Stepping into Tuscany

April 25, 2017 After yesterday’s difficult tour of Rome, we decided to change our plans for the scheduled stop in Livorno, Italy. We had a tour of Florence and Pisa planned, but thought we’d cut the trip back to just one stop. We decided on Pisa. Today (April 25) Italians celebrated a national holiday called […]

When in Rome

April 24, 2017 Our ship landed at the port of Civitavecchia, about 40 miles outside Rome. We purchased our tour of the city before leaving the States. There was no problem at all locating the tour company and our bus to take us to downtown Rome. The roads were not very crowded and we were […]

Malta – Island of Knights

April 22, 2017 We arrived in Malta, an island nation between Italy and Libya in the Mediterranean, early on Saturday morning. Neither Pat or I really knew what to expect when we got there, but we were very pleasantly surprised. As we opened our stateroom door that morning, we were treated to a view of […]

Underway in the Adriatic Sea

April 20, 2017 We left Venice last evening feeling blessed to have been able to spend such a special time in that inspiring city. Hundreds of years has only amplified its beauty. Pat and I decided we must return to Venice someday and spend more time. The ship cruised right down the Grand Canal which […]

Anchors Aweigh…our Cruise Begins

April 19, 2017 The Vision of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) begins its next Mediterranean Sea voyage today and you won’t believe who is going to be onboard….us! Starting in Venice, we are scheduled to visit Dubrovnik, Croatia; Malta; Rome; Florence/Pisa; Nice; Ibiza; Mallorca; and finally Barcelona. We have planned a couple tours along the […]

4 am and Venice Bound

April 18, 2017 Sleep evaded us last night. We were picked up at 4 am and whisked away to Charles de Gaulle Airport. As we made our way out of the city, we felt very sad to be leaving. We took a final look at the Eiffel Tower, which was standing silently in the dark. […]

Au Revoir, Paris

April, 17, 2017 It is our final day in this inspirational city that opened up to us to show its true nature and passion. We met so many nice people and saw some incredible sights. Paris is so beautiful…it just can’t help itself. So, today we gather our thoughts and our belongings and prepare […]

Joyeuses Pâques

April 16, 2017 Easter has arrived and our days in France are swiftly coming to an end. This has been such a wonderful time for us but there’s so much more remaining to experience before we travel back to the U.S. Next week, we are heading to Italy, Croatia, Malta, and Spain before making our […]

Pre-Easter Rest

April 15, 2017 We have had a couple of busy and physically demanding days, so Pat and I decided to take the day off and catch up a little. I have COPD and trying to maintain healthy breathing, and she has a twinge in her leg that darn well hurts. Yesterday was a challenge since […]

Everything Montmartre

April 14, 2017 We have been looking forward to this day since we got here but wanted to wait until Kate arrived before we went there. Today we visited the Montmartre section of Paris – our favorite part of the city. Montmartre is full of artists, spectacular views, music, Sacre Coeur Basilica, and one […]