1st stop, NY. No, it wasn't on the itinerary, but thanks to our some great luck and wonderful people at Air India, we got to stay in NY an extra 24 hours. Woo Hoo. We had enough of JFK airport at that time so we hit the subway and saw downtown for a few hours. This is a picture of ground zero and some of the new construction. That's me taken video above my head.
2nd stop Athens, Greece. A major highlight is the Acropolis. There are three huge temples among other things. This is Rach and I with Matt and Katie at the top of the Acropolis. The temple right behind us is the Parthenon. It was amazing seeing these huge temples and imagining what it was like a couple millenia ago when they were enourmous and fully in tact.
3rd City was Venice. We made our way to Italy, with only a couple of trials. It definately beautiful city. The main attraction is St. Marks Square. It's a nice plazza with lots of stuff, including an old basillica and palace where they had lots of old government stuff. Connected to that gov't building was the dungeon. In this picture the gov't building is on the left and the dungeon is on the right. Connecting the two is the bridge of sighs. This is where prisoners would leave after a trial and get there last glimpse of daylight before being improsoned, so they would let out a heavy sigh.
Venice was cool. All the channels and the way the buildings are built up right along each other. There are no cars at all. You walk or catch a boat. One thing is that it is popular with a lot of people, so it is a bit touristy. Otherwise, a nice place.
4th stop Cinque Terre which means "5 lands." It is a coatal area, made of five towns that are built on the cliffs and valleys. This picture is Rach and I standing on a pier with the town Vernazza, where we stayed, behind us. The towns are cute and far less touristy. The Italians there are very Italian. Bet of all, all the towns are connected by hiking trails which give you gorgeous vies of the towns and the coast. It was a lovely and relaxing place.
Above now is Rach and I in Florene. We weren't here very long. It is a nice place for sure. What you see behind us is the Florence Old Bridge. It is the one bridge that survived World War II. Some say it was Hitler's orders. Others say a general disobeyed orders. Either way, it survived. Now it is there with all the building built right into. The bridge is covered with jewelery merchants. It was a rule put in place to stuop butchers from throwng rancid meat over the same bridge. Also in Florence isa ton of art and museums. There wasa lot to see in that city, but we didn't quite see it all.
The next stop was Sienna. Tuscany is beautiful country. The picture above is part of the amazing view we had at our place outside of Sienna. It was in the middle of an olive grove. That's the trees you see inthe forground. This was a great place to stay and relax for a while. We regretted not staying longer. Hopefully we will next time.
Final stop in Italy was Rome. Of course I need to show the colosseum. That place was awesome. "Are you not entertained" -Russel Crowe, Gladiator. Serously Rome was full of awesome stuff. The Vatican alone took up a days worth of site seeing. Then we saw a lot of the really old stuff in the "ancient center" where the Colosseum and the Roman Forum were. There was a lot of cool stuff. Rome was a busy place. We drove in from Sienna. It was nuts, and stressfull.
Final Stop, London, England. THis is Rachel and I infront of the tower bridge. This is not to be mistaken with the London bridge which isn't very old or falling down. Maybe it already did once. This was a cool town. It was a refreshing stop at the end of our trip. They spoke English, the city was quite and fairly clean, the air was crisp, and we ate a homecooked meal. It is a nice city. The Underground system is pretty nice. We spent our time walking aroung and basically just looking at main sights. We were ready to take it easy. Well everyone, I would love to say more, but I have to go. I will post more later. I was thinking about a story a day or something. There's a good chance it won't be everyday. Anyway, enjoy. Sorry I didn't have time to spell check. Have a great day everyone.
