BBQ in the Country

This weekend we were invited to a BBQ at the country home of Jinger, the Realtor who found us our cabin four years ago.

Triple Layer Carrot Pineapple Cake ready to go along for dessert

This turkey was kept company by other turkeys and chickens

The metal horse gave us no trouble

The lily pond was active with Koi and other water critters

It was a beautiful evening following a few sprinkles, including a beautiful sunset



Evan Is in Town

The little guy that we babysat for is back in town, visiting for the weekend.  It's hard to believe he will be 2 in about 3 weeks.

Appetizers awaiting guests

Dessert - Chocolate Bundt Cake and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Evan and Julie playing with the bowling pins Kathy brought for him

Evan enjoying his chocolate cake - he thoroughly enjoyed it!



Letters and Wishes from Emma and Rachel

When we returned from our trip, we had these waiting for us:



Rome, Italy

September 5, 2011

Disembarkation from the ship went smoothly. In fact, it went so well we had to wait for our taxi into Rome. After checking into the Residenza Cellini at Via Modena n.5, we headed to the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel was quite impressive. Can you imagine painting a ceiling looking up the whole time?

The amount of art that is in residence is amazing!  It is interesting to think about where it all came from as the Catholics took the spoils from the land after winning wars.

For dinner we went to Janne Taubmann’s recommendation - Spiritno Di Vino. It is one of the oldest buildings in Rome that is currently in use. Each step into the wine cellar in the basement takes you back 75 years. The food was fantastic and the owners charming.

Our hotel

I thought perhaps the mornings of Nutella with breakfast were over, but no!  They had it available with our breakfast here as well.

We were on the 5th floor and had a nice balcony area for relaxing and connection to WiFi

Sistine Chapel

The steps leading to the wine cellar at Spirito Di Vino

We were told by the owner it is the oldest building in Rome in active use

The wine cellar

September 6, 2011

On our last day of being a tourist, there was a transit strike that shut down the trains and buses. We didn’t realize it early in the day, but as we made it to the Coliseum, we found out that the ancient attractions were also closed because of the strike. We got our walk in as we hit the highlights: the Coliseum, Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain - of course there were plenty of other places along the way!

Kendall at the Coliseum

What's the best plan with attractions closed and buses not running?

The Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

Dinner - how could we leave Italy without having Spaghetti?

Tasty!

We tossed our coins in the fountain to ensure returning some day

 

One final time in an outdoor cafe sipping cappuccino and enjoying a dessert

Messina, Italy

Tour guide Mario took us to the great scenic overlook areas and quaint shopping squares in the old town.  We were able to see Mt. Etna through the haze and discern the smoke rising from the top.  The old clock tower chiming noon was a site to see with all the movements depicting scenes from the town’s history.   The chiming took 12 minutes and included a lion roaring, a rooster crowing 3 times, the church rising from the ruins and Jesus blessing the crowd. 

It was a lot to cover in 5 hours! 

European cities gave us a new appreciation of an 'old house'

Picturesque streets

There are plants and flowers on many balconies and patios

Love this scene!

One of the churches in town close to the port

Mt. Etna was puffing some white smoke, but it is difficult to see through the haze

The famous clock tower, the third largest in the world

Santorini, Greece

Santorini is the beautiful Greek isle with the famous white buildings and blue roofs.  The views are spectacular!  We rented a car and toured around the island, spent time shopping and ate lunch in a local restaurant on the black sand beach.  I could have spent days here with a camera and not capture the beauty.

The only way to get from the port was to take a cable car.  The views were spectacular!

Jenell, Doug, me, Kendall

The famous blue and white hues with a soft yellow

There are many churches and bells in the villages

The water and the sky were the same blue as the painted roofs

A view from the window in a nautical museum we visited

Ephesus, Turkey

We signed up with Fez Travel for a tour of the area. Our tour guide was Sezgin and he was very knowledgeable about the history of the region. Our first stop was the last house that is reported to be the home that Mary the Mother of Jesus lived at the end of her life. It’s a beautiful, serene setting with a lot of shade trees and gardens. If it really was her house, I’m sure she would have been content there.

A second stop was the old excavated city of Ephesus. About 20% has been uncovered and we were able to tour about half of that. The detail of the mosaics and friezes were incredible considering they are about two thousand years old. They had ‘modern’ sewage and fresh water systems, libraries, banks, brothels and churches.

We lunched at a local Turkish restaurant as a part of the tour.

We also visited a Turkish rug ‘factory’ to learn how the ancient craft is done. It is sponsored by the Turkey government to keep the traditional skills alive.

Mary's House

In ancient Ephesus

A Fez Hat on the Fez Tour.  This was at the gift shop at the restaurant where we had lunch.

Beautiful yarns at the rug factory.

Athens, Greece

We caught the ‘Hop On, Hop Off’ Athens Tour Bus at the port for a ride into town and a visit to the Ancient City.  The crowds were pressing (literally!) while waiting to get in to the Parthenon, the temperature hot, the humidity high, the sun scorching, and patience short.  We made it inside the gate and were favored with seeing the Propylaea, the Erechtheum temple and the Porch of Caryatids in the distance.  The Acropolis is 230 feet above the city and the view below is worth the climb up the hill.   Ongoing restorations efforts have been underway for over 20 years, twice as long as it took to build it in the first place.  We walked through Constitution Square and saw the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace, the Temple of Zeus.  On the bus we saw the Olympic Stadium. It is a busy city and until the 1990s, the most polluted city in Europe, which has caused major erosion of the marble buildings and statues. 

Ancient Olympia

We rented a small white Fiat and headed to ancient Olympia. It included the Temple of Zeus, marble starting blocks for foot races, pillars and parts of old buildings.

We also found the Mercouri Estate, a local winery. The old house built in 1870 is remarkable. Family members still live in the home, although it appears to be in a state of disrepair. Oh, how it would look if fully restored! In the evening, back on the ship, we had our elegant dining experience in the ship’s special restaurant – the Pinnacle Grill. It was a formal night so we were well dressed and spent a nice three hours absorbing the ambiance.

The entrance for the athletes to run onto the field - so similar to what they do today!

As seen below, they used local stone that was filled with sea shells and then covered the structures with marble or granite.

A tub used for soaking after strenuous workouts

The starting blocks for foot races

Some of the many columns still standing

The winery

It was such a quiet, serene location

The family mansion

Another formal night

A group picture

Doug, Jenell, me, Kendall