Florence

Isaiah arrived on the 8th of October to join us on vacation to Florence, a cruise which began in Venice, with port stops in Bari, Italy; Olympia, Greece;Izmir and Istanbul, Turkey; and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Join us in the adventure through the pictures below:

Isaiah looking outside our room with a view- Florence

Ponte Santa Trinita spanning the Arno River.
The oldest elliptic arch bridge in Florence. Built in 1567.

The Cruise

From Florence, we traveled 2 hours by train to Venice where we boarded Costa Serena.

Isaiah holding up a 114,000 ton ship

Our Dinner Buddies:

Drew (Scotland) and Samantha (newlyweds)
Dan, Mike, and Nancy from Australia

Marcelino & Hilda Suarez (Miami)

Isaiah and Pat dancing a Jig after one of the evening meals.

Bari, Italy

Isaiah and Terry walked around Bari while Pat enjoyed
sunbathing on the ship.

After enjoying a cup of coffee at an outdoor cafe, Isaiah & Terry enjoyed walking the boardwalk

Looking down on Saint Nicolas Basilica from the walls of Bari

Katakolon, Greece

We rented a car and headed to the Ancient Olympics in Olympia, which was about 45 minutes away from where we were docked. The Olympic Torch is lit a few months before the Olympic Games begin, using a parabolic mirror, here in Olympia.

Get on your mark, Get set , Go!

Isaiah and Terry are off as they race down
the stadium in Olympia.

Over looking the ruins

Izmir,Turkey

Izmir is Turkey's 3rd largest city with a population of over 3 million. We went on an excursion to Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary. This was the highlight of our cruise

.

Part of Hadrians Temple reminded us of the expanse of the Roman Empire since we lived close to Hadrian's Wall while living in Northern England.

Celsus Library was impressive in its size and how well it is preserved.

Standing in front of the 25,000 seat theater in Ephesus. This is the theater Paul's travel companions were taken during the Riot of Ephesus.

The house of Mary, mother of Jesus, in the hills above Ephesus. Pat is writing a prayer to put on the Prayer Wall seen beside her.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is considered one of the most famous and fascinating cities in the world. We didn't know you could see so much in one day: Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace (home of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years), the Mosque of Hagia Sopia , the Sunken Palace, and the Grand Bazaar.

Standing in front of the Grand Bazaar, which claims to have over 4000 shops
Beneath Istanbul lie hundreds of cisterns,left from the days when the city was called Constantinople. The grandest one is called the Sunken Palace because of it's size: 336 marble columns and capable of holding 21 million gallons.

Pat Standing in the Blue Mosque

Isaiah standing in the upper terrace with fountain, İftar bower and Baghdad Kiosk

Dubrovnik, Croatia

The walls are the main characteristic of Dubrovnik, they surrounded the whole city which was built in the 14 century. The wall is 75 feet high and over 6,ooo ft and completely walkable.

The cruise ship has to deep of a draft so we tendered in on small ferries.

Terry and Isaiah walked along the walls that encircled the old city, here they stop to admire the breathtaking view.

A quite picturesque back street of Dubrovnik

Venice, Italy

Venice is considered the city of art, romance and prestige. This beautiful architecture was built on 150 islands separated by canals.

The Grand Canal being the main waterway which offered the most beautiful view of the city. This is the entrance to St. Mark's square.

Looking at one of the 400 bridges over a canal entering Venice.

One of the many beautiful churches seen as we past Venice in the cruise ship.

Terry and Isaiah window shopping again!

Moscow

After our 7 day cruise, Isaiah stayed 3 more days in Moscow. Eventhough we returned back to work, we were able to show him around Moscow.

In front of St. Basil Church in Red Square.

One of the many very detailed iconoclastic chapels inside St. Basil.

Outside the Kremlin.

Isaiah putting back the 12 ton piece that fell off. No Problem!!

It had been 1 1/2 years since we had seen Isaiah, so this trip was more than just a trip. We spent some good quality time with each other. He headed to Seoul, Korea and caught
a train back to Camp Walker in Teagu, Korea

Web Cookies

Technology, you gotta love it! Sometimes it's the only way to stay connected with our grandchildren. With the help from Melissa; Avery and Grandma make cookies together, becoming a labor of love.

For Labor day, Avery and Grandma make cookies together.

Tasting time

Showing off the end results.

Mary Ann Rose made cookies with her grandaughter and I copied her, so thank you Mary Ann for the great idea.