It begins with our picking a house in Germany
Click on the camera next to the decription of the event to view our pictures.
NOTE: Click on View Slideshow to see all the pictures with comments.
What I didn't realize about many of the German towns, is that most of them were destroyed during WWII. There may be portions of the towns that remained standing, however the majority had to be rebuilt. If there is a portion of the town that survived WWII, is is always called the "Altstadt" or old town.
Our Cruise Ship: Here are some pictures from the cruise ship Costa Mediterranea. You'll see the picture of our friends "The Singing Italians". There were three tables of Italians next to us who would break out into song every evening at dinner. Well we decided that we would also "sing for our supper" and returned the Italian song with a true blue American song. It was great fun every evening and was a highlight of dinner time.
Venice, Italy: We began our cruise in Venice. We had the opportunity spend a few hours in the city and see it's beauty and charm.
Olympia, Greece: We toured the ruins of ancient Olympia in the foothills of Mount Kronos in Greece. The ancient games were begun there in 776 B.C. The torch for the modern games is also always lit here in the ancient statium. Michelle ran in the ancient stadium of the Greek athletes although in ancient times women were not even allowed in the stadium.
Izmir, Turkey: Ephesus was our excursion from Izmir. It is considered one of the world's seven wonders. It was the second largest city of the Roman Empire and the site of a Christian shrine. The theater in the city once sat 24,000 spectators.
Istanbul, Turkey: Istanbul is situated with half of the city in Europe and the other half in Asia. It is the city of the Sultans.Istanbul was once the captial of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
Dubrovnik, Croatia: This is a beautiful old city located on the Adriatic. Dubrovik was once part of Yugoslavia. In 1963 it became part of the Socialistic Republic of Croatia. In 1991 the city was attacked by the Serbo-Montenegrin army. The attacks lasted through 1995. We saw first hand the damage caused by this war. Buildings were riddled with bullet holes. Yet the city remains a beautiful site on the deep blue Adriatic.
The Eiffel Tower: The tower was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889 to commerate the centennial of the Revolution. It was the world's tallest building until 1931. What an incredible sight this was. You have to see it at night time. They have twinkling lights that go off on the hour for 10 minutes. Nicole said it looked like it was covered in diamonds.....and it did.
The Arc de Triomphe: The arch was built by Napoleon to celebrate various military victories. Although he didn't live to see it finished. The French tomb of the unknown soldier lies beneath the arch. Many of the main streets of Paris (12 of them) radiate out from the Arc de Triomphe including the most famous shopping street--the Champs Elysees.
Notre Dame: This Cathedral has been the site of many coronations including Napoleon.
Other Sights: We also saw the Paris Opera House, the Place de la Concorde with a 3,200 year old Egyptian obelisk given to Paris from Luxor, and the Grand Arche--a modern business based version of the Arc de Triomphe. We crossed over the river Seine which bisects the city many times during our tour. The River divides Paris into the right and left banks. Parts of the city that are different in thier history and cultural focus.
