Monte Carlo
October 22, 2016 in Monaco ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Our honeymoon began with flying into Nice, France on the morning of October 22th. We took a bus to Monte Carlo, located our cruise ship (Marina from Oceania Cruise Lines), and dropped our luggage offRead more
Florence, Italy
October 23, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Our first port after setting sail was Livorno, Italy. We used the first of four complimentary ship excursions to take a bus from the port to Florence, where we explored on our own. Two of our stops inRead more
Florence Uffizi Gallery
October 23, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Our next stop in Florence was the Uffizi Gallery, which houses perhaps the best collection of Italian Renaissance art in the world. Mike had made reservations before we went on the trip which meant weRead more
The Vatican Museum
October 24, 2016 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Overnight we travelled to Rome, Italy. Our first stop on arrival was the Vatican Museum. We could have spent all day there and still have not seen everything—it's huge! From centuries of amazingRead more
Vatican City
October 24, 2016 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Our guide for the tour of Rome was great, and he told us a lot of interesting stories about the area. As he pointed out, and as depicted here, Vatican City is a separate country from Italy (Carole isRead more
St. Peter's Basilica
October 24, 2016 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
St. Peter's Basilica is a world-famous church that houses Michelangelo's "La Pieta" and a copy of Raphael's "Transfiguration". Other pictures included here are of the Chapel of St. Sebastian, whichRead more
St. Peter's Basilica and Square
October 24, 2016 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Today was a beautiful October day in Rome and the square was set for a papal address. We happened to be visiting during a Roman Catholic pilgrimage, so the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica were moreRead more
Piazza Navona
October 24, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
We moved on to what was supposed to be a quick stop at Piazza Navona, where Bernini's "Fountain of the Four Rivers" is located. As you can see, there was a heavy police presence, given the recentRead more
The Pantheon
October 24, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
The Pantheon was originally a Roman temple to honor "all gods", and it was built by Marcus Agrippa between 27 BC and 14 AD. Although burned and later rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian (126 AD), the domeRead more
Trevi/PopePaulV Fountains/HadriansMarket
October 24, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
While we could have lived without seeing another fountain, Trevi Fountain is a landmark and must-see. We also stopped at Pope Paul V Fountain on our way into town, and drove by Hadrian's MarketRead more
The Colosseum
October 24, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
We hustled around the Colosseum, and given time constraints, were unable to go inside. Thankfully, we got some good pictures from outside. There is so much to see in Rome and one day is just notRead more
Rome
October 24, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
These are some random photographs from around Rome. The coolest is probably the Knights of Malta keyhole on Aventine Hill, where Carole snapped a nice picture through the keyhole. There's also a shotRead more
St. Paul's Basilica
October 24, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Our last stop was St. Paul's Basilica. We got there late in the day and the tour guide said we had 30 minutes to walk around. Unfortunately, the line was over 30 minutes long because there were soRead more
St. Paul's Basilica Rome
October 24, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Inside the basilica, we saw Paul's tomb and the chapel of St. Lawrence. Although we didn't have a lot of time to take it all in, we were happy to get to see what we did. After that it was time to headRead more
Sorrento and Amalfi Coast
October 25, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Upon arrival in Sorrento, we stopped by a Limoncello factory where we bought a couple of small bottles to take home. Along the drive, we snapped a picture of "The Virgin Mary", a rock formationRead more
Positano
October 25, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
We joined three other couples for this excursion with Joe Banana limo tours. They took us to Positano, Amalfi, Pompeii, and the aforementioned limoncello shop. Positano is a beautiful city on theRead more
Amalfi
October 25, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Our next stop was the little town of Amalfi, a town known for its nativity scenes. We also came across some cute drinking fountains, as pictured here. We, however, stuck with bottled water.
Amalfi Cathedral
October 25, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
The Amalfi cathedral is a 9th century cathedral that holds the relics of the Apostle Andrew. A "newer" version built in the 13th century is connected to it and seen in the picture of Carole on theRead more
Pompeii
October 25, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Our last sightseeing stop was a visit to Pompeii, an ancient Roman city buried by volcanic ash with Mt. Vesuvius's eruption in 79 AD. Although we had a very knowledgeable guide, we only got to seeRead more
Messina, Sicily
October 26, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Our next port was supposed to be Taormina, Sicily which is a quaint, ancient Sicilian town with a lot of Roman and Greek ruins. Unfortunately, the sea was too choppy for us to anchor in theRead more
Savoca, Sicily
October 26, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Our ship excursion in Sicily was entitled "Land of The Godfather". (This selection was entirely Mike's idea!) We saw many of the places where "The Godfather" (parts I and II) was filmed, including theRead more
Forza d'agro
October 26, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
The next stop in our tour of the "Land of the Godfather" was Forza d'agro. The wedding of Michael and Apollonia (from the movie) was filmed at a church here (see the picture of Mike in the doorway);Read more
Inside Sicilian Churches
October 26, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
We got another few pictures from stopping by several churches in Savoca and Forza d'agro. Most places were closed that day, so we had the streets to ourselves.
Palaiokastritsa, Greece
October 27, 2016 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
We moved on to Greece the next day, and while the weather was just about perfect every other day of our trip, our stop in Corfu was very rainy. After docking outside of the town of Corfu at noon, weRead more
Orthodox Church/Makrades/Acharavi
October 27, 2016 in Greece ⋅ 🌧 18 °C
Our next stop was a little Greek Orthodox church that was several centuries old. We bought a small handmade Christmas ornament from the resident nuns there. Afterward, we stopped at a littleRead more

























































































































































