Left: our equinoxphotoofficial portrait on board the Celebrity Equinox.

 

Well, we’d pulled out all the stops for our wedding on May 21st, so we did the same for our honeymoon, which consisted of two back-to-back week-long cruises in the Mediterranean.  We started in Athens, sailing through the Aegean Sea with stops at Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes, then going east to Kusadasi and Ephesus in Turkey.  Then back to Athens and on to Malta, Sicily, the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii, and finally to Rome, where we spent several  additional days exploring the city.

 

Holly and I had a wonderful time, despite security issues in Turkey and a last-minute cancelled flight in Rome.  But we did get in and out of Turkey for a day, and we ended up being switched to Air France for the flight home, which was a major step up from United.  A great trip.

Below: click on the subheadings for pages of pictures.

 

DSCN8842 DSCN8827 IMG_8473

Athens: a tour of the major classical sights

DSCN8860 DSCN9027 DSCN8984 DSCN8999

Santorini, Greece: Views of the caldera from below and above; exploring the towns clinging to the cliffs

DSCN9035 DSCN9082 DSCN9114

Rhodes, Greece: the medieval citadel of the Knights of St. John; a ride through the countryside to the acropolis of Lindos, beautifully situated above the Aegean Sea

DSCN9435 IMG_8669 IMG_8935

Mykonos, Greece: a labrynth of picturesque streets and walkways from the bay up the hillsides

 

DSCN9217 DSCN9265 DSCN9272

Turkey: from the port of Kusadasi to the ancient Roman city of Ephesus, along with a family visit in an upland village

malta1 malta3 malta4

 Malta: medieval and modern Valetta and a tour around the circumference of the island

 DSCN9601 DSCN9600 IMG_9213

Sicily: A street-food eating tour of Catania

DSCN9676 IMG_9342 DSCN9674

Italy: the Amalfi Coast by boat and foot

DSCN9755 DSCN9760 DSCN9761

Italy: Pompeii in the shadow of Vesuvius

(note: the large human sculptures spread across the landscape of Pompeii are not from antiquity, but were created by the late Polish sculptor, Igor Mitoraj.  The display ends in January 2017.)

IMG_9666b IMG_9652b DSCN9775 DSCN9885-PS

Italy: Rome–a romantic final stop on our honeymoon