Posts by Robert.L.Shaver

In 79 AD the city of Pompeii was destroyed when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. After archaeological excavations revealed much about the lives of the inhabitants, the area became a major tourist attraction, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and part of Vesuvius National Park. Largely preserved under the ash, the excavated city offers a unique…

We spent the day wandering around Messina, At Sicily’s northeast tip, Messina is the first city being kicked by mainland Italy’s boot, just three miles across the Strait of Messina. It's a main port of entry for visitors via hydrofoils and ferries. Trains board the ferry, too, before continuing service. The 12th-century Norman cathedral, rebuilt after…

Just before Christmas we took a 8-day Mediterranean cruse from Rome, visiting Dubrovnik, Kotor, Messina and Pisa. This video covers the first 3 days of the trip. https://youtu.be/cGE8g47QuSY

We took the train from Paris to Nice to enjoy the warmer weather for three days. One of the sights we took in was the Chinese Lantern display at the Parc Phoenix Botanical Garden. It was lovely to see and I'm glad we captured some photographic memories to share with you. According to the festival organizers…

While Donna and Jon were visiting us in Paris, we took the train to the the Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France. The weather was a bit chilly, blustery and rainy, putting a bit of a damper on the trip. We soldiered on regardless. This short video captures some of the grandeur and workmanship exhibited by this…

We use the Paris metro often, whenever we need to go somewhere that's too far to walk. The system works well and isn't very expensive. Now that we've been here for a couple of months, we have gotten the hang of how to navigate (thanks in part to Google Maps), we really enjoy the trip. From…

It is raining this week in Paris so we are not going out as much as we have in the last few weeks. It's giving me time to get some new blog entries posted. Besides, the view from our flat is beautiful and we are enjoying watching the weather. I've also had a chance to do…

We went to visit The Centre Pompidou, which contains a large public library and the largest collection of modern art in Europe, the Musée National d'Art Moderne. It is quite a large building and unique in appearance. After leaving we went to a restaurant on the plaza right next to the Pompidou for some lunch. While…

Monday, August 19th, 2019 Having been in Paris for a while, Merry and I set out to discover some of the features contained in this beautiful city. We found the Canal Saint-Martin which is a 4.6 km (2.86 mi) long canal in Paris. In the mid-19th century it was covered for nearly half its length (2069…

Today, August 22, we are going to Geneva, Switzerland to attend the International Center For Spiritual Living 2019 Summer Retreat. We'll be there for a week then come back to our home base in Paris. The conference title is “Embracing Change: A Pathway to Growth and Transformation Retreat”. The featured speakers are Dr. Jim Lockard and Lisa Ferraro.  It starts on…