Rome

Of all the cities in Europe that we’ve been to, Rome is my favorite. I’ll toss this out to anyone, if you’ll pay my way, I’ll go with you and be your guide any time!

Rome is spectacularly beautiful and surprisingly not as expensive as London or other European cities we’ve visited. The center is fairly compact which makes it a good walking city. The best and cheapest way to see Rome is walking and catching public transport. Although the buses and metro are crowded they are not pleasant. Despite our initial experience getting kicked off the bus, Krista and I had a lot of fun on the metro and we never felt unsafe.

Since I’d just been to Rome and felt very comfortable with the city and with the metro. Rick put his life in my hands and we decided not to fork out big bucks for one of the cruise excursions. We only had twelve hours in the port and it was going to take about four of those hour to get back and forth to Rome. I felt like I could get Rick to more sights in that short period of time than any of the excursions offered.

Rick and I were standing at the door as soon as we docked in Civitavecchia and grabbed the first shuttle we could find to the train station. We got a ticket to/from Rome that also had a day pass for all transportation systems in Rome for 9€ each. What a great deal!

Although many regard the Vatican as Rome’s most important attraction, we decided to skip Vatican City and to focus on the historical sights of Rome for a couple of reasons. First, you’ll remember from my earlier blog on Rome, the last Sunday of the month visiting the Vatican is free so the crowds are humongous. Interestingly, both my visits to Rome were on the last weekend in the month–July and August! Second, neither Rick or I have any real appreciation for the Catholic Church.

I had pre-arranged a visit to the Colosseum at 10:00 a.m. When we arrived at Rome’s central terminal around 9:00 a.m., we had a little while to kill, so we caught the metro up to Circus Maximus. We only viewed it from the outside, but someday I’d like to go back and go inside. Contrary to popular believe, this is where Christians martyrs faced the lions–not the Colosseum!

We got back on the metro and rode to the Colosseum. Despite the best laid plans, unfortunately, this was our last trip on the Rome metro. I so enjoyed it with Krista, that I was looking forward to running to and fro on the metro with Rick, but I’ll share more about this later.

The Colosseum is a grand old Roman amphitheater and is amazing. After looking around the exterior for a few minutes, we went inside where I could almost feel the history it contains–it is eerily spiritual in some way. I don’t know how to explain it. The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and other public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.

Leaving the Colosseum, we strolled down the Roman Forum. This collection of Roman ruins of buildings and temples line the roadway on both sides and is so impressive. The area needs more than one visit to explore. The metro in Rome only has two lines because every time they plan another one and start digging they find more ruins. Rick was amazed as were Krista and I how often you see a ruin from a thousand years ago standing right beside a new(er) building. Of course, nothing in Rome is new. New in Rome seems to mean three or four hundred years old!

We walked on to the Trevi Fountain which is an impressive figure of Neptune and the beautiful seahorses. As usual, the square was full of people, but we were able to get a few good pictures. It is beautiful. According to legend you will return to Rome if you throw a coin into the fountain.

A little further along, we found the Pantheon. This is an ancient Roman temple with a beautiful high domed ceiling and contains the tombs of Raphael and a few popes. The domed ceiling has a hole in the top (a precursor to Texas Stadium, maybe?) It is full of famous paintings, statues and gorgeous marble altars. It is still used as a Roman Catholic church. When it rains it rains inside the church seems funny to me. It is also amazing to me that this was re-built around 125 AD (I’ve been unable to find out when it was "built.") and is still in perfect condition, while all the other stuff is in ruins. It is possibly the most well preserved building of its age in all the world which is amazing considering it has been in continuous use throughout its history–or maybe that’s its secret to longevity!

Of course, our walk was full of many sights that are unique to Rome and we were both snapping pictures left and right as we continued toward the Spanish Steps. No doubt we had to visit them so Rick could climb another 138 steps–I already did my bit last month. By the way, the only relation to Spain these steps have is that when they were built in they 1700's they were close to the Spanish Embassy.

We also stumbled onto Piazza Navona, a large and elegant square with beautiful fountains, including the Fountain of the Four Rivers, which is currently undergoing renovation.

With time running short and having checked everything off our list, we headed for the closest train terminal to catch the metro back to the Central terminal. When we got to the metro, we found it was down. Of course, we had no idea what was happening, but our limited and loose translation of Italian made us believe there was some sort of "technical" difficulty. That was a little scary to me because (1) "technical problem" usually means "We don’t want to tell you the truth about what’s going on," and (2) I had no idea whether it was just a metro problem or if there was a systemic problem that was going to keep us from getting back to the ship!

However, our first course of action was to get to the central terminal, so we headed for the bus stop. Fortunately, this time I had a great map of Rome and I knew exactly what buses would take us from where we were to the terminal. Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones affected by the downed metro–every Roman citizen and visitor was in the same boat! Every bus was packed beyond what looked anything like safe and there were lines at all the stops! Remember I told you this was the last Sunday of the month!

Now, it was already after 3:00pm and we had to be on the 4:10pm train back to Civitavecchia for the two hour train ride and the shuttle back to the ship. If we didn’t make that train, we would miss the boat. We started looking for a taxi but there was none in sight. All of the stops where they’d been lined up before were now deserted! I was certain that Rick could get back to the train station, he’s a marathoner, but I wasn’t sure about me, but we had to try. Rick found an English speaking tour guide who gave us directions to the terminal–we were only a mile and a half away as the crow flies.

I was never so glad to see a place in my life as when we topped the hill and I recognized the terminal in the distance. Traffic and the crowds were a mess though. As we got close to the terminal, I saw a lot of Italian police dressed in riot gear lining the terminal plaza. They began pushing us back and across the street. We could hear yelling and lots of noise across the way, but didn’t have a clue what was going on. At one point we saw a group of people running and then we heard an explosion. It was really tense for a couple of minutes. I knew of a side door to the terminal so we kept pressing forward and to the side. We only had about 15 minutes all the way through the terminal and to the back side where the national trains depart. When we got even with the terminal, we saw a crowd running towards us and yelling, but before they got to us they turned and ran to buses lined in front of the terminal. We don’t know if it was some sort of demonstration or a sporting event or what, but it was a little spooky.

We stuck close together and made it safely to the side door. Once inside, it seemed as though everything was business as usual. We made a quick pit stop and headed out for the train. When we got on the train there was standing room only. I guess all 2,000 cruisers who’d decided to do Rome on their own were packed into that last train back. I stood for the first hour and fifteen minutes before a seat finally became available, but Rick had to stand the whole way back to Civitavecchia..

I thoroughly enjoyed both trips to Rome and would do it again in a heartbeat!

If you missed the pictures of my first trip to Rome, check them out too!

Sometimes I feel like a Redneck

I’ve often told Rick that he is the ‘redneckest’ Yankee that I know. He reminds me pretty quickly that I have lots of redneck qualities too. Until moving over here, I thought I was quite cosmopolitan, but then I encountered the bidet.

Now, it occurs to me that either my whole family and circle of friends must be a bunch of rednecks also, or they’ve been holding out on me. I’m really anxious to hear back from Janet and Vicki on this one. I mean, after all, in my youth they are where I got all my worldly information.

Okay, for those of you who, like me, are willing to admit to being a redneck, a bidet is an additional "fixture" in the bathroom. Had I been alone or with Rick, we probably would have just thought it to be a urinal. However, my first encounter with a bidet was in Rome with Krista.

Now, she knew what it was, but sure didn’t have quite enough information to suit me. She wasn’t able to provide the answers to my questions–and believe me I had a lot of them–especially after I had all night to dream about it. Unfortunately, the bidet did not come with instructions and Krista strongly advised against contacting the concierge which I was ready to do.

Where is the internet when you need it?

I soon found that even internet access wouldn’t have been much help. I didn’t even know how to spell it correctly! beday? bidae? Who’d have thought that there was a ‘t’ in the word?

All through the night, the bidet loomed in my dreams and stirred uneasy, because I’m a girl that likes to know my surroundings. What exactly do you do with a bidet? You have the toilet for "business," the shower for cleaning your body, the lavatory or sink for your hands...what else need cleaning? I wasn’t prepared for the answer! I subsequently found out that you "mount" or "ride" a bidet. I'm so glad I didn't have this little tidbit of information at the time!

Why do the French, Italians, and obviously numerous others think that you need an extra fixture in the toilet to clean your bum and private parts? I seem to have managed quite nicely for almost fifty years without this imposing intruder in my life.

Just the whole idea of the necessity of a whole extra fixture to makes me ponder. Who uses a bidet...men or women? How do you use it? Its so low to the ground. Do you back into it or approach it head on? There he sat in the darkness. A cold, white porcelain statue resolutely clinging to knowledge that he couldn’t share.

This also brings up an interesting fact about European hotels. They don’t provide wash cloths! If you want a wash cloth, you have to take your own. My friend, Tina, inquired as to why wash cloths weren’t provided and her host advised her in hushed tones that it is because (whisper) "you wash down there." Tina advised her that she also dried down there with the towels they provided! Isn't that what washing machines are for? Personally, I think without wash cloths, when you "dry down there" its probably a lot dirtier and that makes me want to take my own towels, too! What do you think?

The bidet, the washcloths–more questions, more questions. I couldn’t remember whether or not Krista and I had wash cloths and I'd forgotten to take my own. Upon surveying the bathroom, to my dismay...more questions. There were a couple of towels on a low towel rack beside the bidet. I turned and behind me identical towels hung on the towel bar beside the lavatory. Is there a difference in a bidet towel and a hand towel? Had that innocent looking towel with which I’d just dried my face recently hung on the bidet bar? It was almost too much for this redneck girl to handle.

It was then time to go out on our Roman adventure, and I sure needed a little time to clear my head! After walking a hundred miles in Rome, when we returned to the hotel room my feet were killing me and I was hot and sticky from perspiring all day long. After all, I had a good build-up because it hasn't been warm enough here in Holland for me to work up a sweat in six months!

As I showered, I felt a little uncomfortable because I didn't have a wash cloth and my scourge, the bidet, hunkered low in the corner eyeing me. When I finished, I decided I had to come to terms with him but my feet were killing me. That's when I had a great idea...

Upon returning home to access to the computer, Wikipedia provided a wealth of information on my new nemeses, even providing pictures! In an effort to make certain that I’m not guilty of withholding information to my redneck friends and family, I’m providing the Wikipedia link for bidet. Its G-rated, but don’t click on this link unless you want to know everything!

In retrospect, I think that I was such a different person before my encounter with the bidet. Somehow I felt a little more innocent. Basically, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I need more than toilet paper, I probably just need to take a shower, but then, maybe that’s just the redneck in me.

Pisa

After our morning visit to Florence we met our fellow travelers and driver and headed to Pisa.

Upon arriving in Pisa, we found there was a soccer tournament and all access routes to the square called the Field of Miracles where the Leaning Tower of Pisa is located were closed. We were so blessed to have an Italian driver at this point. He was able to press and negotiate with the police officers manning several road blocks and got us through to the square.

Our first glimpse of the tower was amazing. We both thought, I knew it "leaned," but it really leans a lot! Unlike Florence, the square itself is not suffocated by the surrounding buildings. It stands apart and independent from all the other buildings surrounding it, in a beautiful contrast between the green grass and the white marble. I would like to go back sometime and walk around the square at night. I’m certain it would be truly beautiful.

Besides the beauty of the buildings in the square: the Duomo, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the Camposanto (the cemetery), and the most famous bell tower in the world, that is, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the history of the square is interesting in itself.

The square is situated right by the oldest early medieval city walls, built in 1155 and perfectly preserved. The walls and the Gate, called Porta Nova, are really beautiful, even though they often go unnoticed because of the famous tower nearby.

It took decades to build these buildings. This seems pretty obvious given their magnificence. However, it is interesting to note that not even the change of artistic taste from Romanesque to Gothic affects the overall beauty of the site.

I’m certain it would be lovely to go inside all of the buildings at this sight and see some of the other sights around Pisa, but we got to see what we really wanted to see–the Leaning Tower.

Before our trip there, Rick said he wanted to do one of those pictures where it looks like you’re holding up the tower. I guess he’d seen it on the internet, TV, or something. When we got there, he was surprised to see that everyone was taking their turn holding up the tower. So, of course, we took our turn. Rick really had fun holding the tower up and I had fun taking pictures of all the others holding the tower up. Look at our pictures closely, don’t some of these people look ridiculous when the camera is not at the "correct" angle.

Well, after completing our duty and holding the tower (Rick took several turns), we rejoined our group and enjoyed a quick nap in the taxi on the trip back to the port. Gratefully, we arrived before it sailed and Hank was not orphaned for the night.

The Pisa photo album includes a few pictures of the Tuscan countryside and departure pictures at dusk from the Livorno port. Hope you enjoy!

Ciao

Wedding Rings

Since moving to Europe, I noticed that frequently people wear their wedding rings on the right hand rather than the left. This intrigued me so I did a little research.

Like in the United States, the wedding ring is worn on the left hand in UK, Italy, France, Turkey.
This choice to wear the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand traditionally dates back to classical times and reportedly refers to the fourth finger of the left hand as containing the vena amoris or "vein of love." By wearing rings on the fourth finger of their left hands, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. This has now become a matter of tradition and etiquette in these countries.

In other countries such as Germany, Greece, Spain, however, it is worn on the right hand. Orthodox Christians and Eastern Europeans also traditionally wear the wedding band on the right hand. Jewish couples wear the wedding ring on the left hand, even though it is placed on the right hand during the marriage ceremony.

In The Netherlands, Catholic people wear it on the left, all others on the right.

In Belgium, the choice of hand depends on the region of the country. Greek people, many being Orthodox Christians, wear the wedding rings on the right hand in keeping with Greek tradition.

Since we’ve moved over here I’ve lost so much weight that my own wedding rings almost slip off my left hand. After readying this I decided since I was living in the Netherlands and am not a Catholic, I would move it to my right hand. It fits perfectly now!

Sometimes a little research solves a big problem!

Florence - In search of a squirrel

Okay, now back to the cruise–

With our first full cruise day behind us, we were all getting a little spoiled with all the wonderful service and great food onboard. We’d already been on the road for four days and Rick and I were looking forward to that sea day that we had coming. We’d been getting up at the crack of dawn and had three more days to go before we got to sleep in, but as Hank says, we weren’t going to sleep our lives away as long as there was something to do.

The morning of the second day brought us into the port of Livorno, Italy. This is the port that services Pisa and Florence. If you look at the map of Italy, Florence is halfway across Italy, but only an hour drive from Livorno–Italy is really skinny. This is the Tuscany region of Italy, famous for its wine and vineyards. The countryside is beautiful.

As a general rule, we had been advised by everyone to stick to the excursions offered by the cruise line. If an excursion organized by the cruise line is late, the ship will wait; however, if you go on your own and are late, Ciao (chow), as they say in Italy. Unfortunately, none of the excursions offered covered the things that Rick and I wanted to see. Rick wanted to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and I felt like I had an obligation to Krista now to see the REAL David in Florence.

So after weeks of study and preparation, I decided that Rick and I would take off in this port on our own. After giving Hank a thousand instructions as to what to do if we missed the boat, we set off. The boat would port in Civitavecchia (Rome) the next morning and I assured Hank that if we missed the boat in Livorno, I’d be standing on the dock in Civitavecchia when he got there the next morning. Its only 250 miles by car or train and it was a promise I knew that I could keep.

I had intended for us to take a train to Florence and return by train through Pisa; however, upon getting to the dock, we found that we weren’t the only ones that were not satisfied with the options offered by the cruise line. There were dozens of taxis and minivans waiting–all offering to hire out for the day for about $400 per day. We were fortunate to meet up with Linda and Robert from Ohio. It wasn’t long before Linda had rounded up a group of four from Venezuela who were willing to share the taxi for the day and the driver agreed to take us anywhere we wanted to go. It took a little faith on our part, but we soon had a plan–first off to Florence, then on to Pisa.

Our driver dropped us off in Florence in front of the Basilica of Santa Croce and within short walking distance of all the most important sights of Florence. I had pre-arranged for Rick and me to visit David at 10:15 a.m., so we had a couple of hours to kill before our important appointment.

The Basilica of Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in the world. It has sixteen fresco-decorated chapels and legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. The Basilica, Baptistery, Duomo of Florence, and Giotto's Bell Tower are all right there in that square.

The baptistery, Florence’s oldest building, is one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Tuscany. We didn’t go inside, but we did see its famous exterior bronze doors–or at least good copies as the originals are in some museum.

The Duomo of Florence has long been a symbol of Florence and dates back to 1870. The cathedral's real marvel is the dome. Since we were limited on time Rick didn’t get to climb the 463 steps inside nor those in the bell tower–I think these are the only stairs in Europe that he’s missed.

Aside from The David, I most wanted to see Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Vecchio–the "old bridge"is the oldest of Florence's six bridges, and is one of the city's best known images. Its stone pillars probably date back to Roman times. It was destroyed by a flood in 1333 and rebuilt twelve years. This bridge is the only bridge over the Arno that the retreating Nazi forces did not blow up as they fled Florence.

Florence is the birthplace of Michelangelo and the Galleria dell’ Accademia is the home of his famous David. At the appointed time Rick and I made our way there and browsed through this museum filled with Renaissance paintings. The David is one of the great symbols of the Renaissance. The story of David and Goliath had great meaning to the citizens of Florence who saw themselves in David as they overcame the giant neighboring cities of Pisa and Siena centuries ago. David’s right hand which seems large is said to symbolize the hand of God granting power to slay the giant.

I was so excited to finally be there and see David. As soon as we got to him I began to take pictures, only to immediately discover that photography was not allowed inside the museum. I was somewhat disappointed because if I'd known I were only going to get three shots, I'd have done it differently–there is no perspective as to the enormity of the statue. Of course, had I known photography was not allowed, I wouldn't have taken a single shot, so I should be thankful for what I did get–sometimes ignorance is bliss. Anyway, I dedicate my three photos of The David to Krista. Thanks, LADY, for the memories.

Michelangelo took three years to finish his David. They say that Michelangelo doesn't show us David after Goliath's defeat, triumphant over the giant's head as one might expect, because he did not want to portray the action, but rather the possibility to carry it out.

In the humble opinion of this redneck art critic, the statue is huge and beautiful. However, during our visit to the Vatican, we found out that Michelangelo frequently took great liberties in his interpretation of the Bible in his art and many times these were, in my mind, contrary to my Christian belief. The statue depicts a man of great strength. I do not believe that David’s strength came from within, but from God. The statue is definitely that of a man rather than a boy, and I believe that for him to depict David prior to slaying Goliath as was the stated intention, the statue would have been that of a boy. And finally, the strong attitude and arrogance of the statue seems to me to be much more that of David, the seducer of Bathsheba, than David the youthful Giant Killer.

When he created his David, Michelangelo was not even thirty, but had already produced many great works. His David was so successful that he was called to Rome by Pope Giulio II himself and who requested he paint the famous Sistine Chapel.

While on display in its original location, the city's most important square and in front of the seat of its government, the David by Michelangelo often risked serious damage so in 1872, they decided to move it into the Academy Gallery where it remains today. In 1910, a copy was placed on its original site in Piazza della Signoria.

Rick and I were able in our brief time in Florence to see many other sights and hopefully got the flavor of Florence in our pictures. It is a city filled with statues outside in the streets and plazas. The Uffizi Gallery is particularly interesting as it the oldest and most important museum in Florence. Some of the great artists whose works are on display here include: Giotto, da Vinci, Raphael, Rubens, Titian, Michelangelo and Botticelli. The exterior of the museum boasts many statues of the artists whose works appear inside, together with other great Italians.

It was disappointing that the square where the Basilica of Santa Croce, Baptistery, Duomo of Florence, and Giotto's Bell Tower is so big and close together that it is impossible to get a picture of the whole thing or even the entirety of even one building. Florence is very close together as you can see by the Florence pictures of the very narrow streets.

My souvenirs from Florence were a small Florentine box and a patch with Ponte Vicchio on it, and of course my "illegal" photos of David.

Rome

When Krista and I went to Rome, we tried to cram every Roman sight into our two day visit. She wanted to see everything. Since I knew I’d be coming back with Rick on the cruise I was a little more relaxed and was basically along for the ride. I did however want to see the Colosseum at night, because I knew that Rick and I wouldn’t be there at night. The other thing I wanted to see was the Statue of David and didn’t think that would be really high on Rick’s To-Do-In-Rome list.

I’m really not a great fan of the arts, but as I stated in my previous post, there have been a couple of things I wanted to see. David is one of them. Especially after Hank saw it last summer on his trip to Italy. The enormity of the statue had impressed him, but he said he’d seen enough statues of naked men to last a life time. He said it looked like David had a squirrel between his legs and that struck me as very funny.

It seems that Krista and I must have walked a hundred miles. I don’t know what we were doing wrong, but it took an eternity for us to get any place. We walked all over Rome and the Vatican. I think we saw almost all of what we set out to see.

We planned to go to the Vatican on Saturday since I thought going on Sunday might be busy. As it turned out that was a great idea, because we were there on the last Sunday of the month which is the one day a month that it is free to go to the Vatican and all the Italians go then. They say the mob is huge and the pickpockets are rampant.

However, when we got to the Vatican on Saturday, we found out that the Sistine Chapel was closed to the public that day. Krista was so disappointed because she really wanted to see the famous chapel ceiling that Michelangelo painted. So, we prayed, "God, we didn’t come all this way..." About that time I heard someone speaking in English behind me. A young man was saying, "English tours of the Vatican including the Sistine Chapel." I ran over to him and said, if I go with you can we see the Sistine Chapel?" He said, "Yes, ma’am." Of course, his tour came with a hefty price tag which was outside of our budget, but we felt like it was an answer to prayer. After all, we hadn’t even said "Amen" before we had an answer so we jumped at it.

True to his word, we eventually got to visit the Sistine Chapel and saw Michelangelo’s ceiling–which was a disappointment to me. It’s amazing to think a man laid on scaffolding for years to paint it, but after seeing all the other things I’ve seen this year, it wouldn’t make my Top 10 List or probably even my Top 25 List of things to see. However, the Vatican museum was beautiful and left me without words to describe it. How talented God’s people are.

The Colosseum was amazing. I loved it. Krista and I stayed until it was dark and got to see it all lit up and it was beautiful. I really enjoyed getting to eat dinner across the street from the Colosseum–a once in a lifetime experience!

Okay, so we’d seen the Colosseum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain, and now it was time to find David. At the Colosseum, they told us he was at St. Paul’s basilica. So we headed off to there. It is a beautiful church, but no David. There, they told us David is at Borghese Museum. We were now running short on time, but headed that direction. When we were almost there we found an art information center where I decided to make sure David was at the museum. To my dismay, I was advised that David isn’t even in Rome, he’s in Florence! Krista couldn’t believe that I’d had her trampling all over Rome looking for a squirrel that wasn’t in town! When we got home, she made Rick promise that he’d take me to see David when we went to Florence and take a picture for her.

I’m going to upload a few pictures from our Rome trip...pictures of things that Rick and I did not see. The rest will come when I upload the Rome pictures from our cruise.

Bucket Lists

You know the idea of a Bucket List intrigues me. I always thought that anything I might want to put on my personal Bucket List would be so unlikely to occur that I’d just skip the Bucket List and go straight to the "When I Get to Heaven List." I’ve got quite a "Heaven List" going already, but some things that I’ve always wanted to do and probably should have been on a Bucket List were:

To see Stonehenge (done)
To see Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)
To see Niagra Falls
To see the Matterhorn (I almost made this one!)
To sleep on a deserted beach (Hawaii or South Pacific)
To visit Europe (no particular destination) (done)
To see Athens (done)
To see Michelangelo’s David (done)
To sleep in the Alps (done)
To walk on the great wall of China
To see the Pyramids in Egypt
To see The Thinker (scheduled)
Go on a cruise (done)

My list only includes things I would like to see–I already told you I was a visual person–so I guess, to travel would be a big part of my Bucket List. Oh, yes, there are some that I’d love to do: sing, play a musical instrument, have enough rhythm to dance, paint, or write something very profound, but those things I’ve always thought were best left to my Heaven List. I mean, there’s only so much God can do with us here when you don’t have any natural talent.

I guess now that I think about it, mom and dad get the credit (or blame) for my desire to see so much. As a child they were always hauling us one place or another...Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Royal Gorge, Mesa Verde, Carlsbad Caverns, Badlands of South Dakota, big dirt, holey dirt, colored dirt, hard dirt, soft dirt, wet dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt.

Anyway, I’m knocking things off my Bucket List so fast this year, I’m beginning to get a little concerned. I’ve seen Stonehenge, Europe, Athens, Michelangelo’s David, slept in the Alps, gone on a cruise, and in November, God willing, I’ll see The Thinker while we are in Paris. I'm thinking that I should add some things to my Bucket List so that God doesn't get any ideas and start to think this ride is over.

One thing that I have come to realize after our travels this year with all of its visits to cathedrals, basilicas, castles, temples and ruins is that, from this point on, most of the things I add to my Bucket List will be to see things that God created like the majority of those my parents took me to. As I view the things that man has created like the cathedrals, Colosseum, and even the statue of David, and as awesome as they are, I realize how truly limited man is compared to the awesome majesty of the things that God creates.

When we get home I want to take Rick to see all the things that I’ve been fortunate to see. So, my Bucket List is changing. I’m taking the Great Wall of China and Egyptian Pyramids off my Bucket List. I want to go back to the natural, God-created things like Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, the Tetons, Royal Gorge, etc. and see them through an adult’s eyes. And then I’m going to add something like:

Back to the Alps & Lake Geneva
Redwoods in California
Yosimite National Park
Barringer Meteor Crater
Great Barrier Reef
Galápagos Islands
Victoria Falls or Iguazu Falls
Glacier Bay
Copper Canyon
The Everglades
The Mojave desert
Mount Kilauea
Mt. McKinley
The Bay of Fundy