To close

---

I have returned to US soil for almost 48 hours. I am still on the Mediterranean time...about 6 hours ahead. Dubrovnik and Venice, what a nice way to end our whirlwind trip to Europe. Dubrovnik is an old city, only newly discovered. Again like Greece, islands abound, mountains and beach...all majestic and stallwart. The orange-red roofs are a lasting memory and the bells bringing to light hours of the day. The wall cocoons the city and yet gives you a perspective of how small we are and how great we can be...and how we should treat our magnificent earth well. The beach is stony but we swam in the seas of Europe, Mediterranean, Agean, and Adriatic...cool, almost cold, but refreshing...and salty. I have never been so buoyant. The wine was tasty!

Venice...the city of love! So stately, pristine. The view from the heliopad of the Grand Canal as we entered brought tears to my eyes. Venice waits for all visitors...the Rialto bridge, St. Mark's Square and its architecture and churches. I am in awe as to how those before me have honored and worshiped...devoting their lives to such artistic beauty from the woodwork in Baracelona to its unique Gaudi architecture to the columns of Greece and Rome (though not grounded in Christianity, their faith was great) to the paintings of Michangelo and Raphael...ahhhhh, I am inspired to give and share of my talents...though humble in comparison.
Our gondola ride, though cheesy in that there were many boats and having to barter a price, set a sweet and serene conclusion to our trip of a lifetime...just as we begin on the next twenty-five years of our lifetime trip! We exchanged our vows again, as we did in St. Peter's Basilica and the other churches we visited. We would do it all again...maybe Europe, too...but there are so many other places to see...Vienna, Paris, London, all of Ireland....maybe after we saved up our energy, money, and time again. For now, my memories of Barcelona, Nice, Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Naples, Santorini, Athens, Dubrovnik and Venice will be a treasure to enrich me for now.

---