European Vacation: The Finale (Paris, France)

Our last stop...Paris! When making travel plans several months ago, we found that it was very difficult to get a direct flight from Venice to NY, so we had to do a stop over in one of the other major cities. Our choices were London, Germany or Paris so we decided on Paris because Gabrielle said she wanted to go shoe shopping (Thank Goodness we didn't have much time for shopping because she would have been very disappointed when I told her she couldn't buy a pair of Louis Vuitton's...she's 10 and already has a shoe thing...I'm in BIG trouble!)  

When arriving to Paris, we found that it was much cooler than we had expected, in the low 60's to be exact, which was kind of a shock since we came from 100-105 degree temperatures. We spent two wonderful days in the city of love where we visited many beautiful sites like the Louvre and saw the inverted triangles...

The spot in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code where he wrote
that Mary Magdalene was laid to rest. 

The original Mona Lisa, which is actually very small, was once stolen in 1911 from the museum. Thankfully it was found and returned and now sits behind bullet proof glass. 

Beautiful architecture and fresco paintings could be found everywhere...

Then it was off to Versailles. Here is a picture of Marie Antoinette's bedroom.

And you can't forget the gorgeous, well manicured Versailles Gardens...

The next day, we went to the french countryside where we spent the afternoon at Claude Monet's home in Giverny. Such a warm, peaceful place to live with flower gardens everywhere. No wonder he was so inspired to paint there and Gabrielle, our budding artist, was EXTREMELY excited when she found out we were going there. 

Monet's inspiration for his famous Water Lily painting

I hope you enjoyed a little bit of our travel! We had a wonderful time and created so many wonderful memories for years to come. Au revoir! 

European Vacation: Part 7 (Venice, Italy)

Venice is a city in northeast Italy and consists of 118 small islands separated by canals that are linked by bridges. The only way to get around the city is by boat in which they have three means of transportation: water bus, water taxi or gondola. It is a gorgeous city and I was surprised that people had said it was dirty because we didn't find that at all. The city is lined with cobblestone streets, shops, and restaurants and they rely mainly on tourism. Here is a view from our ship as we were arriving into the port.

Once we docked, we had to take a people mover to the inner part of the city, but it was more like a tram  as it was like a bus on a rail system vs. a mover that you stand on. It was fairly easy to navigate but once on the streets themselves, we were glad we had a personal tour guide to get us through the city streets. There are so many alleys I'm sure we would have gotten lost for hours! 

Just one of the many canals

We saw many buildings and churches with amazing architecture such as The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, or usually just called the Frari. This is one of the greatest churches in Venice and stands on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district and is dedicated to theAssumption.

S Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari Church

Numerous canals with pedestrian bridges to get from one side to the other...

A canal in Venice

And of course Piazza San Marco a.k.a St. Marks Square, home of St. Marks Basilica.  It was first commissioned to be built in 1071 by Domenico Contarini. It has been nicknamed the "Church of Gold" because of its opulence and has been the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, since 1807. They wouldn't allow any pictures inside but trust me when I tell you it was absolutely beautiful with it's ornate carvings and paintings and rich history. 

My girls in St. Marks Square in front of the Basilica

The Ponte de Sospiri a.k.a The Bridge of Sighs is a bridge made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace and was designed by Antoni Contino and built in 1602.

The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. In addition, little could be seen from inside the Bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows.

A local legend also says that lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the Bridge Of Sighs.

The Bridge of Sighs

After a long 7 hours of continuous walking around the city, we found this quaint family owned restaurant called Osteria Oliva Nera where we had a lovely bottle of Chianti and started out with some Zucchini Flowers. I had never eaten them before and they were delightful!

Then for my main meal I had their Homemade Gnocchi with Duck Ragout. 

It was out of this world and the rest of my family enjoyed their meals as well. It was especially nice when the owner came over to personally thank us for coming and gave us a bottle of olive oil to take home. 

After dinner it was time to head back to the ship and at this time it was around 10pm. We went to buy tickets to take the water bus, which were $10 each, but when we got there, the woman behind the counter closed her window and told us to use the machine to purchase the tickets. We walked over and tried to buy our tickets but the English feature wasn't working on the machine. The couple behind us were Italian and helped us get tickets by using the Italian language feature on the machine; however when we tried to go through the turn style with out tickets, they didn't work. (For anyone who was purchasing them that way). While this was happening, we missed the bus and would have to wait for another 45 minutes for the next one. So we decided to take a water taxi instead as it was a speedboat and we would arrive back at the people mover much sooner anyway. The only drawback was that it was $60 euros one way. We decided earlier in the day not to take a gondola ride as the grand canal was very choppy that day (and I don't do well on boats in choppy water if you get my drift!) and they wanted $100 euro per person. $400 euro to ride in a boat?!! I think I'll pass. So now we had some extra money to take this speedboat. My girls were in their glory, loving every minute speeding through the canals with the cool night air whipping their hair. Well it was either that or the young man (very handsome young man too) steering the boat and as Gab put it "He had nice soft hands!" (he helped us on and off the boat). We finally made it back to the ship around 11pm and were EXHAUSTED! 

To Be Continued...

European Vacation: Part 6 (Corfu, Greece/Dubrovnik, Croatia)

In this next segment, I will introduce you to two places we stopped on different days since they were both very short tours and we didn't see a whole lot. Both places were absolutely beautiful, but we just didn't take as many pictures. 

The first place we stopped was Corfu, Greece, where we visited several palaces. It was a short tour and most of them we weren't able to photograph inside. 

The Palace, located in the village of Gastouri, was erected in 1890 for Elizabeth (Sissy), the Empress of Austria as the solace of her soul. It was used as her summer retreat. Later the Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany bought the Palace. 

The next day we visited Dubrovnik, Croatia where we took a cable car to the top of the mountain to view the sites from above. Now, this was a HUGE undertaking for me as I am deathly afraid of heights. BUT, I managed to make it up and was glad I did because the view was breathtaking! 

Yes, I was in that orange box climbing up a mountain on a cable wire...yikes!

The original Dubrovnik Cable Car was built in 1969 and was a favorite among visitors and locals who wanted to enjoy a beautiful view of Dubrovnik’s Old Town and the surrounding area. When the war began in 1991, the cable car was used to transfer more than 2.5 million people out of the city to the top of Srdj Hill. The cable car was destroyed in the war and remained out of service until a recent total restoration.

View of the wall surrounding Old Town from Srdj Hill. 

Entrance to Old Town for small boats. 

Old Town

Next stop, Venice!

To Be Continued...

European Vacation: Part 5 (Olympia, Greece)

Our next stop took us to Katakolon, Greece or better known as Olympia. I REALLY enjoyed touring this original site of the Olympic Games, especially since all of the hype around the upcoming (and now happening) Olympics. 

According to Wikipedia, "the ancient Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece. They were held in honor of Zeus, and the Greeks gave them a mythological origin. Historical records indicate that they began in 776 BC in Olympia. They continued to be celebrated when Greece came under Roman rule, until the emperor Theodosius I suppressed them in 394 AD as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as the state religion of Rome. The games were usually held every four years, or olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies."

"During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their countries to the games in safety."  Our tour guide told us that it could take sometimes 3-4 months for some countries to arrive and their path was safe from war along their route, even if the country had an existing feud going on. "The prizes for the victors were wreaths of laurel leaves. The games became a political tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the games, and in times of war, priests would offer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations and artistic competitions. A Statue of Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was erected at Olympia to preside over the games, though it no longer stands. Sculptors and poets would congregate each olympiad to display their works of art to would-be patrons.

The ancient Olympics had fewer events than the modern games, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete (although a woman Bilistiche is also mentioned as a winning chariot owner.) As long as they met the entrance criteria, athletes from any country or city-state were allowed to participate. The games were always held at Olympia rather than alternating to different locations as is the tradition with the modern Olympic Games. Victors at the Olympics were highly honored and praised, and their feats chronicled for future generations."

There are still footprints embedded in this stone

These "faces" were actually water spouts and sat on top of the pillars to catch the rain

Looking at all of the ruins, I was amazed at the structures and how a lot of them were still standing to this day. Most of the ruins left are from the training areas, not from the field itself, which is simply a large, open dirt field with a strip of marble marking the location where runners would take their mark. 

The entrance into Olympic Field

Olympic Field with the marble starting line. Very simple. 

Where the judges sat. The spectators sat on the grass that was gradually sloped upward. 

The girls running on the field. 

 After our tour we headed back to our ship where my husband and I splurged on a private cabana wine pairing dinner while sailing the Greek Isles. 

The view from our outside cabana on the ship

I have to say I wasn't that impressed with the food on the ship, other than their private restaurants, but this dinner was superb (and they even made me chicken to substitute the seafood and lamb...though I was so full I barely ate it!)

The dessert.

The perfect ending to a perfect day! 

To Be Continued...

European Vacation: Part 4 (Messina, Sicily)

The next part of our trip brings us to Messina, Sicily. I have to say that though it was beautiful, it didn't "thrill me" like other parts of Italy had and I was a little disappointed (especially since my ancestors came from here...well maybe not Messina exactly). We spent most of the day on the tour bus driving around what seemed like in circles. 

The highlight of our day (besides finally getting pizza and a good canoli!) was the clock tower (which was in walking distance from our ship so we spent money on the tour unnecessarily). It was beautiful to watch. When the clock strikes 12pm, church bells are struck by two 10' bronze statues. After the chimes, a lion, which represents the strength of the city, waves his flag, wags his tail and turns his head to face the piazza and roars three times. Next, Ave Maria is played while an angel appears bearing a letter for the Madonna, who is greeted by Saint Paul.  The story continues as bronze statues are "brought to life" during a 10 minute show. 

After Sicily, we headed for Nafplion, Greece where we saw an ancient theatre that is still used today. The acoustics were amazing and really traveled to the top of the structure. 

 We visited Palamidi Castle which was a fortress built in the early 19th century with 8 self-contained bastions. This was at the entrance of the castle and was believed to have lion heads. 

 We also visited underground tombs. It's so hard to imagine all of these being built so long ago without the equipment we have today. This was the entrance to the fortress where it was then entirely covered with dirt. Here is a picture of Rachael and I so you can see how tall it was. 

After touring the sites, we went to a local restaurant for Greek fare; which they served lamb (and I don't eat lamb), so it was Greek Salad for me which was PERFECT! It was 105 degrees this day and we all weren't very hungry and couldn't wait to go back to the ship to go swimming!




To Be Continued...

European Vacation: Part 3 (Rome, Italy)

Our next stop was Rome, Italy where we spent the day with our wonderful tour guide Marco from Miles & Miles. I highly recommend this company when touring Italy. Our tour guide arrived on time in a clean, Mercedes van, took us to all of the sights WE wanted to see (not the ones that are pre determined by the cruise company) AND, it was far less expensive to go privately too! It worked for us since we had been to Rome once before(we stopped there last year on a cruise also when we went with my in-laws to celebrate an early 50th wedding anniversary) and toured the major sites like Vatican City, the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain (to name a few). We did make one return trip to Trevi Fountain to throw in our coins again (hey, it worked last time!). For those of you not familiar with the legend, it says that if you throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder into the fountain, with your back to it, that will ensure a return to trip to Rome. A  newer version also says that not only will it ensure a trip back, throwing in a second coin will result in a new romance and throwing in a third coin will lead to marriage. (P.S...we only let the girls throw in one coin. I'm not ready to lose them yet to love and I wasn't about to take any chances! lol)

We saw a few more sights around Rome...

...then decided to drive out to the Roman countryside. Once there, we stopped at a small town called Nemi. It was so quaint with brightly colored buildings, shops and cobblestone streets. 

The town overlooks Lake Albano. Isn't it beautiful? 

We also sampled some homemade meats like prosciutto and soppressata, and cheeses from a specialty shop called Norcineria Castelli. The Ancient Norcineria Castles was created by a family of butchers for five generations. A place where you can find great local produce, pork and sausages. My husband said it was the best prosciutto he's ever tasted, though the kids were a little turned off by the hanging cured boar legs and other meat. 

We then ventured around the lake and stopped at this wonderful restaurant on the top of a hill called Antico Ristorante Pagnanelli, where we toured their wine cellar and had a leisurely, early afternoon wine tasting luncheon. The restaurant has been family owned since 1882 and is in it's 4th generation. It is located next door to the Pope's summer villa at Castel Gondolfo. We sampled a white wine made with red grapes and it was superb! It has all of the flavors of a red wine but they remove the skin before pressing so the wine is actually white. We ordered a few bottles to be shipped home and I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival! :)

The view from our table outside on the terrace overlooking the lake.

My husband had Ravioli stuffed with Blackberries and Goat Cheese, Gabrielle had Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce; while Rachael and I had this amazingly simple, yet wonderfully presented Fettuccine with Lemon and Mint served in a lemon. It was absolutely delicious with just the right amount of lemon and mint and the perfect portion size. 

Yes, this is a real, hollowed out lemon. 

Now, for those of you not familiar with Italian lemons, they are HUGE. Here is a picture of Gabrielle in Sorrento, Italy holding one up over her head so that you can see how big they actually are. 

I am definitely going to try to recreate a similar meal once my kitchen is completed, but will probably use a grapefruit since our lemons are so small, so stay tuned...


After lunch, we went next door to visit the Pope's summer residence. We couldn't go inside; however, we almost got to see the Pope in Nemi as the shop owners were all bustling while we were visiting speaking in excited tones as they got wind that he was going to visit there that afternoon. 

We took in a few more sights on the way back to the ship...

...then called it a day. A fun, exciting, but very long day. 


To Be Continued...