Pompeii & Positano

Pompeii & Positano….Wowwwww!

Took a tour through the ruins of Pompeii today- was covered by 30 foot of ash about 2000 years ago, then ‘rediscovered’ and unearthed around 300 years ago….  Where the volcano was/potentially is can be seen in the photo background (Mt. Vesuvius) … One of the MANY many rooms uncovered in reasonable shape was the BROTHEL…. Apparently, because people came from far away and may not have spoken the language, patrons of the establishment simply had to point to a PICTURE on the wall to indicate the services that they were interested in (see photo below.)  Interestingly, chiseled out in the streets were not any compass headings to find your way, but instead- PENIS & TESTICLES correctly pointing in the direction of the brothel (see photo below).  We learned that the original GPS systems were Granite Penis Systems!  Pompeii itself was an enormous site to behold! The other part of the day included a stop at the amazing town of Positano- an Italian city precariously perched on a steep cliff.  It was incredibly scenic and the photos taken do no justice to its beauty…  Oh, and to add to the excitement of this day….. later the same evening, we sailed on past an ACTIVE volcano off the coast of Italy, where you could see the bright orange magma creeping down the volcano in the town of Strombli! 

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Included are some shots of Galileo’s telescopes, leaning tower of Pisa, a shot in Cataluna Plaza in Spain, the front of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the country of Monaco (second smallest country next to THE smallest which is the Vatican.)  This casino is where numerous James Bond 007 movies have been shot… A view of the port of Monaco; a few of the entrance to the city of Tuscany as well as our shadows walking through the area;  a view from our balcony overlooking harbor of Florence vicinity… and a look at the “special bus” for special people , which of course we got to ride in on one of our excursions…

France and Italy...

View from a castle....

Here is a view of where we will be exiting Barcelona... from the cruise ship harbor tomorrow.  We highly recommend this city to anyone who has been contemplating a trip here!  The food has been excellent and the people are friendly (except for that guy running out of the restaurant, having just mugged the poor young oriental girl inside- really the guy just flew right past us as we walked on the sidewalk!!!!!)

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Barcelona really can not be captured in photographs.....

While we took a couple hundred photos & short video clips in Barcelona, this media just does not do justice to convey its extraordinary buildings.  The most famous of the builders / designers was Gaudi..... and he did some significant "out of the box" thinking.  To mention just ONE, he was the first to ever produce a fully naked, anatomically correct (in every way) Jesus hanging on the cross (a picture is included if you look carefully...)  This was at the Sagrada Familia which is a church that has been in the construction phase for over a century.... is still not done.... and they are not sure when it will be done!  Other pictures include a typical street in the Gothic area of Barcelona, Ilea resting on a bench at Guell Park, and a stray cat we ran into on the street (they feed them well over here!)

What's for Dinner?

Apparently, tonight tonight for dinner....it is just some more......

Roosters complete with FEET & HEADS, some calf heads..... AND....

How about some yummy BRAINS, TESTICLES  & PENIS for a well  rounded meal?
No kidding- these treats are for sale EVERY DAY in the Barcelona famous marketplace off of the Rambla!!  We have eaten VERY well during our 6 days in Barcelona, and are excited to be heading off on our 12 day Medit. cruise tomorrow, the 26th.

Barcelona !!!!!!!!! Beautiful !!!!!!!

We have again embarked on another journey.... this time EUROPE for two months.  First stop is Barcelona, Spain for 6 days. Shown is a pix at the Arc de Triumph on an overcast day....

 

One of the primary reasons for the trip to Spain, as some of you may know- was to partake in their celebration of DEVIL DAY, seen below....

 

CRAZIEST MOST INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF OUR LIVES... WE ARE GRANDPARENTS!! LIAM IS BORN ON 6/1/2013 - THE FIRST DAY OF HURRICANE SEASON.

WE WERE SO VERY FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO TRAVEL OVER TO THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA TO BE WITH JESSICA AND GARY WHEN LIAM WAS BORN... LIAM HAS AN OLDER SISTER WHO WILL BE GUARDING OVER HIM- THAT BEING VIVIAN, SHOWN IN A PHOTO. GRANDMA SCHNEIDER WAS REWARDED WITH SOME EXTRA SPECIAL LIAM TIME WHEN JESSICA AND GARY TOOK A SPECIAL TRIP TO VISIT HER ON LIAM'S 6TH DAY AS AN "EARTHLING."

Anniversary Trip to PEURTO RICO's Secluded Island VIEQUES...

AFTER AN UNUSUAL LONG DRYSPELL OF NO TRAVEL... WE TREATED OURSELVES TO A 30 YR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO A LITTLE KNOWN ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF PEURTO RICO....VIEQUES. THIS HAD BEEN USED FOR BOMBING PRACTICE BY US NAVY FOR MANY DECADES- UNTIL THEY GOOFED AND ACCIDENTALLY KILLED A RESIDENT. FOLLOWING THE EXPECTED OUTRAGE FROM LOCALS, THEY STOPPED AROUND THE YEAR 2000 AND SINCE THEN IT IS SLOWLY EVOLVING INTO A ROMANTIC GETAWAY DESTINATION. THERE ARE SPECTACULAR BEACHES EVERYWHERE ON THIS ISLAND SITUATED ABOUT 10 MILES OFF MAINLAND PR (A 20 MINUTE PLANE RIDE.) IN THE PICTURES, NOTICE THE WILD HORSES THAT ROAM FREELY AT THE BEACHES AND RIGHT ALONGSIDE THE ROADS. THE PICTURE WITH THE JEEP SHOWS SOME OF THE 100'S OF ABANDONED MILITARY BUNKERS WHICH HOUSED THE NAVY FOR OVER HALF A DECADE. THE PICTURE OF THE TWO BATS WHICH WE FOUND HANGING INSIDE ONE OF THE BUNKERS... STILL JUST HANGING OUT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS (SORT OF LIKE ILEA & BILL!!) THE PHOTO OF THE BILLBOARD CLEARLY INDICATES THE NOTION THAT THE BOMBINGS WERE NOT APPRECIATED BY THE LOCALS. THE SHOT OF THE PIECE OF WOOD ON THE ROCK IS SYMBOLIC FOR US.... WE FOUND THIS VERY WELL WEATHERED WOODEN BLOCK WHICH HAD JUST WASHED UP ON THE SHORE AND WITHIN IT WERE TWO RUSTED NAILS. THE NAILS, DESPITE SHOWING THE SIGNS OF ITS JOURNEYS - STILL CLUNG STEADFAST TO THE WOOD WHICH ITSELF HAD BEEN SMOOTHED OVER IMPRESSIVELY FROM THE MANY MILES OF RIDING THE BIG OCEAN. (AGAIN... KIND OF SAW IT AS WE OURSELVES WERE THOSE NAILS HOLDING ON FOR LIFE'S UPS AND DOWNS VENTURES.) OUR OCEAN FRONT ROOM WAS AWESOME AT THE "W" RESORT WHERE WE ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE!

Adventure ONGOING @ 30 Years Anniversary Celebration Trip to VIEQUES, PR!!!