A Great Vacation
We’ve been planning (and saving for) this trip since last summer and now it’s come and gone, leaving us with wonderful memories and some great pictures. Sue and I will be sharing stories and photos this Sunday for those who are here, and probably again in the fall after everyone is back.
Just to recap, we left Phoenix early on Wednesday, June 18th for the long flight to Venice, arriving there three hours late on Thursday around 11:30am. The nine hour time difference accounts for some of that but the rest was all travel time! Our hotel was in a 15th century building in the heart of Venice, not far from St. Mark’s. We had 15 minute walk from the airline terminal to a water taxi for the hour-long ride, and then another 15 minute walk to our hotel. It was charming but a bit cramped for three adults (our daughter Summer accompanied us). We spent the rest of Thursday and all day Friday exploring this fascinating city and included a boat tour to the neighboring islands of Murano and Borano, the former known for its glass factories.
We boarded our cruise ship on Saturday morning, taking a water taxi from our hotel (a canal was at our doorstep) to the ship. The Splendor of the Seas is a beautiful ship and we enjoyed coming back to its swimming pools and air-conditioning after our hot and muggy ventures in the four ports of call. Our first stop was Dubrovnik in Croatia. The coast is beautiful, unspoiled and graced by very friendly people. The medieval walled city is quaint and picturesque, and we enjoyed our day there. Monday was spent at sea as we journeyed to Turkey. Tuesday we arrived at Kusidasi and took a tour bus to the ruins of Ephasus. 2,000 years ago Ephesus was a major port city but the harbor silted over and now lies 8 km from the coast. I was enthralled with the ancient ruins and was reminded that the apostle Paul walked on these very streets and was imprisoned for a time (the prison still stands).
The next day we arrived at the beautiful Greek island of Santorini, whose small villages of bright white homes line the cliffs of the ancient caldera of an extinct volcano. It was extremely crowded with four large cruise ships in port but we enjoyed the visit (and the cool swim afterwards). The Greek island of Corfu was our last stop. This seemed to us to be more typical of Greece.
We returned to Venice that next Saturday, spend a couple of days of sightseeing and then endured the long journey home, arriving late Monday night, the 30th.
We look forward to telling you (and showing you) more. Hopefully we’ll have that opportunity. All in all, it was a great vacation – but after a long trip it’s always good to be home.
Blessings,
Steve