#8.......Dubrovnik, Croatia

This is the last stop on our cruise. It doesn't have the well-known history associated with it like the other places we've visited, but it is beautiful! Corey and I think this is the perfect place to retire, open up a bed and breakfast, and buy a sail boat.

Dubrovnik is built with the "old" city (with it's walls around it) in the middle, and the "new" city built all around. We took a taxi to the old city and toured on our own. Instead of taking a taxi back, we decided to enjoy the 30 minute walk back to the ship.

Another perfect day!

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Athens, Greece

After another night of sailing, we docked in Athens, Greece. We decided not to go with a tour group but instead, venture out on our own. Our main goal was to see Acropolis, eat yummy Greek food, and return to the ship on time.

After a nice 20 minute walk, we made it to the Metro station that took us to a bus that took us to the subway that took us to Acropolis. We managed to hit all forms of public transportation in Athens! It's actually fun to go out on your own in a totally strange place........kind of like solving a mystery. We had maps, asked the locals, and used common sense.

As for the food, we found a great restaurant and ate Greek salad, fried cheese (Opa!), and Paige said she had the best grilled chicken in her life! : ) And, there was no way we could come all the way to Greece without eating a Gyro. We were already stuffed, but Corey shoved one in for the team!

It was an absolutely beautiful day and in the end, we felt proud of ourselves for accomplishing our goal.

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Stop #6 ........ Izmir, Turkey

From the port of Izmir (refer to the map in a previous post), we drove about 45 minutes to the city of Ephesus. This is the place where the the apostle Paul preached for at least 2 years.

We ate a traditional turkish lunch and visited a silk rug factory before going to St. John's Basilica - the church that was built on St. John's tomb.

These ruins are just breathtaking! Pictures just aren't the same. Here are some highlights:

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And Then..........Ashdod, Israel

Our next port was Ashdod, Israel. We booked a tour and were ready to go at 7:00am. It was a 1 1/2 hour bus ride from the port to Jerusalem. During the ride, our tour guide gave us a crash course history lesson on Israel from about 500 b.c. to the present.

Our first stop was the Mt. of Olives where we could see the entire city.....what a view! It made me think of the painting "Oh! Jerusalem" by Greg Olsen. Then to Gethsemane, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. There was so much to see and so little time. We would have loved to spend a few more days there.

Unfortunately, many of the sites in Jerusalem are more like "shrines". Various religions have decorated them with gold, silver, candles, paintings, etc. and have seemed to take the simple, sacredness out of it. I didn't include many of those pictures in the slide show because they look too "commercial" like. Corey and I decided we needed to draw from within ourselves and our own testimonies and imagine what it must have been like when Jesus was here.

The most spiritual moment for me was walking up the hill from Gethsemane to Calvary. I kept thinking of Jesus taking this same steep walk after he was physically, mentally, and spiritually hurt and exhausted.

We feel blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the day here.

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Next.......Haifa, Israel

From Rome, we sailed for 2 days to the port of Haifa in Israel. If you get your magnifying glass out, you can see the port on the map below : )

At this stop, we were able to visit the city Capernaum, the Mount of Beatitudes, and the Sea of Galilee. Knowing that Jesus and the Apostles have walked in this area, you can't help but ask yourself, "I wonder what happened right here?" or "Did Jesus see the same view I am seeing now?" Needless to say, it was remarkable!




So many pictures to choose from.....here are a few:

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3rd Stop........Rome, Italy

We sailed all night and arrived in Rome the next morning. We were with a tour guide and visited the Colosseum, Vatican Square and Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel.

Ironically, there was a travel group of 200 LDS people on our cruise! We couldn't believe it! They had their own tours set up and we were able to go with them on this one. It was nice because the guide spoke English and they gave us walkie-talkies with ear buds so we could listen to everything he was saying without having to be close to him.

Everything was AMAZING! I love the way the ruins are right in the middle of the modern city. St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel were just incredible! Unfortunately, the Basilica was so dark that my pictures didn't come out very well, and we weren't allowed to take pictures in the Chapel.

Eric woke up feeling awful. He was coming down with a cold and you know how the first few days are the worst. With all the walking, he was such a trooper and hung in there.

I love Italy!

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2nd Stop........Genoa, Italy

After our day in Pavia, we drove about an hour south to Genoa - or Genova to us Italians : ) Refer to the map in my previous post. We boarded the cruise ship "MSC Poesia" which is an Italian cruise line. It was beautiful!


This is the 4th cruise for Corey and I - 2nd cruise for the kids. I think this is the largest ship we've been on.


Genova is built amongst hills. They are not quite mountains, just very large hills. It is such a site. These pictures really don't do it justice.


This is a view from the ship. A storm was rolling in but it never rained and passed quickly.


A view from the other side

When I look at this picture, the background doesn't seem real - but it is!

BON VOYAGE!

1st Stop.......Pavia, Italy

We returned from our vacation this past weekend and had a wonderful time! Everything went very smoothly - beautiful weather (70-75 degrees) the entire time and we were able to see everything we wanted to!

As many of you know, my maiden name is "Pavia" - which is Italian and from my father's side. Since we were starting our vacation in Italy, we decided to fly into Milan (northern part) and drive the short distance south to Pavia, Italy and spend the night there.

Of course I took a million pictures, but will only post a few. Don't want to bore you : )



We spent the afternoon walking the streets of the city, eating, and spent the night in a lovely hotel.


I couldn't resist taking pictures of things that said Pavia on them! For most of my life I lived with a last name that was unfamiliar and hard to pronounce to most - it was so nice to see it everywhere.


A beautiful view from a bridge


A city street - so many people walk and ride bikes around here - very few cars, some buses and motorcycles.


Even though we were going to eat dinner, we couldn't resist stopping at a bakery and grabbing something yummy! We didn't know what it was, but it was good! Anything Italian is good!


Except maybe for this. In my opinion anyway. At dinner we ordered a pizza appetizer and Paige said she wanted "cheese" on her pizza. The waiter thought she said "chips", which translates into "french fries", so this is what we got! The kids loved it! The waiter must have thought we were strange - the cook must have cringed - those crazy Americans!