Day 20: Paris
Previous: Athens Return to main page On the last day of our trip, we spent the evening in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris. We had a sandwiche on French Baugettes and a crepe for dinner. The crepes in Paris were amazing. They’re not like the soft, mushy crepes in the U.S. Instead, they’re light and crisp with rich fillings. This is the last, tiny vineyard in the city of Paris. We went to a little French cafe and had...
Day 18 & 19: Athens
Previous: Rome Next: Paris The Airbnb in Athens was our favorite. This is only PART of the food in our welcome gift from our hosts. The Airbnb was gorgeous and full of character. We just loved it. View from the Airbnb terrace. Parlaiment in Athens, including its tomb of the unknown soldier with an hourly changing of the guard. One of multiple Byzantine churches in the city. Greek Orthodox church. Another tiny Byzantene church....
Day 16 & 17: Rome
Previous: Florence and Tuscany Next: Athens On the last morning of the cruise, we arrived at Civitavecchia and had to take the train to Rome. We stored our luggage and went to the Vatican, starting at St. Peter’s Basilica. View from inside the Basilica. Inside the Basilica. Note the size of the people to understand the scale of this church. The Swiss Guard – guards of the Vatican. Sphere and pinecone in the Vatican...
Day 15: Florence and Tuscany
Previous: Naples Next: Rome Our cruise ship docked in Livorno, and this was the only day that we took a tour through the cruise ship. We really didn’t like the tour itself, but loved the places that it took us. The only other advantage was that when the bus was late, the ship didn’t leave without us. The tour went to Florence for 3.5 hours, and then to a Tuscan castle winery. Triple win. The Duomo in Florence was...
Day 14: Naples
Previous: Sicily Next: Florence and Tuscany On our shore day in Naples, we took a large tour to the Amalfi Coast (Positano), Sorrento, and Pompeii. Sorrento from the east. There was a Ferrari convention happening when we were ther, so we saw dozens of them on the road. Some locals looking out over Positano. The black sand beach and colorful homes of Positano. Sorrento was beautiful. We had some amazing pizza. Sorrento and the Amalfi...
Day 13: Sicily
Previous: Malta Next: Naples Sicily was one of our favorite places. We loved the quiet atmosphere, beautiful mountains and water, and the delicious food. We took a private tour and really enjoyed it. Sicily is just off the coast of mainline Italy, that you can just see on the right of this image. We went to Taormina, nestled beneath Mt. Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe. You can see it smoking in multiple images. The...
Day 12: Malta
Previous: Mykonos Next: Sicily Malta is a nation island that was important in WWII. It has ruins up to 6,000 years old. There are several fortresses in the main bay of Valletta. Fort Manoel in the same bay is also the original filming site of King’s Landing in Game of Thrones. It was miserably hot and we stopped by a shopping mall to cool off and get a snack. It felt just like the malls at home. This is the side of Fort Manoel...
Day 10: Mykonos
Previous: Santorini Next: Malta In Mykonos, we took a sailing trip before a quick walk around Old Town. We took a sailboat tour to Delos and Rhenia. On the boat. Delos is the mythological birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. The city is very, very old and has been ransacked for thousands of years. The green is water in the cisterns. Terrace of the Lions statues. The island of Rhenia is famous for its beaches and beautiful waters. We...
Day 9: Santorini
Previous: Kefalonia Next: Mykonos We anchored off Fira, on the island of Santorini, Greece. We later took that cable car back down. We took the water taxi to Oia, where the famous blue domes exist. If you’re ever in Oia (pronounced ee-ya), turn down the little side street by this church to find the famouns view. This is the famous view, that is surprisingly hard to find. This is the little side port where the water taxi...
Day 8: Kefalonia
Previous: Montenegro Next: Santorini Our cruise ship docked in Argostoli, on the island of Kefalonia, Greece. We took a private tour and started at the lighthouse. Then we stopped by the bridge in Argostoli to see the turtles. We drove along the coast and stopped to see Myrtos Beach. We had lunch in the charming village of Assos. Sangria and Zucchini balls. Souvlaki and delicious pita bread. Traditional Greek meat pie. In Assos. The...
Day 7: Montenegro
Previous: Croatia Next: Kefalonia I worked hard with my personal trainer to prepare for Kotor, Montenegro. Old Town is along the water by a mountain. We planned to climb the mountain. When you arrive by boat, the sunrises are amazing. View of the church, fort and castle from the bottom of the mountain. Yeah, we climbed to the top. Outside the city walls at the North Gate. Then we climbed the mountain. Here’s the church...
Day 6: Croatia
Previous: Venice Next: Montenegro Dubrovnik, Croatia is beautiful and a filming location for Game of Thrones. The city contains a fort and is surrounded by a large wall. Yeah, I climbed these steps for nothing. It was a beautiful city. My daily wear – tennis shoes, water bottle, bag, and personal fan. It was HOT in the Mediterranean sun. Previous: Venice Next:...