Dana Bender

Dear Dana,

We wanted to thank you for helping make our honeymoon the adventure of a lifetime. Because we wanted to share photos of your gifts, we decided against sending more traditional thank-you cards; instead, below is a picture gallery of what your contributions made possible!

<nerdy statement> A decade's worth of psychological research suggests that experiences make us happier than material possessions. </nerdy statement> Because we're fortunate enough to share a home with the appliances and furniture we need (IKEA furniture, but hey), we opted for a less traditional spin on wedding registries. It was our hope that a Honeyfund would offer a month's worth of incredible experiences—from dinners to sightseeing, from train tickets to hotel rooms—that we could directly attribute to the loved ones who made those experiences possible. We even carried a spreadsheet with us everywhere we went that indicated who had sponsored each activity, which helped guide us through each day.

Please enjoy the photos and captions below! If you'd like to see more pictures of our honeymoon travels, you can view the full gallery here.

Thank you again for your generosity and friendship, and for making this first chapter of our marriage possible.

Love from,

What you sponsored: Sightseeing in Rome

Thanks to you, we were able to visit so many of Rome's incredible sites. You helped sponsor museum entries; tickets into crypts and churches; tours of castles and catacombs; and, most importantly, our required afternoon coffee pick-me-ups. (We considered this "sightseeing.") Below are some of our favorite memories while sightseeing around the "Ancient City," which were only possible because of you!

Piazza Navona.

After the Roman conquest, the Romans brought at least eight obelisks from ancient Egypt back to "The Ancient City" (read: Rome). They still stand here to this day.

Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, recognized by its frozen yogurt-spiral dome. Ryan performed here two summers in a row.

Not exactly sightseeing, but our afternoon coffee pick-me-ups were crucial to our energy levels. This is Sant Eustachio. Ryan promised this would be the best espresso I've had in my life, and I didn't believe him (mostly because espresso just tastes like espresso to me). But no...it was actually the best espresso I've had in my life. I dragged him back on our last day because I couldn't bear the thought of not having it again.

The outside of the Pantheon, regarded as the largest example of a perfect dome in the world.

The inside of the Pantheon. Ancient architects realized that the dome would be too heavy and would fall in on itself unless they strategically removed squares of marble throughout the inside. The squares you see aren't for decoration; they're a crucial part of the structure.

I'm going to be perfectly honest and admit that I don't know where this was taken, but I think it was a Saint (Someone) church just around the corner from a delicious pizzeria on one of Rome's off-beaten paths.

We were heading up toward hilltop vistas not far from Vatican City when we turned around and saw this view. (We miss those domed skylines!) From the vistas, we got Aperol spritzes and stretched out on the stone walls to look out over the city.

The Bridge of Angels leading to Castel Sant'Angelo, where Hadrian (of Hadrian's Wall) was buried. It was also briefly the Papal office, but now stands as a really cool-looking castle across the Tiber river from Rome.

Walking into Castel Sant'Angelo.

Inside Castel Sant'Angelo.

A panorama of our view from the top of the Castel (read: "castle"). You can see the Bridge of Angels, and to the right you can see the dome of St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican City).

A view of the Tiber from the Castel.

Looking down at the Bridge of Angels.

Italy wasn't built for Ryan Downeys.

Looking back across the bridge toward the Castel.

Rome's synagogue in what used to be its Jewish Quarter, which is located at the bend of the Tiber river. Because of its location, the quarter flooded frequently and was close to uninhabitable (however, the Pope required that all Jews live in this small, muddy, disease-prone area). This synagogue was the victim of bombings and shootings in the 1980s, and has had very strong security presence ever since.

Although we saw the second largest synagogue in the world in Budapest (the first largest is in New York), our favorite was this one in Rome. Note the square dome, which architects built so that you could tell it apart from the dozens of rounded domes across the Roman skyline.

We took a wrong turn while heading toward a monument to Victor Emmanuel II and ended up at Torre Argentina. This random, ruin-filled courtyard in the middle of an otherwise developed neighborhood was a pagan convent and sanctuary in 400 BC, and is now a sanctuary for cats.

All cats that enter the premises are spayed/neutered and vaccinated before being put up for adoption, all the while given the freedom to roam these ruins.

They were all very friendly and welcome to pats. (Jess would have patted them anyway.)

Can you spot the cats?

This is yet another church that we can't name. (You'd think that, with all this decoration, it would be a particularly recognizable church--but no, every church in Rome looks like this.) As hot as it was in the city, Jess had to keep her shoulders and legs covered to enter each of these churches, which was a bummer.

St. Paul's Within the Walls, Rome's first Protestant church and its only Episcopal church. It has recently fought strongly for refugee rights in the ongoing Syrian crisis.

The Colosseum (Colosseo), which was so jaw-droppingly magnificent.

If you can tell from our earbuds, we were listening to Rick Steves's audio walking tour through the Colosseum, which helped paint a portrait of what the area would have looked like between 0 and 300 AD.

A panorama of the Colosseum.

The outside of the Colosseum.

Rome's Triumphal Arch of Titus as you head from the Colosseum uphill to the Foro Romano, the Ancient Forum (Rome's "downtown").

The Roman Forum. This was one of the coolest sights we saw in Rome; we ended up spending quite a bit of time looking at books that outlined what this downtown would have looked like in Rome's heyday between 500 BC and 500 AD.

Palatine Hill, the site of what used to be a massive complex for the emperor, including beautifully complex baths, gardens, chariot race tracks, gardens, and mansions.

The far opposite end of the Roman Forum (away from the Colosseum). Barely visible in the center of the panorama is the house of the Vestal Virgins, and to the left of the frame is the site of Julius Caesar's assassination.

The Arch of Septimius Severus. The Temple of Saturn sits just to the right, one of the oldest standing relics of a temple in Rome.

One last, comprehensive look at the ancient Roman Forum.

One of the most awe-inspiring sights in the Roman Forum was the sheer scale of a basilica Constantine built for himself. This "Basilica of Maxentius" was the largest building in the forum (see a photo of the side arches--just the side arches!--here). Originally, a colossal statue of Constantine himself sat at the western end of the basilica, sitting about 40 feet tall. The statue is now in ruins (possibly from an earthquake), and now sits in pieces at the Musei Capitolini on Capitoline Hill, overlooking the forum. Look at the (tall) man on the righthand side of this photo for scale.

Rome's legendary founding stems from brothers Remus and Romulus (sound familiar?), who were raised by a she-wolf. This famous bronze statue is housed in the Musei Capitolini.

The famous head of Medusa, Musei Capitolini.

The real reason we loved the Musei Capitolini: these views of the Roman Forum far below.

In the far, far distance, to the left of the belltower (campanile), you can see the Colosseum.

The inside of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. This church was built on the ruins of Saint Cecilia's home. A model of her almost-decapitated body lies inside the altar as a reminder of her martyrdom.

For 5€, we could go beneath Santa Cecilia to explore her ancient homestead.

A well used for grain in Cecilia's home. The fact that she had many of these wells hints at her wealth when she was alive.

The crypts beneath Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. This was also used frequently (and may still be used today) as a chapel.

We particularly loved the mosaic and mural work in this underground chapel.

The Borghese Gallery to the north of Rome's center. We spent the morning wandering around this northern stretch, mostly to see the Catacombs of Priscilla. This eight-mile stretch of catacombs (which once held 40,000 bodies) is claustrophobia-inducing but so historically neat: While passing by femur bones and still-preserved coffin spaces, we saw some of the oldest known Marian paintings in the world, including the first frescoes to depict the three wise men and the Madonna with child.

The Borghese Gallery sits not far south of the catacombs, and is known for its extravagant collection of art.

Our favorite piece was the famous Daphne and Apollo. If you look at her fingers (which are turning into branches and leaves), you can see just how detailed this piece is.