Italy and Greece

Part of this trip was like "coming home" because Italy is one of my favorite countries. I had the pleasure of first visiting Italy--North to South--in April 2006. This time, we only toured Rome, Vatican City and Sorrento.

Highlights in Italy:
The Colosseum
Vatican City/Easter Blessing
St. Peter's Basilica/Sistine Chapel
Pompeii

During my stay in Italy, I had the once in a lifetime chance to attend the Easter Blessing given by the Pope. It was amazing! For some reason, it was different than my first experience in 2006. The overwhelming feeling was not dominating my experience and I was able to truly take it in. I was able to hear the blessing in my home language and also in German. Very exciting! After experiencing Rome and the Vatican, I caught a ferry to a lovely place called Sorrento. It was a wonderful place for shopping. The locals were so kind and everything was delicious. We had the chance to stumble upon a farmer's market. There, we found Olive Oil galore and Limoncello. Italy and Greece are known for lemons and Limoncello is a fine liqueur that is trademark. It is strong but very tasty. One of the workers at the market pulled my friends and I into a back room designed especially for tasting. We had every kind of Limencello that you could think of. My favorite was the Limon-Chocolate liqueur. Yummmm!

Pompeii was unlike anything that I could have antiicpated. I can't imagine the people of Pompeii's experience when Mount Vesusvius erupted. They were such an advanced civilization but when natural disaster struck, they had no where to go. The ruins of the city have been so well preserved that you can't even tell that it was under volcanic ash as tall as 13-16ft. I was really taken aback by the visit to Pompeii. It was beautiful but very sad to know that all the suffering the people had endured.

Once Italy was complete, it was time to board a cruise boat in Brindisi bound for Greece. At first glance, you may be thinking that I had a luxurious cabin with all the perks that American cruises have to offer but no, no, no! I was in a very small cabin, top bunk and no windows. The entire room had a very odd odor to it. However, I made the best of it. I tried to stay out of the room until as late as possible. This was easy because I was able to get some amazing photographs of the Adriatic and Mediterranean Sea from the ship's deck. After that, I enjoyed some time in the ship's disco! After morning came, it was time to disembark. I was very excited because this was my first time in Greece!

Highlights in Greece:
Acropolis/Parthenon
Temple of Zeus
Isle of Capri
Apollo's Temple

Greece is a beautiful country full of so many beautiful ruins and the countryside is something that I did not expect. GORGEOUS! The agenda in Greece was Isle of Capri, Delphi and Athens. The day trip to the Isle of Capri has a special place in my heart. This was one of the most beautiful places that I can say that I have ever seen. The ocean was as blue as the sky and the coast was lined with rock cliffs. It was a place to remember. It was originally planned that we would take small row boats to some of the caves on the coastline but the sea was rough and unsuitable for small boats. We simply had to admire the sea from cliff's edge.

Then, there was Delphi! I climbed to the grounds of Apollo's Temple. It is beautiful ruins nestled in the mountains. I was so amazed at the Greeks for their workmanship because it is unthinkable to me that men could bring such colossal building materials to construct temples to such a high elevation. It still baffles me but that's the Greeks for you :) I have to say that Delphi is a gem in the mountains. It is small but a perfect destination for those of us who enjoy a beautiful mountain stage with the water settled in the gorge of the range. It was there that I had the chance to climb the mountains and a couple hours later, put my feet in water. It was like heaven to me.

Of course I had to visit Athens to see the Parthenon. That was another moment of AWE because again, such colossal materials to construct temples that truly make you want to sit down and stare for hours. That is pretty much all that I did. I found a seat and I stared in AWE. The view from Acropolis was stunning. You could see all of Athens. You sort of felt like you were among the Gods.