Last day in Paris- Nov 11, 2010

Our last day was cold and rainy, but we made the most of it, making our 2nd trip to the Louvre and visiting Napolean's apartments, blutsering around the Eiffel Tower and enjoying a delicious french dinner.  I had goat cheese, swordfish in a beurre blanc sauce, and a chocolate gateau.  Yum.

Day of Museums- Nov 10, 2010

After our long walk yesterday, we went on almost as long a walk today while hitting up St. Chapelle, the gorgeous chapel of stained glass, the Musee d'Orsay, Le Bon Marche (the first department store in the world with fixed prices) and the Louvre.

Riverboat cruise on La Seine- Nov 9, 2010

After our full day of walking along the cobbled streets of Paris, we decided to take a boat tour along the Seine for a different view of the wonderous riverside sites that the city has to offer.  The Eiffel Tower was particularly awesome with its sparkling light show.

A Historic Walk through Paris- Nov 9, 2010

In front of Notre Dame

There are so many historic sites to see in Paris and we only had 3 usable days in Paris, so we set out for an all day walk starting from our place in Chatelet les Halles and heading to Notre Dame and Pointe zero to the shopping in St. Germaine-de-Pres.  Along, the way we got to see a lot of the historic sites, using all our daylight hours.

The stained glass of
Notre Dame

Left bank used booksellers

Pointe zero- the center of Paris

Holocaust Memorial

The overflowing canals of Venice- Nov 8, 2010

We only  had a little time in Venice, but we made the most of it, cruising around the city in a water bus and slogging through San Marco square in the rain.  At least the Venetians know how to prepare for the rain.  They had wooden platforms set up throughout for people to walk on in case they didn't have rubber boots to their knees. :)

Dubrovnik, Croatia- Nov 7, 2010

Dubrovnik is a lovely seaside town in Croatia.  It's had a tumultuous past, going from key trading port to gradual decline marked by earthquakes and fires.  It's still a beautiful city though with wonderful architecture and history.

The Ancient City of Rhodes- Nov 5, 2010

Rhodes turned out to be Mommy's favorite stop of the ship.  The medieval fortress and town is still vibrant with people living and working within the walls.  It really gave a good idea of what it would be like to live in a town like that, straight out of the movies.  You could imagine a knight walking out of the many tortuous alleyways.

Sunset over Rhodes