Corfu Town, Greece

We got back to the old town of Corfu at dusk, when most of the shops were closing. We snapped a couple of pictures of the old fortress built by the Venetians in 1546. The church down the road is theЧитать далее
Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Rick Steves said not to oversleep when cruising through the Bay of Kotor early in the morning, and was he ever right! As the sun rose, we sailed through the bay and it was truly amazing. Mike took soЧитать далее
Road to Cetinje via Kotor

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, "I have heard that the road to Cetinje via Kotor is one of the most beautiful in the world and that is why I've come." We could not agree more. TheЧитать далее
Cetinje/Hilltop Market/Budva

Our ship excursion in Kotor took us to Cetinje, which was once the center of Montenegrin rule. We stopped at the Museum of St. Nikola (the pink building). They were adamant about our not takingЧитать далее
Kotor's Old Town

After Cetinje, our bus took us back to the old town of Kotor; we had a quick tour there before we returned to our ship. Mike posed in front of the main gate, or the "sea gate", which dates back to theЧитать далее
Kotor's Fortifications

After the quick tour of the old town, we decided to hike up the old city wall and fortification. We did not initially plan on going to the top (which involves climbing the same amount of steps as theЧитать далее
Kotor's Fortifications

The Castle of St. John at the top of the hill was built by the Venetians in the 15th century, but the fortifications go back far longer than that. The original fortifications were last rebuilt by theЧитать далее
Kotor Harbor

This is a combination of sunrise and sunset harbor pictures. This little town is a must see for anyone traveling the Adriatic!
Split, Croatia: Views from Bell Tower

The next stop on our cruise was Split, Croatia. Split is an ancient city that served as the retirement home of Emperor Diocletian (the last Roman emperor to persecute the church). We bought tickets toЧитать далее
Cathedral of St. Domnius Bell Tower

Originally constructed in 1100 AD, the bell tower was reconstructed in 1908 and several of the Romanesque sculptures were removed. The tower is visible from pretty much anywhere in the city and makesЧитать далее
Palace of Diocletian

Much of the city is within the ruins of the old palace which dates back to the 4th century. We bought tickets to tour the lower section of the old palace which was better preserved and had beenЧитать далее
Temple of Jupiter/Baptistry of St. John

The Temple of Jupiter was constructed between 295 to 304 AD while the palace was being built. In the 6th century, it was converted into the Baptistry of St. John. This statue of St. John was completedЧитать далее
Split: Inside the Old Palace

Old ruins dominate the center of the city of Split. Many of the buildings in or near it were built with stones from the palace itself. The big picture is of Carole standing in the peristyle of theЧитать далее
City of Split

These are miscellaneous photos of Split. First are images of the market located near the dock outside the palace. There were flowers everywhere in anticipation of the Catholic All Souls Day (CroatiaЧитать далее
Cathedral of St. Domnius

Originally built as a mausoleum for Diocletian in 305 AD, the church was first consecrated in the 7th century and is considered the oldest Catholic Church building in continuous use in the world. TheЧитать далее
Koper, Slovenia

Our next stop was Koper, Slovenia. Once again, we had booked an excursion with a group of other couples to head to Lake Bled and the Slovenian capital city of Ljubljana. We arrived at the dock earlyЧитать далее
Lake Bled, Slovenia

Next we traveled to Lake Bled, a stunningly beautiful body of water in the midst of the Julian Alps of northern Slovenia. There is a tiny island in the middle of the lake on which stands theЧитать далее
Bled Castle

Next we drove up to Bled Castle on a cliff overlooking the lake. It is unclear exactly when the castle was first built. Recorded history extends back to 10 April 1004, when the German King Henry IIЧитать далее
More Views of Lake Bled

Settlements of the Lake Bled area go back thousands of years. Archeologists discovered 80 gravesites from the late Iron Age (800 to 600 BC). There are also more modest finds of Celtic and RomanЧитать далее
Museum at Bled Castle

The castle's museum had a lot of good historic information to offer, including the charter from the 11th century that first documents Bled Castle. Carole liked the red leaves covering the walls aroundЧитать далее
Ljubljana

After tearing ourselves away from beautiful Lake Bled, we hopped into the van to head to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The guide told us that Slovenia was home to the majority of the bestЧитать далее
Ljubljana City Hall and Robba Fountain

Originally built in the Gothic style in the 15th century, City Hall underwent a baroque renovation in the early 18th century. In front of it is Robba Fountain, completed in 1751. Also known asЧитать далее
Preseren and Congress Square

In Ljubljana, our guide took us to the city's two main squares. The pink building is the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, originally built in the 17th century and given its baroque facade in theЧитать далее
Ljubljana's St. Nicholas Church

Pictures of Robba Fountain on previous pages include St. Nicholas Church, which is pictured here. The church building was first mentioned in 1262, and suffered a fire a century later, leading to itsЧитать далее
Ljubljana

All in all, Ljubljana was a neat little town that we would not mind visiting again — but only if Carole gets to spend more time in Lake Bled, too! During our time in Ljubljana, we ate at a busyЧитать далее