Rainstorms and Trainstorms....

We are in Roma! The last few days of our tour have been wonderful, exhausting, and sad. We are sad to leave the Med, but we are excited to come home to our own bed, our little furball, and our friends. Today we disembarked from the ship, and we walked to the train station. It was only about 500 meters, no big deal right? Well, it was POURING.

We were soaked. The streets were running with rivers, we were wading through the mess, but we have arrived safe and, now, dry, to Roma! Ha ha, we had beautiful weather the whole trip, and the one time we had to walk outside to the station, pouring. We are already laughing about it. Thankfully, there were several others in the same "boat" so to speak. We all bonded as we lugged our luggage through the rapidly forming lakes.

Other than our morning adventure, we visited Pompeii and Santorini. I (Lisa) was a bit skeptical about Santorini, but WOW!!!!! We took oodles of pictures, did not ride the donkeys and walked around with our jaws on the pavement most of the day. Then we ate the best gyros of our life, while the island breeze whipped through our hair.


David loved Pompeii! My (Dave) favorite part was seeing the intact bodies from the excavations and seeing how well preserved and intact everything was. From stairs, to walls to gardens, it was like stepping back into the past.

We are exhausted from this mornings journey; Lisa needs cafe, David needs Pizza.

Ciao!
Lisa and Dave

Almost to Rome...

Hello everyone! (Kalimera)
We're sitting in beautiful Santorini, getting ready to chase down the quintessential picture. We think it's in Oia, so onto the Greek bus we go. We've had a great time so far in Greece. So much we have seen and done!


We wandered around the very touristy, but beautiful Mykonos. My (Lisa) favorite part of Mykonos was Delos, the famed birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.

The ruins reminded me a lot of Pompei. David and I both really liked Turkey. I'm amazed at how hospitible people were; they were generous and welcoming. We walked through Ephesus, which was ridiculously amazing. To walk through the ruins where Paul lived for two years! Did you know they built 5 Ephesus'? We visited the most famous: the third.

We also drove up into the mountains to the house of Mary, where we celebrated Mass. It was such a peaceful place, surrounded by lush pine trees.

If we already talked about Athens, sorry, but it left such an impression on us. The beauty....the view from the acropolis! AMAZING!

I (Dave) cried a little at the top of the acropolis, not just because of the hike up...ha ha, but because it was a life long dream of mine to see the Parthenon, and it was all I had hoped it would be. We stopped for a minute or two on the Aeropagus: the hill where Paul preached. The view of the Agora was beautiful, and it was surreal to be there where the apostle Paul stood two thousand years ago!

Our time is running out in the cafe, but we'll send a note from Rome and upload pictures...Lisa has been snapping a ton...when we get home!

Love you all!

Lisa and Dave

Venice, Dubrovnik and Corfu...Oh my!

Well, we boarded the most overwhelming ship I've ever seen on the 9th. By that time we had seen all we needed of Venice for this trip (Doge's Palace, St. Marks, Correr Museum, The Friari, The house of Gondolini, and about 20 million miles of walking...ha ha) so we stuck to the boat for our first evening.

The ship is unreal! We sailed away from Venice on the 10th, right past St. Marks and the Venitian coast. I know it's beautiful, but there is something about slowly gliding past, wind whipping your hair, cuddled up next to your love that just makes the moment perfect.


We spent the night riding through the Adriatic Sea and woke up to the Croatian coastline; we sat on our balcony and ate breakfast, sipping coffee and enjoying the fresh sea breeze. I'm still amazed by the sheer beauty of the islands and the coast. Green, lush, fresh, fragrances of cypress and wildflowers....I just want to bottle it.


Croatia brought us some of the friendliest people we have ever met; we hiked around the walls of Dubrovnik, after a stunning visit to the Konavle Valley. In the Valley we had lunch, visited a country house, and listened to traditional Croatian Music! This was Dave's favorite part....especially the sausages, yum!


This morning we are walking around the island of Corfu. Cool sea breezes, fresh vegetation, and the tiny narrow cobblestone streets are enchanting us. More hiking, as well, only this time two forts greet our eager feet. The vistas at the top are breathtaking....I've already taken around 300 photographs! We tried Kumquat liqour, walked through tiny Orthodox Church, and stood on the windswept hills side looking at the sea, wondering how Odysseus felt so close to Ithaca, longing for home.

Okay, well, I think we're going to go out into the sun and walk some more! So much to see....

Love you all!
Lisa and Dave

We're in Venice!

Hey Everyone!
We made it to Venice. We arrived safely and have been travelling around town seeing all sorts of great things. We rode the Vaperetto (water bus) down the Grand Canal this morning. What beautiful sights. Dave and I were gawking (and taking tons of pictures) of the amazing architecture.


We went to the Basilica San Marco, and we both felt such an amazing spirit in the church. I (Lisa) found that I could finally stop and pray. What a treat to be reminded that the whirlwind of my life could cease. I found peace in the beautiful place, despite the tourists. What a gift the dark, and glittering, space gave me. Holding my rosary, feeling the presence of faith, and just resting. I (Dave) was brought almost to tears by the beauty of the church and the mosaics that sparkled on the cielings and walls. The presence of God was so real I almost couldn't breathe.


After spending time in the church, we headed out to wander the city and some of the museums. We saw the Doge's palace and the Correr museum. We walked over the Rialto, sat in the Piazza San Marco and listened to the band play Camptown Races, who would have thought we'd travel all this way to hear American folk music. Ha ha. We ate gelato, sat in a square eating pizza and pasta and drinking the cold house red, and stared at the ubiquitous and highly agressive pigeons. Just what you would expect from Venice!


Ciao, Ciao!

Lisa and Dave