Aix en Provence: Capstone of the Tour
28 November 2013, Perancis ⋅ ☀️ 37 °F
We took a bus tour from the port at Toulon, France up to the town of Aix-en-Provence with our guide Olivier. We had a leisurely walk through the old town, and enjoyed its Roman and medievalBaca selengkapnya
Pisa: Quiet Grandeur
27 November 2013, Italia ⋅ 🌙 41 °F
We drove west from Florence to arrive in Pisa just as the sun set. We passed the quarries where the Carara marble was mined for the greatest statues in history. We saw the famous Leaning Tower, theBaca selengkapnya
The Art of Florence
27 November 2013, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 39 °F
Our guide Elizabetha was an art major as well as a guide, and she explained that the genius of Michaelangelo's statue of David lies in his face. Unlike its predecessors, which show a bloody head ofBaca selengkapnya
Frigid Morning in Florence
27 November 2013, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 39 °F
Florence is unspeakably beautiful. A lovely bus ride from Livorno to Florence took us through a most beautiful part of Tuscany. I was surprised that the ancestral villages of Vinci, and that of theBaca selengkapnya
The Flavian Amphitheater
26 November 2013, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F
In the afternoon we visited the Colosseum (properly called the Flavian Amphitheater). Glenda was troubled by the many tragic deaths that occurred there. The drive back to Civitavecchia took us throughBaca selengkapnya
Lunch at Hotel Bernini
26 November 2013, Kota Vatikan ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F
Our drive to the Hotel Bernini for lunch revealed more information about Roman imperial history, as we drove down the street where Julius Caesar’s birthplace once stood. The hotel was modern, clean,Baca selengkapnya
Treasures of the Vatican
26 November 2013, Kota Vatikan ⋅ ⛅ 41 °F
We started with a 90 minute bus ride from Civitavecchia to Rome. Guide Monica showed us the old fort at Civitavecchia, built by Michaelangelo. We came into Rome via the old Aurelian road to see firstBaca selengkapnya
Herculaneum, Last Refuge from Vesuvius
25 November 2013, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
I awoke to a beautiful sunrise over Mt. Vesuvius. An 8 A. M. visit to Dr. Dylan Belton had him removing my IV port, and giving me two more boxes of different antibiotics. At breakfast we had aBaca selengkapnya
Recovery
24 November 2013, Ionian Sea ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Enormous relief! When I woke at 5:00 A. M. my temperature was normal, and I felt like myself again. I had other IV’s at 8:00 A. M., 2:00 P. M. and at 10:00 P. M. At 2:00 my attendant was nurseBaca selengkapnya
Pneumonia in Mikonos
23 November 2013, Yunani ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
My fever spiked again last night at 103.8, so obviously I’m not out of the woods yet. I went to the ship’s medical center, where Dr. Dylan Belton from Bermuda and PA Rohen from South Africa wereBaca selengkapnya
The Hippodrome
22 November 2013, Turki ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
Visiting the Hippodrome amazed me! It sits just between the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. It was adjacent to the palace of the Caesars who followed Constantine in the Eastern Roman Empire. OfBaca selengkapnya
The Blue Mosque
22 November 2013, Turki ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
The Sultanahmet Mosque is also known as the Blue Mosque because of the lovely blue light that comes through the stained glass windows. There was a place reserved for prayer but the vast majority ofBaca selengkapnya
The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul
22 November 2013, Turki ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul is a cross between a middle eastern suq and a modern shopping mall. In business since 1461 there are still to be found little stalls selling spices, flowers and leather,Baca selengkapnya
A Day in the Harem, Topkapi
22 November 2013, Turki ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
It is hard to imagine that by the nineteenth century the Ottoman Emperors needed a new palace, but they built one nevertheless. The old palace, called Topkapi (the Cannons) is still magnificent. WeBaca selengkapnya
Hagia Eirene
22 November 2013, Turki ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Unlike the Haiga Sofia, the Hagia Eirene next door has never been a mosque. It is still used as a concert hall, but all of its old Christian iconography is still intact. An ancient ecumenical councilBaca selengkapnya
Hagia Sophia, The Gate of Heaven
22 November 2013, Turki ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. We arrived in Istanbul about 7:00 A. M., and the first sight I saw from our balcony was the Hagia Sophia. It also turned outBaca selengkapnya
Kusadasi and Ephesus
21 November 2013, Turki ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
I was running a little temperature so I decided not to get off the ship for the visit to Kusadasi and Ephesus. We had been here before, so it seemed to be a good day to rest and recuperate. GlendaBaca selengkapnya
Corinth Canal
20 November 2013, Yunani ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
We took the bus to Corinth where we boarded a boat for a trip down the canal. It is remarkable that several ancient and modern attempts to cut a canal here failed. We saw the Acrocorinthos in theBaca selengkapnya
Worship and Water, St. Mark's
17 November 2013, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
We worshipped at St. Mark’s Basilica. We had to walk on little platforms to avoid the ankle-deep water flooding St. Mark’s Square. Even though the service was in Italian, I felt more at home thereBaca selengkapnya
The Wonders of Venice
16 November 2013, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
Venice is magnificent! I stood on the balcony taking pictures as the ship entered St. Mark’s Basin. We went on an organized tour of the Doge’s Palace with our guide Sylvia, a very witty andBaca selengkapnya
Dubrovnik-An Unexpected Treasure
14 November 2013, Kroasia ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
We were not expecting much from the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. How surprised we were! I had heard that there were some buildings here from the ninth century. I did not realize that the wholeBaca selengkapnya
The Chef's Table
13 November 2013, Adriatic Sea ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
One of the joys of taking a cruise occurs when the ship offers something akin to what Princess Cruises calls "The Chef's Table." On the Ruby Princess it involves a trip back to the kitchens to see howBaca selengkapnya
Corfu: The City
13 November 2013, Yunani ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
The island of Corfu (Kerkyra) is a wonderland. It has been domanated by Venetian, Austro-Hungarian and English rulers. The result is a wonderfully cosmopolitan island that bears the stamp of the wholeBaca selengkapnya
Corfu: The Paleokastritsa
13 November 2013, Yunani ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
The Paleokastritsa is a roadway on the island of Corfu (Kerkyra) that goes up into the mountains, past monasteries, extravagant vistas, and quaint coffee shops. We took advantage of all of theseBaca selengkapnya
Sissi: Beauty and Tragedy
13 November 2013, Yunani ⋅ 🌧 61 °F
Empress Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, known to friends as Sissi, was a beautiful woman with a very unhappy life. Her husband was not interested in her. Yet she dutifully bore an heir, whoBaca selengkapnya
Katakolon: The Port We Missed
12 November 2013, Yunani ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Katakolon is the gateway to Mount Olympus. The day we were to visit the weather was rainy and stormy with heavy winds. Our captain wanted a particular berth. He was advised that to get it he must goBaca selengkapnya































































































































































































































