Joe benning photography
While we were in Portugal, we took a few side trips, including Fatima, Coimbra and Tomar. Fatima is, of course, where Mary appeared to the three school children (Lucia dos Santos, Francisco...
Read MoreOr Lisboa, as they call it in Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal -- April 22,2026. The iconic Lisboa sign stands in Praça do Comércio, welcoming visitors to Portugal’s capital...
Read MoreWhen we finally arrived, we began our trip to Portugal with a Road Scholar led cruise on the Douro River. The cruise was truly magnificent, as was the Road Scholar guide, Lucia Gomez. We got...
Read MoreAll good things come to an end, and so has our cruise. We enjoyed several months of seeing interesting new places, learning a lot, and even enjoying lots of gelato. Our ship docked in...
Read MoreOur ship anchored today in the Mediterranean and we came ashore at Villefranche, France. We took a drive through Nice and neighboring towns, on our way to the village of Saint Paul de...
Read MoreToday was very special—we went to see the summer palace for Popes—Castelo Gandolfo. Opened to visitors in 2016, it has served as the summer palace for Popes since the Seventeenth...
Read MoreRome is a bit busy these days, so when our ship docked at the port, we decided to go to a nearby medieval town, Tarquinia. The town dates back to the ninth century BC, and sits on top of a very...
Read MoreWhen our ship docked in Naples, we had the opportunity to visit the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Pompeii was instantly buried beneath 30 feet of volcanic ash and cinder when Mount...
Read MoreAs we approach the final leg of our journey we will have several stops in Italy. The first stop, which we just had, was in Erice, Sicily. It is a small town (pop 27,000) located on the top of...
Read MoreKotor is a small city in a small country. The population of the entire country is only about 625,000; the population of Kotor only amounts to about 13,000 people. Nonetheless Kotor has one of...
Read MoreOn Tuesday we headed to Zadar, Croatia to a vineyard named Kraljevski Vinogradi, which translates to Royal Vineyards. Needless to say we went there for a lunch and wine tasting. We thus...
Read More