Hi all, Venice, 28 May 2007
We have spent 3 great days in Venice. It seems so relaxed here in the narrow streets along the canals. Realized the big difference is that there are no cars! just narrow alleys, people and gondolas. The main "highway" is the Grand Canal where water taxis run. They hold about 50 people and work remarkedly well. These replace city buses and taxis.
We went to St. Marks square, the Rialto Bridge, and walked many neighborhoods around the city. The Doges Palace, or the administrative center to ancient Venice was our favorite museum. The Doges were elected kings, who ruled a government with an interesting mix of church and state. They had absolute rule along with 120 elected officials. We went thru the prison below the center. In many ways it's easy to see why our country was founded on freedom of religion and a justice system with jury of your peers. I won't complain about jury duty any more or shady attorneys. This system was harsh and cruel and many times was founded on who you knew or paid. The palace and the Corrier museum gave a great taste of what Venice was like in the 1400's. They ruled the seas and were the center of commerce bringing goods from the East (Turkey) to the markets in Europe.
We visited Murano Island, near Venice Island. That is where the elegant Murano glass is made. In 1300 the city of Venice made all glass factories move to this island to avoid fires in Venice Island. It's been the glass making center ever since. We visited a glass factory and watched master glass blowers create their master pieces, some of them going for $4000 each. Beautiful glass and some smaller pieces make great gifts!! we know.
Well the trip has ended, it has been a fantastic journey covering the Mediterranean, ports along Italy, Monte Carlo, the Greek Isles and Turkey. And even Paris...well the airport...
Thanks for coming along with us.
Yours in travel
Bill
This is my blog for my trip to Taiwan. I'll be posting my journal here from November 1 to November 17, 2017 so check back and join me on the trip ! - Bill Wilson
May 28, 2007
May 27, 2007
The Greek Isles
Venice Italy, May 27, 2007
Hi all,
I sort of skipped over the Greek Isles in the Blog. We visited three. Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu. Each posed a unique and surprising adventure. The first Island we cruised into was Santorini. It is the most spectacular, but we were unfortunate to have the worst weather on the trip there! The small city is built on the edge of a large old remanent Volcanoe rim. The huge caldren rim can be seen way out over the nearby ocean. We rented a car and driver along with our S. Carolina friends and got a 3 hour tour of the island, from north to south. I expected an annotated tour from our guide Danny, but found out after we left he had only been there 3 weeks, from Ukraine!! well so much for tour info, but we had a great ride dispite no historical insites. It has the tyical white and blue houses and commercial buildings, characteristic of the islands. A beautiful place. Mykonos, was similiar, but in the sun, gave us a more positive experience. We hopped on the city bus and found a beach. Same white and blue painting scheme here. Here we saw the beautiful windmills, seen in many places on the islands.
Corfu, was an entirely different story. With its old Venetian, and British roots, Corfu Town was very European in design, looked like downtown Rome! With an esplanade, or city park with a Cricket court. We jumped a city bus to the Achillion Imperial Villa, where "Sissy" Queen of Austria back in the late 1800's built this incredible palace high on the hill above Corfu town overlooking the water. Later her family sold it to the King of Prussia, right before he was assasinated (remember?..which led to the beginning of WWI)
An impressive area, beautiful weather, nice people, shopping and scenic views.
Friday night we all arrived in Venice. It cruised in about 5:00, so got some incredible views of St. Marks Square right from the ship!!!; in the morning, we got our luggage off the boat fast and transferred to the water taxi which took us to this beautiful city on water. More on that in the next blog
Yours in Travel...Bill
Hi all,
I sort of skipped over the Greek Isles in the Blog. We visited three. Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu. Each posed a unique and surprising adventure. The first Island we cruised into was Santorini. It is the most spectacular, but we were unfortunate to have the worst weather on the trip there! The small city is built on the edge of a large old remanent Volcanoe rim. The huge caldren rim can be seen way out over the nearby ocean. We rented a car and driver along with our S. Carolina friends and got a 3 hour tour of the island, from north to south. I expected an annotated tour from our guide Danny, but found out after we left he had only been there 3 weeks, from Ukraine!! well so much for tour info, but we had a great ride dispite no historical insites. It has the tyical white and blue houses and commercial buildings, characteristic of the islands. A beautiful place. Mykonos, was similiar, but in the sun, gave us a more positive experience. We hopped on the city bus and found a beach. Same white and blue painting scheme here. Here we saw the beautiful windmills, seen in many places on the islands.
Corfu, was an entirely different story. With its old Venetian, and British roots, Corfu Town was very European in design, looked like downtown Rome! With an esplanade, or city park with a Cricket court. We jumped a city bus to the Achillion Imperial Villa, where "Sissy" Queen of Austria back in the late 1800's built this incredible palace high on the hill above Corfu town overlooking the water. Later her family sold it to the King of Prussia, right before he was assasinated (remember?..which led to the beginning of WWI)
An impressive area, beautiful weather, nice people, shopping and scenic views.
Friday night we all arrived in Venice. It cruised in about 5:00, so got some incredible views of St. Marks Square right from the ship!!!; in the morning, we got our luggage off the boat fast and transferred to the water taxi which took us to this beautiful city on water. More on that in the next blog
Yours in Travel...Bill
May 23, 2007
Archeological Overload
Katakolon Greece, (Near Olympia Greece) 23 May
2007
2007
On Tuesday, we had another "do it on your own" style land excursion day. We
skipped the pricey cruise tour and did it on our own. It was simple - a 3/4
mile walk to the metro from the ship, then a $2 metro ride right to the base of
the Acropolis.
The Parthenon - on Acropolis hill in Athens. (see picture) This is one of the
world's most impressive show places for the incredible architecture of the
ancient world. This structure built by the Greeks more than 2400 years ago,
stayed pretty much intact until the 1600's when an explosion from gunpowder
stored there by the Turks, pretty much toppled the structure. Later Lord Elgin,
scored another one for the Brits by "stealing" the frescoes or reliefs from the
inside of the building. They have since been on permanent display in the
British Museum. Restoration of the structure was performed in the early 1900's,
incorrectly and in 2002 a new renovation was begun to restore it correctly. Thus
the scaffolding and cranes in the picture. Seems everywhere I go, I get the
scaffolding on the beautiful buildings!!
It's an impressive structure, huge columns laid in alignment. The building faces
east-west as all temples were constructed in those times were. The columns of
marble, were made up of stacked column sections, with lead poured down the
center to keep them in alignment. Earthquakes seemed the only menace to this
form of construction which heavily relied on gravity.
We toured the buildings on the Acropolis, including an impressive museum with
artifacts collected from the area around the acropolis. Many objects greater
than 2500 years old. Our 100 year old buildings back home pale in comparison to
all this. Amazing.
After the tour of Acropolis, we went down the hill north of the Acropolis, found
the Plaka or old town area of Athens. There was a permanent flea market with
some great shopping. We also found the old Roman Agoura (market square). I
found the "Tower of the Winds", an ancient Greek sundial, one of the oldest in
existence.
Today, Wednesday 23 May, we arrived at Katakolon Greece and took a tour of the
original site of the Olympics. An impressive, serene, peaceful tree covered
area inland from this Coastal town. Here the Ancient Greeks first started the 5
day games, some 2500 years ago, and built an impressive site. Almost all of it
has collapsed from earthquakes and wear, but the museum with its relics from
the grounds helps you reconstruct the past. The main stadium where the
clothes-free Greek men competed is still there. The length, one stadia is the
distance Hercules paced out 192 steps. The Temple of Hercules, on site there,
originally housed the statue of Hercules, one of the 7 wonders of the world. It
was stolen by the Christians and moved to Constantinople, or ancient Istanbul.
Tour fact: Guess where the concept of the eternal flame started?? by Hitler
just before WWII !! This was a great tour. Now I'm into Archeological
overload!!
Tomorrow we are off to the Greek Island of Corfu. Then on to Venice.
I'll be back with you here in a few days
Yours in Travel
Bill
May 21, 2007
Historical Sites- Over 2000 to 2700 years Old
Hi all, Monday 21 May 2007 Mykonos, Greece
Wow, how do I catch up. Wednesday last, in Florence. Way too short, all we had was literally 5 hours to visit one of the most impressive cities in Italy. This is a 'come back' city. Saw Statue of David by Michelangelo, then walked this amazing city, the Duomo, the old bridge over the river built in 1360.. Yikes, no time to explore this amazing place.
Thursday it was on to Naples. We hopped a local train, about 1/2 hour and a thousand stops down to the city of Pompeii. A beautiful day out, a bit warm but nice for touring.
Pompeii was built over time starting several hundred years BC. By Roman times, it was a city of wealth..then in 60AD... bam!!!, Mt Vesuvius, looming close in the background, exploded and buried the city. So fast many people were trapped in their homes, quickly overcome by the ashes and explosion.
It was discovered in 17th century and had to be literally dug out revealing a snapshot in time of what life was like then. Beautiful paintings on walls, intricate frescoes and mosaics on the floors.
We got a special tour from a construction worker working on the renovation of one room. He held his finger to his mouth..shhhhh... he let us in the site he was working on, not open to the public. Beautiful place, incredible paintings on the walls over 2500 years old. He was of course after some lunch money..a small tip was well worth the private tour. Also here was one of the oldest examples of a Roman stadium. We stood where lions were slain by gladiators..wow
An express train back, and taxi to the ship..our home away from home, and off in the sunset.
On Sunday we had one of the best experiences of the trip. We toured the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey (Google it, check it out!) Just amazing mix of 3 major civilizations all in one place. And so well preserved because it had been flooded by an ancient river covering it in 40 or 50 feet of mud until the 1700's when it was discovered. Ephesus was the center of Greek society in this region, then later occupied by the Romans, then the Byzantines. There is stark evidence of all types of architecture, Greek Ionian column capitals, Roman Corinthian and then mixed ones for the later years. You can touch Greek writing on the marble dating over 2000 years. And a huge library building. Much of what you see has been restored and rebuilt by Turkish funding over the last several hundred years. Renovation/restoration is still continuing. An amazing place.
I'll post pictures in next few days. Our private guide, Onur, took us to the site, to a Turkish rug factory and home for a typical Turkish lunch in the country. We finished up at the museum where objects from the site were displayed.
Today we are in Mykonos, the upscale Greek Island that has been the playground over the years of the rich and famous. We took the city bus out to the local beach (beautiful, complete with nude sunbathers :) )
This is beautiful place, weather is outstanding an no wind!!
We will head for Athens tomorrow, and hope to visit the Acropolis and other sites in town.
We are off for now, see you in a few days.
Wow, how do I catch up. Wednesday last, in Florence. Way too short, all we had was literally 5 hours to visit one of the most impressive cities in Italy. This is a 'come back' city. Saw Statue of David by Michelangelo, then walked this amazing city, the Duomo, the old bridge over the river built in 1360.. Yikes, no time to explore this amazing place.
Thursday it was on to Naples. We hopped a local train, about 1/2 hour and a thousand stops down to the city of Pompeii. A beautiful day out, a bit warm but nice for touring.
Pompeii was built over time starting several hundred years BC. By Roman times, it was a city of wealth..then in 60AD... bam!!!, Mt Vesuvius, looming close in the background, exploded and buried the city. So fast many people were trapped in their homes, quickly overcome by the ashes and explosion.
It was discovered in 17th century and had to be literally dug out revealing a snapshot in time of what life was like then. Beautiful paintings on walls, intricate frescoes and mosaics on the floors.
We got a special tour from a construction worker working on the renovation of one room. He held his finger to his mouth..shhhhh... he let us in the site he was working on, not open to the public. Beautiful place, incredible paintings on the walls over 2500 years old. He was of course after some lunch money..a small tip was well worth the private tour. Also here was one of the oldest examples of a Roman stadium. We stood where lions were slain by gladiators..wow
An express train back, and taxi to the ship..our home away from home, and off in the sunset.
On Sunday we had one of the best experiences of the trip. We toured the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey (Google it, check it out!) Just amazing mix of 3 major civilizations all in one place. And so well preserved because it had been flooded by an ancient river covering it in 40 or 50 feet of mud until the 1700's when it was discovered. Ephesus was the center of Greek society in this region, then later occupied by the Romans, then the Byzantines. There is stark evidence of all types of architecture, Greek Ionian column capitals, Roman Corinthian and then mixed ones for the later years. You can touch Greek writing on the marble dating over 2000 years. And a huge library building. Much of what you see has been restored and rebuilt by Turkish funding over the last several hundred years. Renovation/restoration is still continuing. An amazing place.
I'll post pictures in next few days. Our private guide, Onur, took us to the site, to a Turkish rug factory and home for a typical Turkish lunch in the country. We finished up at the museum where objects from the site were displayed.
Today we are in Mykonos, the upscale Greek Island that has been the playground over the years of the rich and famous. We took the city bus out to the local beach (beautiful, complete with nude sunbathers :) )
This is beautiful place, weather is outstanding an no wind!!
We will head for Athens tomorrow, and hope to visit the Acropolis and other sites in town.
We are off for now, see you in a few days.
May 17, 2007
May 16, 2007
Florence - Statue of David
We are in the City of Florence Wednesday, 16 May 2007
Hi all, we spent the last Sunday in Rome visiting the Bourghese Museum and also caught the local flea market in town. The Borghese was an amazing place. A small villa owned by Cardinal Bourghese who collected works of art all over the world, including sculptures by Bernini. Delicate depictions of Greek myths all done in marble.
The Rome Sunday flea market was a trip! complete with Gypsys (mothers holding their babies) trying to pick tourists pockets, but the local vendors yelled them down and chased them off!!
Everything from cell phones, clothes at one euro a piece to Prada purse knockoffs being sold by native Africans. Their stands were mobile ready to run on command by cell phone when the police arrived.
We boarded the cruise ship on Monday, got settled. We've met some wonderful people on board. Our table mates are a great family from South Carolina.
... then Tuesday spent the day in Monte Carlo. The town is getting ready for the famous Monte Carlo Formula one race coming in two weeks. 6 weeks to set up, 3 weeks to take down, right in the center of this beautiful city. We cruised past the casino, and rubbed elbows with the elite. Some nice cars here! Guys in their brand new Ferraris yelling out the window to their girl friends crossing the street.
Florence is a beautiful city. We just walked here from the Accademia museum where we saw the 12 meter high statue of David by Michelangelo...wow!!
We are off now to finish our visit of Florence, and tomorrow Naples.
Catch you in a few days.
Hi all, we spent the last Sunday in Rome visiting the Bourghese Museum and also caught the local flea market in town. The Borghese was an amazing place. A small villa owned by Cardinal Bourghese who collected works of art all over the world, including sculptures by Bernini. Delicate depictions of Greek myths all done in marble.
The Rome Sunday flea market was a trip! complete with Gypsys (mothers holding their babies) trying to pick tourists pockets, but the local vendors yelled them down and chased them off!!
Everything from cell phones, clothes at one euro a piece to Prada purse knockoffs being sold by native Africans. Their stands were mobile ready to run on command by cell phone when the police arrived.
We boarded the cruise ship on Monday, got settled. We've met some wonderful people on board. Our table mates are a great family from South Carolina.
... then Tuesday spent the day in Monte Carlo. The town is getting ready for the famous Monte Carlo Formula one race coming in two weeks. 6 weeks to set up, 3 weeks to take down, right in the center of this beautiful city. We cruised past the casino, and rubbed elbows with the elite. Some nice cars here! Guys in their brand new Ferraris yelling out the window to their girl friends crossing the street.
Florence is a beautiful city. We just walked here from the Accademia museum where we saw the 12 meter high statue of David by Michelangelo...wow!!
We are off now to finish our visit of Florence, and tomorrow Naples.
Catch you in a few days.
May 12, 2007
Roman Holiday
Well I guess this is the place. I saw a poster with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn riding a scooter -"Roman Holiday" not sure I remember that movie! but we are here! Incredible sites. Went to the Coliseum after arrival off the plane..Wow, walk out the metro station and bam! here it is - The Colosseum
Today was the Vatican, and St. Peter square. Line was 3 hours long till Jim from Michigan came by, offering a private tour and get in now! So I went the VIP route. Decision was to skip a big dinner and go for the tour.
The Sistine chapel with Michelangelo paintings out of this world. And the St.Peter's Basilica, 6 acres of church, largest in the world, took 120 years to build back in 1506 from stones robbed from the Roman Forum. Rome is an incredible historic city.
Oh yea, think we have tough IRS here? Here they have the "finance police", can close your business down in a minute. Well just a short note to say we made it. See you in a day or two. This is from my little palm top via hotel phone. Hard to type. CIAO!
Today was the Vatican, and St. Peter square. Line was 3 hours long till Jim from Michigan came by, offering a private tour and get in now! So I went the VIP route. Decision was to skip a big dinner and go for the tour.
The Sistine chapel with Michelangelo paintings out of this world. And the St.Peter's Basilica, 6 acres of church, largest in the world, took 120 years to build back in 1506 from stones robbed from the Roman Forum. Rome is an incredible historic city.
Oh yea, think we have tough IRS here? Here they have the "finance police", can close your business down in a minute. Well just a short note to say we made it. See you in a day or two. This is from my little palm top via hotel phone. Hard to type. CIAO!
Bill Wilson
billwilson@pocketmail.com (While away on travel)
email2bill@cox.net (When home)
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May 9, 2007
This Year's Trip - Mediterranean & Greek Isles
Well Friends and family welcome to my blog. Its time again to get out in the world and see it. We are off to Europe, the Mediterranean and Greek Isles by way of a cruise. Three days in Rome, a 12 day cruise, then 3 days in Venice.
Join us on the trip. With one day port stops, I might not have much time to send pictures on here, don't want to spend my time in the Internet shops, but I'll try.
Travel with us...see you on the road!
Bill & Phyllis Wilson
Join us on the trip. With one day port stops, I might not have much time to send pictures on here, don't want to spend my time in the Internet shops, but I'll try.
Travel with us...see you on the road!
Bill & Phyllis Wilson