Crete, Greece 11-25-10

 Today, we were supposed to visit Athens, but because of strikes, protests and all public transportation and monuments being shut down, we instead visited Crete.

 We are pulling into the harbor early in the morning.

 On our way to visit some ruins and passing some local businesses.

 The street signs are in both Greek and English.

 A typical food market.

 Here we are at the network of historical sites at Knosos.

 The entrance to the ruins.

 This was the first area we visited.

 These ruins belonged to the Minoan civilization, which was the third oldest civilization known to mankind.

 These ruins date back to 3,000 BC!

Some of the buildings were amazing when considering how old they were. 

 A painting in one of the rooms we visited, depicting how they fought and killed bulls.

 Lynda listening to our guide.

 We were literally astounded at how well developed this civilization was.

This was the Queen's throne room. 

 Another room in the Queen's palace.

 The detail of the stone work was amazing.

 They took into account grading and drainage in their building concepts.

The fact that these colors are still this vibrant after 5,000 years is stunning.  

 Check out those columns.

 There was a huge mural of a bull in what was left of this building.

 They even had a sewage system that ran under their stone pathways.

 An entrance road to this area of ruins.

 After the ruins, we visited the capital of Iraklion which has a fortified wall around the city.

 This is a plaza downtown.

 A fountain in the middle of the older district.

 As you can see, it is a mixture of old and new.

An older piece of architecture.

This is the place where Lynda and I ate lunch.

A typical European pedestrian market place.

We stopped here for some sweets on the way back to the ship.

Again, you have the new shopping area right around the corner from the old.

Our ship as seen from downtown.

This is a mountain that sits in the area of the ancient Minoan ruins.

Iraklion in the evening as we are leaving the port.

Sicily, Italy 11-24-10

 Today was a sea day for our ship and we were cruising between the boot of Italy and Sicily.

 This is the outskirts of Messina.

 This looks like some sort of palace or government building.

 Tormina from our ship.

 Another view of Tormina.

 This is Mt. Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe.

A close up of Mt. Etna. 

 I think Lynda is wishing we could have stopped in Sicily for the day!

Sunset on the Mediterranean Sea.

Rome, Italy 11-23-10

 This is our ship, the Norwegian Jade as we are leaving the harbor in Civitavecchia for Rome.

 Typical Italian countryside as we move toward Rome.

 This is the entrance to the Piazza del Popolo, which is mentioned prominently in the novel, Count of Monte Cristo.

 There are fountains everywhere in Rome, and these are on the Piazza del Popolo.

We were on a walk-a-bout by ourselves and Lynda is deciding which way we should start. 

 We went first to Piazza di Spagna, where the Spanish Steps are located, and yes, we climbed to the top.

Next was the famous Fontana di Trevi or the Trevoli Fountain. 

 This fountain is one of the leading attractions in Rome, as much for its sculptures as the fountain.

 There is a custom that if you throw a coin into the fountain over your head, it will bring you back to Rome.  Lynda and I sure hope this coin works.

 Ancient Roman ruins are everywhere in the downtown district.

This is the Foro di Traiano and is one of many such structures in the city. 

 This is the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuelle II (or National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) who was the first King of a unified Italy.

The Colosseum as seen from a short distance away. 

 More ancient ruins just a few blocks from the Colosseum.

This is a distant view of the Foro Romano, or the Roman Forum. 

 Lynda, with a portion of the Forum behind her.

 Another angle of the Forum.

 An ancient arch that still stands on the Forum grounds.

You can't walk any where downtown without realizing you are among some of the most ancient ruins in the history of civilization. 

 Just an example of the many statutes that line the boulevards.

 Another old structure, the Basilica di Massenzio, just a block from the Colosseum.

 This is the Arch of Constantine that was built in 315 to commenorate a victorious battle.

 One of the cobblestone roads built by the Romans, which borders the Colosseum.

The Colosseum!

Lynda and I stopped after the Colosseum for lunch.  We ate some typical Italian sandwhiches, called paninos and they were awesome.

Back to the Piaza del Popolo and some statutes we came across on our way to a park.

We climbed to a park called the Villa Borghese where you can look out over the whole city.  This is an arial view of the Piazza del Popolo.

Lynda takes a break from our hiking adventures.

Capitoline Hill where the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II is located, as seen from the
Villa Borghese.

Another shot of Capitoline Hill in the background.

A statute outside the Piazza del Popolo, and by the looks of it, you might want to follow what he's preaching!

Crossing the Tevere Fiume (Tiber River) on our way back to the ship.