Paris

We saved Paris for the end! Steve and I really enjoy Paris. We visited Napoleon's tomb and Steve got to the top of the Eiffel Tower for the first time and we saw the lights of Paris this trip. The Eiffel Tower lights were gorgeous!!




































The Louvre was huge and we drove north of Paris to Giverny to see the home of Claude Monet and to see his Japanese gardens that inspired many of his paintings - it was my most favorite thing to see in Paris this trip! Monet's Japanese Garden was amazing, the gift shop was the best. The city of Paris is our favorite and watching Steve speak French is always fun!













































Our last night in Paris we took some pictures of the lights of Paris, a bridge over the Seine River and Notre Dame.

Our last morning before heading to the airport we had to stop at the local patisserie for Steve to get his final pan o chocolate.

Mediterranian to Lake Como

TheMediterranian is a beautiful blue. We stayed in Rapello, Italy on the Mediterranian for 2 days. We drove along the Mediterranian coast to Portofino and happened upon San Margarieta along the way.
























Portifino and San Margarete were fun little towns to visit along with Cinque Terre. Portofino is mainly accessible by boat - lots of boat's no cars in Portofino! We walked along the boardwalk between Protofino and San Margarieta one evening at sunset and it was quite impressive! We visited Cinque Terre and saw the umbrella beaches there.

































We drove to Lake Como and saw Laglio, Como, Mennagio, Bellagio and Varenna. We took an afternoon trip over to Lugano, Switzerland.















We happened upon the Basillica in the old part of town in Como. The church was installing a new Bishop, the pomp and ceremony that went along with that ceremony was fun to see. . . Something I had never experienced before. Next time we go to Lake Como we'll stay in Varenna rather than just spending the day there. It was a quaint, very small, very beautiful lake town that just oozed with charm!!! Not showy, just charming.

Italy

September is a beautiful time to see Venice, not too hot, not too cold. San Marcos Square and the Grand Canal were the highlights of the town, along with it's gelato!












































This is The Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal at night.




































We drove to Verona, Italy from Venice. As we crossed the Roman Bridge into the old part of Verona, we went back to 11th Century Italy - it was incredible. The integrity of the old town Verona is impressive. The town square and it's stockade, statues and Juliette's Balcony were quite something!! There really was a family feud between the 2 main families of Verona - Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is base on a true story.

Sound of Music

The Sound of Music sites in and around Salzburg were so much fun to visit. I'm a bigger fan having visited Salzburg. Mirabell Gardens is where the Do-Re-Mi song was filmed.

































These stairs are in Mirabell Gardens where all the kids sing "Do-Re-Mi". The Lane on the above right, is where they Maria sang "I have Confidence" as we walked down the lane by the orange wall packing her bags to the Von Trapps home. We saw the tree lined street where the kids hung out of the trees while they sang. The backyard Gazebo as well as the Lake from the backyard of the Von Trapp home.

































The Mondsee Cathedral in St. Gilgal in the Lake District of Austria was where the wedding was filmed, about a 20 minute drive outside of Salzburg. The Church was amazing.

Nonnburg Abby is where Maria Von Trapp was a nun and the Salzburg Festispiel built in the side of the mountain is where the Farewell song was filmed. The tree lined street where the kids hung from the trees, etc.,






















We sat in the Church at the Nonnberg Abbey and heard the nun's singing at their 5:00 p.m. worship. It was a neat experience. We saw the outdoor music arena built in the side of the mountain where The Von Trapps really sang their just before escaping Austria.