Devon, England

We left Bath and traveled to Devon and stayed at a lovely hotel called Gidleigh Park. In route we stopped in and visited Exeter and saw the old city walls and the beautiful cathedral. Gidleigh Park is located in a wooded area with lovely gardens. Getting there is a bit of an adventure, in that the roads are only one lane and you get to know "reverse" quite well. On the 13th we drove to the town of Padstow, located on the Atlantic coast in Cornwall. We then went to the see the gardens at Lanhydrock, a stately mansion a bit inland. I hope the photos below of Exeter, Gidleigh Park hotel and gardens, Padstow waterfront, and Lanhydrock Manor gardens due justice to all.

Bath, England

We arrived in Bath after flying to the UK from Istambul. Bath is a lovely town of about 80,000 people known for the old Roman baths that were in the town. The baths are fed by a hot spring that is still working today. Besides seeing the baths, we went to the Jane Austin center, and saw a art exhibit of Kaffe Fassett in the American museum of England at the University of Bath. On our second day in Bath, we hired a car and went to the fameous "Stonehenge". Our hotel was the Bath Priory and had lovely gardens as you will see in the pictures below. In addition there are pictures of the River Avon flowing through Bath where the water from the Roman baths flows, and pictures of Stonehenge, a prehistoric druid site. One of the pictures of Stonehenge shows the alignment of the stones to concur with the summer and winter solstices.

Nessebur, Bulgaria

Nessebur, Bulgaria was a surprise for us on this trip.  It is an old city that has now become a sea side resort with over 80 hotels in the new beach areas of the city, kind of a Miami Beach-Black Sea resort.  We walked the approximately 40 acre site of the old Greek/Roman old city and saw the numerous churches. We then bussed across a causeway to the new part of the city to do some wine tasting.  We found the Bulgarian wines more to our liking in that they were dryer and the reds had more body to them. 

 Rebuilt Roman Church in Nessebur's Old City

 

 City Square in the Old City

 Another Rebuilt Church in the Old City

 

 Church Ruins in the Old City

 

 Izbata Winery Tasting Room

 

 Izbata Winery Cask Room

Constanta, Romania

Leaving Russia we sailed for about 36 hours to get to Constantia, Romania.  Constantia is where the Danube River enters the Black Sea, so we took a boat ride through the delta area the first day we were there.  The second day, we did sight seeing around Ovidius Square in the old Roman part of the city, visited the architectural museum, and then went to a local winery to taste some Romanian wines.  The Romanians seem to like sweeter wines, that are on the lighter side.  Most of Romania is Roman Catholic with large populations of Orthodox Christians and Muslims.  Some snap shots of Romania are below:

 Danube River Waterfront in the Delta with a Local Mosque Shown

 

 A Non-motorized Ferry Crossing the Danube at the Delta Area

 

 One of the Danube River Flows in the Delta Area

 

 Constanta's Ovidius Square in the Old Roman Part of the City

 

 St. Peter's and St. Paul's Church in the Old Roman Part of the City

 

 Wine Tasting Table Set Up

 

Georgia & Hugh in a Romanian Vineyard

Sochi, Russia

After leaving Trapazon, Turkey, we sailed into Sochi, Russia, home of the 2014 Winter Olympics. We found the city's public areas very beautiful and quite clean.  After walking along the water front area, we traveled to a tea plantation in the near by hills.  Here we enjoyed refreshments, including some wonderful Russian tea and some local dancers in traditional costumes.  Nothing was said about the conflicts with the situation in the Ukraine, except a comment by our guide that dealing on a personal basis we seem to get along well.  It is the people in government that can't work together.  Below are some lovely pictures of our stay:

Sochi's First Public Library

 Walkway Along The Waterfront Area

 

 Russian Bear Carving at the Tea Plantation

 

 Russian Tea House

Turkey

After leaving Syros, Greece, we traveled to Turkey.  While in Turkey we visited Kusadasi, Sinop, Trabzon, and Istanbul.  At Kusadasi we visited the ruins of Klaros, an agent Greek Oracle, and Metroplois, an old Greek and Roman settlement. Both of these sites were relatively new on the restoration list.  At Sinop, we visited the maritime museum and an saw a typical old Turkish home.  The high light of Trabzon was the Samela Monastery, which is cut in the side of a mountain.  Finally, after visiting Romania and Bulgaria, we ended our cruise in Istanbul.  Here we visited the Grand Bazaar did some rug shopping.  Here are some pictures of our Turkey visit:

 Fortress Outside of Kusadasi Harbor

 

 Oracle at Klaros

 

 Theater at Metropolis

 

 Metropolis City Walls

 

 Bedroom of an Old Turkish Home in Sinop 

 

 Sumela Monastery

 

 Sumela Monastery

 

 Sumela Monastery

 

 Fresco's on the stone ceilings at the Sumela Monastery

 The Grand Bazaar

 

 Inside the Grand Bazaar

 

Grand Bazaar Shop

Syros, Greece

On May 27th we left San Francisco to head to Athens via Seattle and London to catch a cruise around the Black Sea.  The first port stop after leaving Athens was Syros, Greece.  It was thriving trading center during the Greek and Roman days.  The highlight of the city, in my opinion, was the Apollo Theater, which was built in 1864.  Today, it is a quiet island port, which still has numerous cultural events in the beautiful Apollo theater.  Below are some pictures of the island:

Georgia and Jo Berryman at the Port of Syros

Vegetable Market in Syros

 Ceiling in the Apollo Theater

 

 Ceiling in the Lobby of the Apollo Theater

 

Inside of a Greek Orthodox Church in Syros