Brugges, Belgium

Stevie's brother, Chris and his girlfriend, Edith came to visit in Amsterdam and then we took a road trip to Bruges, Belgium. It was another old charming city. We loved it!

Our hotel- Lodewijk van Male.

Market Square

Market Square

I think this was just a post office.

Hello over there.

The bell tower

Lots of canals, like Amsterdam.

Edith and Chris

Greece and Turkey

After flying into Athens, we boarded the ferry to travel to the first island, Kos. The boat ride was 9 hours. We enjoyed the scenery along the way, but it might have been nicer to take the one hour flight instead. We stayed one night on Kos.

Our room

The Greek beers we had with dinner.

The fortress on Kos. It's typical to see a castle in the harbor of some cities.

Kos

Drinking ouzo, which tastes like licorice.

Tigaki Beach, Kos

Our next stop was Bodrum, Turkey. The ferry ride was just one hour from Kos.

Our best night's stay- the Salmakis Resort in Bodrum. Too bad it was only for one night, too!

Bodrum

The castle in Bodrum.

The whole castle.

Next, onto Santorini. The island is an active volcano, with black sand and red sand beaches. This is the city of Fira, famous for the view and the buildings on the cliff.

Ready to watch the sunset!

It was an awesome sunset!

The church

Our hotel in Santorini was called Smargdi. It's run by a Greek family, the whole family. The women make all the meals, and they went out of their way to make everyone feel at home. It was the best hospitality we've ever had at a hotel.

Perissa, the black sand beach.

One last glimpse as we rode away on the ferry. It was our favorite place of the entire trip.

The island of Naxos

A nighttime walk on the beach.

Agia Anna beach, Naxos

Local products

We ate several gyros from this stack of pork. They were De-li-cious.

The Acropolis in Athens, amidst a big modern city. The structures were built in the 5th Century BC. It was hot up there, 44 C (110 F).

The Parthenon, which seems to be under restoration constantly.

The Parthenon

The Erechtheion

Zurich, Switzerland from up above.

Paris

Stevie's parents came to Amsterdam, and Debbie and I went to Paris for three days on our own. Steve and Jimmy met us on Friday for the weekend. So in 6 days, we saw many of the famous sights, and walked through a lot of the city. We tried some of the French specialties: escargot, macaroons, rabbit, duck confit, croissants, and carpaccio. And, I can't speak French worth a crap.

This street is famous for shopping, and it's the Tour de France finish line every July.

The Champs-Elysees ends at one end, here, at the Arc de Triomphe.

The Tour Eiffel at night!

Prettier at night, isn't it?

How romantic!

The Champs de Mars- the view from the top of the Eiffel.

The tippy-top!

Notre-Dame Cathedral. We had toured the inside of the Cathedral and the tower was (suspiciously) closed that day. As we exited the area, the streets were being blocked off. The Obamas were in Normandy and Paris for the anniversary of D-Day, and they went in the Cathedral on a private tour after us. We waited around to try to see them exit, and lucky us, we saw Michelle Obama in the suburban smiling and waving! It was cool (for me, anyway).

One of the rose windows inside the Cathedral.

Another beautiful stained glass window.

Gorgoyles gaurding the side of the Cathedral.

La Venus de Milo (in the Louvre).

The Pantheon

Sainte Chapelle Cathedral- built in 1248.

Inside the Sainte Chapelle. The stained glass windows are originals that survived the whole revolutionary period. There are 15 tall windows, each with panels of glass containing a picture.


The pictures depict the stories of the Bible, in order. They can be "read" from the bottom to the top, from left to right.


Pretty impressive!

The main entrance to the Louvre goes through the pyramid. There are three wings and 30,000 pieces of art. We saw all that we were interested in, and that took 3 hours. Too much for one day.

The Dying Slave, Michelangelo. I was surprised that we were allowed to take pictures throughout the Louvre.

Monna Lisa

La Victoire of Samothace (ancient Greece).

Chateau du Versailles. It's a huge estate where Louis the XIV and Marie Antoinette lived, in the city of Versailles. It's 800 hectares (sorry, I don't know the conversion for that number). The interior was absolutely over-the-top gaudy and stunning. Marble of all colors, gold, crystal chandeliers, painted ceilings, statues, wall-sized portraits, etc. You know, pocket change. The estate has it's own canals, gardens, hamlets, and Trianons (much smaller than the palace, but still mansions).

Inside the Palace (the main building).

The Hall of Mirrors

Marie