Honeymoon Trip

(back to the wedding page)

Preface: we got a digital camera as a wedding present and had a lot of fun with it.
It took some work to filter out only 215 pictures our of 2100 for this site.


1.

 Sasha posing as Amelie.
We are just about to take off to Paris.
2.

 Sasha learns that the "wedding game" we played was actually a real marriage and she is now stuck with me.
3.

 At least she has a good pair of shoes to lift the spirits.
4.

 In Reykjavick airport on the way to Paris. Very modern airport. Not bad for a single airline (IcelandAir).
5.

 Who said French like it small? In Paris cafe. Now, they do like it small. This cafe had only space for 4 people.
6.

 Facing the Opera -- common meeting place in Paris. Waiting to meet Anya who is only 20 minutes late now (typical French).
7.

 Sasha posing with naked women. Anya is 30 minutes late.
8.

 More naked women. Opera is still there, but Anya is not. 40 minutes.
9.

 Finally she comes. And all the wait is worth it.
10.

 Anya responding to my request to show her true colors.
11.

 But really she is a very grown up serious woman.
12.

 And that's her umbrella, which she borrowed from her four-year-old niece. Next to a bar we just came out of.
13.

 In Paris metro, where the doors open only after you press the button or move a knob. Frugality, man.
14.

 Champs Elysees & Arc de Triomphe
15.

 The Louvre. This time, we did not bother with any museums.
16.

 Waiting for our tourist bus.
17.

 It comes right on time by French standards -- 30 minutes late. But is a lot of fun.
18.

 Driving on Champs Elysees.
19.

 View from the bus on Champs Elysees.
20.

 No introductions. Check out the skies.
21.

 "Artistic" shot. :) You will see a few of those. It is either my artistic spirits surfacing or a bottle+ of wine a day catching up with me.
22.

 Les Invalides from the bus. Sasha did not get to see much as she was posing for my camera most of the time. :)
23.

 Next to Pantheon.
24.

 Now, this is a beach that they decided to make in Paris. Very funny.
25.

 Getting of the bus (it is get-on-get-off anywhere you like).
26.

 Notre Dame de Paris
27.

 Now this is better...
28.

 Fine sculpture work indeed... I mean on these muscles. :)
29.

 View from a bridge over Senne.
30.

 Sasha blown away by Paris as usual.
31.

 Next to the stadium. Seeded with grass on all of its angled walls. Special machines cut it.
32.

 A restaurant in St-Germain-de-Pres.
33.

 A small garden opposite the Notre Dame.
34.

 This is me.
35.

 Searching for food in St-Germain-de-Pres.
36.

 We found it! Rule #1: pictures work better on a full stomach.
37.

 The restaurant had an insult on Americans, depicting some 80 year old lady and saying that this is a typical American girl. Shame on them!
38.

 Bumming at Luxembourg Gardens.
39.

 Jardin Luxembourgh again...
40.

 ...and again.
41.

 ...
42.
43.

 I call this shot "tranquility". Can you feel the silence?
44.

 The first picture where we are together! Thanks to the timer on our new camera.
45.

 This is how people look to you if you are a TV.
46.

 "Artistic". :)
47.

 Sasha enjoying the heart of the Luxembourg Garden while I take hundreds of pictures of her to a delight of the crowd.
48.

 Same garden.
49.

 Open air exhibition on the walls of the Luxembourg Garden. Parks close at night in Paris, so we could not save on the hotel. :)
50.

 Is this a postcard or what!? Picture taken by Sasha.
51.

 No this is not a Photoshop job. The skies was really a bit red from the sunset. You can only take pictures like this with manual settings on the camera.
52.

 We had never seen the tower at night and it was amazing.
53.

 In the gut...
54.

 ...
55.

 Accordion player in the station. The dignity and class of Paris translates to all its inhabitants: you will rarely see a poor person simply sitting on the ground and asking for money - instead people collect money by performing.
56.

 Now this is a highlight. This 3-person band with accordion, saxophone, amplifier, beat maker and microphone jumps into the train. They sing some very happy French rap. Very cool. Imagine rap with saxophone and accordion. And then...
57.

 They must have noticed my singing talent (hiding deep inside) from far away. So, when they were passing us, they suddenly gave me the mic to rap some stuff. Well, I did not get their words, so I just did my own version of "aha-aha-ha-ooooo". Very funny.
58.

 This is cool. Not only did they make a beach in Paris, but they also organized beach volleyball right in front of their City Hall (Hotel de Ville) -- close to the beach. Wicked cool. I was itching to play, but we had to meet some friends.
59.

 Sasha in front of same building. Volleyball court is further behind.
60.

 Sasha and Jean. Jean is Anya's friend. Since Any was late by an hour, she called him and asked him to meet us and entertain us while she was coming. :) Jean is French, but learnt Russian pretty well. Great guy!
61.

 Some couple in Paris.
62.

 Anya posing with some people.
63.

 For the evening, we arranged to go drink Champagne on the Champs Mars - a lawn next to the Eiffel Tour. One bottle lead to another and it was a lot of fun.
64.

We bought extra supplies right from some guys walking out there selling stuff. I was upset they did not have hot menu items though.

Anya made friends with some dog. They ran around a lot -- Anya was faster on her four legs.

At first Anya managed to scare the dog, when she pretended to be a dog herself (she stood on her four and started barking), but then they became friends when Anya fed the dog the salami from our sandwiches. The dog did not want to part with us for a long time. The owners barely dragged him away -- poor thing.

Well, the bread still smelled salami a little bit.

 
65.

 After 4 days in Paris, we flew to Nice. This picture is taken during the decent to Cote d'Azur. This is not Nice, but close. We rented a car in Nice, went to the beach and drove to Milan the same evening.
66.

 Chilling out in some bistro in Milan. It did not have the menu, or prices. You had to point at the food. The bill at the end just had the total amount. Nice food, but $45 for breakfast seemed a little extreme.

The road to Milan was fun. The part that goes through the mountains is like a slalom race. No 0.5km straight. The road tolls in Italy are pretty big. $25 for 3 hour driving.
67.

 The only interesting attractions in Milan are the Duomo and adjacent shopping center. The Doumo is unbelievable - it looks as though it is made of lace. But overall Milan was a bit disappointing, unlike the rest of Italy. Well, we only stayed there one day.
68.

 Gallery Vittorio Emmanuelle. Beautifu mosaicl tile floor.
69.

 Former monastery in Milan.
70.

 ...At the wall of a medieval castle in Milan.
71.

 The hotel we had in Milan was great though. Huge ceilings, parquet floors, paneled walls, marble everywhere.
72.

 Our room's balcony.
73.

 In the hotel, ready to leave.
74.

 Now, everything is marble in Italy. It seems it is cheapest stone they have. It is all over the place!
75.

 Bergamo - one of the oldest medieval cities. A well-kept secret. The only place where we did not meet Russian and even American tourists. It is mostly just Italian vacationers. Awesome views.
76.

 The tram to the upper town. Bergamo has two trams like this actually.
77.

 The view from the top.
78.

 Now, this is better than the original statute! I like 'em in color.
79.

 Awesome views.
80.

 Chilling in a cafe.
81.

The best gastronomical delight in Italy is its sparkling water. San Pellegrino is just one of many-many brands.
82.

 On lake Garda -- biggest lake in Italy?
83.

 Sasha has a way with animals. That's how she married me.
84.

 They don't teach this flexibility in a Yoga class.
85.

 These things were huge!
86.

 What kind of self-respecting town in Europe does not have a promenade area.
87.

 Getting dark and we are taking off to search for our next hotel. It was pretty fun without maps.
88.

 Found the hotel and the search was worth it. In this one the room the size of half of the first floor in our house. Coincidentally, we forgot a few things there. You need a maid to help you pack in such a room.
89.

 Verona. Sasha is standing next to the famous arena. Built in 30 AD. Much better preserved than the Coliseum in Rome - it is still functioning! The stuff on the back is from an open-air opera conducted on stage every day. They change massive decorations every day.
91.

Inside the arena. They re making the set for Aida.
92.

At the top. Cheapest seats. Pretty dangerous. Hundreds of centures of walking on these stones made them pretty polished in some places.
93.

Huge!
94.

The skill of the cameraman caught a rare occasion when Sasha was eating something. Ok, let me go help her with the sandwich.
95.

Venetian carnival masks were on sale mostly in Verona and Venice only. Lost of them though!
96.

This is the house in which Juliet lived and the balcony is the one that Romeo climbed into. This is what the legend holds.

Romeo and Juliet was written by some Italian guy. Then Shakespeare rewrote it. It is claimed that the original was based on the real story, but nobody knows for sure.

But they have Juliet's grave, Romeo's house, etc. And this is in Verona were the stage is set.

97.

All the walls around the house are graced with millions of love notes. Highest graffiti pre square millimeter anywhere. An top of that people stick some paper notes.

It must somehow enhance your love, I guess. Hmmm...
98.

From Verona we head to Venice. We stayed on Lido island -- right next to Venice island. Lido has much better accommodations and world-class beach.

99.

Passing Venice on the way to Lido island. It is already getting dark.
100.

 The usual bottle-per-day.
101.

 Honeymooners honeymooning. Tchin-tchin!
102.

 This is the villa-hotel in which we stayed on Lido. Awesome place!
103.

 The island on the back is Venice.
104.

 The view of the main square in Venice -- St.Marco square from the ferry passing along grand canal that devides Venice into two big islands
105.

 The gondolas are everywhere. Notice the guy on the right is speaking on the cell phone. Very funny.
106.

 The only mode of transportation in Venice is boats. The town does not have automotive roads.
107.

 Grand canal. The town is actually build on water about 1 meter (3 feet) deep. They use wood foundation under the water. Amazing.

Venice was formed as one of many Italy's town-state's as an attempt to avoid constants wars in the Northern Italy (Romans, Turks, etc). They then prospered beyond belief and used the money to control much of the politics on the mainland states.
108.

 The main facade of buildings faces the water. So, that were all the beauty is. Gorgeous example of Gothic architecture. Probably some middle-eastern influences as well.
109.

 Notice the wooden boat on the left. This is a typical taxi in Venice. Polished like a piano.
110.

 Gondolas. The "captains" are notorious negotiators. It is supposed to cost $35 per 50 minutes. They start bargaining at $80.
111.

 Now, fruits and vegetables in Italy taste real. That's because unlike the supermarket produce they are grown under real sun, and not in greenhouses. It has been a long time since I tasted a real tomato.
112.

 ...Walking in Venice can be tiring.
113.

 Canals device Venice into something like 80 little islands. They are about 1 meter (3 feet) deep. Wehave seen them blocked and drained in some areas for constructions. In other areas the constructions is done from floating barges. Very funny.
114.

 Venetian Glass (Murano Glass) is the best ion the world. And it is true. We bought a few nice examples of fine work.
115.

 A church on Piazza San Marco.
116.

 ...The Doge's palace on Piazza San Marco. We think that this flavor of Gothic architecture is particular to Venice.
117.

 Is this a huge square or what?
118.

 ...
119.

 And again Piazza San Marco.
120.

 ...
121.

 Restaurant to which one can float right on the gondola.
122.

 Same place from across the canal.
123.

 Back to Lido's gorgeous beaches.
124.

 ...Finally, a day or relaxation after non-stop sightseeing.
125.

 ...
126.

 ...
127.

 Watch out! Baywatch is coming.
128.

 Picking up the sand sample for my collection.
129.

 Me windsurfing.
130.

 ...
131.

 Out to the open see... Fortunately the wind blew towards the shore.
132.

 From Lido we drove to Florence. Florence is the cradle of Renaissance - it is filled with beautiful Renaissance churches, and has large collections of art by Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Michelangelo. This is the main Duomo -- any decent town in Italy has a Duomo.
133.

 This Duomo is all tiled in marble mosaic. From bottom to top.
134.

 ..Check out the horse. It has a sack on its head out of which it eats.
135.

 Lots of leather shops in Florence and many stores seem to be targeting Russians. Well, there are lot of them in Florence for some reason.
136.

 ...A gallery with monuments to famous Italians.
137.

 Neptune and Anton.
138.

Sasha and David. She had me take her picture with every naked guy.

(This is the copy of the original David, the original was removed from Florence a while ago).
139.

 David's butt.
140.

 Mystery lady. A prize for whoever guesses who this is.
141.

 It could be cool living in this yellow house if you make a glass floor.
142.

 At a rest area on the way to Rome.
143.

 Sasha showing that there are still a couple of places we have not visited in Italy.
144.

 Gorgeous. Especially the branches.
145.

 Taken from the car. We passed a good number of medieval towns that were built like this.
146.

Buckle up! We are now in Rome. The sculptures and other historic works of art are all over in this town. One usually seats on another. The abundance of sculptures gives this unrealistic air to Rome. It does not feel like a real city, but more like a movie set where an extravagant director has arranged too many ancient statues.
147.

 Neptune - the god of the sees.
148.

 ...Piazza di Flamino. This is the ancient gates to Rome.
149.

 Spanish Steps.
150.

 In a restaurant opposite from Spanish Steps. Sasha did not drink anything yet.
151.

Sasha after a first glass of good Italian wine.
152.

 After second glass.
153.

 After third glass.
154.

 After fourth glass.
155.

After fifth glass.
156.

 The Coliseum. Finished in 30 BC. Do you believe this?
157.

 ...
158.

What's left of Coliseum. Some centuries ago, the "stones" from the coliseum were borrowed for construction of other wonders of the world.

There were 3 floors below the arena floor. They kept wild animals and gladiators there.

159.

 Ancient ruins.
160.

 Ruins are everywhere.
161.

 Beautiful architecture. Piazza di Venezia.
162.

 ..Rome has lots of fountains. This is one of them.
163.

 Three Smarts.
164.

 This is the court building. Absolutely beautiful, but nicknamed by Italians "old ugly palazzio". They must have seen it from behind or something...

The court sits on the Vatican side of the Tibre.
165.

 Vatican St.Peter Church on the back -- the center of the Vatican. Vatican is a town-state with population of 1000 people. Cross the bridge and you are there.
166.

 When you run out of real estate, you start putting sculpture on the bridges.
167.

  
168.

 The biggest fountain in Rome -- the Trevi fountain. A story goes that if you throw a coin there, you are guaranteed to return to Rome. Does anyone every collect these coins?
169.

 Sasha next to the Trevi fountain.
170.

 Castel San Angelo.
171.

 Inside.
172.

 The view of Vatican from the roof.
173.

 Next to St. Peter's church. They did not let us in as you have to be dressed in winter cloth to get in.
174.

 Rome's electric trams are wicked cool.
175.

 Typical European size of car. This is actually a Ford.
176.

 View of Rome from a park.
177.

 ...Piazza di Flamino from the park.
178.

 The vegetation in Italy seems to grow pretty well.
179.

 Since it's a honeymoon Sasha was not allowed to look at other men during the trip. This was one exception, and look what it turned into.
180.

 The park has 1 sculpture per square meter.
181.

 I want this clock for my garden.
182.

 Our rental car. Mid-sized. But more roomier inside than say VW Jetta. 40-60 miles/gallon. $3.50/gallon.
183.

From Rome, we drove to the heart of Tuscany -- the wine region. We stayed at a small town called Chiannciano Terme, famous among Italian senior people for its springs.

The view from the rooftop pool.
184.

 Tuscany in its splendor.
185.

 A first stop on a scenic drive around Chianti area.
186.

 ...
187.

 Lot's of vineyards around. This is Chianti region.
188.

 This was an awesome restaurant in one of the vineyards Add the bew-bew sound from the sheep down the hill and it completes the picture.
189.

 Now, some whole-hearty Italian food. This is bruschetta. Lots of olive oil. They pour it on pizza too. The tomatoes were gorgeous, but this is not the size of slices you would see in Paris or in our kitchen!
190.

 And a piece or meat to match the bruscheta. The meet was cooked on an open wood fire. Simply unbelievable. But the French Fries were sweetened instead of salted. Probably by mistake. :)
191.

 I got the grilled chicken. (I knew I will end up eating both). The Chianti is locally made from the grapes growing under the wall of the restaurant.
192.

 Smelling the rouses.
193.

 ...
194.

 The road to a church on the motorway to Montepulciano.
195.

I was looking for a place where I could enjoy harvesting the fruits and vegetables on my own. We saw a lot of signs advertising "agritourism" places. So, we stopped at one. Sure enough -- lot of stuff to harvest. These are peaches.

Only later, by reading the guide, we found out that agritourism are small family run hotels that provide cheap accommodations. Ooops, I thought it was a public service.

196.

 Montepulciano -- the mediaeval town, where we tasted the famous Nobile wine produced only in that town.
197.

These mushrooms are sold in many places. In Russian is this is the most noble mushroom - "belii grib". In Russia there is a strong believe through that you are supposed to cut the mushroom in order to let the next generation grow. It is adhered by everyone in Russia. In Italy they don't seem to believe in this or care about it.

BTW, these mushrooms grow in the US, but they look a bit different and are difficult to differentiate from poisonous mushroom that looks similar.

198.

 The main square in Montepulciano.
199.

 Medieval fun
200.

 ...
201.

 ..
202.

 Now we are in Siena. Also Tuscany. The concave square.
203.

 Music academy.
204.

 I hope that rope is well secured.
205.

 Gorgeous Duomo. You can tell it is Renaissance. From having simplest sculpture, they suddenly went to another extreme -- there is a huge amount of detail in this.
206.

 This is downtown Lucca. Small medieval town in Tuscany.
207.

 The cat on the left is real, the kittens on the right are not. This is a window of a store in Lucca.
208.

 The road from Lucca to Pisa is like this alley all the way. Gorgeous.
209.

 The Leaning Tower of Pisa. It's really leaning! The site is amazing. No wonder it's one of the 7 wonders of the world.
210.

 ...
211.

 ...
212.

 This is thing is huge and falling. They did do something to improve the foundation (which was the root cause) and now even let tourists to the roof. We did not go to the roof, since Sasha had a paper deadline right after the honeymoon, so it was a bad time to risk lives.
213.

 Pisa is a very small town, but this tower attracts enormous crowds.
214.

 Back to Nice for a 4 day beach relaxation. This is the promenade. Cloudy day, so not too many people on this end of the promenade.
215.

 Russian flags and tourists are all over Nice.
216.

 We concluded the vacation with a little sun tanning.
217.

 Bye-bye France. We'll be back!