A wedding and more

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About 2 years ago we were invited to attend the wedding of family and friends the Moorcrofts in England over Easter.

It didn't make sense to go all that way for 2 days so we decided to tack on a side trip to Venice followed by an Adriatic cruise.

It worked out quite well as you will see.

There are 7 Panoramic shots to begin. Allow 5 secs. for each to scroll through.

1. Grand Canal, Venice

2. Sailing out of Venice

3. Acropolis, Athens

4. Theatre of Dionysus, Acropolis

5. Harbour, Mykonos

6. Countryside, Albania

7. Harbour Entrance, Dubrovnik

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Photos

Moorcroft Wedding
Everything, including the weather, was just perfect for Jack & Toni's wedding just outside Reading, UK.

On to Venice
Here on the Accademia Bridge, one of the many favourite spots for a photograph in Venice with the Grand Canal behind us.

Merchant of Venice
The wealthy merchants made no attempt to be modest about their riches. As with all real estate, a favourable location on the Grand Canal meant everything.

The gondola ride
You almost feel it is an obligation to take a ride.

Floating fruit & veggies
The canals are used to move goods and people around the city; no cars or even bicycles allowed.

Water bus
We often took a water bus to 'nowhere' just to get a better look at the sights from the water.

# 72!
What a great place to celebrate a birthday! Venice has shot to the top of our favourite cities to visit.
The restaurant owners arranged to have a master violinist (from the symphony orchestra) play me Happy Birthday!

The City of Masks
Carnival is a big deal here and has been for hundreds of years. This mask dates back to the era of the Great Plague, worn by doctors with the beak stuffed with sweet smelling things to keep our the deadly "vapours."

400 + bridges
So many great spots to sit, sip and enjoy the action on the canal.

St Mark's Square
The heart of Venice is a magnet for hordes of people, especially over Easter.

One Way
There are many tight passageways where you have to plan when to navigate your way through.

Cruisin'
Here is our 7 day route through the Adriatic, Ionic and Aegean Seas.

Bari/Alberobello
These strange homes were built out of the plentiful local stone without mortar to avoid taxes; as they were not considered permanent. A thousand years later, they are still standing!

Olympia
The ancient site of the original Olympic Games is now jumble of ruins.

But...!
With the assistance of a clever iPad program the look of each of the buildings has been recreated, with long since looted statues and adornments returned! Great idea!

Athens; the Acropolis
Literally crawling with fellow tourists, all probably thinking the same thoughts as us; "Wish there weren't so many other people here!"

Patience!
So if you wait for just the right moment you can get a clean shot!

The Acropolis
Well trodden over the centuries but a real marvel when you consider its construction so long ago.

MSC Lirica
Nice smaller ship; great room where we enjoyed the view from the 10th deck.
All announcements were in 5 languages.
Often, we tried to converse with our dinner companions only to find we didn't even recognize the language they were speaking.

Celebrity Chef at Sea!
Note the second competitor from the left.
Marlene was given a mystery box of prepared ingredients and told to create something tasty!
She was the only English speaking competitor up there.

Comments

[Lorraine Runstedler]

Well of course it would NOT make sense to go all that way for just two days - SOOOO why not go on another trip LOL - nice seeing you guys all decked out at the wedding - was that a birthday cake I saw for Ian - Happy Birthday