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The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of Paula
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The Travels of Paula

The Travels of Paula

I was a software engineer at the same computer company for 38 years although the name of the company changed 3 times. In 2012 I retired and spend my time now golfing, volunteering and traveling (for fun and on missions). Leer más🇺🇸Haymarket
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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaItaly 2018

      Day 7 - Orvieto and Umbria

      17 de agosto de 2018, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

      ‍‍‍‍‍We left the hotel and headed for Orvieto.  We toured the Cathedral there.  The Cathedral was beautiful inside and out. We were told to plan to take a picture when we met up to head back to the bus around 3 pm.  At that time the sun striking the gold mosaic pieces would make the church glitter. 

      After the tour of the church, John & I toured the Etruscan Museum. The cost was 10 Euros per person. I asked if there was a Senior Rate.  There was a senior rate and it was 3 Euros per person (a savings of 14 Euros).  It does pray to ask.  The Museum was nice, but there was no English translations for the posted explanations.  But, that was not a big deal since most of the artifacts were obvious and I used the Google Translate photo feature to translate what I couldn't figure out.  I was moving faster through the museum than John, so when I finished the museum, I headed to the restaurant and John followed when he finished.  Lunch was another"light" meal with a 1st course of 2 pastas; 2nd course of beef stew, cooked eggplant and zucchini, and potatoes; and for dessert chocolate mousse. 

      At 3 pm, it was cloudy, so the church did not glitter.  So we returned to our bus and headed for the country villa we would be staying at.  After we got our luggage we changed clothes and returned downstairs for a history of the manor followed by a musical recital (very nice).  There it was time to head to the dining room for dinner.  I had a warm mushroom salad; followed by a grilled pork meal with arrugala; for dessert I had a crepe filled with gelato; and, of course prosecco andred and white wine. 

      It had been a long day, so after a shower, I went to bed.      Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
      St. Peter's Basilica
      Inside St. Peter's BasilicaThe ceiling off the Sistine Chapel After HoursStaircase down from the Sistine ChapelSt. Peter's Basilica at night

      Day 6 - Second Day in Rome

      16 de agosto de 2018, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

      ‍‍‍We headed for St. Peter's Basilica at 8:30 am.  Our "skip the line" tickets, along with the early hour meant that the crowds were not too bad.  The Pieta was still impressive even though behind glass. 

      Ricardo pointed out an optical illusion where the distance from the front of the Basilica to the altar looks farther away when you are at the rear of the Basilica looking toward the the altar than the distance from the altar looking toward the entrance to the Basilica.  I didn't have the heart to tell him the distances looked roughly the same.

      After the tour of the Basilica, we had some free time.  I ended up purchasing two necklaces.  Then we went out to take a few pictures. The crowdshad gottenlarger. While we stood taking. pictures, several people tried to sell up" skip the line" tickets.  I wished I had a sign that said. "Already been there and done that."

      When were returned fromSt. Peter's we walked to a nearby restaurant and had pizza  and then walked to the Divinci Museum.  It was an enjoyable hands on museum.   On the way back to the hotel we stopped for gelato and then looked into the church next to the hotel.  Then we got ready for a private after hours tour of the Sistine Chapel Museum.  I had not realized that a museum was also housed in the building of the Sistene Chapel. The Museum includes tapestries, paintings, articles from popes and some archaeological artefacts.  We also saw some of the rooms painted by Rafael.  Ricardo described the rivalry between Rafael and Michael Angelo as well as Michael Angelo's fustration with being "commanded" by the Pope to paint the story of Creation on the Sistene Chapel ceiling.  The ceiling was more impressive than I imagined.  When I think of the ceiling I always think of the fresco of the Creation of Man.  I didn't realize how many other frescos make up the ceiling.  I also learned that the fresco of the Last Judgement was painted later and Michael Angelo completed it, a lesser known painter was brought in to cover the naked parts below the waist of the men.

      When we finished the tour, we had a surprise light dinner in the courtyard with prosecco and wine. What a special treat.  Then it was back to the hotel to pack to leave tomorrow for Umbria.      Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
      Inside the Capitolini Museum
      A studio cabinetThe Colosseum just before the rain startedInside the Colosseum during the downpour

      Day 5 - First Day in Rome

      15 de agosto de 2018, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      ‍‍‍‍‍‍Today we got to "sleep in".   We had free time until 2:15 pm.  Of course, John didn't want to start out until around 10 am.  Today is a holiday, so we had been warned that some sights might be closed.  But the upside was fewer crowds.  Our first idea was to see if we could schedule a Segway Tour, but the the tours were 3.5 hours and started too late for us.   So we decided to visit the Capitolini Museum. The Museum includes an impressive collection of statues and bronzes and a collection of Roman art.  The Museum is housed on 2 floors and is not very large, but it allowed us sufficient time to view all the exhibits.  Afterwards we headed for the top floor so John could get lunch (I was still full from lunch.

      We returned to the hotel and then met the group for our two scheduled tours to the Pantheon and the Colosseum. We debated on whether to bring an unbrella, but decided not to since 1) the forecast was for no rain until evening and 2) the sky was clear & blue. 

      We met our local guide, Ricardo, and then walked the very short distance to the Pantheon.  However, because of the holiday, the Pantheon was closed.  We were told we could see the Pantheon on Thursday.   Ricardo still told us a lot about the Pantheon before we got on the bus to travel to the Colosseum.  Just before heading to the Colosseum we stopped for a group picture.  At the Colosseum we got our tickets and headed for the entrance. Before we could ge,t to the entrance, the skies opened and it started to pour.  It was definitely a major storm with thunder, lightening, wind and rain.  Only one of us had an umbrella and one person had a rain jacket and there was no place to get out of the rain.  Finally, we got in and huddled in an area where we were somewhat protected.   Our tour director, Florence, went out to purchase umbrellas or ponchos for us. John & I and a few others decided to brave the rain (since we were already soaked) to see the Colosseum.   Then we were told we should head for the exit where Florence had ponchos for everyone. 

      Once we all donned our ponchos we headed to the bus.  Once back on the bus we returned to the hotel.  But our adventure was not over.  There was water on the floor in our bedroom.  I called housekeeping and eventually a technician came to try to figure out where the water came from. The mystery was not solved, but the floor & wall were cleand up and we  showered and changed.  The rain stopped for our walk to dinner.  Despite the rain we were all in good spirits (helped along with prosecco, wine, good food and gelato).        Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
      Pompei
      PompeiPompeiThe Colosseum at nightSt. Peter's Basilica at night

      Day 4 - Pompei

      14 de agosto de 2018, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

      ‍‍Today our bags were picked up from our room at 7am. I had already headed down to breakfast while John got dressed (we were to meet in the lobby at 7:50 am).  At 7.30, I returned to the room to discover John was getting readyg the flashlight on his phone.  Right after the luggage was picked up, the power to the room was turned off. So I ran downstairs to tell the Front Desk that the power was off and let Florence, our tour director know our situation.  The hotel sent someone up, but he could not resolve the problem. So John finished up in the dark and our group got on the bus.

      Pompei was impressive. To ensure that we could go into some othe more impressive houses that limited group size, our group was divided into two smaller groups.  Our guide was good.  What makes Pompei so impressive is the size of the town.  We spent about 2 hours there.  We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant.  The food was delicious and plentiful (and included wine). I have started taking pictures of the wines I like in hopes I can get them ahen I get home.

      We got to our hotel in Rome around 4:30, but our luggage didn't get to our room for another 30 minutes.  Once we got our luggage, we showered and dressed and met up with the group to walk to the restaurant.  The wine was good, but the service was very slow and many of the meals were not good. We each could choose 3 courses. I chose a pasta (fettuccine with truffles), a beef entree and canoli for dessert.  my dishes were all good.  John was disappointed in his.  He thought the meat was not a very good quality.  one guy at our table, Larry, ordered a pork dish that was all fat.  Then the recommended dessert which was supposed to be a chocolate tort with chocolate sauce and blueberries that almost everyone but me ordered came with no chocolate sauce or berries and was evidently very dry.

      We barely finished our dinner when it was time to head for our little vans to take us on a Rome by Night tour.  14 of us were supposed to go, but a backed out, so only 12 of us went - 8 in one van and 4 in our van. We first went to the Trivoli Fountain. It was still pretty crowded at around 9.30 pm.  Then we drove around the Colossium.  There was no one there.  Our guide, Antonio was very good. He told us a lot of information about Rome as we drove us around.   We also crossed the Tiberius River and saw some of Rome on that side.  Our final stop was St. Peter's Basilica.  The four of us from our van were able to walk around with no one else around and take pictures.  That tour was well worth the extra cost.  When we got back to the hotel at after 11 pm it was time to relax before heading to bed.      Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaItaly 2018

      Day 3 - The Amalfi Coast

      13 de agosto de 2018, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

      Day 3 - The Amalfi Coast

      ‍Today we left the hotel at 7:30 am.  We drove along the Amalfi Coast. We made a stop to visit a church along the way. After the tour, we all went to a gelato store.  I got Pistacheo gelato and John got lemon cream gelato.  Then we drove on to Ravello. We had lunch in a small restaurant near the center of the town. The food was good, but there were problem for the owner and staff getting the special meals for those of us with allergies.   The meal was 3 courses - pasta with meat sauce & pasta with red sauce; chicken caccatore with green beans and potatoes; lemon sorbet in a lemon shell.  It was a lot of food for a lunch.

      After lunch we took a tour of an area where a stage overhangs a mountainside.  Then we climbed a 200 stair tower that overlooked the valley below.  After that we headed to the meeting spot and did a bit of window shopping.  There was a shop there called Wine and Drugs that we couldn't resist looking in.  The store also sold signs/plaques.  My favorite was "Alcohol won't solve all your problems, but neither will milk or water."

      We didn't get back to the hotel until after 6:30 pm.  We showered and John look for a pizzaria.  We found one a short walk from the hotel. The pizza was good and we finished with gelato.  The restaurant provided a free shot of Lemoncello for each of us.  I gave mine to John.      Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaItaly 2018

      Day 2 - Trip to Ercolano

      12 de agosto de 2018, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

      Day 2 - Trip to Ercolano

      ‍I started the day with the hotel's breakfast buffet while John slept in.  At 10 am we headed for the Train Station. We purchased tickets and figured out which train took us to Ercolano.  The train was about 10 minutes late arriving. I wasn't paying attention at the 1st stop, but the next stop was not on the schedule nor were the next few. It turns out the schedule doesn't list all the steps. But there is a diagram near the doors that shows all the steps. After the initial fear that we were on the wrong train, I was able to relax  and enjoy the train ride.  At Ercolano it was a straight shot to the Herculaneum Excavations.  Our guide, Felicia, met us at the ticket office and gave us a little overview, before we headed in.  Herculaneum was destroyed in the same volcano erruption as Pompei, but was covered with a type of lava that preserved skeletans, furniture and other artifacts.  Felicia, who is also an Art Historian & Restorer was excellent. We spent about 2 hours at Herculaneum then we got lunch and headed back to the train. We got back to the heal at about 4:30 to discover that the Welcome Reception was moved up from 6pm to 5:30pm, so we had to rush to get ready.  There are 26 people in our group including 2 teenagers. The two teenagers are very mature. I guess I am going to have to reassess my opinion of teenagers.  Each member of the group (or a member of traveling companions) introduced themselves and told 1) where they were from 2) how many Tauck tours they had been on before and 3) why they had chosen this tour.  After the intros and some info from our Tour Director, we headed on foot to the restaurant for dinner. The food was wonderful and we enjoyed the wine.  We sat with a couple (Bretna and Lonie) who had been picked up at the airport with us. I enjoyed getting to know them better.  After dinner we all headed back to the hotel since we had to get up early (breakfast at 6:45am and on the road at 7:30am).  It was a good first day.Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
      Sights on our Sunset Cruise
      Clouds on the horizonOur captain and guide

      Heading to Italy

      11 de agosto de 2018, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

      Day 1 - Travel Day and Arrival in Sorrento

      ‍‍‍I packed my suitcase last night and helped John by rolling up his shirts and pants.  I also walked to grocery store to get a couple things for John.  The Washington Flyer picked us up at 2pm and we were at the airport by 2:30pm. Our Global Entry status got us Tsa Pre so getting through security was relatively easy. 

      We arrived at Naples pretty much on time. The luggage of one person in our pickup group was lost so while we waited for them I got money. Then we headed for our hotel in Sorrento.

      Once we got settled in our room, we showered and changed, got appetizers for dinner & went to the pier for a sunset boat ride around the Bay of Naples.  Our sailor & guide did a great job. We learned a lot about the area around Sorrento. We tried Lemoncello (not my favorite) and then prosecco (Riondo) and chips & pretcels as we watched the sun set. A nice first day in Italy.      Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaHoly Land 2018

      Last Day of Touring

      6 de marzo de 2018, Israel ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

      Today is our final day in the Holy Land. Our first stop today was Ein Kerem where Zachariah and Elizabeth lived. The area included a church with a small garden and in the garden was a plaque on a wall in the garden that describes the prophecy of Jesus.

      From there we went to the Bible Lands Museum, which turned out to be my favorite that day. It is an archeological museum that explores the culture of the people's mentioned in the Bible including the Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, Arameans, Hittites, Elamites, Phoenicians and Persians. We only visited a small part of the museum. I wish we could have spent more time there.

      Then it was on to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. It was very impressive, but it was hard to look at all the atrocities. But the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations was beautiful and impressive. The garden honors the thousands of non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Their names are engraved on plaques in the garden and arranged by country.

      From the we headed for our final stop - the Garden Tomb. It is the other site that is said to be what the tomb of Jesus is located. The Garden that includes the tomb was beautiful. Before going to the Tomb, everyone on the tour came together for a service and Communion. Bishop Sharma Lewis lead the service and preached. Her sermon was very moving especially where we were. After the service we headed for the tomb. The line was very long and it took us more than 30 minutes to get in to see the inside of the tomb. It was well worth the wait. I still haven't figured out which site I think it's the actual one.

      The entire group had an early dinner and then we headed to to our room to pack, put our luggage out and go to bed. We have to depart for the airport at 1:15 am. Ugh.

      It has been a good trip. I am so glad I was able to go. Knowing what the land the scriptures took place in, will engage my understanding of what I read. The trip has been a blessing.      Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaHoly Land 2018
      The roads within the Old city of Jerusalem.
      The shops on the roads within the Old city of JerusalemWaiting in line to see the tomb of ChristThe Western Wall

      Sixth Day of Touring

      6 de marzo de 2018, Israel ⋅ 🌙 52 °F

      Today we visited sites within the old city of Jerusalem. Our first step was the archaeological site of the Pool of Bethesda We walked the Via Dolorosa. The road of the Via Dolores is very narrow. There are shops along the road which a reminder that except for the products the road is very much the way it was when Jesus walled the roads. There were also cars on the road. It is not really what goes world have encountered, but He would have encountered donkies.

      The last site on the Via Dolorasa is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. When we got to their to see the tomb, our guide, Victor, asked if we wanted to stand in line for an hour. The answer was a resounding "yes!". Seeing the tomb and all that went before His death was very moving. The remainder of Lent and Easter will be different for me this year.

      After lunch we went to the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall). I did not know before that there are separate sections for men and women. We were invited to write out a prayer and put it in a crevices in the wall (which I did). Twice a year the prayers are gathered up and buried in the Mount of Olives.

      After dinner we attended the Sound and Light Show at the Tower of David. It is a celebration of the Jewish history and the Jewish Temple done through sound and images projected on the walls of the Jewish Museum. The show presents the history from 1006 BCE to the present It was very impressive.      Leer más

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    • The Travels of PaulaThe Travels of PaulaHoly Land 2018
      View from the cable car of Masada.
      A glimpse of the original floor tile.Some of the original wall covering1Marian and me floating in the Dead Sea

      Fifth Day of Touring

      4 de marzo de 2018, Israel ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

      Today was a more leisurely day. The weather was a bit warmer today. We were about 10 or 20 minutes late heading out, but traffic was light, so were able to make good time. I really enjoyed Masada. We took a cable car to the top. Masada, based on the ruins, is an impressive place. And the history of Masada is just as impressive. It was a bit crowded, but most of the groups tried to give each other room.

      After lunch (a Falafel sandwich for me) we headed for the Dead Sea. We got into the Dead Sea on a public beach. Pat and Janie decided to pass on floating on the Dead Sea, but they kept our backpacks. Janice took some pictures. Marian & I decided to skip spreading mud on our body. The area we floated in was not very deep, so it was easier to start floating. Joyce, one of the women on my bus, was afraid of the water, but didn't want to miss the experience of floating in the Dead Sea. I told her I would hold her hand and not let go until she was floating. It only took a minute for her to float and she was so excited when she felt herself floating. We were all whooping and cheering and laughing when she started floating. We all stayed in the Dead Sea for about an hour. After showering and getting dressed we headed back for dinner.

      Yesterday we got our group pictures. Marian and I have been working to match the photos in the group picture with the names onlitare received in our travel packet.

      Tomorrow we tour Jerusalem. I am looking forward to seeing the city where so much in Scripture took place.      Leer más

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