European Vacation 2008

I know, I know. There is nothing quite as boring as reading about somebody else's vacation. I can sympathize with that feeling as I've been there myself.

If you have no interest in reading about France or Italy, then please breeze on by - no hard feelings.

However, if you're preparing to go or just want to relive your past trips there, then you may want to follow the links to the photos and stories of our trip there in May of 2008.

Enjoy!

Paris, France

Sorrento, Italy

Herculaneum, Italy

Pompeii, Italy

Amalfi Coast, Italy

Milan, Italy

Lake Como, Italy

Paris

 If you can only see one city in Europe, please make it Paris! It is a fabulous city and well worth a place on anybody's calendar. And the number one thing to see in Paris is obviously the Louvre.

Click Here for an overview of the Louvre.

 Click Here for a tour of the Denon wing of the Louvre.

 Click Here for a tour of the Sully wing of the Louvre.

 Click Here for a tour of the Richelieu wing of the Louvre.

 Click Here for the Mesopotamia wing of the Louvre.

 Click Here to view the underground medieval portion of the Louvre. Yes sir, those are the original castle walls you're looking at!

 As far as we're concerned, second on your list of things to do while in Paris is actually outside of Paris: Versailles.

Click Here for an overview of Versailles.

 And you can't go to Versailles without touring the Chateau.

Click Here to tour the Chateau.

 But the best thing about Versailles is the garden.

Click Here for a tour of a small portion of the gardens.

 Click Here for a tour of the sub-estates such as Trianon.

 Back in Paris, the Pantheon is an oft-overlooked beauty.


Click Here for a tour of the Pantheon.

 Click Here for a tour of Notre Dame.

 A little known chapel that is well worth the time...

Click Here for a tour of Sainte-Chapelle.

 Everyone talks about the artist's colony...

Click Here for a tour of Montmartre.

 Click Here for a quick look at the Eiffel Tower.

 Click Here for a street map and a subway map of Paris.

 Click Here to look around the Paris neighborhood where we stayed (the 8th district).

 Click Here to see our room at the Hotel de Sers.

Click Here to read about the most questionable day of the whole vacation: the trip from Paris to Sorrento (via Naples).

Sorrento

 We stayed in Sorrento while in Southern Italy and really enjoyed it. What is Sorrento like, you may ask? Well let's take a quick tour of Sorrento.

Click Here for an overview of Sorrento.

 Click Here for information about Sorrento's waterfront on the Bay of Naples.

 You can't go to Sorrento without talking about limoncello! Click Here to learn more about limoncello.

 You can't go to Sorrento without doing a day trip to Naples, and we recommend the Naples Archaeology Museum as part of that day trip.

 Click Here to learn about the Naples Archaeology Museum.

 Click Here to see some of the busts and statues in the Naples Archaeology Museum.

 Click Here to see some of the mosaics in the Naples Archaeology Museum.

 Click Here to view other objects from Pompeii and Herculaneum that are in the Naples Archaeology Museum.

 Click Here to learn about the Hotel de la Ville.

 Click Here to see our room in the Hotel de la Ville.

Click Here to see the train trip from Naples to Milan.

Herculaneum

 So, what is there to see at Herculaneum, you may ask? Even though it is much smaller than Pompeii, the ruins are much better preserved because they were covered in mud instead of ash.  Let's take a quick tour of Herculaneum.

Click Here to start.

 Luckily we went in May 2008 when the Italian poppies were blooming, as you can see here.

 Want an annotated map that shows what we are about to see? Click on the map to the right.

 Click Here to view the House of the Wooden Partition.

 Click Here to view some of the snack bars in Herculaneum.

 Click Here to view the House of the Skeleton.

 Click Here to view the Terrace of Nonio Balbo.

 Click Here to view the Suburban Baths.

 Click Here to enter Herculaneum by the Boat Houses.

 Click Here to view the House of the Relief of Telephus.

 Click Here to view the Boat Houses and the skeletons found there.

 Click Here to view the House of the Deer.

 Click Here for a walk along Cardo V.

 Click Here to view a few more small restaurants and bars.

 Click Here to view the House of the Grand Portal.

 Click Here for more walking along Cardo V, including the bakery.

 Click Here for a walk along Decumano Massimo.

 Click Here for a walk down Cardo IV.

 Click Here for the fabulous House of Neptune and Amphitrite.

 Click Here for the House of the Tailor.

 Click Here for the Central Baths for Women.

 Click Here for the Palaestra at the Central Baths.

 Click Here for the Central Baths for Men.

 Click Here for the Samnite House.

 Click Here to view some of the maintenance going on in Herculaneum.

 Click Here to view the House of Argos.

Click Here to read our parting thoughts as we left Herculaneum.