It was a warm and cloudy morning in Almonte this holiday Monday, but no rain was forecast. We decided to walk downtown and see the sights from the old railway bridge over the river....

When I started taking family holidays over 30 years ago I always brought along a camera kit that was heavy and expensive – SLR, 4 lenses, flash, and 15-20 rolls of film. I was...

Our fourth day in Rome was sunny and mild, and we finished it with a visit to the Trevi Fountain. More about that later. We started things off with a visit to the church...

Our third day in Rome was Palm Sunday. We had originally planned to attend Mass in French at Trinita dei Monti but after climbing the steps we found the church shuttered and locked. They...

Day II in Rome was a Saturday and we planned to take the Metro. However, our task got complicated right away. Three stops on the Red Line were closed due to emergency escalator repair...

The trip from Civitavecchia to Rome took about 90 minutes thanks to mid-morning traffic. Maria sat in the front with the driver and they chatted amiably in Italian all the way. The kids were...

We had one sea day left before arriving in Civatavecchia. The weather – which had been beautifully benign all cruise long – suddenly got a bit nasty. In the wake of a low-pressure area,...

When we docked in Valencia we noted that the Viking Sea was berthed near us. Viking is best known for river cruises but also has a sea cruise division. Very nice ship. The port...

We took a bit more time to get from Gibraltar to our next port of Alicante, Spain. By 10 AM we were starting to see signs of land. As we sailed into the harbor,...