Naples is a city where life is lived out on the streets. This afternoon, our last day in Naples, we walked to see two churches

Looking for a way to stretch our legs and get out of the city for a while, we took the ferry to Capri. Our goal

We were on our own in Naples today. First, we had a no alarm morning! These are so rare, and it's not that we sleep

In Italian hotels, there is often a large array of cakes placed out for breakfast. They are not terribly sweet, and many are made with

The Runners My title is deceiving. Thematically, we transitioned from antiquity to the city of Naples today. Physically, I do not think you can gradually

I was back on the program yesterday, but Monday, October 27, I took a day off to rest a head cold. I missed Positano and

In 1978, when my brother and I were in middle school, my aunt took us to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to see

For the first time in my life, I saw Ancient Greek ruins today. I got a little prickly behind the eyelids. What a wonderful place

Woke up in Rome and headed to a train to Naples, then a bus to Amalfi, for lunch. Lunch was excellent- fish and lemon cake.

We walked around Rome today and most sites had some art from the Baroque period, for which I say, look for abondaza! Above and below

We had a slow, free morning that included sleeping as late as we wanted to (9:00am!), and then a nice morning walk to the Trastavere

Castel Sant'Angleo started as a mausoleum to Hadrian, built in 135 CE. When the city walls were joined to it, it became more of a

Obelisk outside of the Pantheon. It was rowed from Egypt. We finally got to see one of the most famous buildings in the world, the

We entered Palatine Hill from a less crowded entrance and headed to the domus of the emperor. This massive palace has been excavated but of

Emperor Constantine. Reconstruction of pillaged original. Our first site today was this immense Emperor Constantinople, who, though born pagan, decided that he and the empire

Rome, of course! I've been know to say, "I could go to Italy at least once a year for the rest of my life." Mark

It's been six months since a big trip. They have flown by. I usually don't do "at-home" posts, but wanted to present a monthly glimpse.

I have a few reflections about our trip to New Zealand. It was a our longest trip, maybe ever. Before we married, we were in

Our hotel above the beach sheds Wellington is hilly, seaside and very windy. It's charming and youthful, the capital city with lots of students. More

We had a free morning on this second to last day of our trip. We'd seen a lot of Wellington between the two visits, so

Our Road Scholar group headed off to the Beehive (parliament) for a morning tour. Since we'd just been there, Mark and I strolled along the

The "i" is left out so the visitor can be the stand in. We've moved from Queenstown to Wellington, leaving the South Island for the

We departed Te Anau this morning enroute to Queenstown, but stopping for a good long while at Real Country, an agro tourism sheep farm. We

Our tour had the Milford Sound cruise on the schedule today. We'd done this exact schedule a couple of weeks ago on our first tour,

We left Christchurch on an early flight to Invercargill. This is the furthest south and furthest west major city in New Zealand. We weren’t in

By land and by sea today. We road by coach to Akaroa to board a day trip boat with the friendliest crew in the South

Before leaving the Rotorua area, we visited the National Kiwi Hatchery. This non-profit is working hard, and smart, to give the national bird a fighting

Nice full day and almost no overlap between our visit to Rotorua a month ago, and now. That's how much there is to do in

Rotorua is one of the biggest tourist destinations in New Zealand. On the North Island, it is an area of active geothermal activity, so people

Perhaps it's not fair to Māori history to write the title I gave this post. We visited Mangere Mountain, a successful Māori town of 3500

Road Scholar has so many advantages. One great one is that groups get expert lectures periodically during trips. I love these talks. Today, Hazel gave

It's been a beautiful, sunny day in Auckland. It's a Sunday, people are out and about enjoying the sunshine. About 1/3 of New Zealanders live

A little shaky, but we took this picture once we got back to the trailhead after losing my phone. As we flew from "up north"

A short ferry ride from Paihia lies the pretty and upscale village of Russell. It has a colorful history as a den of lawlessness and

In a day, we made our way through three airports to relocate from the South Island's east coast to the North Island's east coast. We

It's a slight connection, but Dunedin, New Zealand, which was settled by many Scottish immigrants, has a statue to Robbie Burns and celebrates his birthday

This was our last day on this Road Scholar tour, and we had a series of short, mostly coast walks in the Catlins. It was

We said goodbye to Te Anau today. It will remain a special place for me due to its strong lines of beauty and the untouched

Our ship for the day cruise Today we bused to Milford Sound on a drizzly day to take a few hours day cruise on Milford

Beech and Fern Forest We are at the south end of the South Island. The town of Te Anu is the gateway to the immense

We loaded up the bus and bid Lake Wanaka farewell this morning. Two more lakes to go today as we had midday in Queenstown and

Before any walking, there was breakfast at a cafe named Relishes. They absolutely have avocado toast mastered: smashed avocado with tomato, rocket, haloumi, and seeded

Mother Earth and Father Sky are wrenched apart each morning, bringing the sunrise. I've decided this is the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen in

The old public library in Hokitika was donated by Andrew Carnegie. It's now the town museum. We left Greymouth this morning for a long bus

The Pancake Rocks on the west coast of New Zealand began millions of years ago as the shells of dead marine organisms accumulated, and were

Today was a long bus day, but the payoff at the end was a rugged coast line. Greymouth has the shore, and a history of

It's hard to imagine all the nouns in the title of this post could go together in a day, but that's New Zealand. We started

Picton harbour Close up of the sound The hike We had a perfect hiking, or in NZ speak, tramping, day today. The Queen Charlotte Sound

From Wellington to Picton Early start this morning, as we got up in the dark, and were shuttled with our luggage in the drizzle to

In the Botanical Garden (not native to NZ) Lovely and active day today. We walked all day. We started with a cable car ride up

The Beehive It's been a beautiful day in Wellington. When we were further north, in sub-tropical tree forest habitat, it was warm but wet. We

We've made a long road trip today, from Rotarua, at the northeast (more or less) end of the north island to the southern end of

Rotorua has beautiful natural areas defined by three large lakes and the walls of a calderal left from a volcano erupting 240 thousand years ago.

We moved from Auckland to Rotorua today I've only seen a small section, but New Zealand is a beautiful country. This trip is off to

One of the places we most wanted to visit in the DR was the national park Los Haitises. It is eighteen square miles of protect

Today we set out on an excursion to walk to El Limon falls. It did not go as planned.We are staying in the Samaná region

In each of our post-Covid trips to the Caribbean, we've found excursions with guides that have answered questions with candor and analysis. It's been my

This mornings activity definitely shows the advantage of a study tour. Our professor arranged for us to visit the Casamonti collection of modern and contemporary

Full day in the countryside! We left Pienza and had a short visit in  Montalcino. Today they had a festival! From what we gathered, each

One of the subplots of my learning on this year's trip is about the United States role in Italy in WWII. I just had not

The Cathedral in Pienza. The Piccolomini Palace is on the right. There is a legend in Albany, NY that goes like this: After WWII, Princess

Siena. Never took the Renaissance style, so it looks like 1300s We visited Siena today. This town is beloved by Americans who visit it. It

We had an early booking at the Uffizi today. This is our second trip here in a year. We loved hearing our professor and the

He's got the whole world in his hands? With the excitement of running into a friend while ascending the belltower in Pisa, and also feeling

The San Marco Altarpiece; Fra Angelico Right after breakfast this morning, we had a short seminar about linear perspective. This is the place to learn

The Baptisty in the foreground; Duomo in the middle, bell tower on the right Campo dei Miracoli! We went back to Pisa today to visit

Just look at that view! The Duomo and the associated bell tower dominate the right and middle. The Palazzo Vecchio is on the left. The

We felt like we deserved this! Our train trip from La Spezia to Firenze felt long, although it was actually really smooth. Everyone seems to be

We are taking a day of rest in La Grazie before moving tomorrow to join a new group for the second part of our 2024

Terraces The Cinque Terre is a UNESCO world heritage site, largely because of the way it was farmed for hundreds of years. In this area,

Cave dwellers outside of a tunnel In 2011, Cinque Terre had a terrible flood and the towns of Vernazza and Monterosso were especially devastated. When

A Cararra marble pig stands in the piazza of Colonnata The mountain hike scheduled for today was rained out. No matter, we headed off to

Riomaggiore We had a beautiful day of hiking and learning today. I love it when I enter a new area thinking one thing and by

Portovenere from the straight For the record, and without apology, we were not, strictly speaking, in Cinque Terre today.  The start of the mule path

Little boats at rest This first week in Italy is for hiking in Cinque Terre, on a Road Scholar program. We have very much enjoyed

Three beautiful building and SO many people! My sweet sister-in-law sent me a cool photo. A woman with a suitcase, back to the camera, facing

We were weather beaten for our planned morning paddle across the channel from Chincoteague to Assateague. It was just too gusty, with white caps on

Our paddles are moving from hard to easy. This morning we had a nice loop paddle around an island on the Pokomoke and up Corker

We had a full day on the water today. We drove into Maryland to put in on the Pokomoke. The creek end of this very

After a not too horrible night’s sleep in our dorm (photos coming one day), we were ready for morning. We are housed at a field

Our spring trip was meant to be in California. A family commitment plus closing and collapsing roads in the part of California we wanted to

We has a unique day trip today. The resort helped us engage Cobra Tours, and we were lucky to have Cobra himself as a tour

This year’s Caribbean winter get away starts in Dominica. Several years ago I announced an ambiition to Mark that we travel to every Caribbean county.

There don’t seem to be any kayaks in Venice. The next best thing— a gondola ride!The ride was included in our tour, and I thought

I am amazed at the persistence of the people who live in Venice now and also those who lived here 1500 years ago. The history

After another wonderful,  comfortable, and convivial train trip north, we arrived in Venice.I am seeing Venice for the first time. Of course I had pictures

Our final day in Florence started with a fantastic lecture about the history of Florence. I am in awe of how the professor covered a

The scaffolding will be up for yearsOur morning started out in the classroom where we had a ninety minute orientation to

We had long rainy last morning in Rome. The person in the hotel room next door had a party all night, and we had to

Sign announcing the presence of the aquaduct We had a guided city tour today of some of Rome’s most iconic locations: The so called Spanish

It’s a beautiful day in Rome. We saw two of the most iconic sites today: the forum and the colosseum. They are both interesting, but

This post can be found here for now. https://graceffacom.wordpress.com/2023/10/30/the-vatican/

One tired traveler here! We had a nice breakfast, checked out of one hotel and into the one for our next group. Then we started

Nuns preparing for a celebration outside the basilica gates This is how they tell the story when you book a Vatican guide for the Basilica

Last night we had a farewell dinner with our groupo di Umbria. I can highly recommend this restaurant for a modern interpretation of Umbria food:

The consequence for cutting a tree was to pay a fine of a bull to sacrifice. Expensive for the person; not at all fair to

Our Road Scholar program lets us elect the length of walk we want to do each day. We are given lots of information about elevation

Assisi has four sister cities Today we were completely immersed in St. Francis. Thousands and thousands of people from all over the world make the

The griffon is the symbol of Perugia When the American colonists threw tea into the Boston Harbor to protest taxes, they eventually won a war

Monte Subasio sits about 4200 feet high, with Spello on one side and Assisi on the other. We took taxis up to the top early

The easy part of the trail between Gualdo Cattaneo and Torre del Colle With cloudy skies but no actual rain, today held a beautiful walk

Over three million people arrive in Rome’s Fiumicino airport this month. I bet I am the happiest. Traveling to Italy has been at the top

All international flights in Greenland go through Kangerlussaq. We were departing from the ship of course, so it was a hurry up and wait sort

We could see a difference between the water that had just melted from the glacier vs the sea water in the fjord. This morning we

Our morning was spent on a zodiac cruising around a little portion of Disko Bay, which is a huge body of water. It is not

Our ship is in Disko Bay, which is huge, and today we spent our afternoon in Ilulissat. This is the third largest city in Greenland

Kayaks in the Nuuk historical museum We spent Thursday, 8/31, in the capital of Greenland, and this afternoon (9/1/), in the second largest town, Sisimiut.

I haven’t posted plant photos when writing about the last two stops. One reason is that there’s been enough to show. The second reason is,

The quarry, now filled with water. The rock face shows the depth of the mining. Oh, how I love a good ghost town! In fact,

Tucked away village: You have to look closely to see the blue house on the lower rock hill. The other houses in the village are

From the zodiac When we woke up the swells were gone, and the ship had entered Skjoldungen fjord. King Skjoldungen was a legendary ancient Danish

This is where we were about midday. The Denmark Strait is a wide body of water. The ocean was rough enough last night to wake

We’re in a cabin, swaying somewhat. This is a very new ship, and has “wings,” to stabilize the motion. It’s beautiful, and only about 1/3

So far, no internet on board. So, check back later for more.

We were on the move today, from Western Iceland into the capital, for some shopping. The goals were: some wool yarn, maybe some wool products,

We are staying in the small town of Reykholt that once was a major landholding of Iceland’s medieval bold face name, Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). He

The trail to Eldborg crater with a field of rapeseed on the left. We left Stykkisholmur and headed south to spend a little time a

Today was an immensely beautiful day of scenery. When we sat at dinner and I reviewed photos— about ninety today— I had a hard time

Moss covered lava fields with Snaefellsjökull in the background Not as many people head to the Western part of Iceland. Sometimes it is known as

“We don’t need to set an alarm for tomorrow morning,” Mark said. I was grateful. Yesterday’s post kept me up until past midnight (focus!) So

Imagine you’re at home one dark January evening. You’ve got your three kids to bed and your spouse is drifting off to sleep too. As

We’re back in Iceland, finally! This trip was scheduled for summer of 2020, and as huge fans of this country, we kept the faith and

The souvenir I shoulda bought: a camera folded from soda cans. It was impossible to blog while in Cuba. I did have an app called

 Big day-- Mark gave his  symposium talk this afternoon. The other three members of the family trooped over to the Exhibition Center to listen. Alan

One last look at the view from our window in Hotel Nacional. We checked out of Hotel Nacional to head for Varadero, our location for

Che Guevara is revered and his image is everywhere, here it commands the view in Revolution Square. On August 4 we had an hour with

We spent the day out of Havana, and even the drive out was interesting. We drove through Miramar which is a wealthy suburb near the

We had a nice early start for a walking tour of Old Havana. Cuba was colonized by the Spanish, of course, and was the last

August 3, 2015 We are here! Nothing about getting to Cuba was tricky or particularly intimidating; but it still took most of the day. We

Why Cuba? It started when I was three. My family eye doctor did a very delicate surgery on my eyes. I had a good outcome,

7 August 2014 Our last full day in Turkey was very full indeed. The planned itinerary had this as mostly a long bus ride back

One dimension of my Istanbul Eats tour was food, of course. But the equally interesting and important piece of the tour was the culture of

We met at the conference center early this morning to load the nice coach bus for our trip to Mt. Ida. To get there we

6 August 2014 Once the Apailes Congress ended in Istanbul, we left town with a portion of the botanists on an"excursion." These are great opportunities

Today was one of the most unique and interesting travel days I have every had. That's saying a lot. I booked a tour with Istanbul

What brought us to Istanbul and not some other destination this summer was Mark's meetings with the Apiales Society at Istanbul University. So, on my

The Blue Mosque is considered a must see for visitors to the old part of Istanbul. It was comissioned by Sultan Ahmet I, who did

One palace, our entire day? Yes, and we didn't even see the whole of it.  Top corner of divan in the sultan's private room in

Our first stop was Aya Sofya, it's Turkish name, but also seen as Hagia Sophia, it's Orthodox name. As a sanctified space, we can't call

We're here! We have the jet lagged feeling of having pulled an all nighter, coupled with, as usual, not much sleep on the plane. Once

Steerage...Third Class was the default choice of many immigrants... The conditions varied by ..line and was likely to be fairly harsh... Early steerage often housed

We've seen it, and it is an magnificent building. The Sydney Opera House first attracted my attention in 1999. The very last moments of 1999,

We had a very restful night at our Blue Mountain hide-away, The Waldorf. After two days of being on the road by 7:30 it was

We left almost everything in Sydney and departed the city at 7:45am for a Blue Mountains field trip. Tonight we are sleeping in Leura, New

The botanists were off on a full day field trip to some natural areas south of Sydney, and the boys and I went with them.

The morning mission for the boys and me was to see the Sydney Opera House on a tour. Mission: failure. We arrived when there was

Morning * Walked Mark to the Botanical Gardens for his meeting. * Rousted remaining boys for a trip to the aquarium. * Walked to aquarium. 

Mark and I went out walking this morning for exercise, and also so that he could scope out the place where his Apiales meetings are

We left Melbourne this morning and flew to Sydney. We have been sort of getting the lay of the land. Since our rooms weren't ready,

Until this post, it has been a little known fact that I have family in Melbourne. We have been looking forward to visiting with my

Mark and I spent the morning on a coffee tasting and history tour of Melbourne with the hugely enthusiastic and knowledgeable Maria Paoli (evolvingsuccess.com.au). Forget

The Melbourne Gaol (pronounced "jail") is a popular attraction and both boys wanted to visit it. The first part of our visit was experiential. We

We spend some time away from the city today, in Gippsland. We drove through very fertile land that was very productive but is slowly turning

When we landed a week and a half ago, we were exhausted and had a few hours layover until our flight to Brisbane.  We looked

Big day-- Mark gave his symposium talk this afternoon. The other three members of the family trooped over to the Exhibition Center to listen. Alan

City view from the balcony of the Shrine of Remembrance The boys and I were off on our own bright and early for our city

The souvenir I shoulda bought: a camera folded from soda cans.

Tjapukai is an experiential museum of the aborigine culture in this area. The particular group of people, as we learned, had a huge territory that

We had our day on the reef, yesterday. We had chosen a pretty big outfitter to go with since they had lots of activities on

We used two very different modes of transportation for today's adventure.  Our destination was Kuranda, a mountain town that is known for its markets.  The

Before we left Brisbane this morning, we had a little time to walk around the South Parklands. We rode "The Brisbane Wheel," to see the

When I was in seventh grade, it was a great fashion at Hollis Middle School, to wear a small koala. There were springs in its

We are here! It was the longest travel experience I have ever had. Poughkeepsie to NY by car, then NY to LA. After one hour

The main purpose of this entry is to test this BlogPress app. After setting up my new bog, I realized that I would not be

"Are you going to set up a Blog?" my mother asked me. "Not until I get there," I answered. But, after I hung up the