 In the Summer of 2004,
we flew to graceful Madrid, enjoyed a few sleepy days in the stately Westin
Palace Hotel opposite the Prado, then rented a car and drove to Barcelona.
We boarded the Celebrity vessel "Millennium" and cruised to the south of
France (Nice and Monaco), Florence (by rented car--Diana loves
Michelangelo's "David") and Rome (Diana and I let the kids rest and went
alone by train, renting a Vespa like Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in
"Roman Holiday").
On to Naples and Capri, as
breathtaking and enchanted as when I enjoyed my first real kiss there as an
adolescent--ah, bella Italia! We sailed around the boot to the sun-drenched shores of the Greek Islands, all falling head-over-heels for Mykonos and Santorini. I laughed all the while climbing the steep cliffs on donkeys, and we watched the sunset over the sculpted walls and blue domes of lovely Io. Athens was ho-hum though sporting its Sunday-gone-to-meetin' best for the Olympics. The surprise delight was the thoroughly charming walled city of Dubrovnik, Croatia where we hired a boat and young captain to let us enjoy the chilly cobalt waters of the Adriatic. That was special. We capped off the whirlwind tour by cruising down the Grand Canal into the heart of Venice. That's a hard act to follow...but we tried by flying to Milan and heading on to see the mystical treasures of ancient Egypt. |
