April 14-21, 2005 - Washington D.C.

Our trip to Washington D.C. was a part of my present to my daughter for graduating from Junior High School. She maintained straight A's all through her 3 years and really worked her butt off. This was a "thank you" for me never having to worry about her and school. This was worth every penny. Neither of us have ever been to Washington. Dan had and was very much looking forward to returning. We decided on the tail end of the Cherry Blossom Festival so we still had the beauty but not the crowds. I HIGHLY recommend this time frame. It was April 14th through the 21st. You get most of the blossoms, it wasn't crowded, and it was nice and warm most days. Perfect for wandering around.

Awww... the White House. It is beautifully landscaped and looks amazing!

This is the view down the mall, towards the Washington Monument standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.


The Washington Monument

Some random church in DC. I just adore Kwanzan Cherry trees.

A pathway in Arlington National Cemetery - Gorgeous place!

Dan and I outside Arlington Cemetery

A church somewhere near Georgetown University

Iwo Jima Monument

The World War II Monument - Very nice space

Just a cool picture of leaves...

The Jefferson Memorial

The 19 foot statue of Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd President.

More pretty trees...

Alex outside the Smithsonian. One thing that is VERY cool about Washington D.C. is that ALL the museums are FREE! There is SO much to do in Washinton, that we easily found things to do for an entire week. What a nice nice place.

These are just like our Eastern Redbuds... but are Whitebuds. There were so many beautiful trees in blossom while we were there.

Abraham Lincoln's house - where he was carried to after he was shot in the theatre across the street. It is open for viewing. Such great history in D.C.

The Lincoln Memorial - Dedicated in 1922 to honor President Abraham Lincoln. Thirty eight Grecian columns surround the statue of Lincoln seated on a 10 foot high marble base. This impressive statue is surrounded by engraved readings of the Gettysburg address.

More of Arlington Cemetery

The pathway leading up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Our good friends, Kathy and Jim. We met these two cruising also. They live a few hours away from Washington, so they came down for a couple of days while we were there. It was great seeing them again!

September 25-29th 2004 - Rome, Mykonos, Santorini & Athens!

ROMA!!! I was so excited to see Rome. It was the 3rd day of heavy touring, so we were exhausted by the time we hit Rome. It was such a great day! We visited the Vatican, including St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums. It was just incredible. It was a surreal experience to walk into the Sistine Chapel and to look at Michelangelo's ceiling and his Pieta. It was the coolest experience of my life! After lunch we headed to the Colosseum. It was unbelievable. It was like stepping back in time.

We wandered around St. Peter's Square and it was a gorgeous day. The square is huge. Dan and I had a fabulous day here.

After a wonderful sea day... and much needed, we arrived Mykonos, Greece. We spent a leisurely day wandering on our own and lunching down by the water. It was another beautiful day but it was HOT!

The windmills of Mykonos.

The next stop was Santorini Greece. This was the most beautiful place I had ever been. We rode the cable cars up to the village of Thira and wandered the day away.

This was the view leaving Santorini. We have GOT to come back here!

Next stop Athens! For many many years I have wanted to come to Athens. I couldn't wait to see the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and all the history that Athens has to offer. After watching the 2004 Olympics on TV, I was so excited to be there. It was another great day and we learned SO much. We wandered all over the Acropolis and then went to the Plaka where we walked around and shopped and then made our way on the Metro back to the pier.

Here is Dan and I up top on the Acropolis with the city of Athens below.

Here is Jim and I mailing postcards back home from Athens.

September 23rd, 2004 - First trip to Europe - Wedding Day!

Here we are in Barcelona! This is my first flight across the pond, and first trip to Europe for both of us. We flew in this morning and thank GOD everything went perfectly and all our luggage made it. We were out on the bow by 3pm getting married. What a day. It was thee perfect place to get married. I had met some people online at the CruiseCritic.com and they attended our wedding. We also had a small reception (included in the wedding fee) in one of the bars on board. It was such a great time!






Our first stop, the very next morning was Villefranche sur mer. This is my first trip to France. It was going to be a gorgeous day! We were newlyweds, we were in the French Riviera... What's not to love!










This is the view as soon as you got off the tender in Villefranche. It was such beautiful place. After getting off the tender, we made our way to the train station to go to Monaco. In Monaco we ended up going to a yacht show. It was amazing!

Dan and I at dinner... we had such a fun table onboard the Brilliance of the Seas. There was another newlywed couple also. They were from Long Island and the entire table had a blast.











When we arrived in Florence the next day it was FREEZING! Dan had to break away from our group and find us sweatshirts. Florence was such an awesome place.












By afternoon, we had made our way to Pisa and it was warm again! Yay! Pisa is beautiful! I loved it! The leaning tower is amazing... I wish we would have pre-bought tickets to climb the tower, but no...

June 7, 2004 - Alex's first trip to New York City!

This was actually a surprise gift to my daugher for her incredible grades and school habits. It is such a nice thing for a single mother (at the time) to not have to worry about school issues on top of everything else. I had talked about taking Alex to New York City for a few years. She was dying to go, and I was dying to go back! Anyone that really knows me knows that this is my favorite U.S. city. There is just so much to do here... and there really is something for everyone. I invited my mother along too... it would be her first trip to the city as well. Her and Alex both fell in love with this place! These pictures are all prior to me having a "real" camera, so don't look too close at them. We spent a whole week here and went to see one Broadway show, The Phantom of the Opera. VERY good show.

One of my favorite areas in the city is Central Park. http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageNavigator/virtualpark_main In fact it is my favorite outdoor space. You have to go there to believe it. It is 51 city blocks long, and 3 large city blocks wide. It is 843 acres and was the first landscaped park in the United States. This picture is Bethesda's Terrace. It's a great area with a lot of sitting room... a huge fountain, and across the pond you can see Loeb's Boathouse: http://thecentralparkboathouse.com/ this is a great place for lunch, but a bit pricey. The view, though... superb!

Alex by the fountain in Bethesda's Terrace

Bethesda's Terrace seen from the end of the Mall.

Alex standing at the start of the Mall
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One of our first stops is always the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met). If you are going to NYC, get this museum in first... You may not have the energy later in your trip. This is one of my favorite museums. There is so much here that it would take days and days to see it all. I also love the building.

Alex in the Met

St. Patrick's Cathedral. Incredible beautiful. I wish my camera would have taken some decent shots of all the stained glass inside and the interior. Maybe next time.

One of the activities we did was take a Harbor Lights Cruise. This leaves every day from the theatre district and goes at dusk... just when all the lights are starting to come on in the city. It is a great, relaxing way to see the city from a different perspective. (Brooklyn Bridge in picture... my favorite bridge)

I wish this photo had turned out better... I just love Grand Central Station. I would love to travel back in time when this was the center of the action. The history inside this building is incredible. The ceiling is painted with star constellations... it's pretty cool.

Alex at the Statue of Liberty... we did a ferry out to the Statue and to Ellis Island. A very interesting tour that every American should go on.

The view from the Empire State Building. This is my favorite building in all of NYC.

Another view, looking towards the Hudson. You can make out a small portion of Madison Square Gardens... that part of a circle building right next to the very tall building. PENN station sits right under Madison Square gardens. The city is incredible... what goes on UNDER this city is staggering. I try not to think about it ;)

This is one view of Rockefeller Center.

Alex outside Rockefeller Center - She looks right at home in NYC!

This is the Rose Center inside the Natural History Museum. This is my second favorite museum in New York City. It is incredibly interesting, but there is SO much here that it is kind of overpowering. I suggest taking a few wings on different days. There is a LOT of info inside this place...

And this is Washington Squre. This is one of my favorite outside spaces in the city.