Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me on my next great adventure. I look forward to sharing this one with you through words and pictures. It’s going to be astonishing and remarkable - I just know it! As with many of my trips, I tend not to do any research ahead of time. I like to form my own opinions, perspectives and perceptions of these places I am scheduled to tour. For this trip, I was really only thinking of the amazing and unusual foods I get to try, the beautiful fi

Hello everyone! I trust this finds you very well and ready for another segment of my trip. Thanks for sharing my journey with me! So today is the official third day of my 14 day Holy Land Explorer Mediterranean Cruise. And so far, it has been a fantastic voyage! I have been to Athens (Greece), Kuşadası (Turkey) where I went to Ephesus, and Marmaris (Turkey) where I sat on a beautiful beach on the shores of the Aegean Sea! I’ve seen so much in such a short amount of time and I

Hello to all of you! I trust this finds you very well, and taking great care of yourselves and of each other! On with the tour as promised… Yesterday was November 11th, and on board the ship, Remembrance Day or Veteran’s Day was commemorated in a ceremony at 11 A.M. I have been to many Remembrance Day ceremonies over the years since I was little, but this one may have been the one that held the most meaning for me. It was very emotional for me, which surprised me, but at the

Well, it has been an extraordinary day here on my Mediterranean adventure. Today I traveled to Jerusalem. And now, we are gradually sailing our way north again as we leave the Holy Land! This morning I was called to the excursion ticket office. Once again, I was told that my planned excursion had to be cancelled due to conflict in the areas where I was hoping to visit. The sweet Lady who told me, cringed as she did, knowing that this was the second time in as many days that m

Hello everyone! I trust this finds you very well and safe wherever you are! This morning, our ship docked in Cyprus at the beautiful resort town of Larnaca. This southern Cyprian city must be a beach lover’s paradise in the hotter months with its palm trees lining the beach and its long boardwalk that stretches out forever. On the other side of the street there are quaint outdoor cafes, boutique hotels, outdoor markets, and shops selling lots of souvenirs, and anything you co

Good evening to you all! Welcome to another segment of this journey! This was another great day seeing this lovely and historic part of the world. Today, I had the absolute privilege to visit Rhodes, Greece. This magnificent place is a World Heritage Site and has been declared the “island of roses'' (Rhodon in Greek), as well as “the island of Knights”. Aboard the top deck of the ship as we docked this morning, I was mesmerized. In front of me was the walled fortress of the O

Greetings to everyone from the Straits Of Messina! The Rotterdam has just left the phenomenal port of Messina, Sicily. Now, we are sailing between the boot of Italy and Sicily making our way northwest towards Rome. We were just informed that we will not be stopping in Naples, Italy as previously planned and scheduled. A large storm is brewing in the Mediterranean, and the ship’s Captain and crew have made the decision to bypass this port in order to get us to safety. They hav