours later we landed in Nadi, Fiji. At the airport, a taxi driver met us and took us to a small port. At the port there was a boat waiting which loaded us and our luggage. We sped out into the dark ocean; 45 minutes later, we were met by a small fishing boat. We transferred from our boat to the smaller one, which took us right up to the beach of Wadigi Island (pronounced Wan Ding E).

The first person to welcome us, wasn't a person, but rather Boof, the island's dog. He was wearing a red lei and was excited to see us arrive. Shortly after meeting Boof, we met Tracey who along with her husband, own and run the island. She greeted us with a passion fruit drink and shell leis, gave us a brief tour, and told us all the things we could do while staying on Wadigi. By this time we were quite hungry, and were glad they had dinner prepared for us. Did I mention, we are the only 2 people staying on the island?

November 5. With so many choices of things to do, but only three days, it was hard to decide what to do first. We went down to our private beach and tried out the spy boards. This was the first time either one of us had seen such a thing. They are like a glass bottomed surf board. You can paddle around and look at the fish beneath you. We also soon learned the sun is very strong in Fiji. Ouch! Make sure you have plenty of sunscreen.

Later we took a trip to a neighboring island were Elizabeth got a manicure, and I read my book. When we finished, our boat captain, Tia, gave us a tour of his home and village. We got a chance to see their school, church, playground, and met a few of the local children. An interesting note: children go to school in their local villages until high school, then they all go the the mainland to attend boarding high schools.

When we got back to Wadigi we took a nap on the outdoor day beds. They have an amazing view of the ocean and are great for reading or napping. Elizabeth would've stayed there all day if I'd let her!

 

November 6th Tia, our boat captain took us out hand line fishing. I caught a number of small fish, but Elizabeth caught the only fish worth keeping. Our chef's cooked us the fish as an appetizer for dinner.You may want to know what kind of fish it was, but then again, so do we! The only answer we could get was "Uh, Wadigi Fish!"

We spent the afternoon relaxing in our infinity pool. That evening we were served a lobster dinner on the beach, with tiki torches as our light source.

November 7th We got an early start today, as it was our last day on the island. I went water skiing, which was amazing. The water was flat, clear, & blue. It's really quite a sight, seeing fish underneath you as you're gliding by! I made an attempt to wake board, but wasn't very successful. Later we went to a reef and snorkeled. What a blast! Our chef, Lai, joined us and it was quite funny, yet pretty impressive, to see him free dive 10-15 feet down and try to pull a lobster out of a hole by his whiskers! He wasn't successful this trip, but tells us this is how they often catch the lobsters in Fiji!

Today was Elizabeth's 26th birthday, and the chefs (Lai & Sai) prepared her a birthday cake. They often make wedding cakes, so they had no trouble creating a world class birthday cake. Not only were the chefs excellent bakers, they could also sing in perfect harmony! They serenaded Elizabeth with the Fijian version of "Happy Birthday".

Late in the afternoon the staff said goodbye and a helicopter came and took us back to the airport. Boof waved goodbye wearing a pink lei. Neither of us had ridden in a helicopter before, so it was an exciting experience. Elizabeth could see a sea turtle swimming below, unfortunately, we went by so fast I didn't get to see it. We took an overnight flight from Fiji to Hawaii.

November 7th (Again!) While in Fiji, Elizabeth had figured out that we were going to cross the International date line between Fiji and Hawaii. This meant we would have to set our clocks back one day, letting Elizabeth celebrate her birthday twice. After landing on Honolulu we took a short flight to Maui.

Once in Maui, we rented a Jeep and checked into The Grand Wailea Resort & Spa. The hotel and grounds were beautiful. The hotel was right on the beach, and had dozens of connected pools and water slides. Unfortunately, the service was very lacking. We had a terrible time getting into our room, and the first room they tried to put us into had wet carpet. Oh well, I guess we just have more stories to tell from our honeymoon!

November 8th We checked out of the hotel and went to the grocery store to pick up a few days worth of food. We got on the Road to Hana and headed to the far side of the island. Just outside of Hana we checked into a tree house, yes a tree house, where would we stay for the next couple of days. We didn't get there until after dark, so we had a small adventure just finding the place. The tree house was the real deal, hidden deep in the jungle, and built up in a large tree. Below the tree house was a small stove and make shift kitchen. There wasn't electricity, so everything was lit by torch or candle.

November 9th From the tree house we were only a short drive to various waterfalls, trails and pools in the area. We spent the day on hiking, swimming, and driving on the narrow road around Hana. The natural vegetation was beautiful. We had a picnic on the beach and ice cream at a local shop.

 

November 10th Though we were scheduled to stay in Hana another day, we decided to leave the tree house and head to Lahaina. We took the longer route and completed the full circle of the island. Along our way, we stopped by a coffee shop where everything was solar powered. Elizabeth ordered a smoothie, but I had to power the blender-by riding a bike! Once we got to Lahaina, we checked into a bed & breakfast (except they no longer served breakfast) called the Lahaina Inn. With or without breakfast, it was charming and decorated with antique Victorian furniture. That evening we decided to go to a luau. The 'authentic' luau was sold out, so we had to settle for one at the Marriott. The most enjoyable part of the show was getting to watch Elizabeth perform the huki-lau up on stage. (I think she's still a little annoyed at me for being so excited about this!)

November 11th We flew back to Oahu and checked into the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel on Waikiki Beach. They tried to upgrade us to a huge suite at the top floor of the hotel, but we declined because it overlooked the beach from about a block away! We wanted a room that was closer to the beach-what's the fun in having a hotel on the beach if you can't hear the waves slapping the sand?

Late in the afternoon we rented a large raft and headed into the water. It was great until one of us fell off (happened to both of us) and then had to drag the raft back to shore to get back on! Tonight we had dinner at one of the hotel restaurants on the beach. The food by normal standards I'm sure was quite good. Unfortunately, we were so spoiled with incredible food in Fiji, everything else paled in comparison.

November 12th I had stayed at this hotel before, and remembered they offered beginning surf lessons on the beach outside the hotel. The activities desk didn't want to tell us about it and kept trying to sell us some three hour surf school away from the hotel. Eventually we found out where to sign up, and when the classes were. We took a 9:00 AM class and both managed to get up on our boards. It was the first time either of us had been surfing, and was both really enjoyed it. We discovered the 'standing up' part is actually quite easy. It's figuring out catching the wave that's the hard part! Later that afternoon we went snorkeling.

November 13th We checked out of our hotel, rented a car, did some shopping and then went to Pearl Harbor. After seeing the USS Arizona, we did some more shopping and headed to another luau (I was determined to get Elizabeth to an authentic luau that didn't spend the entire time selling products!) This one was definitely better, and we were able to send some coconut 'postcards' to some friends back home. Although there was an opportunity, Elizabeth did not dance on stage at the luau.

After the luau we headed straight to the airport to catch our overnight flight to Seattle and onto New York. When we arrived, the airline told us our flight had left over 3 hours ago! We quickly checked our tickets, but they said it should be leaving in 2 hours (from the current time). They told us they had changed the flight time, but we had never been informed of the change--our travel agent hadn't even been informed. Fortunately, we were able to get on another flight that night, which took us back through San Francisco, Chicago Midway, and finally to New York.

November 14th Our flight landed in La Guardia around 5:00 PM. It was bittersweet homecoming--we had just completed our honeymoon, the trip of a lifetime which we both agree could've gone on forever, but when we arrived home a few hours later, we were greeted by two cats, very happy to see us and the realization we finally get to start our life together!