Honeymoon Hints (no, not that kind)
 

My future husband and I want to go to Italy, France, and Ireland for our June honeymoon. Does anyone know of any romantic places they enjoyed? Money is no object (relatively speaking). We are looking for some CLEAN hotels and special places. <BR>Thanks! <BR>Colleen <BR>

Hi Colleen: <BR>Can you give us some hints as to how long you were planning for your honeymoon??

In Italy, Venice(Romatic setting) and Rome (all of the fountains), in France the Rivera, Monaco, Ireland don't know.

Colleen, <BR> <BR>There have been a few discussions on Irish castles (mostly in the West of Ireland) on this forum, which should be easy to find with a search. In general, I think Relais and Chateaux hotels are really nice. <BR> <BR>For Italy, I will make my now-typical plug for Ravello and Villa Cimbrone - my favorite honeymoon place! <BR> <BR>One restaurant we didn't get to try (thus necessitating another trip!) was on the Amalfi Coast - Don Alfonso 1887 in Sant'Agata Due Golfi. If anyone has eaten there, I would love to hear about it. I know they make their own limoncello, and are supposed to have wonderful seafood - there was a review of their restaurant (with recipes) in _Food and Wine_ earlier this year, which could probably be found on their website, www.foodandwine.com. <BR> <BR>Congratulations, Colleen!

To me, the question is too broad-- maybe you can tell us what you like, and you'll probably get some better feedback. <BR>Do you like cities or prefer small towns? Do you want coastal regions or mountains? Do you like to do a lot of activities -- ie, museums-- or take it easy? <BR> <BR>My own preference is to do one country in a trip. Italy is such a perfect place for both cities and small towns as well as spectacular coastal regions, that I would choose to do the entire honeymoon there. <BR> <BR>I could see combining France with Italy: Paris, Provence, Riviera <BR>Florence/Tuscany, Venice, Rome <BR> <BR>but I still believe it's much better to spend the time in one country. Adding Ireland to the above seems way too much to me. After all, a honeymoon should be about taking it somewhat easy after the wedding, no? <BR>

My husband and I spent a romantic weekend at the Cashel House Hotel a couple of years ago, and I just saw a link for it on either att.com or msn.com's home page. Some web site listed it, along with Ashford Castle, as one of the most romantic resorts in the world. But it's not a resort in the traditional sense of the word. It's a small hotel. Great hosts (they leave you along unless you want to chat), nice bar (they brought me my beer on a silver platter!), ponies, tennis courts, beautiful gardens, quiet location. It's in Galway.

Collene <BR>Try some of the following web sites fr help on the Ireland part of your hooneymoon, <BR>www.ireland.travel.ie <BR>www.heritageireland.com - great information on heritage cards which allow access to most sites <BR>www.ryanair.ie - no frills cheap airline <BR>which flies to Italy and France <BR> <BR>Accommodation <BR>www.townandcountry.ie <BR>www.irishfarmholidays.com <BR>www.hidden-ireland.com, <BR>www.jurys.com <BR>www.templehouse.ie (excellent hosts - Debs & Sandy - wondeful olde world house) <BR>Some othe places to stay <BR>www.castlesireland.com <BR>www.gsh.ie <BR>www.irelands-blue-book.ie (one of the place listed Tinakilly House is just perfect for hooneymoons or romantic weekends) <BR>www.ballymaloe.com <BR> <BR>Have a great time and post if you require further information, <BR> <BR>Cathy <BR>

Italy - Venice (Gritti Palace or Cipriani), Rome (Eden?) or Amalfi coast (San Pietro in Positano) or Quisisana in Capri). <BR> <BR>France - Provence, cote d'Azur (La Reserve de Beaulieu....) or Paris (Bristol or George V) & Champagne (Royal Champagne) <BR> <BR>Ireland - South West; Dromoland Castle & Sheen Falls. <BR> <BR>

I also recommend La Reserve de Beaulieu <BR>on the Cote d"Azur...on the Med. Sea.(France) Very, Very, Romantic..Beautiful...Elegant...Special Also very hard to get a reservation! <BR>The food is excellent the service perfect!! <BR>DO NOT EVEN THINK OF GOING IN AUG!! France takes its vacation then--Every road at every hour is in rush hour mode. A 15 min drive could take one hour!

We loved Adare Ireland---thached roofs and quaint, quaint...Ireland is unspoiled by billboards,etc. There is a wonderful Manor House in Adare..perfect for a honeymoon. This is a little town which won an award for the Prettiest Town in Ireland.

Colleen, Try the following site for good info and a personal touch http://www.irelandyes.com

Colleen - I was just in Italy this summer and LOVED Florence. If you can include that in your trip it is a must. My finace (and his cousin) and I stayed here - in Florence Hotel Continental Lungarno Acciaiuoli,Borgo San Jacopo, 16 - 50125 Florence <BR> phone: 011 39 055 2726 <BR> fax: 011 39 055 283139 <BR> Room - 1 triple room for 430,000 lire <BR> includes buffet breakfast, tax and service <BR> <BR>It is right at the Ponte Vecchio, the room was big with great views of the city. They have a wonderful roof top cafe where they serve breakfast and drinks in the evening. We loved it!! I read in American Way that the crew from Hannibal stayed there and loved it too. <BR> <BR>Now for France - I was there 2 summers ago and I did not really like the Riviera. I love Provence. We stayed at a place called - Crillon Le Brave, Place de l’Eglise, 84410 Crillon le Brave, phone: 011 33 4 90 65 61 61, fax: 011 33 4 90 65 62 86, email: [email protected]. It was awesome. It is an old residence in the countryside and serves lovely dinners. The views are breathtaking and very romantic. Has a nice pool and it is easy to get to from Nice or Aix-in-Provence. We explored the countryside and small towns each day and went to the community markets. Loved it and can't wait to go back.