Nov. 30, 2018

We arrive in Metz, France.  We came to Metz, to meet a sweet family that I had met through a beautiful dog, named Balto.  We met Balto at the Veterinary Specialty Center in Colorado Springs.  We were there with Murphy on our 3 week adventure of finding out he had a mass on his thyroid.  Balto, has lymphoma and has been receiving chemo treatments.  His parents are so sweet, thoughtful and giving.  They rescued Balto as he was on the table to be euthanized at a kill shelter.  Balto’s mom, Karol and I spent a lot of time keeping in touch regarding Murphy and Balto.  Karol has a group of friends that she asked to pray for Murphy.  These friends were unbelievable with their prayers and well wishes for Murphy.

I came to know Anny and her daughter, Taylor through face book and we stayed in touch after Murphy got better.  Anny and I shared pictures of our dogs back and forth.  Nala is Anny’s adorable Chihuahua.  Taylor  participates in competitive Judo.  She is training for the Olympics.

When we lost Bentley, Karol and Anny both were super supportive.   We decided we needed to officially meet in person.  Anny and Taylor even came out the night we got to Metz and spent some time showing us around.  We went to Taylor’s place of training.  We also plans to spend the following day together.  Anny’s husband Mikele and Taylor picked us up and took us to their lovely home.  We played and loved on sweet Nala.  Taylor showed us the medals she has won.  As well as her Judogi.  I had no idea how heavy and thick the material is on these uniforms.

We had to bid farewell to Mikele as he has to go to work.  The rest of the day, was spent walking around the Christmas market and shops.  We walked through a park and saw where Taylor is working on her Master’s degree.  We saw some “yellow vest protestors”  who were peacefully protesting the carbon tax by President Macron.

I truly felt as if I had known Anny for years.  We just meshed perfectly.  We look forward to seeing her, Taylor, Mikele and Nala again for a much longer visit.

 

Nov. 29, 2018

We boarded the Eurostar for our last train ride to France.  The plan was to try, once again to make it to Mametz, to see where Rick’s grandfather fought in the battle of the Somme. WWI.  Our first attempt was shattered when we left Italy in Sept.  Our flight was delayed, luggage removed from the plane.  Long miserable story, but it made us miss two connecting trains to end up at Mametz.  So we head back to London with the knowledge that we will make this trip.

We get off train in Lille and it is almost 3 pm, which means it will be dark in about 1 -1 1/2 hours and it will take a minimum of 45 min. to get to Mametz.  I didn’t plan that trip very well.   So we decide we will get up and take first train out of Lille headed towards Mametz.  We leave at 6:15 am.  Again, neither of us are thinking straight as it now now still dark.  We wait a little bit and then call for a taxi to take us the last 20 min. to the memorial.  The taxi driver warns us he doesn’t speak much English, but knows where Mametz is located.  He drives us to the town of Mametz and then seems lost.  He stops a local and they talk for a bit and he turns around and heads to someone’s home and knocks on the door.  This is before 8 am.  A gentleman comes out and he speaks some English.  He is the Mayor of Mametz.  Rick tells him where we want to go and he gives directions to the driver.  So we head in whatever direction now and end up in a cemetery.  I am feeling better about this because I remember reading that there was a dirt road and a path leading from a cemetery.  The driver gets out and there are people doing construction work on the church in the cemetery and they talk for a bit and next thing the driver walks us towards a grave site.  We are saying, no this isn’t the memorial.  So I finally “think” and show the construction people a picture of a red dragon that is suppose to be at the memorial.  No one has a clue.  So the driver whisks up back to the Mayor’s house and knocks again.  Geez, poor guy.  He comes back out and I show him the picture and he says, “oh no, this is about 80 miles away.”  Evidently there is are two Mametz.  One is Mametz Callais (which is where we are) and Mametz Somme.  Now at no time when we were doing research did these two names come up.  The driver offers to take us.  But as our luck would have it we, have a train to catch.   Now Rick does not want me to try again.  He says it must be fate.  I am sad we didn’t make it.

Nov. 11, 2018

Rick’s cousin, Glynis arranged for a group of us to get together for a delicious Sunday Roast.  The food looked so good and I don’t think I have ever seen such large Yorkshire Puddings.  The were just massive.  Every time I see Yorkshire pudding I instantly remember Rick’s mother, Iris.  All of the nieces and nephews made such a fuss over these tasty things.  I also always remember that it took me about 2 years to finally ask Rick where was the pudding?   Every single visit we made to Colorado she would make Rick’s favorite meal which was a beef roast, peas, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and trifle.  I was too embarrassed to ask where the “pudding” was while at the table.  But I do remember thinking each time she forgot the “pudding” that was suppose to be a big deal.  Bloody American!

We finally got to meet Rick’s cousin Catherine and her husband Andy.  We also met cousin Sarah, her husband Gary and their daughter, Lauren.  Cousin Carolyn and Simon showed up as well as Cousin Stephen.  Glynis also had a dear friend of hers visiting at the same time and we all got the pleasure of meeting Karen and her daughter, Caitlyn.  Karen was originally from Oklahoma (1970’s) but we hit it off because we spoke the same language — meaning we pronounced things very similar and I didn’t need any translations.

 

Nov.  6, 2018

We have arrived in Athens.  Due to several errors on my part, the hotel was not in the location I was expecting, nor was it “what” I was expecting in a hotel.  However, after the first night I became at peace with it and decided it would work out just fine.  The area was just a little sketchy at night for me.

Our first full day, we took a taxi to the coast to check it out.  I think we were both a little disappointed that it wasn’t more hustle and bustle going on and maybe, just maybe we were in the wrong spot.  Rick had picked it out and told the taxi driver.  I think there was some language barrier going on and we pretty much got dropped off in a dead area.  We walked for about 1 mile and came into town that appeared to have some restaurants so headed that direction.  Grabbed some lunch and then took a taxi back.

The following day we took the train to Acropolis which was an adventure in itself.  We were going to just do a Taxi but found out they were on strike.  So off we went and as you can see by the pictures, it was a little more difficult than we thought it would be.  I asked someone that actually was assigned to help people at the ticket machine.  She said we just needed 1 ticket for 2 trips.  She pointed to the gates and said go through there. Then it would be our third stop.  She said more than that, but that is all I got out of the conversation.  Then we walked around in confusion and I finally asked a man watching security cameras.  Walked over to Rick and he says, “well what did he say?”  I said, ” he said go down escalator and pointed in this direction and then something that sounded like “neko”.  I laughed and said “that is all I got”.  Rick points to sign that says, “Elliniko” and I said, “sure, why not?”  It truly takes a village sometimes with us, but it keeps it fun.  Ok, sometimes it is frustrating at the moment, but funny later.

Once at Acropolis we were simply astonished at all the beautiful monuments and artifacts.  Obviously they are still in the restoration process and we could see equipment lurking around.  There were so many pieces already numbered and lined up for what  I would assume was to eventually put them in their proper place.  The remaining structures include the Theatre of Dionysos, the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the Temple of Athena.

Just to be able to walk around and visualize the depth of history that arises from this hill.  The influence by the Greek values and ideas.  Then to imagine the fiery destruction delivered by the Persians.  I can only imagine the hatred they carried in their souls to do so much damage.  That rage of fury from thousands of years ago and yet today, we still experience such hatred.  It is astonishing to realize how far we have advanced as a society and but also how much we have remained the same.

The history books simply do not do this place any justice.  I feel blessed to have personally seen the beauty that remains.  Not many of you know that in grade school I dreamed of being an archaeologist.  I wanted to be digging around in the dirt using small tools and delicately removing debris from prehistoric finds.  As I got older and realized I had very little patience, I knew that this would not be the career for me.  Just seeing these ruins brought back the dream, if only for a minute or two.  How I would have enjoyed just being there to see some of these items excavated.

Once done walking around the Acropolis we walked over to the Areopagus Hill and took in the view of the Thissio.  We took the path down and headed towards the Temple of Hephaesius and  Hadrian’s Library.   We walked around the streets of Parko Thiseio.

Our final day was spent at the Acropolis Museum.  I spotted some people actually working on some excavating underneath the Museum.  They will open the lower section soon per an advertisement.

Oct. 31, 2018

Split was recommended by a Radiologist I worked with, Dr. Crnkovich.  It was stunning.  We rented a tiny apartment one block away from the ocean and The Diocletian Palace.  We spent the first evening just walking along the waterfront.  The next day we walked and walked around the area that the map showed was the Diocletian Palace.  We just couldn’t find, The Palace entrance.   I finally came across the City Information office and walked in and apologized for being too ignorant to find the Palace.  He politely laughed and said I wasn’t alone and that he gets asked that question all day long.  It seems we had been walking along and inside the Palace all along.  It is a working Palace and all these little shops are part of the Palace.

We stumbled across The Bell Tower, while looking for the Palace and went inside it and enjoyed the gorgeous city views.  The Tower is part of St. Domnius Cathedral.  It has 200 steps to reach the top of the tower.

I rubbed the toe of the statue of Grgur Ninski.  It is suppose to bring luck to those who rub it.  Rick wasn’t impressed and didn’t partake in the luck seeking activity.  I say, “It can’t hurt.”

The Cellars of the Diocletian Palace were mainly used by the Emperor for food and wine storage.  Ships were able to moor at the edge of the Palace and unload supplies.  There is a room that is circular and it was built specifically this way so the Emperor could hear if anyone was coming near his bedroom.  The acoustics of this room allowed for him to hear noises coming toward the room.  The show “Game of Thrones” has also filmed scenes from down in the basement/cellar area.

We did a day trip from Split along the coast to Dubrovnik.  We passed through the borders of Bosnia.  It was only about 8 miles of Bosnia.  Rick’s expression was priceless when he heard the guide mention for us to get our passports out as we neared Bosnia.  🙂

We walked along the entire wall of the Palace.  The views did not disappoint, which I was glad about because I wasn’t sure Rick was too excited to do all the walking.  We were able to enjoy the Rector’s Palace as well as the beautiful view of Minceta Tower.  We were reminded of the Serbian army destroying a major portion of this area during a 7 month period.  They have since made repairs and we didn’t noticed any damage.  There is so much history here and I promise it would have made history class 100% more interesting if we could have had field trips to these places.  Again, the “Game of Thrones” does many of their scenes from Dubrovnik.

Our last night we took a sunset cruise and as always it reminds us both how much we love sail boats and the water.  The entire boat was looking forward to unlimited drinks and I told one man, I think it is only one drink that is free.  He and his whole family were greatly disappointed that it was only one glass of wine each.  To make it worse, it was some disgusting wine.  Rick and I shared ours with the fish.

 

 

 

Oct. 28, 2018

Landed in Ljubljana and was once again happily greeted with phenomenal beauty.  We had a private tour, not planned that way, but I think due to not exactly the tourist season, but no complaints.  Miha was our tour guide and he was full of information and love for his hometown.  He drove us to the town center and walked around showing us various buildings.

We then the three of us  headed to Lake Bled.  This beautiful area is surrounded by mountains (Julian Alps)  We were going to take a flat bottom boat called a “pletna” to Bled Island, but the wind and rain were blowing quite hard at times and it didn’t seem fair to have someone row us out there.

Miha also explained to us that there are a lot of weddings held at the church on the Island.  He was telling us he just got engaged and I asked him if he was going to get married at this church?   He said he didn’t think so because it is tradition for the groom to carry the bride up the 99 steps to ring the bell for good luck.  I left it at that.

He then drove us to Vintgar Gorge.  The gorge is formed by the Radovna River.  It was beyond gorgeous.  We eagerly took off walking along the wooden walkways.  The waterfalls and just the roar of the raging river was spectacular.  Of course Miha said the water was only raging due to recent rains.  From looking online prior to getting here, the images are vastly different and yet I still loved the scenery.

Of course I just had to throw a small hike, Smarna Gora, into the itinerary.  Rick was sweet and obliging.  It is a beautiful and popular hiking destination by the locals.  We took a bus and then began walking through a neighborhood to get a a trail head.  It felt much like getting to the Manitou Spring Incline late and having to walk up from main street to Barr Trail or Incline.  The legs were burning before we even began the trail.  There are many trails to the top, as we quickly learned.  We even heard a tree fall.  At the time, Rick asked me if I thought that was a tree falling and I said, “no way”.  Then a hiker passed us and told us how a tree fell  20 meters in front of him.  There is a restaurant and a cafe at the top.  We enjoyed some adult beverages and then made our way down.

 

Our last day was filled with walking around the town center and checking out the local shops.  We did head over to take a look at Dragon Bridge.  This bridge replaced and old Oak bridge that was damaged by an earthquake in 1895.

Oct. 26, 2018

We had a fantastic get together with Rick’s cousin, Glynis and her daughter, Bronwyn.  They are both full of great ideas of things to see around here as well as other countries.  I felt like I had known Glynis for a long time as we had been staying in touch on social media for over a year.  She didn’t disappoint and was just what I was expecting.  A bubbly personality and beautiful smile.

Her and Bronwyn left to enjoy the show “Tina” and we went off to go see Harrod’s.  As we were walking past and area, Rick says, “oh, this is Carnaby Street, want to look around?”  I said of course.  Then as we are walking he says, “well it has come full circle” and I said “what has?”  He says, “all the short mini skirts.  It all began here on Carnaby Street in the 1960’s.”  I laughed and said, “whatever”.  He says, “remember Twiggy?”  I said, “yes”.  He says “she started it all.”  So sure enough I googled when we got home and not sure if she started the mini skirts but she spent some time on Carnaby Street in 1960’s.  Harrod’s will happen another day.

 

Oct. 23, 2018

The show was fantastic and the costumes were phenomenal.  We enjoyed the beautiful moon on display as we crossed Waterloo Bridge.  Then the city lights showed their beauty on our walk back to the train station.

Oct. 19, 2018

No, I can not get enough of him and his music.  This was my 5th time to see him in concert and will be a favorite memory, as Rick went with me and he actually enjoyed it.  We stayed the night in London, near the venue, at a cute pub/hotel called The Pilot.  The concert was held at The O2.

It doesn’t seem to matter how early I think I am for the Changing of the Guards I seem to end up along the steps, across from the gates.  One day, I hope to be right up front by the gate so I can see and hear what is taking place inside the gates.  Mom enjoyed the ceremony and then making our way to the London Eye to complete her visit here.

While near the London Eye we saw Big Ben along with the construction taking place for repairs.  We saw Parliament and County Hall, which Rick is convinced the corner where the lion is used in a scene from one of the Jason Bourne movies.