Mediterranean Cruise - Katakolon Olympia, Greece - July 29, 2005

These are the remains of the ancient stadium where the original Olympic Games were celebrated from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D., when Roman emperor Theodosius I banned all pagan festivals. 

 To this day, the Olympic torch is lit form the same cauldron that was first used in the original games in ancient times.

Mediterranean Cruise - Corfu Greece - July 28, 2005

Hey, that's me...  at the Ionian Sea!     (we wont talk about that other guy though....)

I met a new friend, Roscoe, and we enjoyed a champagne breakfast before venturing out to explore the next port, Corfu Greece.

Mediterranean Cruise - Dubrovnik, Croatia - July 27, 2005

Our first stop on the cruise was in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Mediterranean Cruise - July 23 - August 6, 2005

On July 23, 2005 I flew on US Airways from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to Venice, Italy.   What a LONG flight!   Once I arrived in Venice, I boarded the Grand Princess and spent 12 days cruising around the Mediterranean with Marlena & Jay.

Now here's just what a girl needs.....

....A Sail & Sign card!!

In Venice, Italy, I took a gondola ride and enjoyed a nice lunch at a pleasant cafe....

We spent the first night on the ship, docked in Venice, so I had time to explore...

The Grand Princess has a very nice casino and the slot machines are a lot of fun...

They didn't have my size.... but I still participated in the life-boat drill

I definitely enjoyed cocktail hour!!

Ummm... Maybe a little too much?

Stay tuned for more of this trip......

Seattle - July 15 - 19, 2006

I went to Seattle with Melanie and her friend Sin.     Lots of people have asked me, "Why Seattle?"  and I say "Why not?"  I've heard so many good things about that place and have always wanted to see it, so off we went....

Our first stop was to the Chilhuly Bridge of Glass.     Dale Chilhuly is my favorite glass artist and this bridge in Tacoma, WA showcases his work.   

As you walk across the bridge, first you'll come across the "Venetians"....

They look kind of like flower vases from outer space  (sorry about the picture - Melanie didn't notice that her camera was on a night setting, so everything came out really blue for the first few shots).    When you get up close to the vases, they're quite stunning in all their detail:

Next on the bridge, you see the Glass Towers, which remind me of gigantic rock candy.   Each piece of glass looked kind of like a blue ice cube

And then finally, you get to my favorite part - the Seaform Pavillion.    The Seaforms are installed in the ceiling and you walk underneath them.   It felt a little like being under the sea.   (Hmm... I feel a song coming on....   I feel just like Ariel!)

I love all the shapes and colors as you walk underneath these displays - sooooo cool!

Next we were on to the Duck Tour.   The "Ducks" are these old WWII era amphibious vehicles - they can drive on land AND float on water!

We went through downtown Seattle and across the lock into (and onto) Lake Union.  It was a really neat tour.  It gave us a good orientation for the city (it was the first tour we did) and seeing life on the houseboats on Lake Union was really neat.  

And we even saw the houseboat that was used in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle"

And one of the boats from the Discovery Channel's  "Deadliest Catch":

As you can tell, I really liked this tour.   I highly recommend it!

Next we went out to the Alki Point Lighthouse, which extends out into the Puget Sound, but unfortunately it was closed.  So we climbed up the stairs of an apartment complex so I could take a picture in front of the lighthouse:

And then we went out for fish & chips   :-)

The next day, we headed out to Pike Place Market - I couldn't wait to see that!   I had heard so many things about it - from flying fish to flower markets to souvenirs and restaurants!   And I was NOT disappointed!

I could have hung out here every day!   They have everything!  Fruits & veggies, seafood, flowers, clothing, souvenirs.....

We even saw the fish-tossing guys that you see on every travel show about Seattle - and of course, in the book "Fish!" which is about improving morale at work:

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip - here I am with a bunch of new friends:  

This pig is the symbol of the market.   She has a name (I can't think of what it is, but I'll look it up).   People put money in her and it goes to charity.

Did you know the very first Starbucks was at the Pike Place market?     And can you further believe we didn't go there????

We went to a fun dinner show at the Tillicum Village.   It included a boat ride across the sound.  It gave us a really good view of Mt. Rainier (hiding behind some haze - but really, it was there!):

And of the Seattle skyline:

I have to admit, the dinner at this dinner show (a salmon bake, it promised), wasn't that great, but we really enjoyed the native dancing!

We also went on the Seattle Underground tour.   This was a really interesting walk through Seattle's history.   Did you know that because the city flooded so much in the early days, they essentially buried the first floor of every building and moved the street level up to the second floor?    There are still tunnels below ground where the original sidewalks were.    It was interesting, but kind of hot and smelly :-)

And of course, we went all the way to the top of the Space Needle - I mean, you can't go to Seattle and not do that, right?

Of course, this was right about the time that I discovered that Sin is afraid of heights....

The view from the Space Needle was AMAZING!   We could see all of Seattle!

On our last full day, we went to the Chittenden Locks.   I've never seen Locks before.  I had heard about them - how they allow you to change the water level in a canal so boats can get through between two bodies of water that are at different elevations.    I've never seen them in action before though - in fact, I've never actually seen them before:It was a pretty interesting process - the boats would come into the lock and tie off.  They'd have to wait there while the water level rose (or fell) - adjusting the line they were tied off to in the meantime.     When the water was at the right level, the gates behind me would swing open and the boats could go through to the next level.

Now, this is Seattle, right?  So what happens to the poor salmon trying to get upstream to lay their eggs?   Well, they have that all figured out - they've built a salmon ladder right next to the locks so that the salmon can swim freely up the waterway to their mating grounds without getting trapped.    There's even a viewing area where you can go down below the water line and watch the salmon go by.

Finally....  Well, one of the many many wonderful things about Seattle is the food!    We had friends who used to live there or visit there frequently tell us about all sorts of wonderful places to visit - and I think we ate our way from one end of the city to the other!   So I'll leave you with pictures from some of the great places we ate to leave you salivating.....

This last dessert was from Ray's Boathouse - it's a Banana Foster Trifle - TO DIE FOR.   We all highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed traveling with Mel's friend Sin.   She's a lot of fun and game to try any new thing.   She did threaten to glue my feet to a stick to make it easier to hold me for pictures, which I didn't appreciate, but I think I can forgive her for that  :-)

England - May 17-30, 2005

My friend Gnugent was generous enough to take me along with his friends Louise & Wayne on a trip to England!   Wow!  This was may first trip overseas!   I was soooo excited!

Gnugent even put together this trip diary for me - so enjoy.....

Battle Abbey – This was our first day out.  As Louise’s brother had rented a car for the first couple of days that we were there, we took advantage of it and drove to a few sights that would not have been easy to see by train.  It’s a good thing Vera and I are small, otherwise, there’s no way that all five of us would have fit in the rental car.  It was pretty small, as are a lot of the cars in England.

This picture was taken at Battle Abbey, which was built by William the Conqueror on the site of the Battle of Hastings, where English history changed from Saxon to Norman in 1066.  The city of Hastings is actually a few miles from here.

Supposedly, William was ordered by the Pope to build

 and endow a monastery and church to atone for all the bloodshed caused by the Norman invasion of England.  The majority of the abbey is now ruinous, as you can see, having been partially destroyed during the Reformation.  However, part of the old cloisters is still standing and is currently a school. 

Battle Abbey – The cloisters (the school) on the left and the remains of the Abbey on the right.  The actual battle field is in the foregound.

Battle Abbey – The remains of the cloisters.  The building was used as a private manor house following the Reformation, but it now houses a school.  It’s a little incongruous to see, in the windows of such a beautiful old building, pictures of the latest pop heart throb.

Bateman’s – Here you can see Vera and I standing in front of a house called Bateman’s, near the town of Burwash in Sussex.  As  you can see from the engraving over the door, the house was built in 1634.  However, apart from its age, it’s really famous as the home of Rudyard Kipling.  He and his wife purchased the house in 1902 and he lived here until his death in 1936.

Kipling wrote a lot of his later stories here, such as Puck of Pook’s Hill, after he was already famous for the Jungle Book and Kim, among other things.

The house contains numerous mementos of Kipling’s life, including his Nobel Prize for Literature (1907).

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,

If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Bateman’s – The front of the house, showing the beautiful wisteria, which was in full bloom.  The scent was absolutely wonderful.

Bateman’s – Bridge and waterfall.  The grounds at Bateman’s are beautiful.  This particular scene looked like something that Monet would have painted.

Train Trip – We spent a lot of time during the first week riding on the train.  Here, we’re on the train from Chichester on our way back to Eastbourne, where we were staying.  Unfortunately, when Louise finally thought about taking this picture, it was dark outside, so all we got was a picture of us in a seat.

London – The Cutty Sark in dry dock at Greenwich. Launched in 1869, this is the last survivor of the great tea clippers.  These vessels used to race to the east, pick up a load of tea, and race back, in an effort to arrive in England with the first tea of the year, and reap the huge profits that went with it.

The name derives from Robert Burns’ poem “Tam O’Shanter.”  In the poem, Tam meets a group of witches, most of whom are ugly, except for Nannie, who is young and beautiful and wearing a “cutty sark” (short chemise or shirt).   When Tam teases her with this name, she chases him, reaching out to pull out his horse’s tail, just as he reaches the bridge which will bring him to safety (because witches can’t cross running water). 

London – The Cutty Sark.  This is the figurehead of the ship.  As you can see it shows Cutty Sark reaching out and holding the horse’s tail.

London – Here we are on a bridge in St. James Park, with a big blur, which is actually Buckingham Palace, in the background.  For someone who takes as many pictures as Louise does, you’d think she’d be able to handle something as simple as a landscape with gnomes without making a mess of it.  Oh well, Vera and I look good!

London – Buckingham Palace.  Vera: where she belongs, after all, she’s already got the tiara!

London – Buckingham Palace.  As you can see, Vera has kindly allowed me to join her royal court, because, as she says, we can’t be a queen without courtiers!  

London – Buckingham Palace.  Queen Vera has assigned me to guard the palace.  Here’s me doing my best “Halt, who goes there?”

Blenheim Palace – Queen Vera’s country home.  You can tell she’s in the country because she’s casually dressed – no tiara!

Actually, this is the home of the Duke of Marlborough.  The Dukedom and the Palace were a gift to John Churchill , the first Duke, from Queen Anne, in gratitude for his decisive victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim (Blindheim) in 1704.

Sir Winston Churchill was born here in 1874.  His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was the third son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough.

Blenheim Palace – Main Courtyard.  The Palace was designed by architect Sir John Vanbrugh, who also designed Castle Howard, in Yorkshire.  The Palace was built between 1705 and 1722.

Blenheim Palace – Lake and grounds.  The gardens and grounds at Blenheim were designed by England’s famous landscape gardener Lancelot “Capability” Brown.  Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Sir Winston Churchill, referred to Blenheim as having “the finest view in all England.”  It’s hard not to agree.

Woodstock – After walking around Blenheim Palace all morning and then some, we adjourned to the town for lunch at one of the local pubs, the Crown Inn.  Vera sampled some Old Speckled Hen, an English Ale, and declared it delicious.

Woodstock – The Crown Inn.  I was not quite so tentative about sampling the ale, I just dived right in.  Walking is thirsty work!

Bath – The Roman Baths.  Built by the Romans during the 1st and 2nd centuries on the site of a sacred hot spring.  The water is green due to algae growth caused by the hot water’s exposure to sunlight.  During Roman times this pool was actually enclosed under a high barrel vaulted roof.  If you look closely, you can see Vera and me.

Bath – Hot Pool of the Roman Baths.  Built during the 1st and 2nd centuries, the baths are a remarkable feat of engineering.  The plumbing and sewers which drain the overflow from the upwelling of the spring still work as intended almost 2,000 years later.  The main pool, made watertight by interlocking lead plates is still watertight to this day.

Rievaulx Abbey – Founded in 1132 by Cistercian Monks, the Abbey was dissolved in 1538 as part of the dissolution of the monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. Here's Vera in what was the Presbytery of the church.

Rievaulx Abbey – Vera took this picture of me just outside of the ruins of the Presbytery, with the Transepts to my right.  The surviving buildings, such as the church were mostly begun during the rule of its third abbot, St. Aelred, from 1147 – 1167.

Rievaulx Abbey – Looking across the cloister to the Monks’ Refectory, where the monks ate.  

Rievaulx Abbey – Looking across the ruins of the Chapter House at the church.  The abbey is located in an idyllic spot in North Yorkshire, on the River Rye at the base of Helmsley Moor.

Helmsley Moor and the River Rye – This is some of the country surrounding Rievaulx Abbey.  This picture was taken from the abbey grounds.  As you can see, it is a really beautiful area.

Dunstanburgh Castle – (pronounced Dunstanburra) the ruins of this castle stand on the coast of Northumberland.  Here, Vera and I are standing atop the ruins of east tower of the gatehouse.

Dunstanburgh Castle – Another shot on top of the east gatehouse with some of the Northumbrian countryside in the background.

Dunstanburgh – Here’s Vera on the east gatehouse.  This shot is looking south down the coast, towards the picturesque village of Craster.

Dunstanburgh Castle – More from the east gatehouse.  The castle was begun in 1313 under Thomas, Earl of Lancaster and Lord of Embleton as a defense against incursions by the Scots.  In 1315, Lancaster was given command of all the king’s forces in the north of England.  In August of that year, he was given royal license to crenellate Dunstanburgh.  In other words, he had the king’s blessing to turn Dunstanburgh into a fortress.

Dunstanburgh – Approaching the ruins. There is no road that goes to the castle. You have to park in the town of Craster and walk about a mile up the coast through sheep pastures.

Dunstanburgh – Looking back from the castle at the town of Craster. 

Wasn't that an amazing trip??   I'm sooooo grateful to Gnugent, Louise & Wayne for bringing me along.