European + Russian Adventure

Santorini, Greece

They paint their houses white to keep the bugs away...and probably to also attract tourists.

Rome, Italy

Colloseum

Michalangelo's La Pieta in the Vatican

Almafi Coast, Italy

Florence, Italy

Pisa, Italy

Exterior Southside tower wall, 5 marble slabs tall

                                          Exterior Nouthside tower wall, 1.5 marble slabs tall

The guts...there aren't any.

Pompei, Italy

Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

Recreation in Photoshop.

Tuscany Valley, Italy

Venice, Italy

Gondola ride was 80E, so...

...we hung outside our hotel window over the canal instead.

Athens, Greece

Olympic Stadium, where the torch originates for every Olympic Games.

One of the few carvings atop the Parthenon, most are in the British Museum.

Mykonos, Greece

The sand was a little pebbly, but the water was perfect and full of extra salt making it easy to bob.

Russia, Moscow

Probably my favorite part of the trip, we took advantage of an 8 hour layover and went into Red Square at 6am.

Lenin's Mausoleum plays host to his body. He died in 1924...definitely eerie.

Ephesus, Turkey

The largest historical site in the world, I was overwhelmed how much ground we covered walking through the ancient city.

Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia with a 1122 mosaic and door from the 2nd century...BC.

The Blue Mosque. I was able to go inside during prayers, wearing a shawl to cover my head.