Joe Benning Photography

Travel & Photo Blog

  •   Reston, VA

Tarquinia and Rome 

Rome 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 steep hill overlooking the Tyrrhenian sea.  The town is enclosed by medieval walls and […]

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Last Days of Pompeii

When 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 Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.  People living in the city perished instantly when the volcanic ash poured down on the city. We had […]

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Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor 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 the best preserved medieval old towns in the Adriatic. It is also a UNICEF World Heritage Sight, probably for that reason. The […]

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From Trieste Italy to Slovenia

On Monday we docked in Trieste. As it turns out we were in for a pleasant surprise. Although we docked in Trieste, Italy as advertised, the tour we signed up for was right next door in Slovenia. It never occurred to us that the tour we booked would be in Slovenia. But it was. And […]

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Croatia

We spent Friday (the 25th) and Saturday (the 26th) in Croatia. On Friday it was Dubrovnik; on  Thursday, Trogir.  We went on a walking tour of Dubrovnik. It is just a stunningly beautiful city. And a walking tour is just the right way to see the city. Except that when we went, it rained. Actually […]

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Port Katakolon, Greece

Today we stopped at Katakolon in Greece.  We had the opportunity to visit a vineyard and an olive grove (and the processing plants for their products) near Olympia, Greece.   It was a beautiful day to be outdoors and meet the owners of these family businesses – and to taste some very good olive oils […]

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Visiting Nafplion, Greece

We did a short (2 ½ hour) walking tour in the small but relentlessly cute town of Nafplion. Greece. It is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. Additionally, it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination.  First stop: we visited Kapodistrias Square.  On the top […]

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Mykonos, Greece

Mykonos is a small windy island that is part of the Cyclades Islands, in the Aegean Sea.  It is difficult to grow things on the rocky, steep hills of Mykonos.  However, in the past the wind made it a great place for farmers from other islands to come and use the Mykonos windmills (for grinding […]

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Thessaloniki and Volos, Greece

We are back in Greece now, where we had a nice walking tour of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city (after Athens).   Again, tons of history in this city, some reflected in its archeology museum, and much in the monuments all over the city (including Alexander the Great ).   We spent a good deal […]

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