Cruising on Cloud 9

We had Cloud 9 berthed for the winter along the southern coast in Sicily in Marina di Ragusa. About 30 minutes, the ancient town of Ragusa is high in the hills and has been traced back to the 2nd millennium BC. The town has been in the hands of many occupiers including the Carthaginian, Romans, Byzantines, the Arabs (for almost 250 years) and the Normans. A beautiful, historical town.

Posted in Cruising | Leave a comment

Sailing from Portofino to Positano, Italy.

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Jan

Portofino, Liguria – Click here for full post.

Posted in Cruising | Leave a comment

The Great European Tour – From Bucharest to Amsterdam.

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Jan

This year’s big trip started a little closer to our summer base in Europe. We were invited to join our friends Scott and Laura for this trip which started with a five day car tour around the country of Romania. Romania was a country that I did not know much about and it turned out to be a wonderful and surprising experience. After the car trip, we got onboard the Uniworld River Duchess, a 365 foot river boat with 130 guests getting ready to sail for Amsterdam (the picture below is the sister ship River Princess in Budapest). Although cabins on a river cruise are smaller than most ocean cruise ships, the River Duchess was very comfortable with great food and an excellent crew.

Here are the pictures of the countries we covered:

Romania

Bulgaria

Serbia

Hungary

Austria

Germany

Posted in Photography, Traveling | Leave a comment

The Red Castle: Alhambra in Granada.

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Jan

A walk around the beautiful Alhambra just above Granada. The historical documents indicate that the original fortress was built in the 9th century though the current construction is primarily from the 13th century. The Moorish architecture and garden designs are quit beautiful and very calming despite the hordes of vacationers.