Where do I begin to tell about the trip that I have only ever dreamed about. We had such a wonderful time, saw so much, ate so much and didn't gain a pound. That's because we had 8 hr, 10 hr & 12 hour excursions at least half the time. It was also hot & humid. Hot being between 95-102 & being out in that all day took some energy out of us too.
Our trip started out the day before we were to fly out of L.A.X. We were headed down the road and began to see signs that said Grapevine closed. I don't remember ever seeing that except in winter. Well there was a chemical spill and they were diverting traffic around through Barstow..yuk. As it turned out, we had planned to have lunch with Phil & Jenny. After lunch we checked with Caltrans and the road was open. Good news.
All went on our early flight to JFK the next morning. It was after we boarded our flight to Rome that we sensed that it might be a long night. As it turned out, we ended up sitting on the runway for 5 1/2 hrs waiting for a thunder & lightning storm to pass. Of course they couldn't feed us in case the plane was able to take off so all they could give us in that time was water. We were so hungry since it was around 8pm our stomachs time, 11 pm their time. Well we finally did get off the ground. Made it to Rome 11 hrs later, made our shuttle connection and got on board 15 minutes before sailing. Much too close for our comfort. There were people that did miss the boat and had to catch it the next dock the next day. Also some people didn't get their luggage for 3 days. I can say for sure that I was very thankful that we got ours. Those sweats wouldn't have been to pleasant for that many days as hot as it was.
We sailed the night of June 15. The next morning we were at the port in Naples Italy. From there, we took a small bus that held about 20 people. We drove through Naples and then headed south to see the Almafi coast. We found Naples stacked with garbage. They are having on going issues that they don't seem to be able to resolve. We were glad we only drove through.
Our destination was Positano. A fabulous village nestled on the steep hillside. Houses seemed to be built right on top of each other. It was without a doubt the most beautiful scenery we saw the whole trip. We spent a couple of hours exploring the town and shopping. Then we boarded the bus and drove to Sorrento. The only problem I had was I got car sick because I so busy taking pictures from every angle I could. No sea sickness though, which was good.
We had lunch here in a very nice restaurant with a view of the cliffs of Sorrento as well as the whole bay, breathtaking to say the least. We then continued on to the ruins of Pompeii in the afternoon.
Pompeii was another place that fascinated me. To see how complete so much of the city was and how large too. We spent several hours here walking the streets of Pompeii, going into the bath house where there were still paintings or carvings on the walls. Also went to the arena where the gladiators did battle. All the time you could see Mt. Vesuvius in the background. Most of the city was still as it was when the volcano irrupted, unlike some ancient cities that ended up with much of their pillars and carvings being "recycled". That's the term our Vatican guide called it when they took pillars from Ancient Ephesus and used it at the Vatican. Sounds like stealing to me...
The next day was a day at sea which we were very glad for. The day after was the port at Marmaris where we decided not to do a ship excursion and to strike out on our own. The town wasn't far and so we took a taxi and did some shopping and walking around. We found a great hand painted plate to take home.
Day 4, we docked in Izmir, Turkey. This is where we did the excursion to ancient Ephesus. 
The scenery was different here. There was a lot of farming. I thought it was interesting to see all the workers in the field.
Don was so very excited about this, to see where Paul preached and stirred up the crowd. It was very hot, crowded and you could almost put yourself in Paul's place as you walked down the dusty noise street. This is the archway to the temple of Hadrian restored in 391 a.d.
The main street sloped down towards the library. It was quite a view. You could see the face of the library from many places. Amazing that this two story front was still standing and to think they didn't use mortar to build these bldgs. Earthquakes destroyed most of the city.
This is the Grand Theatre where Paul preached. It was very moving to be in this place, to think what sacrifices were made for us so we could believe.
Day 5 we came into the port at Istanbul, Turkey. It's a city of 15 m people and they say that it's 98% muslim. We decided we didn't want to go into any mosques so we signed up for an excursion to take a boat tour of the Bosphorus River. Well, we boarded the bus and were on our way when the guide said something about the mosque and instructions for when we were in the mosque. It seems that we were given the wrong tickets and put on the wrong tour. They were both the same price so we decided it was ok. We did find it interesting to go inside the Blue Mosque but also sad. We toured the St. Sophia Mosque which is now a museum. It was build as a Christian church and when it was taken over, the Christian paintings were white washed. They have restored some of the work but have also put up many muslim symbols so it just looked odd to say the least. We really wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
St. Sophia Mosque
Now I must say this was fun. Going shopping in the Grand Bazaar with over 4,000 shops and you get to barter for everything you buy. We had fun buying the grand daughter belly dancing costumes and shawls for our daughters.
This is basically the entrance and this street is the jewelry street. There are pathways with names going off this main walkway, they go down to the next level where you might have all leather goods, then another level down you would find restaurants. You could really get lost in a place like this.
We now took another break and had a sea day. They were very relaxing. I sat out by the pool and Don sat on our balcony reading. We'd meet for lunch, take a nap and then go to dinner. There were many photographers on board with scenes set up. We must have take about 10 pictures. Only bought a few. It was fun.
Day 7 brought is to Athens, Greece. I was so excited to be able to see the Acropolis and surroundings. I wasn't disappointed. I took many shots but have picked just a few of my favorite. The one is at the beginning of our blog...the Parthenon up close.
This is the
Caryatides on the
Erechtheion (that's what the book said) It wasn't very far from the
Parthenon.
This is the Modern Olympic Stadium build in the mid 1800. Some of the 2004 Olympics were held here.
That afternoon we were driven to the Corinth Canal which is north of Athens about an hour. We boarded a touring boat and sailed all the way through, turned around and came back to the same dock. The Canal was carved out in the mid to late 1800's so that ships wouldn't have to go all the way around to get to the other side. This connects the Aegean Sea to the Ionian Sea. This saved them about 300 miles. We couldn't believe how beautiful the water was everywhere in the Mediterranean. This certainly is a good shot of it. We had the best lunch on the opposite bank where our ship docked. The best Greek lunch. yum
View from the bridge going across the canal.
We say goodbye to Athens as we sail out in the evening.
Athens as we sail out. We were very luck to time the trip right. We had several night of a full moon and we could actually sit on our balcony and enjoy it as we sailed. Wow! what more could you ask for.
Day 10 we docked in
Livorno, Italy. From this port we took an excursion inland to Florence and Pisa. The drive through the Tuscan area was so beautiful, so much variety in what was growing. There were many nurseries that grew for shipping throughout Europe. You could see that all along the roadway.
Pisa was amazing as was the church and
baptistery on the grounds. We decided we were doing enough walking so we did NOT climb to the top of the tower.
We had one night that they offered the midnight dessert event. We got there about 11pm but they said it didn't start until 11:30. We had a very long day the next day so we decided to take pictures and forget the calories. Thought Doug would enjoy seeing these delights.
Day 11 was our 12 hr excursion off the ship. We traveled about 1 1/2 hrs from the ship to Rome. We passed beautiful scenes like this on the way. It reminded me of so many paintings you see today. This field was all sunflowers
We arrived in Rome and the bus toured us past many sites. The one I wanted to see more of was the Coliseum. Sadly we couldn't stop even to take pictures so I got a couple from the wrong side of the bus with other people taking pictures too. Not one to post believe me. A while before lunch we were given some free time to go and see what we could on our own. We walked to
Trevi Fountain.
and to
the Pantheon. This is one of the most complete & imposing
bldgs from antiquity. It was built by Marcus Agrippa a few years before Christ's birth. They still do services here. The inside is beautiful.
We had to hurry on because about 3/4 of a mile away was the Spanish stairs I wanted to see. So we got it in gear and walked to see that as well. We got back to our meeting place just in time to go into our restaurant and have a proper Italian lunch, (it was all predetermined where & what we would have) salad, lasagna, bread & red or white wine. The people we were sitting with at the table wanted to try pizza so on top of this, he ordered several pizzas and shared it with the table. It was a Margarita pizza, very good.
I don't remember from the guide what this was and have tried to find it in Rome info but have not found out yet. Just like it.
Before going into the Vatican, we stopped for a gelato. They do have the best ice cream. Thought they displayed it beautifully.
This was a market at an intersection. Everything look very good and fresh. Would have liked to have stop and bought some fruit but had to keep walking.
After lunch we boarded our bus and headed for the Vatican. Along the way we passed through The Arches of Constantine, the ancient walls of Rome, and a ancient castle by the hippodrome for chariot races.
We arrived at the Vatican and began our tour. This photo I borrowed because we didn't come in this way but exited here and my camera battery died on me about 10 min before the end of the tour. It is an amazing place. There were so many people it was difficult to stay with your tour guide. Also the Vatican has its own tour guides so he took over as we entered the Vatican. It's interesting that all these guides have a college degree in "guiding". I guess it's good business and a lot of history. They have to know their subject especially for all those that ask so many questions....Don & Beth.
This was a hall way between the Vatican museum and St Peters Basilica. Statuary cramed along the walls. I took many pictures but so many were blurred because you couldn't stand still to take them, the masses kept you moving.
I did get to stop at The Laocoon. An oroginal Helenistic work of the 1st century BC. It is said that Michelangelo studied this work when it was found in the 15th century and perhaps represents Hercules.
This is called Michelangelo's Pieta'. It's Mary holding Christs dead body.
The ceilings in the hallways were unbelieveable. Hard to take in so much in such a short time.
The tour was finished about 4:45. When we walked outside into the square the bells started to ring. They actually rang for 15 minutes. It was so cool.
From there we dashed over to the Vatican store, bought a few books and hustled back to the bus. We were very happy to see the rest of Rome by bus that day. We got back to the ship about 8pm.
We managed to find some food when we arrived back at the ship and then the daunting task of packing to go home. Well, needless to say, we collected a few things so we had to purchase a couple of duffle bags to get everything in and not be over 50 lbs per bag (checked 2 each ) We had to have everything outside our door by 11pm. We really slept good that night.
The trip home was eventful too. Our connecting flight in Atlanta was book 1 hour after our arrival, needless to say we didn't make it. Don has flown a lot but he says that he has never seen so many people, such long lines as this. We missed our flight and were put on standby along with about 20 other people. We were the next to the last ones to board the plane. God was good. We stayed in LA again and drove home the next day. It was good to go but it was also good to be home.
Just to let you know, I am very new to blogging so please excuse the errors you find. This is a learning process. Thanks
After they left we fixed some lunch, ate and went for an outing to the outlet mall close by. He was good for a while but then got tired. Not able to keep up with grammy but is in training to shop the malls..hahaha. 
Looks like papa is needing the nap about now.
He loves the game of throwing something (a shoe) in front of him as he crawled along, or even throwing the shoe down to the next step and then trying to retrieve it without having to crawl down the next step. He can fly up stairs but coming down, he's still in training.
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Now it was time to leave.
We were all at Sweet Tomatoes before the kids evening out. The Matron of honor got this get up for Doug. He wore it all evening. As you can image, the crown added 6 inches to the already 6'8".
