Kusadasi

Kusadasi was a scorcher - super super hot! We walked around with umbrellas all day to create our own shade.  It was such a neat port though.  We had an awesome guide who took us to the famous house thought to be the last residence of Mary (Jesus's mom), the ancient city of Ephesus, a Turkish rugmaking co-op where we learned all about the process, and a wonderful lunch with fresh produce from the region.

Istanbul

Istanbul was such a cool place to visit.  It is rich with history, and the whole look and feel of the city was so different from the other places we visited.  We loved visiting the underground cistern, the Hagia Sophia, and the Blue Mosque.  We also sought out a tiny little restaurant to try pide (Turkish pizza-sort of) and Turkish coffee.  Yum! 

Santorini

Ah, Santorini.  A picture-perfect Greek island.  It makes for the perfect day trip, if you're into beautiful scenery, wine, and greek food.  We couldn't get enough of the Santorini wine and tomato fritters - and obviously, that Santorini blue!

Rome

Before boarding for the cruise, we had the chance to revisit one of our favorite cities, Rome.  A quick visit to the Spanish Steps and Trevvi Fountain were in order before aperitivo at an old favorite and a traditional Roman dinner of bucatini all'Amatriciana.

Bologna

Bologna is a stunning city, located within the beautiful hills of northern Italy.  It is where Paco is from, and we had a wonderful time being shown around by him.

Venice

Before meeting up with Stephanie, we visited Venice.  It is truly a stunning, unique place!  The canals, bridges, and architecture are beautiful and incredibly picturesque.  We visited the nearby island of Burano, famous for its colorful buildings and lacemaking art.  We did not go for a gondola ride - but we did have a glass of wine overlooking the grand canal while other people took gondola rides, so that counts right?

And we're back!

SLR has returned from our Europe trip, with tons to share!  We had a wonderful time visiting Italy, Greece and Turkey.  All this and next week we will be sharing the places we visited, what we wore, and of course the food - we hope you're looking forward to some great recipes! 

Happy July!  Here's a song to start off the new month: