After much debate and a lot of excitement, we have finally decided to travel to Southern Italy and Malta for our honeymoon. The inspiration for the trip is Robert's ancestry in Sicily. Visiting his family's village will likely be the most meaningful segment of our trip. We are hoping that Malta is the most relaxing part and that Rome and Sardinia proves to be invigorating. Viva Italia!

We will leave South Bend on September 22 and will head to the Windy City- as Calabros! We will dine at Le Creperie (first date) and drink at the Duke of Perth (where we met). On the 23rd, we will wake up, head to the airport to catch a plane out of Chicago and into Rome. We will stay in Rome until Saturday, September 27th, drinking it all in. Piazza Navona, the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps and the Van Gogh Museum- it's all on the itinerary. Trevi Fountain? Check. The Vatican? Check. Sleep? Almost. That's what Malta is for.

We will leave Rome on a short flight to Malta on the 27th. Once we get to the resort, we will check in, drop our bags, head to the pool and RELAX. While there, we plan to travel on foot, horseback, boat, scooter, local bus and maybe donkey - if we're lucky. It's a tiny island and we hope to really get to know Malta well during the week we are there. We are especially looking forward to Gozo. And capers. Rumor has it, it is the caper capital of the world. When we are tired of spas and pools and capers, we will hop on boat to Sicily and bid farewell to tiny Malta. (Special thanks for this leg to Linda and Nick)

Onward to Sicily! Our boat will pull up on October 3rd and we will hop off the boat and into a car, traveling around the island, visiting wineries, Mount Vesuvius, castles and seaside villages. We will drive our Fiat up the mountains (avoiding wannabe Rallycar drivers, of course) and into the village where Robert's grandfather was born, see the location of the family's storied vineyards and hopefully be welcomed with open arms and mozzarella by the Calabros! After bocce ball and vino, we will head back down to the coast.

From the Sicilian coast, we will boat through the Tyrrhenian Sea on October 11th to Sardinia, likely anchoring ourselves in Cagliari, known as city that offers a bewitching blend of modern urbanity and medieval mystery. In Sardinia, we are excited to drive the along gorgeous coast, hike through subtropical gardens, and taste some of Italy's greatest wines and cheeses.

Our last breaths of vacation: Sardinia will be our last stop before leaving this part of the world and returning back to normal life - as newlyweds!

We look forward to sharing photos and stories with you upon our return. Please check back to our website www.roblexa.com after the honeymoon where we will share our memories with you.