Greece and Montenegro

So, we've been back Stateside for around three months now, and I'm finally getting around to posting about our Greek cruise. Getting back to work for both the school district and our church has eaten up most of our time, but I wanted to share with you some pictures from our final weeks in Europe.

Following our few days in Rome, we took the train to Venice to board a cruise ship through the Greek Isles. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain for the few hours we spent in Venice, and I wish we could have seen more of the city as it was really quite beautiful, even in the rain.

Enjoying a brief moment of sunshine before the ship departed

Venice skyline as seen from the ship

Venice in the rain

Piazza San Marco

Our first stop on the cruise was to the little country of Montenegro. We visited the city of Kotor, a city surrounded by Venetian fortifications, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Brandon and I decided to walk up the over 1000 steps to get to the top of one of the fortifications built into the side of a large hill.

Walking up the fortification

An old church near the top of the hill

The view from the top

A view from the bottom - we climbed all those steps!

After Montenegro, we visited several Greek cities, including Athens, Corfu, Mykonos, and the island of Kefalonia. Here are some of my favorite pictures from these visits.

The Parthenon

In Athens

Overlooking the city of Athens

Mykonos windmills

Mykonos Street

Little Venice in Mykonos

Fortification in Corfu

Overlooking the city of Corfu

Overlooking the ocean in Kefalonia

Melissani Cave in Kefalonia

Boat ride on the underground lake of Melissani

Ahh, looking at these pictures has made me miss traveling, I cannot wait until the next time we get to visit Europe again!!

Rome (if you want to)

Inside the Colosseum

Sorry for the cheesy title, but I seriously had that song in my head the entire time we were in Rome.

Anywho...Brandon and I just got back from an amazing trip to Italy and Greece. I have been wanting to visit these countries for a very long time, and it took some sweet talking to get Brandon to agree, as he wanted to visit Northern Europe instead (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, etc.) But in the end, I won out and we planned a trip to visit Rome for a few days, take a train to Venice, then visit a few Greek Islands.

Rome was breathtaking! So much history, so many stories, so beautiful. While we were slightly disappointed by the Trevi Fountain, which is currently being restored, everything else was magnificent. At least I appreciate that the Roman authorities feel responsible enough to take care of their relics, just sad that we could not see the fountain in its full glory.

Trevi Fountain under restoration

No water to throw in our coins

We wondered around Rome on our first evening, without a map or a plan, and managed to stumble upon some of the best sites! Just a few minutes after finding the Trevi Fountain, we found the Pantheon. According to Wikipedia, the Pantheon was built in 126AD and its dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome, even though it's two thousand years old! Don't know about you, but I'm impressed.

Pantheon selfie!

126AD and every bit of it is still standing!

Artsy shot

Inside the dome

Following our escapade through downtown Rome, we enjoyed a lovely Italian meal of pasta and fried pumpkin flowers, before heading off to bed for an early morning.

We purposely woke up very early the next morning so we could visit the Colosseum with few visitors to get better pictures (and to try and beat the heat!). It was worth it, because our pictures are amazing. Seeing the Colosseum for the first time was really breathtaking for me.We took the metro from our hotel, because the monument was on the other side of town. When you walk out of the 'Colosseo' metro station, the historic building stands directly in front of you, and surprises you with its grandeur and breadth. That is the third time this year I have felt that surprise of finally seeing a building I have only ever seen in pictures, for the first time in person. (The first was when I walked out of Westminster station and saw Big Ben standing directly in front of me, and the second was when I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time, while on the metro coming out of a tunnel over the Seine River). Anyway, here are some pictures of the Colosseum, we literally took hundreds, so here are some of my favorites:

The view from the Metro station

Inside

Where the audience would sit

Later that day we visited the Vatican City, the smallest recognized independent country in the world by both area and population. After waiting in a line for 45 minutes, we got to visit St. Peter's Basilica, which is the most decorated and opulent church I have ever seen. The Roman Catholics definitely wanted to show off their wealth when it was built. Later in the evening we visited to Vatican museums, during their special Friday late night hours, and saw Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel (no pictures are allowed within the chapel, but here are some pictures of our visit to the Vatican).

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Square

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's by night

Overall, I was so mesmerized by Rome and all it had to offer. The city is steeped in history and everywhere you turn you find Roman ruins and beautiful architecture. In the next blog post, we will share stories and pictures from our cruise to Greece and Montenegro.

Escape to Edinburgh

Bagpiper with the city of Edinburgh behind

The Stover Senior family came to visit last week and we got to see many sites in the UK (some again, some for the first time).

They arrived tired and weary of a long flight, but our adventure was just beginning.  We took them on the usual first day round to the British Museum to see the stolen art (none of it is actually from Britain...), to the National Gallery to see the paid for art (at least Britain legitimately owns these works of art!), and treated them to their first British pub (but certainly not their last!)

Following our busy day in London, we boarded a train at King's Cross and took the four hour journey to Edinburgh, Scotland. While there we learned a lot about the city and wanted to share a few interesting facts with you!

Eight things you (probably) did not know about Edinburgh:

1) The town is not flat - steep climbs, lots of steps, and stops to take a breather dominated our trip.  Here are some examples of the Edinburgh landscape:

 2) J.K. Rowling spent some time in Edinburgh with her sister following her divorce.  It was during this time she wrote most of the first Harry Potter book and was known to frequent The Elephant Cafe - which has a wonderful view of the Edinburgh castle.  Perhaps this is where her inspiration for Hogwarts came from!?!

Outside The Elephant House

Enjoying breakfast at The Elephant House

The view of Edinburgh Castle from The Elephant House

3) Speaking of the Edinburgh castle, historically it has been a stronghold for Scotland in many battles for independence.  Ironically, Scotland is currently trying to once again gain independence and will soon be having a referendum vote to become independent of the UK.

B and E at the castle

The Stovers in front of the castle

View of the city from a cannon window

Edinburgh castle is located at the top of a steep hill

4) 'Arthur's Seat,' the highest point in Edinburgh, is located within the Holyrood park - a park of grassy hills situated in the center of town.  It is believed by some that this hill was the site of Camelot, in which King Arthur reigned.  I don't know if that is true, but it does provide spectacular views of the city, as well as the ruins of a 15th Century Abbey.

At the top of Arthur's seat

The Stovers at the top

Ruins of a 15th Century Abbey

5) The Queens Royal Yacht Britannia is docked in Edinburgh and you can tour it!

The Royal Yacht Britannia

On the Yacht

The main dining room, which is still used today for those with enough money to rent it out!

The royal sitting room

6) Scotland has a proud history of distilling whisky, which is where the term Scotch Whisky comes from.  The largest collection of unopened whisky bottles is housed in Edinburgh at the Scotch Whisky experience.  If you visit, you even get a sampling of Scotch whisky, and a demonstration on how it is made.

Jean and Jeff in the Whisky Collection

Sampling Scotch Whisky

The largest collection of unopened whisky bottles in the world

7) Edinburgh has its very own Parthenon, or at least half of one.  In 1823 construction began on what was to be The National Monument of Scotland - dedicated to Scottish soldiers and sailors who died in the Napoleonic wars.  However, by 1829 funds has run out and the building was left unfinished.  It is now known by the locals as "Scotland's Disgrace."

You can see the half finished Parthenon just right of center, behind the dark bell tower 

8) Brandon was lucky enough to celebrate his 29th birthday in Edinburgh, so we treated him by eating at a fancy restaurant, where he received a very special dessert.

Check back soon to hear about our day trip to Bath, England!