Friday, September 12th, 2025 This morning we had tickets to visit St. Mark's Campanile (Bell Tower of St. Mark's Basilica). St. Mark's Campanile The first campanile was built in the 9th century. The campanile was where Galileo Galilei showcased his improved telescope in August, 1609. He demonstrated it to Venetian lawmakers from the top.

Thursday, September 11th, 2025 This morning as we walked down the steps to the restaurant we passed one of the sitting rooms and discovered an exhibition of glass birds. We stopped to admire them and found out that in a few days the Venice Glass Week would begin. It's held in September and this was the 9th edition of this international festival.

Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 Our first stop this morning was the island of Murano. It was located in the lagoon of Venice and about a mile from the city. Murano consisted of 247 acres and this was made up of seven small islands linked together by bridges. We reached the island by boat.

Monday, September 8th, 2025 This morning we left Verona for Venice, Italy. We took the train. Our train track. Coming into the Venice station. When we arrived at the Venice train station we gathered our luggage and found a water taxi to take us to our hotel. On a water taxi in Venice. Scroll through the slideshow below to see photos of the Grand Canal in Venice as we rode on the water taxi.

Friday, September 5th, 2025 This morning we checked out of our hotel in Milan and our next stop was Verona. There was a train strike today and we couldn't get a ticket so we took a bus(Flixbus) from Milan to Verona. It took longer but at least we were able to find transportation! On the Flixbus When we arrived at the bus stop in Verona we walked with our luggage to Verona's train station which wasn't far away.

Thursday, September 4th, 2025 We were up early to catch our bus for today's excursion. Our route took us from Milan up to St. Moritz. It was a scenic route and we passed small villages on our way. The Adda River was in northern Italy and was a tributary of the Po. Adda River Chiavenna Chiavenna was a scenic location at the foot of the Rhaetian Alps located along the Italian and Swiss borders.

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025 After breakfast at our hotel we met our guide at the Piazza del Duomo. It was the main square in Milan with the Milan Cathedral (Duomo) dominating the view. There also were cafes and fashion shops. We met our guide Barbara and our first stop was the Duomo. Construction began in 1386 and used a Gothic architecture and it took six centuries to complete!

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 This morning we were up early to catch the local train from Milan to Como for our excursion. The distance was about 43 miles. It was pouring when we left the hotel and we were concerned about our day at Lake Como! Near the train station in Como we saw the Hands statue called Monumento Le Mani or Monument to the Fallen in Service.

Monday, September 1st, 2025 Today was a travel day. This morning we left Sorrento with a driver who drove us to the Naples train station. Goodbye Sorrento At the Naples train station we purchased our tickets for the high-speed train with reserved seats. Naples Train Station On the train to Milan from Naples! This train stopped in Roma and Bologna before we arrived in Milan.

Saturday, August 30th, 2025 This morning we walked to the train station in Sorrento to meet our guide, Gino. Our group rode the train with him to the Pompeii station. He gave us a tour of Pompeii. We had visited here before but we still saw things we hadn't seen before. Entrance to Pompeii Pompeii was a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Friday, August 29th, 2025 We booked an 8:00 AM excursion to Capri and the Blue Grotto. It was rainy and overcast when we left the hotel. Capri was an island in the Bay of Naples. It's known for its craggy coastline and sea caves. The island was divided into three areas: Marina Grande- where the marina and the port were located, Capri- where the piazzetta, the vibrant square, was in the center, and Anacapri- the highest village on the island.

Sunday, August 3rd, 2025 It was another gorgeous but very warm day sailing the Douro River. We departed Pinhão early and went through the Bagaúste Dam lock by 7:00 AM. The difference in the water level was 84 feet. Sailing along the Douro River By 8:15 AM we were docking at the Lamego Pier and headed out for our excursion. We did the Holy Staircase Hike (686 steps) and then Bôlas de Lamego tasting!

Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 This morning we sailed back down the Douro River along the High Douro Wine Region. Sailing early this morning. We arrived at the Pocinho Dam was just after we started sailing. In this lock we went down 72 feet! The Valeira Dam and lock. The Ama Douro continued toward the second lock, the Valeira Dam. At this lock we went down 110 feet.

Friday, August 1st, 2025 Our pier was very close to the border of Spain. Today's tour is an all day trip to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Salamanca, Spain. The city dated back to 220 BC and a Renaissance city. The pier along the Douro River. Crossed the border in a few minutes from leaving the port. Along the way we saw fields of sunflowers on both sides of the road.

Thursday, July 31st, 2025 This morning we set sail along the UNESCO-listed High Douro Wine Region. Not long after sailing we came to the Bagaúste Dam. The difference in the water level was 84 feet. Bagaúste Dam The Bagaúste Dam lock is on the far right. Bagaúste Lock The weather was perfect for sitting on deck to view the beautiful High Douro Wine region.

Wednesday, July 30th, 2025 A rose was given to all the women on board last evening. A vase was placed in our room so we enjoyed the fragrant rose all week! Early this morning we left our over night pier. Around 7:30 AM we arrived at our first lock. The sky was really hazy due to the wildfires. This first lock was Crestuma Lever.

Tuesday, July 29th, 2025 This morning we checked out of our hotel to head toward Porto where we would board our riverboat for our Douro River cruise. We certainly enjoyed our time in Lisbon! On our way out of town we saw the Memorial to Senhor do Adeus (translated in English as the Lord of Goodbye).

Monday, July 28th, 2025 This morning we ventured outside of Lisbon to the lovely mountain village of Sintra. On our way we could see part of the Águas Livres Aqueduct. Its name translated to "Aqueduct of the Free Waters". It was an example of 18th century Portuguese engineering. It was constructed because water was in scarce supply for Lisbon due to the growth outside its walls.

Sunday, July 27th, 2025 Portugal was known for its hand painted tiles called azulejos. Tiles were an important part of Portugal's colorful and ancient history and culture. We saw these ceramic pieces on buildings and roadways everywhere. Even though tiles began in Egypt, Portugal was influenced by the Arab invasion in the 13th century and tiles were introduced and flourished by the 15th century.

Friday, July 25th, 2025 We left Columbus' John Glenn airport around 4:30 PM on Air Canada and arrived in Toronto, Canada a little more than a hour later. Our second flight with Air Canada departed around 11:30 PM EST and landed in Lisbon on Saturday around 11:00 AM their time. The flight was pretty smooth but sleep was very difficult for us on overnight flights.

Saturday, March 29th, 2025 Very early this morning we checked out of our hotel in Chester. Our hotel was the Mill Hotel & Spa which was once the Griffiths Corn Mill from 1830. It was located on the banks of the Shropshire Union Canal.

Friday, March 28th, 2025 This morning we checked out of our hotel in Durham. Our hotel view in Durham On our drive to Liverpool we saw a beautiful full rainbow. On our drive we saw some Highland cows in England. Highland Cows In the village of Brough, Cumbria, England we saw the medieval ruins of the Brough Castle. It was built on the site of a Roman fort, Verteris in the 12th century.