Pompeii



Mt Vesuvias overlooking Pompeii



Entrance to Pompeii



Victim of Mt. Vesuvias



Pompeii was a rich city, a place to visit for vacation in 79 AD.

But then Mt. Vesuvias erupted and 20 feet of ash covered the

entire city suffocating all living beings immediately. It was discovered in the 1800s



 We walked the entire city and even visited one of it's Brothels. It was small with three rooms and a bed in each one. There were pornographic images on the walls.

A rich man's home was very well preserved - murals on walls, and many bedrooms. The people seemed to live very well, but it was all destroyed in an instant.

Jerusalem & Bethlehem



Praying at the Western Wall



Dome of the Rock



Church of the Nativity



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Garden of Gethsemane



Church of the Holy Sepulchre


We began our day at the Garden of Gethsemane, Mount of Olives. The big olive tree in the picture is 2000 years old. It was there when Jesus prayed the night before His crucifixion. The size of the Garden is now 10% of its original size. The Church of Nations built on the Mount of Olives is beautifully designed inside and out. The inside is designed to look like what the Garden looked like when Jesus was arrested. The ceiling looks like a starry night. There are also murals depicting the Apostles sleeping while Jesus prayed and another mural showing Judas betrayal of Jesus.
  From here we were taken to Old Jerusalem. Inside the ancient gate we walk to the Western Wall where, because today is Thursday, we are told that Bar Mitvahs are occurring. On the right side the women are praying. On the left side are the men and their thirteen year old sons reciting from the Bible. It's a beautiful scene. The mothers, aunts, sisters stand on benches to look onto the left side to watch their boys. The Western Wall is what remains of the second temple which existed in Jesus time.
  Walking distance from the Western Wall is the Via De La Rosa (Stations of the Cross) where Jesus carried His cross to His crucifixion. The street is narrow and cobblestoned. There are shops all along the way leading up to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It's quite an experience to walk the same street as Jesus did  2000 years ago. The Church is shared by 8 Christian denominations.  A Muslim family holds the key to the church. They open and close it every day. That way there is no disputes between the 8 denominations. On the Greek Orthodox side ithe altar has a large silver crucifix on the exact spot of Jesus Crucifixion. 
  Bethlehem was our afternoon excursion. The town of Bethlehem is owned by the Palestinians. We saw the Church of the Nativity, site of where Jesus was born. There are many Christian Palestinians with some restrictions in Bethlehem. We were happy to be able to shop in one of their Bethlehem shops where we found some beautiful olive wood creations of nativity scenes and the Jerusalem Cross.









Jerusalem - First Day Masada & Dead Sea



Looking to the Dead Sea from the top of Masada

 Our first of 2 days in Jerusalem took us to Masada and the Dead Sea. Oh My! What a Day! The Masada Hill sits on the Dead Sea. One thousand Jews lived there till troops of the Roman Empire tried to conquer it. For three years the soldiers kept coming. Finally the little community of Masada knew they couldn't win and made a pact with each other to commit suicide rather than be made slaves of the Roman Empire. To this day there is a famous saying in Israel "Masada will never fall again." We were taken to the top in a cable car and walked the circumference of the place. This community, though situated on a hill in the desert, had plenty of water and food. They were living well. We saw the storage rooms and the synagogue etc. As is told the remains of a woman and two children were found in a cave. 

The storage area in Masada


  It's believed that she was left to tell the story of the suicide. Before committing suicide they burnt everything down except for the storage bins to show that they were not suffering for want of food or water. The ruins were found in 1967.
Herod the Great built his summer palace here before the Jewish community moved in.

Resort at the Dead Sea

 Back on the bus to transport us to the Dead Sea for a little float. I say float because you're not allowed to swim there or even put your head in the water. It's extremely salty. The Dead Sea is 1300 feet below sea level. It's the lowest point on earth. Needless to say nothing lives in it. After a nice lunch at this reort on the Dead Sea we changed into our bathing suits and walked in. Wow!! What a unique and other wordly experieice. The water is turquoise like the Carribean and you can see clearly to the bottom. We can see Jordan on the other side. I believe the Dead Sea is 15 miles long.  Anyway, there is no way anyone could drown here. You float. Even when you walk in over your head 



Floating on the Dead Sea

you can be in a standing position and the water

 is at your chest level. Also the Dead Sea has a

slimy feel, but when the water evaporates your skin feels so soft. The rules stated not to stay in the water for more than 15 minutes at a time. There were showers on the beach to rinse off. I had a slight cut on my foot and it hurt while in the water, but no harm done.



Haifa, Israel



 From the Haifa port we can see the B'hai Temple and the gardens going to the top of the hill. Instead of taking a ship excursion we decided to walk up to the temple and see the gardens. It was a very long, steep climb. The exercise was good for us. Unfortunately, we had to walk through some littered, smelly neighborhoods to get to this lovely temple. It is a holy place where their founder is buried. We were asked to remove our hats and our chewing gum (whoops) before entering. Inside this temple we could see where he is buried. That was all. The gardens, though, are beautiful and well maintained



Gardens at B'hai Temple



Cyprus - Garden of Delights

Our excursion called Garden of Delights, took us into the hills of Cyprus where olive and carob trees grow. The hillsides are beautiful overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. In, what was called a Theme Park, we were shown the old style of how olive oil was made in ancient times. Huge stones, monoliths, with holes in them gave a clue as to how. We learned that an olive tree will always return. In ancient times a person would be punished by having their olive trees burnt to the ground, but a new shoot always appeared. Carob in Greek means locust. According to our tour guide from the Greek translation of the Bible John the Baptist ate Locust. We were lead to believe this meant grasshoppers, but he actually ate carob.

Our next stop was into a little village to sample some local wine. The wine tasted like port, very good. We were also offered some fire water. Oooooh, this tasted like moonshine. No Thank You.

The Church of the Holy Cross in this village has a holy relic, the hem of Jesus robe which He wore to His Crucifixion. St. Helena, Constantine's mother gave it to the Church.

Time for shopping in the little shops. Most of the shops sold doilies. I'm not too crazy about them, but they were handmade by little old women. I went into one shop to look around and, sure enough, sitting there was an elderly woman crocheting these doiles. Nice, but not interested. As I left the shop out the back way an elderly man grabbed my wrist and asked me to go back into the shop to buy his wife's doilies. I said "no thank you". He insisted. He even offered me a glass of wine. "Okey" I said. He had me taste the grapes that the wine was made from. They were small and purple. Tasted good. Then he poured me a small cup of wine. It was ok. He wanted to sell me a bottle. I told him  "I can't take it on the plane". He then said "look at his wife's lacy doilies". I figured I better buy something or I'm never getting out of there. I picked up a doily for 6 euros, but only had a ten and two five dollar bills. I showed them to the old lady and she said "that's good" and was about to grab my $20.00, when I said "Wait a minute, these doilies are only 6 euros". So she took the ten. Oh well, the price was worth it for the story. The doily now sits on my dining table and it will always remind me of Cyprus and that elderly couple.

I love Cyprus. It's a very Christian country. Many small villages that are all named after a saint, plus the village church is the name of the Village saint. People there are, for the most part, named after a saint and celebrate their patron saint's day, including receiving presents, moreso than celebrating their own birth date.

Cyprus has 320 days of sun and so each home has solar panels on the roofs to heat their water, which began in the 1960s. Cyprus is definately worth a revisit.

Ephesus, Turkey - I would love to return

Turkey surprised me. It appears to be very modern. 97% of the people of Turkey are Muslim, and yet it is a secular country and is tolerant of all religions. Our first visit was to fhe final home of the Virgin Mary. It is believed that St. John the Apostle brought her here after Chist's crucifixion. Her home is small with 3 tiny rooms. It is now a chapel. The house sits on a quiet hill overlooking Ephesus surrounded by green trees and there's a spring that she would have received her water from. We were given a clay pot to fill with the water, but I wasn't able to bring it on the plane. : (. Oh well, I still have the pot and that water has been running for over 2000 years. The original foundation of the house is shaped like a cross.                                                                     

From Mary's home we were driven to Ephesus, the third largest city.of the Roman Empire. 250,000 people lived there. The city is well preserved. Walking down the streets I could imagine Mary and John walking here, doing their shopping. Well, why not? It made Mary feel more human to me thinking about this. There were many shops, theatres and to the left was their library. Our tour guide told us that when the king visited Ephesus red wine was poured out onto the street, thus the saying "roll out the red carpet".

Athens, Greece has so much history

Sadly, Athens is filled with graffiti and litter everywhere you look. The traffic is atrocious and there seemed to be a red light every 50 feet and detours. OK, enough of the negative.
Our excursion was to the Athens National Museum. What a treasure trove this place is. It is filled with antiquities and our knowledgable tour guide gave us a full explanation pertaining to each sculpture she showed us. I was like a sponge taking it all in. To the right is a statue of Poseidon, the Sea god. He was found in the sea. I know I've seen pictures of this statue many times, and here it is up close and personal.

We also were taken to the Parthenon and it's beautiful.

Athens is the capitol city of Greece. Too bad the people of Greece don't take more pride in their famous capitol city. It was so sad to see the dirt and graffiti covering every blank space on most every building. I've never seen so much of it as here.

Day at Sea and then to Mykonos, Greece

I like that our first full day on the ship was a Day At Sea. This is so relaxing. You can sit on your balcony sipping a glass of wine and just let the ship take you wherever, listening to the waves crashing against the boat is therapeutic. Of course, it's your choice to do nothing or pick from a myriad of things to do. Since we're traveling to the Holy Cities of the Mediterranean I chose to attend a lecture on Alexander the Great. The lecturer is a Historian and does know his stuff. He was very entertaining as well. I learned a lot. There also was a drawing class offered by a Master Artist. Loved it all.

We arrived at Mykonos, Greece. It's a beautiful, picturesque little island.  All the buildings, businesses, homes are white and they all have blue shutters plus they're clean. This is a definite must revisit place. There are some nice hotels overlooking the port. It's very quiet, although the lady I bought my jewelry from said that it gets very windy there. We had a Greek beer, called Alpha, overlooking the port  at an outdoor restaurant. So lovely. I took out my sketch book and Eddie was able to check his email while enjoying a delicious beer. Oh yeah!!

Roma - So Rich in Ancient History

As soon as you enter Rome you see ancient ruins around every corner. Rome is so rich in art, and in architecture. Our first challenge was to find our Bed & Breakfast. Thank God for Google Map. Using the print out Eddie had on him we easily found the street walking from the train station. Once settled in we found a draft beer and pizza on a very busy street. Our first venture out on our first morning in Rome was to the Coliseum, an easy 2 stop subway ride away. We lucked out because this weekend is European Heritage weekend and so entrance was free. Alrighty then. We walked around the Paladio and just took in all the architecture trying to picture what this grand area looked like 2000 years ago. The Arch of Constantinople and the Arch of Titus were here. These arches were built to honor battles that were won. The altar where Caesar was cremated is also here. Our lunch was at a small restaurant overlooking the Coliseum. Location, Location. It was inexpensive and delicious. Now to venture into the Coliseum. It's huge. There's a respectful silence from the tourists walking inside. I don't even want to think about all the atrocities that occured there in the name of entertainment.

What a day. Luckily there was a small cafe with outdoor seating just outside our B&B. Typically, in Italy, the menus show a pasta dish as a first course and a meat dish for the second course. I stuck with just the pasta and the house wine. Yummy. We had pasta every day that we were in Italy and it's all so delicious.

On Sunday, in our walk from the B&B we happened upon some ruins and a beautiful Catholic Church, Santa Maria de Angela a Martyrs. The Mass was said in 3 languages - Italian, English and German. The cantor had an operatic voice. This church was originally a Roman Bath and one of the Popes built a church there. The columns in the Church were part of the Baths. Michaelangelo designed the inside of the church in his elderly years. It's breathtaking.

Monday - We're off to Vatican City. Posted in this blog is a picture of the Sistine Chapel. Here we are, there it is. Live and in person - God's finger extended to Adam. How many times have we seen this painting in the media. The Sistine Chapel is smaller than I pictured it to be, but it's all there. Spectacular! Imagine Michaelangelo painting this incredibly beautiful ceiling on his back.

The Vatican Museum is huge with beautiful paintings and statues. It would be very easy to get lost here.

So much to absorb. Time for a beer and a rest. It was all very good. Good Bye Roma. Tomorrow the Cruise.

Ahhhh Venice

Venice is all that you can imagine it to be. Our hotel was an easy walk from the train station. Here's a little aside. We purposely found hotels near the train stations and so far have not been disappointed. They are very quiet. We do not hear the trains at all and trains don't seem to blow their whistles in Europe.
 Two guidebooks I read recommended that the first thing to do in Venice is to just get lost and that's what we did. The streets are very narrow. Of course, there are no vehicles, only boats. Around every corner is a  picture postcard. You walk by little cafes, shops, restaurants. There are many mask shops. The movie "Eyes Wide Shut" with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman used these Venetian masks. We even saw the shop that supplied them. I don't recommend the movie. It's weird.
One day we took a water bus to the island of Murano. It's famous for glass making. Every shop sells the most intricate, beautiful glass pieces. I bought a clock for my guest room.
. St. Mark's Square is impressive. The church is worth going into. We had a glass of champagne at the Florea Cafe, which has been there for hundreds of years. I read that Casanova like to go to that cafe, because it was the only coffee house that allowed women. We sat outside, listened to the band, and just relaxed and observed.
Anyway, I'm sad to leave this most relaxing, peaceful island. It's now time to visit Roma. More to come.

Innsbruck, Austria is lovely

We only stayed overnite, but we had time to walk to the Old Innsbruck from our hotel. We had a traditional dinner at an old restaurant that was delicious and not overpriced. I had Venison Ragout with spaetzl and Eddie had Lamb Stew. We shared Apple Strudel for dessert. All yummy.
As our train was entering Innsbruck it was snowing. We haven't seen snow in 5 years. It did look beautiful though on the mountains that surround Innsbruck. Of course, with the snow comes cold weather and it was. We were prepared and actually enjoyed walking in the cold air.
I would love to visit Innsbruck again and explore the old section some more.
Due to a Eurorail train being stranded in the snow we were not able to catch a train to Venice from Innsbruck. We had to take a bus and then catch a train at the border, which took us to Verona where we got a train to Venice. The drive on the bus through the Alps was breathtaking. As we entered Italy we noticed miles of vineyards in the foothills and on flat land. We also saw lots of  apple orchards. All quite beautiful.
More to come on Venice.

Germans know how to party

Octoberfest in Munich. What a party!! We had trouble getting Eurorail reservations from Paris to Munich the day before Octoberfest begins. The London agent was so patient and kind. More than 30 minutes later he found a way to get us there. It meant changing trains 4 times, but that's ok because we got to see all the beautiful France and Germany countryside. We were also very impressed by the efficiency of Eurorail.

Octoberfest officially begins at noon on Saturday, Sept. 17 with the tapping of the first keg by the mayor of Munich. 

The day was sunny and pleasant. We walked a couple blocks from our Hotel to see the parade, and what a parade. All the breweries in Octoberfest are represented - Hofbrau, Lowenbrau, Paulsner, Augustinea etc. Their  coaches were being pulled by teams of Clydesdale horses all dolled up. The bands, the flowers, the beer all passing by us. After the parade we followed the crowd to Octoberfest, another 4  blocks away. It is amazing to walk through the gate and see the amusement rides and the mass of people. I especially enjoyed all the costumes. The Lederhosens (suspendered shorts) on the men and the durendels (dresses) on the women were all unique and the German people are very proud of their heritage. The durendels are so colorful and feminine. I was tempted to buy one, but I don't know where in Florida I could wear it except at a Floridian Octoberfest.

OK. Here's the scoop on Octoberfest. RESERVE A TABLE. We didn't and no beer was sold by the outside vendors. Imagine not being able to buy a beer at Octoberfest. Say it isn't so. The only beer sold in in the Bier Gartens if you have a reserved table. Thankfully we found one Garten that sold beer at a bar and we stood and drank and listened to the band. It still was lots of fun.

We returned that evening hoping to find a seat at a table. All the popular Gartens were filled to capacity. We returned to the one we found a beer in and wonder of wonders there was available seating at a table outside. Couples from India, London, Kenya and Bosnia were sharing the table with us. We ordered beer and danced on the table to the music. The band played many American songs "Sweet Caroline", "I will Survive", etc. What amazed me is people from all over the world were singing the songs in English with the band. Of course, we also heard many German songs which were also upbeat.

We saw one more parade Sunday morning. It was a drizzly day, but we were dressed in our LL Bean jackets and ready for any weather. This parade was different. Every Bavarian community was represented. Everyone marching were in the traditional costumes of their communities and these costumes are all adorable. 

We returned to Octoberfest hoping that the crowd may have thinned due to the weather and we could sit down. Eddie really wanted to go into the Spaten Garteen. No luck. We returned to, I believe, was the Paulsner Garten and ordered a beer at the bar. We stood and listened to the excellent band for a long time. They were imitating ZZ Top,. They even sang "Take me home Country Road" by John Denver and the whole hall sang along. 

We would love to return to Octoberfest. Next time we're reserving a table. Anyone interested? 2013 perhaps? It is a great party. The Germans know how to throw one. More to come. Innsbruck Austria next for one night and then on to Venice.

Paris is very alive

Today is our last day in Paris. It took me 2 days to figure out what the magic of Paris is all about. As Eddie and I were sitting in a small cafe near our hotel in the Montmartre area it came to me. Every corner has a small bistro, a wine bar, a Boulangerie (pastry shop) and they all are busy. At the small cafes people - friends meeting after work, young couples, elderly couples are sitting and enjoyig a glass of wine or a glass of beer, laughing, chatting, kissing. There is a look of contentment and joy on all the faces I see. This is the beauty of Paris.
We have enjoyed seeing and exploring all the main sites.
From our hotel we can easily take the Metro.
Musee D'Orsay - Many famous paintings and works of art are here - Degas, The Ballerina, Whistler's Mother, Toulouse-Latrec, Manet, Monet. The building itself is an architectural wonder.
Notre Dame Cathedral - We took a taxi here, but I believe if we asked we would have found the metro stop. Anyway, it is more spectacular than I imagined. We did not do the Tower tour, the line was very long, but we walked around inside. It's beautiful.
From Notre Dame we grabbed a water taxi, which stops at all the main sites. We saw the Eiffel Tower up close and personal.
The Louvre - Oh my. Here's some good advise. Buy your ticket in the Metro, otherwise you will wait in an extremely long line to get in. We did and we walked right in. What can I say? We saw Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and so, so many great works of art.
Despite all this I believe the beauty of Paris is sitting at the little cafes and people watching. We love our Hotel location. It is just below the Sacre Couer Church. Surrounding the church is shops and cafes and many artists painting.
Paris is truly magical. I would like to return. I would actally like to have an apartment in Montmarte. Well, I can dream can't I? An image I'll always keep with me is the people buying their baguettes at the Bakeries first thing in the morning and on the way home from work each day. Business men in suits, moms pushing their babies in strollers all carring their baquettes.
Munich tomorrow. More to come.

I Love London

We arrived on Tuesday after an overnite flight. We slept fitfully in our narrow seats due to a lot of turbulence. Tired, but eager to get an infusion of London we easily grabbed a taxi and were taken to our B&B, The Cartref House on Ebury Street, a very high end quiet and elegant street. I read that Andrew Lloyd Weber lives there, but we didn't see him. I was looking.
Our room is No. 7, 4 flights up - no elevator, a windy, narrow staircase. We got a good workout every day climbing those stairs. That's ok. A very cute, small room overlooking 3 backyard gardens. Ebury Street has huge hanging flower pots on each lamppost.
We began by going to the local pub for some fish and chips and a couple pints. All the pubs, and we tried quite a few, are cozy, welcoming, friendly, lively, and obvious meeting spots for young and old.
On our first full day we walked a mile from our BB to Buckingham Palace. It's only opened for 8 weeks a year, while the queen is vacationing in Scotland. This place is spectacular. We even saw Kate's wedding gown.
Since Sept 8th is our 41st wedding anniversary we made 7:30pm reservations at The Ritz for tea. Spectacular is the best I can use. Silver tea pots, 3-tiers of food - desserts on top, scones in the middle, crustless sandwiches on the bottom and each a choice of a pot of tea, plus a lovely custard and cake choices. We dressed formally - suit and tie for Eddie. I wore a black cocktail dress. We felt like we belonged. There was a 3 piece band on harp, violin and piano playing classical music. The service was outstanding and very friendly.
Friday - we took the tube from Victoria Station to St. Pancras. From there walked to The British Museum and saw the Magna Carta, a Guggenheim Bible, Jane Austen's handwritten drafts. We also saw the lyrics of "Michelle My Belle" handwritten by Paul McCartney on a legal size envelope and the lyrics to "Help" written by John Lennon handwritten on a page of a children's book and so much more. From there we walked to The British Museum. All wonderful.
Saturday - we walked to The  Thames River and were near Big Ben at noon to hear the 12 chimes. Eddie recorded it.
London is wonderful, friendly, historical. We love it and hate to leave, but right now we're sitting and waiting for our EuroStar train to whisk us off to Paris. We should arrive there by 2:30pm.
More to  come.

Packing Rehearsal

We want to bring only one piece of medium size luggage plus our carry ons to Europe, which meant that we had to practice packing to make sure that the clothes will fit comfortably. I think we have it figured out. However, I have my reservations. I'm not sure if one pair of black pants and one pair of navy blue pants will be enough for 30+ days. Ay, yi, yi. I packed a few shirts also. What if the weather is hot? The average temperature in Europe in September is suppose to be 75 degrees. I'm packing Fall clothing. I know I can buy clothes in Europe, but would prefer not to. Plus, we need cruise clothes - shorts, shirts, capris etc.

Also, I do love the look of my Sketcher shoes. The left foot feels fine. I am getting a blister on the back of my right foot. What's with that? I will put petroleum jelly on it. Why is one foot so different from the other?

I am now having anxiety about our trip. I think we have the major parts figured out. My main concern now is our clothes. Are we packing the right items?

More to come.

The Challenge is to find nice looking very good walking shoes

We do plan to do a lot of walking in all the major European cities we visit, so, of course, very good walking shoes are a must. However, I don't want to look like a dweeb in sneakers. That's just me.
Anyway, after visiting 3 shoe stores I found the perfect shoes at FAMOUS Footwear. They're called Skeeches, Shape Ups. I think they're adorable. See my picture. They look cute and they are great walking shoes. I tested them out this morning during my daily 2-mile walk. Now to work on the sox. I think a pair of plain black socks will do.

Planning the trip

The best benefit of being retired is that time is truly on our side. We are planning a huge European trip and I am not feeling stressed over any part of it, because each day we advance a little further with our plans. One day we're booking reservations at the Ritz for Tea in London. The next day we're ordering traveling clothes from LL Bean or booking our EuroRail pass. All the reservations and planning is done in an even pace. We are researching every aspect of the trip, which includes watching Samantha Brown on the Travel channel and Rick Steves' Europe on PBS for tips on where to eat and what to visit. I feel confident that when our trip date finally arrives we'll be ready to go. A big part of the fun in traveling is in the planning.

Europe is booked

Whew!!! It took many hours, but we did it and let's face it now that we are retired time is on our side. We are planning the trip of a lifetime and I'm glad to report that the most important aspects of the trip are confirmed.
1. We begin our vacation by flying to London and staying at a B&B near Buckingham Palace. This place was listed in 1000 places to go before you die book. Although it is now under new management that's ok. We do get a full English Breakfast. I'm eager to find out just what that is.

2. Take the Eurostar through the Chummel to Paris. We found a lovely hotel in the Montmarte area, which I understand to be the artistic side of Paris. It's filled with small cafes. Ooh La La. Should be heavenly to walk around there and try the pastries and baquettes.

3. From Gay Paree we begin our Eurorail journey to Munich. We'll arrive the day before the Opening Day of the Octoberfest. We hope to see the parade and the opening of the first keg. Oh there may be a beer or two drunk as well. : )

4. On to Innsbrock, Austria for one night. This is a lovely European village.

5. And moving on to Venice. We plan to take the water taxi while there and see it all.

6. Final stop before our Mediterranean cruise will be Rome.

7. And now our 13-day Mediterranean Holy Land Cruise to Israel, Turkey, Greece and back to Naples Italy before returning to Rome.

Oh my. I can't believe this is going to really happen. We've talked about this trip for 20 years.
Now the fun of planning what to do in each of our wonderful destinations.
More to come.

Riding the rails makes sense these days

Our rehearsal for our big European Eurorail trip was a success. We took the Amtrak train to Orlando, FL.

The down side - There was some confustion at the train station. Track 2, the north bound side, was handling the south bound trains and vica versa. Unfortunately, there was no clear communication of this change. Also, the train was late on arrival and again there was no announcement. When the train finally arrived the passengers had no idea which door to go to. There was a major lack of guidance.

Despite all of this, we loved the train ride.
1. Plenty of leg room and there are foot rests. The seat can go way back to allow for a nice long nap.
2. Only 2 seats together rather than 3 seats as on a plane. Loved this.
3. You can walk around, stretch your legs.
4. There's a dining car. We had lunch and my salad was fresh and delicious.
5. The price was right. When you consider the price of gas these days I feel like we got a bargain.

I don't remember ever in my adult traveling life arriving at my destination feeling more relaxed. No stress from a long drive or from manipulating your way through the airports.

I highly recommend traveling by train. As a traveling retiree time is not a factor. Why not take your time getting to your destination and take the time to enjoy each moment.

It's a shame that Amtrak doesn't promote train travel to retirees. There is a missed opportunity for them.

Mini Rehearsal for the big European trip (BBMP)

Now that we are Retired we will finally be able to do what we love the most Travel, and lots of it, to places we've never been and places we love and want to return to. Eddie and I have planned a 4 week European Eurorail trip which will end with a 13-day Mediterranean Cruise. The theme of our trip is BBMP (Bed and Breakfast, Museum, Pub). We will begin with London, then Paris, Munich, Venice and on to Rome where we catch our cruise.
In order to prepare for this major trip we are taking an Amtrak trip to Orlando.
More to come.