I know, so many honeymoon photos! Bear with me, we're almost done...
On our third day, Kristie and I took the hotel shuttle to downtown Willemstad, the main city on the island. Curacao is a Dutch Caribbean island, and the European influence was clear in Willemstad's architecture.
The Queen Emma bridge (known locally as the "swinging old lady") connects the two neighborhoods of Willemstad: Punda and Otrobanda. The bridge is on pontoons, and swings open like a door to allow huge cargo and cruise ships to pass through the canal, like the one below.
This section of Punda especially reminded me of the time my family spent a few years ago in Spain and Portugal.
Everybody we interacted with in Curacao spoke English, but the majority of the people who live there also speak Dutch, Spanish, and the local language: Papiamentu.
We hit up the Floating Market, a long row of boats lined up to sell fresh fruits and vegetables from Venezuela (just 40 miles south of Curacao).
Kristie and I were lucky enough to win a contest sponsored by GayDestinationWeddings.com and the Avila Hotel (where we stayed), the prize of which included our hotel stay and a commitment ceremony! We had our "second wedding" on top of a tower overlooking the hotel and beach.
This was one of the most special things we did. If you did plan/are planning your wedding, you know how stressful that is. And our big day was perfect -- but we didn't get to spend much time just the two of us, and it wasn't exactly restful.
Getting a do-over in what was basically paradise was such a great opportunity. Our ceremony, officiated by American ex-pat Michael who's been living at the hotel for 13 years, was short and sweet and involved cocktails. Michael reminded us to talk to each other -- "even a Post-It on the fridge" is better than texting, he said. Giancarlo took a few photos of us, and the hotel provided a beautiful (gluten-free!) cake. We were relaxed, happy, and barefoot.
The sun was setting, the breeze was beautiful, and we were together. It was a great reminder of what marriage is all about.
Oh yeah, and this dress? I'd forgotten to pack a white dress before we'd left for the trip, so I was happy to find this one in Otrobanda for only $10.
It was fun to actually cut a cake together too, since at our "real wedding," we'd had cupcakes.
View parts one, two, three, and five of our honeymoon photos!
