Oct Cruise - Corfu, Greece

We were docked in Corfu, one of the farthest northwestern Greek Islands in the Ionian Sea, for our second shore excursion.  We kicked off the day bright and early with a tour of the Achilleion Palace, built by Empress Elisabeth of Austria in 1890 as a summer retreat.

During World War II, the German Luftwaffe dropped lots of bombs on Corfu.  Much of what we saw in the old town, as well as part of this summer palace, had to be rebuilt after the war ended.

The Achilleion Palace was obviously constructed around a central theme of the mythical hero Achilles from the Trojan Wars.  We saw Achilles in various statues and murals as we toured the palace.  And it just so happens that our sixth grader recently finished an abridged version of The Iliad in her English class, so she knew all about the life of Achilles and his bum heel.

The views from just about anywhere on the island were magnificent.  It was a bit hazy, but still glorious to look out across the water.

I snapped this pic of our ship, home away from home, because there was a stately tall ship docked adjacent to us.  That might be something fun to try in the future when it's just me and the husband, with no kids in tow.

As you can see in the two pics above, there were quite a few random dogs roaming around and taking naps in the old town.  The daughter wanted to pet them, but I reminded her they might not be up-do-date on shots... or like strangers.  

I always love these sorts of scenes, where you see the old characterful buildings with laundry drying on the balcony.

Below is the Venetian fortress, built in the 15th century at the site of a former Byzantine castle on land overlooking the Ionian Sea.  We didn't have a chance to tour it, but I thought it was pretty cool that it currently houses the public library of Corfu.

Anytime we pass a gelateria, our younger daughter will always want a scoop... and her father always complies because he secretly longs for it, too.

We sailed from Corfu in the middle of the afternoon, so the daughter took at least a dozen pics with my camera from the balcony of our stateroom off the back end of the ship as we made our way to Mykonos.  Here is just one of many.  I call it her Blue Churning Water series.

When we returned to our stateroom after supper that evening, the daughter was pleased to find her first towel critter - an anteater.  

A Thousand Words

Last month, the teen had a senior photo shoot.  We opted for the "Iconic London" package that the photography studio offers.  The teen wanted to commemorate her time in England, something she'll remember always.  And now she'll have some fabulous photos for keepsakes of this time in her life.

These are some of my favorites, several of which are being delivered today in bespoke (Brit speak for custom) mats and frames.  Earlier in the week we received a CD with our 30 favorite images so we can reproduce them at will.  Plus we appreciated a gratis bonus of these cute little accordion photo books the photographer ponied up once our pricey order was placed - one for us, the teen and grandparents.  

Enough Already

It's the day after the US presidential election and I can't say that I'm surprised by the outcome.  Honestly, I think Romney had a much better showing than most folks expected when he became the republican frontrunner.  If only the republicans could find a nice middle-aged black woman or latina to run for president... even the playing field a bit.  Maybe now people on both sides of the aisle will quit spewing venom and start coming together for the greater good.

It's a sad commentary that radicals think Obama needs to be held down and scrutinized with a looking glass for the numbers 666 on his person.  Or the rise up and secede idea - that's gonna be productive.  I can't imagine anyone wants to relive those four years of hell where families were pitted against each other in the deadliest conflict in American history, the Civil War.  It may be a flawed political system in the United States, but it's the only system we have right now.  With the house, senate and presidency up for grabs every few years, seesawing back and forth with a variety of agendas from several parties, it's no wonder we often make little progress.

After living in Europe for the past two years, I can honestly say that the grass isn't going to be greener in another country.  All over the planet you're gonna be faced with clashing ideologies and good-intentioned politicians who try to do the best they can within a system that doesn't always produce the best possible outcome. Reality - some countries are ruled by political regimes (dare I say criminals, in some instances) that don't even pretend to have the best interests of their population at heart.  Maybe some folks do need to spend time living outside the good ol' US of A to have a better appreciation of the advantages enjoyed in a first world country.  

You may not be living as well as you think you should, or as well as you think the government should be providing on your behalf, but all you have to do is listen to the world news or read the newspapers to know it could all be a hell of a lot worse than having Obama in the White House for another four years.  The Good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, we're gonna put on our big girl panties, man up, do some praying and work hard to put this great nation back together.  

Oct Cruise - Bari, Italy

Our cruise departed Venice at 5:00 pm on a very foggy afternoon.  The haze never completely lifted and seemed even thicker over the water.  Below are some pics taken from our balcony on the ship.  Since it was just us and the 6th grader, we opted for a junior suite on the 8th deck, located at the back of the ship.  I enjoyed the location and size of our stateroom, but really appreciated the excellent price we got since it was mid October.  The only downside was the little bits of black soot that fell on the balcony furniture and had to be cleaned off everyday by our stateroom attendant.  Other than some of the soot falling into my tea glass as I relaxed on a lounge chair one afternoon, it was a great accommodation and I wouldn't hesitate to book a junior suite in the future.

Above and below, you can see a ferry passing behind the ship as we were maneuvered out of our berth by the tugs.

As we were departing Venice, we sailed right past the entrance to the grand canal.  Below is a pic of one of the many vaporetto (water bus/taxi) stands in the city.  It was definitely a unique way to get around.

Our first port of call on the cruise was along the eastern coast of Italy, near the heel of the boot at Bari.  After a quick bus tour of downtown Bari - very quiet since it was Sunday morning - we hit the coast road and traveled south through the Puglia region of Italy to the town of Polignano a Mare.  This town, with its scenic overlooks, is home of the "Volare" singer and is famous for its sea caves, the largest of which has been made into a restaurant.

After listening to the song on the bus ride, we enjoyed a stroll through the old town, including a statue depicting "Volare" singer/songwrite Domenico Modugno.  And gelato - a must when we're traveling with the younger daughter.

In the largest square of the old town, I took the pics below.  

As always, I enjoy the beauty of the religious art, icons and places of worship that we inevitably find in these old European cities (by American standards, anyway) with large Catholic populations.

The pic below is of a small balcony that resembles a jungle... a little too much of a good thing.

Since much of the old town is pedestrian only, our guide was explaining how many of the residents go out of their way to keep it attractive and clean.  This was made quite clear when our group rounded a corner to be met with a strong smell of bleach.  It seems the grandmotherly types who live in that stretch of lovely cobbled streets like to toss out their mop water (which was now beneath our feet) to keep the stones a pristine white.

If At First You Don't Succeed

I caught one of our back garden seed thieves in the act this morning, crawling all over our smaller "squirrel-proof" feeder.  Granted, the little tree climber can't get his head in between the surrounding cage for complete access.  Therefore, he has figured out that if he gives it sufficient shakes then seeds will fall onto the ground.  And if he's really lucky, the top will pop off like it did about 30 minutes ago and then he can just help himself to the whole shebang.

I swear this squirrel has a couple rolls of belly fat from chowing down on the bird buffet since I refilled the feeders.  I hope he gets indigestion from hanging upside down to eat this meal he has stolen from the birds.

Squirrelus Stupidus

The younger daughter was chatting with her dad via Facetime on the iPad this afternoon when she saw one of our local foxes out of the kitchen windows and called me over for a look.  They really are pretty creatures with their orange-red coats and fluffy tails.  Ollie is a strawberry blonde colored Cairn Terrier that looks a bit foxy sometimes.  The fox we spied was trotting across the front drive with a dead squirrel in its mouth.  I'm thinking the squirrel's arrogance led to his demise.  

Yesterday the weather was picture perfect sunshine, but we are obviously in early November since most of our trees are stripped bare or somewhere in the process of losing all of their leaves.  In particular, a unique red leafed tree in the backyard is now nude.  And since that allows us to see the two bird feeders hanging amongst the barren branches, I decided it was time to start providing seed for our local feathered friends.

I filled up both feeders and the new buffet was quickly discovered by our local critters.  As always, the squirrels assumed I put out this bounty especially for them.  I counted up to five of the little furry buttheads out there gobbling up the seed on the ground, even trying to chase away the magpies that also dropped in for a bite to eat.  

An irritating fact about our local squirrels is that they're more or less immune to us and the dog.  Ever since we moved into this house, we've been feeding the birds and fending off the squirrels.  Before we got Ollie last November, the younger daughter would open up a family room window and do her best faux bark at the squirrel(s) raiding the feeder, trying to scare them away.  It worked for about two weeks and then they just started ignoring it.  Now that we have terrier patrol, we merely turn the dog loose.  The trick is that Ollie isn't particularly bright and commences with a stream of barking, half cry and half yodel, before the patio door is even open.  And thus the squirrels know he's headed their way and wait until the last minute to scurry up the nearest tree.  

I'm thinking the fox, with his stealthy moves, was able to sneak up on one of the snarky little fur balls hoovering up bird seed before it could make an escape.  And that rodent arrogance is what led to the squirrel, aka rat in a cuter set of clothes, becoming the fox's afternoon snack.  I can only hope the fox will return for another easy meal or three and save Ollie from getting another smack for getting onto the back of the couch to watch the seed thieves gleefully cavort all over the backyard without fear of reprisal.

Not-so-great Nissans

I just spent over four hours parked in a chair at the local Nissan dealership's service department, waiting for the verdict on my two autos... quietly seething in my seat while my butt went numb. If that pimple faced saleskid had come by one more time to offer me a cup of tea or coffee, I was gonna have to go all Steel Magnolias, crazy southern lady and tell him to stick it where the sun don't shine.

The little Note - a midsized hatchback not sold in the US - has a front tire with a slow leak.  No big deal, right?  Except that I purchased a new set of tires from this dealership last fall.  And since then I've had to take the little car in five times (counting today) for this same slow leak.  It stays inflated for a while and then slowly starts going flat... again.  

Lo and behold, I was told today that they don't have the necessary equipment to diagnose where it's losing air and therefore I need to take it to a TIRE CENTER.  Silly me, I thought it most appropriate to bring it to the folks who sold me the tires, the ones who are supposed to know all of the tricks of the Nissan trade, the professional and most knowledgeable Nissan car fixer uppers.  Of course, this begs the question why they didn't tell me this a couple visits ago so I wouldn't waste time coming to them for assistance.  Seriously ridiculous.

The big ol' Pathfinder needs new batteries in the key fobs, which unlock the doors.  Plus it's the kind of set-up where the fob just has to be in the car and I turn the ignition on without a key.  Thankfully, that's an easy fix.  However, the lag in/lack of acceleration I've experienced wasn't present when they checked out the SUV this morning, so they'll have to keep it until tomorrow to see if it will materialize for them.

All in all, I'm not happy with my Nissans and I will certainly not be purchasing any more of them in the future.  I'm thinking a Toyota or Lexus will look nice in the garage of my Texas house.  I just need to get through the rest of the school year with these Nissans and then get them sold.  Good riddance, I say.