2026–Turkey and Sicily

Been listening to this book. One of the points he makes is how “The Movies” portray Africa. And he is right… The choices seem to be one of three– emotional growth of white person when exposed to a backwards culture, rival warlords killing everyone or insanely peaceful Safari. His concern…

This is the European part of our trip. I’ll keep you up to date as I read about Africa too!

Well, Max and I have a MEGA trip planned for this summer! We tried using Facebook last year, but so many of our friends and family don’t go on FB. AND if they do, they may not see our feed. So…. while we will still post once a day on FB, we are going to…

I made a quick trip to the Russian Museum. They had arranged the exhibit by decade. 1890..a murdered prince (the royal family was considered holy). And a couple of princessesThen in the early 1900’s you can see the European influence come inBut by the 1930’s there seems to be a…

Back to the Hermitage to see a bit more. Here is the room FULL of Matisse. and that has been our experience with the Hermitage…the great staircase and the hall with the gold pillars ( 8 kilos of gold in that gilding) are usually moderately full of people, but it…

We just had to return to the Hermitage. Found Catherine’s Chapel. She didn’t believe there could ever be too much gold. Then a waiting room..maybe..as we ventured off the regular track there was less English, as you would expect and then Max was in heaven when he found the Armor…

Our last day with the tour group, though we will be here for two more days. It has been so amazing to travel with our guide and fellow travelers. We drove around the city. Stopping at St Issacs Cathedral: Here is a view from a distance And then inside…it is…

This is how the Hermitage greets you.and then before you get your breath back you are just delighted at every turn. And the off to the Summer Palace. I asked our guide why Stalin paid to repair the damages from WW2- to glorify the era he had removed. She thought…

Odyssey took us to an “Open Air Museum” today. They have brought farmhouses from all over Estonia and restored them in this beautiful forest. What a wonderful way to say good-by to the Baltics. When the old towns were being built 90% of the people had a rural life. Seeing…