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.