New Year

We celebrated the New Year in the company of new friends: the couple from Venezuela, and a Cuban family from Miami. We danced to Spanish music, ‘Queee Viiiiva Eeeespana!’, and toasted the New Year with Champagne and the traditional 12 grapes.

Our trip is now ending and we are heading to Barcelona to board our flight back to the US. After 14 days at sea and having visited 5 countries, we have the most wonderful memories and new found friends. We are ready for the next adventure. Maybe Alaska, New Zealand, or Australia!

The Torres Family

Crete, Greece

In Crete, we visited the ruins of the Palace of Knossos, the court of King Minos built around 2,000 B.C. At that time, the Minoans built sewage, drainage, and air conditioning systems into the palace infrastructure. One can only be amazed by the ingenuity of these inhabitants. Then, we visited a typical Cretan village where we tasted local Greek snacks and wine. The perfect ending to a beautiful day!

Athens, Greece

It has been unusually warm with temperatures in the low 70s. It has not been this warm this time of year in the last 30 years! In Athens, we visited the Acropolis. Like Rome, the Archeological sites are found within the city. We also had lunch at a local Tavern. We are trying all the local wines and spirits. The Greek Island is a 'must come back' place, along with Sorrento, Italy.

Wishing you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

The Torres Family

Izmir, Turkey

After Egipt, Turkey was a very pleasant surprise. What we saw was beautiful! With great topography and lush vegetation. It had great roads and modern infrastructure very much like home. We went and visit a rug factory where they showed us how they make silk thread from the coccons. Then we saw how the rugs are made by hand taking up to 2 years to complete. Now we know why they are so expensive. Away from the city and in the mountains, we visited Virgin Mary's last home. We were able to collect Holly Water. Then, we visisted the ruins of Ephesus. It was breathtaking; larger than Pompei and with finer architecture, but destroyed by earthquake.
We had lunch at a resort in the mountain overlooking the mediterranean sea. Sabrina said that our Tour Guide looked like a mexican version of Jackie Chan. And Alex loved visisting the ruins, of course ;-)
Love,
E, Y, A, S