First let me tell you where Gliwice is. It is close by, just west of Krakow, in southern Poland, a city of 200,000. Silesian Universtiy of Technology is here, attended by 32,000 students. One of the city's unique claims to fame, is the wooden radio tower. Perhaps the tallest in the world, 118 meters tall, (approximately 350 feet) But this trip wasn't for our usual sight seeing holiday. It was a chance for me to be of some use. In case you are looking for a different approach to travel, here's a formula that guarantees a memorable experience: -act on a [View Full Entry]

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Our hike took us around 5 hours, but was filled with spectacular views! We skipped one segment between Vernazza and Corniglia, we wanted to make it all the way through, but I was holding us up taking so many photos. Once we got to the last town we took the train back to Monterosso. When we saw Vernazza, from the path, it was postcard perfect! We could hear the people splashing in the harbor, the day was so calm. After walking the footpath between Monterosso and here, we were ravenous. Our lunch was at a restaurant high above the harbor. On [View Full Entry]

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Italian Riviera This is the area of Italy along the Ligurian Sea, called the Five Lands, "Cinque Terre". #1 Monterosso al Mare, #2 Vernazza, #3 Corniglia, #4 Manarola, and #5 Riomaggiore. Picture this - tiny pastel towns, snuggled in ravines, against vineyard covered hills. Rocky harbors of sparkling clear blue-green water. And two content people lounging around the beach, the most crowded beach we have been to, but a beach none the less. The little restaurants are serving maybe the most delicious suppers we have had. I debated whether or not to write about this area of Italy [View Full Entry]

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Now we arrive at the ancient city of Rome. Of course it is a very modern city, I just like saying "ancient". We are still processing what we've seen. It is not simply a matter of describing the trip, but expressing our amazement. After all, these are places and events that helped shape our culture. Walking through Rome we would turn a corner and come up on the Pantheon, and then the Colosseum. Modern Rome is built up around these landmarks, and it sort of takes the tourist by surprise! Seeing sights we've heard so much about - the Spanish steps, [View Full Entry]

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next stop - Cradle of the Renaissance As every person who sees the art in Florence, we are amazed. We feel as if we know more about Michelangelo than we ever thought we would. We appreciate his talent more than we thought we would, and I write that at the risk of sounding ridiculous. But now that we are back in Krakow, we have had time to let all we have seen sink in. To asses the talent and intellect that converged in this town, is overwhelming. Along with Michelangelo, there is Galileo, Dante and Leonardo Da Vinci. We have visited [View Full Entry]

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This is for the boat lovers in our family. So here are some, I repeat, some of the boats in Venice. While wandering around (translation: being lost), we came upon a shop where some of the gondolas are made, it's called a squero. They are made of 8 types of wood, nine including the wood of the oar. [View Full Entry]

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When we are asked if we have a favorite city, we answer that it is the city that we have just left. And this is Venice, our current favorite city of water. A de-forested medieval city that did not need a protective wall. She relied on the shallow waters to defend her from invaders. On the approach to Venice in the water bus, we could see that we were traveling a water highway, marked by the illuminated pilings. The rainy, deary weather didn't dampen our spirits, we were taking a boat to a unique island, and that was enough to make [View Full Entry]

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Much to our delight, Keith was to attend a meeting in the wonderful city of Istanbul. The only hitch is, that it was just ending, as his vacation starts, so our time here is cut short. This meant that he was challenged to get in as many sights as he could, of this enormous city. This visit to Turkey is the beginning of two weeks of travel. Okay, let me just say that we are tired! Some of us remember our history, and the ancient city of Constantinople, the cross roads of civilization. Founded in A.D.330. And for hundreds of [View Full Entry]

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From visiting the museums, to stepping into the oldest churches, we have been making the most of our time in Paris. We've enjoyed being here with Kate. She and Keith work together and this is the first opportunity we have had to travel with her. Knowing that we wanted to see the Orsay Museum, Picasso's, and Rodin's, we purchased the Museum Pass. I would recommend it. Maybe you won't save a lot of money, but we saved time in lines, and as the sun came out and the days warmed up, that was worth it! Kate suggested getting over to L'Orangerie [View Full Entry]

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This Garden on the Left Bank of Paris, is considered one of the best in the world. It has areas for bocce ball, tennis, kids play, cafe, cards, chess, and many smaller settings with statues. And that wonderful pond, smack in the middle where kids rent model sailing ships and nagivate them with pokes from a stick. You could attend bee keeping school, watch a puppet theatre, ride the carousel, or listen to a concert at the band stand. There are espaliered orchards, and flower beds around hidden corners. Seems the most popular past time is napping in the chairs. The [View Full Entry]

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