Reykjavik Day One We arrived at the airport a little late, about 7AM rather than 5:30 AM as scheduled. For us, it was no problem as we were not traveling onward, to those, however, with connections it was near tragic. WOW Airlines is a budget airline, so there are no frills and no quick solutions to problems. There are some major advantages to a budget airline, COST; and some major disadvantages, if something goes wrong you are screwed. The folks going to Dublin from Detroit, made their flight, barely. Folks going to London and points further on in Europe, did not. Unfortunately for them, the next scheduled flight is tomorrow! The airline was responsible for overnight accommodations and feeding these folks so that was not bad, but what do you do while you are waiting for ... read more

Today we have to say good bye to The Splendid Hotel and head out to Pisa and the famous leaning tower. On the way we learned that the tower was poorly designed from the start. First the ground was insecure. Some of the property was wet and some dry leading to a poor choice of location, but since the tower was designed as the bell tower for the church, location was not optional. So, they drained the water and began building. The first two rings of the tower were good, all level. Next came the third tier and they noticed it was leaning a little so they stopped construction. After some tinkering, they decided to continue the construction, but they made the columns on one side of the building larger than the other, hoping to straighten ... read more

Today we leave the beautiful city of Venice and head to the city of fashion, Milan. It was a long day but well worth it. We rose fairly early and hit our private water taxi for a last look at the Grand Canal and the beauty that is St. Marks as we made our way to the ferry landing. Our bus driver, Andreus, drove the bus to the ferry and arrived at the appointed stop just as we landed in our taxi. Perfect timing. Since it was a long ride to Milan, I settled onto the bus for a much-needed nap. Both Cathy and I slept for the first leg of our journey. At about 10 AM we had a “comfort stop” at the Auto Grill. Now for those who have not been to Europe the ... read more

First and foremost, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all the dads who are and to those who will be wherever you are. Today was a long bus day, but we did get to sleep in a little late for once. We rose at 6:45; bags out by 7:00; then to the bus by 8:30. Today we had a 500 km drive to Assisi. The day was bright and clear with a little lower temperature around 78 with a lovely breeze. A perfect day for travel. The plan was to travel a bit, have a rest stop, travel some more and then stop for lunch. After lunch we were scheduled to visit the graves at Monte Cassini where in WW2 thousands died fighting the Fascists and Nazi armies. After this stop we were heading to Assisi where we ... read more

Last night we met our tour director, Patrezia. We also met the other 34 people on the tour. Most are middle aged to older. Some from Canada, South Africa, Australia (of course), nd the US. There are few younger folks, say 13 to 25. The rest may not be over the hill, but the top is in sight if you know what I mean. We took a 60 minute quick tour of Rome for orientation and then went to a restaurant for dinner. At dinner we enjoyed unlimited bottles of wine, several courses of appetizers, breads, and many different types of Pizza. It was all delicious and very Italian. After dinner everyone was beat so we all went back to the hotel for much needed rest. Since Cathy and I had already been here for three ... read more