"Home" Again

What a month! I'm glad to be in one place for a bit though. I figured instead of telling you about all the places I went to, I'd show you pictures. Though I will give you a brief itinerary: Paris = 4 nights, Athens = 4 nights, Olympia = 1 night, Deplhi = 1 night, Rome = 4 nights, Palermo = 1 night, Naples = 1 night, Venice = 3 nights, Dublin = 2 nights, Killarney = 2 nights, Doolin = 3 nights and overnight train = 2 nights. I also visited Verona and Pompeii while in Italy but they were day trips.

Basically what it comes down to is about a week in Paris, almost a week in Greece, a week and a half in Italy and a week in Ireland. So here are some of the high lights from my trip- in picture form with a superb caption. Hey, I'm aspiring for them to be anyway haha.

Paris

I had never seen the Moulin Rouge before. It was worth seeing for me if for no other reason than the fact that I really love the movie haha.

The other thing I really wanted to do in Paris was see the catacombs- a bit out of character for me I suppose looking at the picture lol. But I'm glad we went nonetheless. 6-7 million people were buried here. Absolutely astounding. What was more unbelievable was the fact that before exiting you had to show someone the contents of your bag. I guess some people like to take souvenirs... Gross.

Disneyland!! There are two places I feel I could be forever happy: Disneyland and North Pole City. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we didn't wait in line for a ride for more than 20 minutes at most. I just spent a day there but it was sublime.

Greece

The Parthenon was truly impressive. What I also found admirable was the fact that there are steps and renovations going on in order to preserve and excavate other parts of Athens and the Acropolis.

Seeing the site of the very first Olympic games which started in 776 BC was something that left me speechless. The US is still such a baby compared to this stuff!

Here is the Temple of Apollo which resides in Delphi and is famous for the oracle. 

Italy

I've been to the Colosseum before, but I love it. I could stay for quite awhile. It has a certain mood to it, not one I can quite explain.

The Trevi fountain is one of the most beautiful things. It's probably my favorite point in all of Italy. And of course I threw coins in. Euro cents, pence, and pennies- had to have all the bases covered.

Pompeii and Venice were my favorite when I first traveled to Italy at the age of 15. I'm pleased to report that they are still my favorite. Pompeii is just so beautiful. The history makes it a bit of somber experience, but it doesn't diminish its beauty in the least bit.

The wonderful thing about Venice is that there's no other place like it in the world. You could say the same for almost any city I suppose, but usually that's due to a landmark or edifice. Here, it's the actual city that's unique. 

Juliet's balcony in Verona. I have to say that it's amazing, simply amazing that so many people of all different ethnicities and regions flock to this one city to see the balcony and town that was merely the setting of a story that was written by a man over five centuries ago. Incredible.

This was a ruin my family and I came across while driving to Killarney. Pretty deserted, but the cemetery surrounding it was still recent. It was beautiful.

I'm not sure that you can make out all the little birds on this cliff but I promise you- there are hundreds. Puffins! This is the largest colony in all Ireland I believe. This is near the cliffs of Moher which we saw from a ferry. It was absolutely lovely seeing my family. I'm so grateful they were able to come.

Well that's it! My trip in a few photos. Of course there's many many more haha. But they will make it to Facebook in due time. Hope you enjoyed!