Honeymoon I: Taking a break before Italy

One of our best decisions about the honeymoon was to leave for Italy four days after our wedding.

We were both thrilled to be going to Italy (and I can't wait to share that with you!)
But we needed some time to sleep, relax and enjoy each other before beginning our big trip. It was so worth it! We were able to stay in bed half the day (without feeling guilty that we were missing out on the sights of Italy), sip wine in the hot tub at our hotel, laze on the beach and read for a couple days before traveling. It was so wonderful!

Our first night was spent in Chicago. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency for an absolute steal (Thank you Priceline!). Our room was on the 31st floor and--we found out the next morning--had a great view of the river, Lake Michigan, and Navy Pier.







After a lazy morning (or should I say afternoon!), we headed up to a very familiar place to me and my family: Holland, MI...

me and my goofy husband. I was going for the kiss and he couldn't stop laughing.



the beach--a little cloudy, but still warm and relaxing.



(that little highlighted circle is the husband taking a stroll down the pier) :-)

I highly recommend if you're planning a busy European sightseeing honeymoon, to take a little mini moon (even if you just stay home) before leaving.
We definitely don't regret it!

edited to add:

oops! I amost forgot. we also got a chance to meet our good friends (and my bridesmaid) Cait and Wil for ice cream sundaes before we headed out to Italy. They got married just a few weeks after us.
Captain Sundae holds some memories for me and Cait and it's a classic Holland stop, so it was fun to visit with our boys. [and Eric and I couldn't resist going twice in two days :-)]