After 21 days, 6 countries, 11,000 miles, 8 cones of gelato, and 1500 images taken ... we are back in the States!

I don't even really know where to start ... how do you sum up a 3 week vacation experiencing new cultures, new people, ancient wonders of the world, man-made wonders of the world, famous works of art, architectural wonders, beautiful landscapes, etc, etc, etc.?  The only word (in the urban dictionary) that might sum it up would maybe be AWESOMENESS!!!

I figured instead of writing an essay about our trip I would just post a bunch of pics and put a little description below each ... so below is my photo essay of our trip in a nutshell ... enjoy!

we began in London ...

having some espresso at Harrods

our hotel was in covent garden ... the above pic is in the main sqaure of covent garden

we went to the Lion King at the Lyceum theatre ... which was fabulous

and stonehenge ... which is incredible ... did you know that in the year 2000 there was an attempt to re-create the process of building stonehenge and the stones they gathered to re-create it sank in the English Channel and they gave up ... 2000 years later they are still in awe of how they pulled it off ... can you say ingenuity?

and then we boarded the Carnival Splendor for our 12 day cruise

yes, we had bunk beds ... but at least we got on the ship!

first stop ... Paris ... need I say more?

and we became facebook friends with mona

next stop, Vigo, Spain, and it was Sunday so pretty much everything was closed except this sculpture

and these women preparing oysters

then on to Lisbon, Portugal ...

Lisbon is known for its tile ... look at the tile work on this facade ... slightly more interesting than plastic siding, wouldn't you say

the rock o' gibraltar

then malaga, spain, stompin grounds aka home turf of picasso

then Barcelona, Spain ... where we did the classic "hop on hop off" tour and then met up with some friends of ours (and previous clients) Michael and Whitney and had some tapas

and off to Cannes, France

yes, your eyes are not failing you, that is Walker Texas Ranger's handprint ... you can be jealous now :)

and Pisa ... and what trip of Pisa is complete without you trying to push it back up?  It was hysterical, literally hundreds of people shouting at eachother trying make it look like they are holding up the tower (a note to anyone attempting this shot, have the person in the shot stand where they are and hold up their hands, and then move the CAMERA make it look realistic ... keeping the camera in place and directing the subject takes a heck of a lot longer to set up and can cause marital strife!)

and florence

the real David's museum was under contruction, so we had to settle for the replica

and the last stop of the cruise ... Rome!  Above are the ruins from an ancient Walmart right in the heart of the old city of Rome ... psyche!

we stayed at a B&B two minutes walk from the colliseum ... holla

Vatican City ... the pope was speaking, hence the enormous crowd

the vatican city guard, I know these are highly trained, well respected soldiers but I have to admit that I don't find their uniforms all that intimidating ... maybe its a european thing

the pantheon

and to wrap up the trip, three days in the beautiful Cinque Terre, pictured above is the town of Vernazza from a vista along the hike between monterosso and vernazza

chef Caik ... one of Monterosso's claims to fame ... in case you couldn't tell, his specialty is seafood ... and yes, that is a swordfish in his kitchen!

awww

and then last but definitely not least ... gelato ... quite possibly the best stuff on earth!