I write this on our bus ride to Tralee. We were originally scheduled to take the 1pm Train from Dublin Heuston train station to Mallow (then connect to Tralee), arriving at 5 pm. However, Irish Rail in its infinite wisdom decided on short notice to do rail work for the next couple weeks. So trains for this day had partially been cancelled and were replaced by a bus service and all seat reservations were voided.  Luckily our fearless leaders the Hoffmanns, after consulting with some of our fellow travellers, decided not to take this chance but to scramble and find different means of transportation from Dublin to Tralee and on the return…

Today, before leaving for Ireland I spent much of the afternoon outdoors at our Lake house swimming in the lake and soaking up the late summer sun. I sometimes forget how wonderful this time of year can be in Virginia. I soaked it in because this will be the last day I will see this much sun until I return to Virginia. You do not go to Ireland for sunshine.  The weather in Ireland is all over the place.  As one of our backroad leaders on my last trip to Ireland said, “Ireland has one season all year, but you can get all four seasons in one day.”  He should know…

A tribute to a family member who recently passed away

A post about Celebrations and Marriage

During our 2nd Day in Rome we focused more on ancient Rome, visiting the Appian Way, the Forum, the Coliseum and the Mamertine Prisons, where the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul were imprisoned before their executions. It is believed that Peter’s martyrdom took place 64 A.D. in Nero’s Hippodrome where he was crucified with his head down.  But because Paul was a Roman citizen, he had the choice  of being beheaded instead of being crucified. It is believed that Paul was beheaded four years after Peter was crucified. After visiting the ancient Roman Forum and the Coliseum, we stopped at another street cafe for more Pizza and beer. One…

On our first day in Rome, we would visit another country – The Vatican! We spent three and a half hours in The Vatican Museum with a visit to the Sistine Chapel at the end. What a visit! The Sistine Chapel was built over 500 years ago.  And the future artist who would make a major contribution to the Sistine Chapel was only two years old when the Sistine Chapel was started by Pope Sixtus IV in 1477. When it was finished in 1480, this future artist was only five years old. The walls, painted in fresco, were painted by such renowned artists as Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Pietro Perugino. The walls were…

Day 8 – On May 18th, we left Crete and sailed for Santorini – home of the blue-domed churches. Blue-domed are Greek Orthodox and all other colors are Catholic. There are 600 churches on Santorini Island – most are “Private” churches. Day 9- After visiting Santorini, we sailed for Athens overnight. When we got to Athens, we disembarked after our 3-day cruise. We then hopped on a bus and crossed the famous Corinthian Canal to get to Corinth. Located in the Peloponnese of Greece, this was the once glorious city near the Isthmus where Paul met Aquila and Priscilla and spent a year and a half preaching the Word of…

After a beautiful evening visiting the island of Mykonos, we sailed during the night to Kusadasi,Turkey, arriving the morning of May 17th. A short drive took us to Ephesus, where Paul spent three years during his ministry. The impressive remains of Ephesus include the Agora, the Theater, the Stadium, the Library of Celsus, the ruins of the Temple of Diana (one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”) and many more. Ephesus was one of the sites I most wanted to visit due to its location in Asia, its importance in Greek and Roman history, and its significance in Paul’s ministry. During Paul’s time there, Ephesus may have been…

Sail to Mykonos Island We sailed this morning on Celestyal Cruise Line on the ship Discovery from  Athens to the quaint isle of Mykonos, called the island of windmills. We disembarked and strolled the beautiful waterfront lined with cafes and made our way to an area known as “little Venice”. We also made our way through a maze of white-washed buildings lined with beautiful shops. As I told Steve, one of our leaders, cannot imagine that Santorini, which we will be visiting later, can be any more beautiful. Elizabeth and I had not been on a cruise since our 20th anniversary to Bermuda. And when we returned to the ship to enjoy…

The photo above is of Hadrian’s Arch. Hadrian, as Roman Emperor decided to finish the Temple of Zeus, which was started 500 years earlier! The first thing I did this morning was to take a 6 a.m. run through a part of Athens. And like running through Sorrento at that time of day, the city is all rolled up. A very different look than during the middle of the day. See photo.  After breakfast, we toured the city. First, we enjoyed a bus tour of the Constitution Square with the House of Parliament and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Temple of Zeus with Hadrian’s Arch, the Old Olympic Stadium (built…