We began our honeymoon in the Lake Como area of Northern Italy. It was stunningly beautiful and amazingly relaxing -- a wonderful honeymoon combination. We stayed in the town of Bellagio, probably the most resorty area on Lake Como. Upon arrival, we discovered that the Hotel du Lac hadn't received the fax we'd sent to reserve our room -- and the entire town was fully booked. As it turned out, the hotel did have one single, which we stayed in for the first night (it was quite cozy -- we recommend this for newlyweds!). After that, we were able to move to a double.

We spent most of our time walking around Bellagio, shopping, eating gelato, and looking at the gorgeous lake. We took the ferry over to Varenna one day, where we had a wonderful walk along their promenade strip. We also had a fabulous lunch at the Hotel Du Lac in Varenna (not our hotel) where, through basic hand gestures, we convinced someone who spoke very little English to take our picture, and also made friends with two adorable, roly-poly Dalmatians next to the hotel clerk's desk.

We wound down from the stress of wedding planning and really took it easy in Lake Como, sleeping in, reading in our hotel, walking, and admiring the fabulous landscape. The whole experience was just magical -- this must truly be one of the most beautiful places on earth.