Ephesus Turkey

Our only port in Turkey proved to be quite interesting. We first learned that the Virgin Mary and St. John lived (and died) near Ephesus after Christ was crucified. They have determined where they both lived and have reconstructed the house of Mary on the original foundation (3 Popes have actually visited this site!). Ephesus is also home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the temple of Artimus (of which only one column still exists). The ruins of Ephesus are still being excavated, but they have determined that the Romans actually named this city the Eastern (Asian) capital of the Roman Empire and it was home to more than 400,000 people in 100 AD. After visiting the ruins we went to a train museum for a Turkish lunch and were entertained by youth performing a traditional dance (see video). Our last stop was a Persian rug demonstration which was a real treat. They also shared with us the different types of rugs: wool, cotton, and silk. They were all very beautiful and if we could have found a bank to rob prior to departure we would have bought one – they were really amazing. A very quick stroll thru the Turkish bizarre gave us a good idea of how it works: all the shop keepers stand outside their shops and ask you to step inside – everyone sort of runs down the street saying ‘no thank you, no thank you…’ to each and every one of them. Our last stop was an ancient caravan hotel that has recently been converted – it was surrounded by a wall and had a huge courtyard to house the camels. See pictures of Ephesus here, and the port town of Kusadasi here.

Santorini Greece

Santorini is one of over 2000 Greek islands (only 160 of them are populated). It boasts the traditional blue and white buildings that Greece is known for. We started our tour learning about the main exports of the island: pistachios, wine and olive oil. We strolled thru the town of Oia and discovered many terrific views and shops along with cute stray animals (cats and dogs) at every turn. Our tour guide explained the traditional Greek Orthodox Church buildings and icons which were present in all five Greek cities we visited. A visit to a black, pumice sandy beach showed us how fine and nice the sand was (it would have been terrific if it wasn’t raining, oh well). Next we had a terrific lunch with lots of traditional Greek dishes and, of course, baklava. Afterwards we visited a wine museum where they demonstrated how they made wine and we were able to try a nice red wine, white wine and dessert wine (which was our favorite). The weather wasn’t really cooperating with us on one of Greece’s most beautiful islands, but we made the most of it and enjoyed our time there – and our cruise ship stayed afloat! See our pictures from Santorini here.

Pompeii Italy

Our best tour guide of the trip was in Pompeii. We started the day in the port of Naples and they took us to see a tradition of the area: making cameos. These works of art feature the contrast of white on color and is carved out of one piece of shell! Next, up to Mount Vesuvius where the skills of our driver, Pepe, were often applauded on the incredibly narrow roads leading up to the mountain. We were able to walk up to the rim of the volcano and look down into the mouth where you can still see wisps of smoke rising from cracks in the wall. It also allowed a fantastic view of Naples and the port below. A quick pizza lunch and we were off to the ruins of Pompelli – an unbelievably well preserved city that is a must see! See our pictures of Naples, Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii.

Florence/Tuscany Italy

We booked a terrific excursion for this area. Our first stop was Florence where we were introduced to the leather-makers of the area. They were famous in former times for creating book bindings and they showed us how they performed this task. We had 2 hours of free time in which we visited the Ponte Vecchio and then the Boboli Gardens. The gardens go almost straight up a hill, but once to the top provide a terrific view of the city. Afterwards we drove thru the Tuscan countryside and enjoyed the views of the vineyards and beautiful Cyprus trees. Lunch was provided at a hilltop castle where several courses were served with unlimited wine. Already enjoying ourselves we went to a local wine distributor who offered a unique wine tasting experience. Check out pictures of Florence here and pictures of Tuscany Chianti region here.

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Our first stop was a small country that is well known for its casino and was the home to Princess Grace (Grace Kelly), Monaco. We didn’t have an shore excursion planned so we decided to use the information provided on the ship to venture around on our own. The port was a parking lot of fantastic yachts and the city was already setup to run their famous F1 road race. We walked up hundreds of steps to reach the palace and enjoyed great views and gardens along the way – it was a beautiful city. Many people also took a train to nearby Nice and Canne - where the film festival was starting the next day! See the photos!

Rome, Italy

Up and out early we tried to see if we could get in line early enough to see the Sistine Chapel, but by the time we got to the Vatican the line was well over 2 blocks long! Instead we went inside Saint Peter’s Basilica to see the world’s largest religious building and all its treasures. We had a great time in Rome and now it was time to catch the train to the port to start our cruise. We met our dinner companions: a couple from the Los Angeles area and two ladies from the bay area – we enjoyed dinner with them almost every evening on the ship. The pictures are here.

Rome, Italy

After a nice breakfast in the courtyard of the hotel we went into tourist mode right away and took the subway directly to the Coliseum. The tour covered the main points of the structure and then we had a nice pizza lunch nearby to recount all we had learned. Next we took a tour of Palentine Hill which overlooks The Forum. A stroll through the Forum with the help of a book allowed us to see ‘before’ and after scenes so we could better understand what we were looking at. Next we saw the famous square designed by Michellangelo, Mussolini’s headquarters, the ‘wedding cake’ monument, Trevi Fountain and finally the Pantheon. Dinner was well deserved after such an eventful day. The pictures are worth a thousand words!

Rome, Italy

A quick 1.5 hour flight from Basel we arrived in Rome early afternoon. After dropping off our luggage we went to visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and then crowded onto the subway to head for the Spanish Steps. The traveling made us a bit wary so we opted to enjoy a beer and then wander around the city before deciding on a nice place for dinner. The subway was closed that evening so we took a taxi back to the hotel (the taxi driver passed a Ferrari on the way which was a proud moment for all of us, including the driver). Click here for the pictures.

Basel/Gruyere

Mom and Dad Orem arrived yesterday morning. After relaxing for an hour or two we had lunch and ventured out for a tour of Basel: the TinguelyFountain, Lohnhof (the old town prison), Freiestrasse (the main shopping street), Musterplatz where the main cathedral overlooks the Rhine, over the middle bridge for a break, a leisurely trip across the Rhine in an old-time ferry, and a tour of St. Alban’s with it’s old paper mill and city wall. Friday we took a driving tour to Gruyere to visit the Nestle chocolate factory complete with heavenly smells wafting through the parking lot. We enjoyed a self-guided tour that ended with trays full of unlimited amounts of chocolate to sample (YUMMY!). Afterwards we ventured up to the refurbished castle were we enjoyed a tour and great views over the valley. Beer was in order in the town square after a hard day of sight seeing.

Prague Day 1

Our Prague experience started around 3pm in Wenceslas Square, a busy shopping area in the middle of the city. Of course we started by sampling a few Czech beers! After a short walk around the area, we decided to join the first of three walking tours offer by Prague City Walks. First up – “The Old Town Pub Walk”. Prague is is considered THE #1 beer drinking nation in the world! Prague is home to the original Budweiser and they actually invented Pilsner beer. The best liked beers in Prague are as follows: Pilsner Urquel, Gambrinus, Radegast, Velkopopovicky Kozel (our personal favorite), Budvar and Staropramen. Of course we attended the pub tour and visited some great cellar bars. We were joined by people from Spain, and a group of English and Canadian people who are living in Serbia at the moment. We visited three different pubs, had a nice dinner in a special place that had a barrel vaulted ceiling in the cellar, and were able to try several different types of beers. The first pub actually had beer taps on every table!! Perfect!

Prague Day 2

We started the day with another walking tour offered by Prague City Walks. This time, it was a comprehensive tour called “Prague Insider”. The four hour tour enabled us to see many of the crucial aspects of the city including the Old Town, the New Town, the Jewish Quarter, and the Prague Castle. New Town is only 100 years newer than Old Town and is the main retail street of the city and the location where the Velvet Revolution took place. Old Town was formerly a market place and the main crossroads of eastern and western Europe (which is why Prague was a very rich city in the past). The Jewish Quarter is a beautiful area that contains Europe's oldest synagogue and an amazing cemetery that contains over 12k people in 12 layers. After an excellent lunch, we strolled through the Mala Strana (or Lesser Town) area. A nice area filled with cobblestone side streets, shops, churches, pubs, and restaurants. The way back to the old town takes you over the Charles Bridge. Built in the 13th Century, yes its 700 years old, it’s a must see for tourists. Finally, we finished our evening with a nice dinner at Escape Restaurant Café. See these pictures - Castle, Old Town, New Town, Jewish Quarter, Rivers, Parks.

Prague Day 3

The Prague Castle was first up. We walked around the castle grounds enjoying the gardens and landscape. What used to be a moat around the castle, is now a beautiful area to walk in. After passing by the Loreta, we had lunch at an outdoor restaurant that had an excellent view of the city. Next we visited the library \ museum in the Strahov Monestery. Petrin Hill and the Observation Tower were next. The tower is a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (so don’t be confused) as well as a great mirror maze! Our next stop was the Vysehrad Castle and Park. In the suburbs of Prague, it has a great view of the river, a beautiful church, and an interesting cemetery. To finish the day, we had our dinner at The Original Needle House Restaurant followed by a Saxophone Quartet performance at the Municipal House Theater. The city is know for opera, orchestra and theatre - Mozart premiered Don Giovanni here - and they also have interesting black light theaters. Prague is also known for its bohemian glassware and Frank Gehry's dancing house.That was a full day! Click these links to see pictures from the day. Castle, Parks, City Overviews, Monestery and Old Town.

Prague Day 4

On our final day, we started with the National Museum in Wenceslas Square. Many things to see there including Pre-historical, Mineralogical, Zoological, Osteological, Paleontological and Anthropological exhibits. From there, we visited St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square. During World War II, Czech army units were stationed there, but now, classical music concerts are held there throughout the year. Next we visited the Old Town Hall Tower and Astronomical Clock. The clock dates back to the 15th century! Every hour there is a procession of the twelve Apostles. The tourists are packed in the square to see this one minute extravaganza! Of course we walked to the top of the tower to enjoy great views of Prague and the surrounding areas. The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn was the final stop in the Old Town Square. This gothic church with a baroque interior dominates one side of the square. It’s especially beautiful at night. After some shopping, we enjoyed dinner in another cellar restaurant while watching the US play the Czech Republic in the Ice Hockey World Championships. We concluded our evening with our final walking tour, the “Ghost Trail”, where we heard scary stories about ghosts in Prague. See pictures from the Old Town Square here. Prague is a MUST SEE city - make sure to put in on your list of European cities to visit =)

Hiking in Chasseral Switzerland

Spring has sprung!! We went for a long hike in Chasseral, Switzerland on Saturday. It's located in the Jura Mountain range that spans parts of Switzerland and France (yes, there are other mountains besides the Alps!). The weather was perfect, and it provided many great views of the surrounding areas. As we got higher, we encountered some snow that we had to tromp through - Nancy loved that part! The highlight was at the top where we were able to watch many people paragliding near the Chasseral Hotel. You can see a video here. After six hours of walking, we were tired and ready to return to Basel. See pictures from the hike here.

Europa Park

The Roche PMO group took a day trip to a theme park: Europa Park located in Rust, Germany. I love a good roller coaster and the Silver Star did not disappoint (look Mom, no hands!). The park is divided into sections that represent 12+ nearby countries. Each has their special building types, food, crafts and music represented. The park is open year-round and has special decorations and activities for each season. Everyone had a great time as the weather here has been absolutely perfect (mid-70's, clear and sunny) for almost 2 weeks straight.

London Day 6: South Bank & Theatre District

We started our 2nd Anniversary at St. Paul's Cathedral. Some time after the old St Paul’s – which was a wooden structure – was burnt to the ground in the great fire of London (1666), Sir Christopher Wren was asked to design a new building. We climbed up to the highest galleries of the dome to get an amazing view of the city.

Next, we crossed the Millennium footbridge (known as the wobbly bridge because of its rather alarming tendency to sway on first opening – sadly this feature has been greatly reduced with dampners since then) to Tate Modern. In one of the most stunning architectural feats of recent times, the Bankside power station was converted into a gallery to house the Tate’s growing collection of post 19th Century Art. The turbine hall – which was left intact – itself is worth the visit to the gallery.

After a quick lunch, we took a short stroll east along the river to the Globe Theatre. This theatre is often referred to as ‘Shakespeare’s Globe’ because of its strong association with the playwright. The building he knew was burnt down after a particularly rousing production involving real canons. But in the 1990s, renowned director, Sam Wanamaker, realised his dream of reconstructing the theatre. Built entirely in traditional materials (with a couple of exceptions for modern fire regulations etc.) and using traditional methods, the building is as much a centre of education, helping people explore traditional methods not only of construction, but also of production, as it is a museum and a working theatre.

We visited the Britain Wartime Museum which is a place where you can experience what it was like for Londoner's to use the Underground as a bomb shelter, what a victory garden was, how rationing worked and many other interesting 1940’s era facts about the city. In fact, we were looking for the Churchill Museum, but by the time we realized our error it was too late to visit the correct one.

Then it was off for a trip on the London Eye. Another really good Millennium project, the Eye is a big bicycle wheel that takes you in a ‘capsule’ high above the city for amazing views. It’s owned by BA, which means that there is some slightly annoying airline vocabulary to put up with (a trip is called a ‘flight’, for example).

A great dinner in the theatre district at The Porcupine (a local pub) and then we went to enjoy our London show: We Will Rock You (the tribute musical to the rock group Queen). It was great fun, fantastic singers and of course great music =). You can see our pictures of London here.

London Day 5: Tower Hill & Buckingham Palace

First off we took tour of the Tower Bridge. Despite looking reasonably Gothic, the bridge is a total fake and usually mistaken for the London Bridge. It had great views of the city and some interesting films about how it functions and how it was built.

Next we went on a London walking tour which included Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace the changing of the guard, and St. James Palace. We are never disappointed with the walking tours we take – it was awesome!

Then it was off to the Tower of London - one of the city’s most enduring images, but no one really comes for the architecture. They come for two things: the bloody stories (boy princes murdered in the tower by their wicked uncle, more beheadings than you can shake an axe at) and the crown jewels. We joined one of the yeomen warders’ (also known as Beefeaters – of gin fame) tours which was highly entertaining.

Finally, we took a trip around the HMS Belfast which was very interesting indeed. Whew! What a DAY =) You can see our pictures of London here.

London Day 4: Hampton Court & Kew Gardens

Hampton Court was built for Cardinal Wolsey, but Henry VIII liked it so much that he, er, stole it. Nice to be a king! Anyway, in the building’s 500 year history, it’s been almost demolished (Christopher Wren, the architect of St Paul’s cathedral, built a sort of extension round the back) has housed various kings and queens and has entertained thousands of visitors, most of whom take the time to explore the gardens, including the world-famous maze and the largest single grape vine in the world! Altogether, it was delightful. See our pictures of Hampton Court here.

About an hour in the other direction we decided to see Kew Garden which is designated a world heritage site. They have a pagoda that will be 250 years old in 2009! A fantastic example of a proper English garden – we had a beautiful day to enjoy it. See our pictures here.

With all that walking, we decided to take the night off and have one drink too many at a local pub, The Anchor. One thing we did learn is that there are several dishes that are very common in England that we are not familiar with: bangers and mash, spotted dick, scones, toad in the hole, yorkshire pudding, and bubble and squeak. They commonly have baked beans on toast for breakfast?!? You can see our pictures of London here.

London Day 3: Greenwich & Pub Tour

To get to Greenwich we took a boat tour from Westminster Millennium Pier to Greenwich. This was a fun thing to do and the guide, like most Brits, was very funny. From the Thames, it’s an easy walk to Greenwich. This is one of London’s most fun riverside communities. The village has a historic centre, as well as plenty of hip and trendy young people drinking, eating, dancing and generally behaving badly. Greenwich is also the origin of….Greenwich Mean Time, named when the British really did rule the ocean waves. The Greenwich Meridian – the 0º line – passes through Greenwich: through the courtyard of the Observatory, actually. Stand with a foot on either side, and you have a foot in either hemisphere… You can see our pictures from Greenwich here.

From there, we also saw the existing exhibit of the Cutty Sark (of whiskey bottle fame). This is an old clipper that used to transport tea to England from India when it was super important to get it back to port first so it was fresh. It is currently under renovation but they had a video and samples of green and black tea that was just like what was brought back many years ago.

Finally, we wandered around in the park, admired the exterior of the Queen’s House designed by Inigo Jones, and debated on whether to see the maritime museum and spent some time exploring the lanes before we headed back into town for a walking pub tour! We tried some of the several types of English beer, but unfortunately English beer is to be served at a warm 52 degrees, but we had fun looking at the pubs, learning some great history and sampling the beer none the less =) See our pictures of London here.

London Day 2: Stonehenge & Bath

Magnificent Stonehenge has been enthralling visitors for hundreds of years. Mysterious, beautiful and eerie, it’s one of the most important prehistoric sites in Britain, in the heart of gorgeous countryside. The nearest town is Salisbury. This lovely city has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Britain. At Stonehenge, we explored the monument as well as walking around some other important remains in the surrounding plain before heading off to Bath. See pictures of Stonehenge here.

Bath was the premier destination for rest and relaxation for the ladies and gentlemen of Regency England. Its superbly elegant crescents and boulevards, designed by architects including Nash, were well known by Jane Austen and featured in a number of her novels. The Romans loved the city for its natural hot springs, and you can still ‘take the water’ in the beautiful pump house. After our visit we decided to take in the nearby botanical gardens and the Royal Crescent. See our pictures from Bath here.

London Day 1: Hyde Park & Kensington

Our hotel was in a great location - just 5 blocks away from Paddington Station (of Paddington Bear fame). A very short walk away we found the beautiful terraces, shopping, eating and museums of Kensington, the funky culture of Notting Hill and Portobello and gorgeous Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. We hit three pubs the first day! See the pictures here.

Edvard Munch Exhibition in Basel

On Sunday we started our day with a trip to our favorite Basel Museum, the Foundation Beyeler. They're having a special exhibition featuring Edvard Munch. Although it wasn’t included in the exhibition, you might have seen his famous painting, The Scream (sometimes called The Cry). He has many other interesting paintings you might want to see here. The exhibition is the largest ever held outside of his home country of Norway. We were glad to see it.

Dreiländereck - 3 Countries come together

We recently visited the place where Switzerland, Germany, and France come together. It’s only 10 minutes from our house, so we’re not sure why we haven’t been there before. Anyway, the Rhine river divides France and Germany, so they have built a monument on a small piece of land that extends into the water where the countries come together. Although there are a few restaurants close by, there aren’t any souvenir shops in the area, so don’t save your money for a hat or T-shirt... On a warm day, it would be nice to have lunch or dinner there to enjoy the view of the river, the monument, and a nice pedestrian bridge that is nearby. You can see our pictures of Basel here, or read about it here.

Castle in Germany - Burg Rotteln

On Saturday we decided to visit a castle just across the German border. The Burg Rotteln (castle) ruin is at the southern end of Germany's Black Forest region, near the town of Lorrach. This early 13th Century castle was first documented as a completed fortress in 1259, but it’s first family namesake Walter von Rotteln was mentioned as participating in a tournament in Magdeburg in 938. It is located in the southwest most corner of Germany where Germany meets Switzerland and France, 20 kilometers from Basel across the Swiss border. The Burg Rotteln is one of the largest castle complexes in southern Baden-Wurttemburg. If you’re interested in castles, you should make the short trip to see this one. It’s worth the time. You can see our pictures here.