Mediterranean Cruise- Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey

Kusadasi/Ephesus may be our favorite stop on any of our European travels.  The religious significance of this area is very important to us and it was amazing to see some of these places where friends and family of Jesus actually walked.  We had an excellent tour guide who was able to explain all of the sights, which was very helpful because signage was limited.

 First we went to the House of the Virgin Mary.  It is widely believed that St. John took Mary to live in this house after the death of Jesus.

Then we went to see the actual ruins of Ephesus.  Some of the more notable sites are pictured here:

The theater could hold 25,000 people.  It was used for plays and for gladiator competitions. 

Much of the original plumbing is still in tact.  These are pipes used to carry water in and out of the city.

Original roads of Ephesus.

Hadrian's Temple

These are the terrace houses, which are particularly fascinating because much of the paint and mosaics on the walls, floors, and ceilings are still in tact.  These were the "city apartments" for the most wealthy citizens of Ephesus.

 Library of Celsus.

This is one of the places in Ephesus that St. Paul was commonly known to preach.

Finally, we went to see Artemis' Temple.  Although it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it seemed a bit underwhelming compared to some of the other ruins.

Little man was a little worn out by all of our sight seeing!!

After going through the ruins, we went to have lunch at one of the places where the weavers make traditional Turkish rugs.  Lunch consisted of several Turkish salads, bread, and roasted, kabob-like chicken.  It was amazing to see the intricacy and beauty of some of the weavings.

We couldn't get back on the ship without trying a Turkish gyro from a street vendor.

We would highly recommend a trip to Ephesus and hope to one day be able to see more Christian heritage sights in Israel and beyond.

Mediterranean Cruise- Athens

Athens was a bit of a whirlwind, to say the least.  We got off of the ship early in the morning and walked quite a ways to the train station, where we took the metro into Athens proper and got off on the back side of the Acropolis. 

We walked up a million steps, with Drew carrying the stroller (with Eli in it), and found an entrance to the Acropolis.  At this point it was time for Elijah's lunch so we fed him and let him have a little nap in the stroller before we had to check it to enter.  While we were waiting for him to wake, Drew climbed a hill that St. Paul used to preach on and got an amazing view of the Acropolis.

Inside the Acropolis was amazing.  It was a little disappointing that many of the structures, including the Parthenon, were under construction so our view was obstructed by scaffolding and cranes, but it was spectacular, none the less.  Elijah didn't like being in the sling and the sun was very strong on the hill so we didn't spend too much time inside after checking out all of the important highlights and taking a good look around.  It was particularly amazing to me how the structures themselves, and even some of the writing in the stone has survived from the fourth or fifth century until now.

When we were through with the traditional sights, we went to a little flea market on the back side of the Acropolis.  It was so interesting to see all the icons, lamps, ouzo, spices, and other Greek specialties sold in the market.  We also enjoyed cold drinks and gyros from a street vendor in the market.  We met a young man who had studied at Michigan State and was very interested in where we were from and our story.  He gave Elijah an icon magnet of the Saint Elijah for him to remember his time in Greece.

 

Overall, we felt like our time in Athens was a litte rushed, but really enjoyed the people and culture there.  Here's to a return trip to Greece!

Mediterranean Cruise- Sicily

Our first stop was Messina, Sicily.  We knew the next few days in Athens and Ephesus were going to be pretty hectic, so we decided to take it a little easy in Sicily.  First, we took a little train ride around Messina and heard all about the history of the area.

It is really a beautiful town and it is the closest point of Sicily to the Italian mainland.  Because it is a port city, there are lots of tourists in the area, although many people venture up to Mt. Etna, a live volcano that you can see from the city.

 

 

After the train ride, we visited the Cathedral in Messina and we loved it.  I'm not sure Drew feels quite as strongly about it as I, but I would say it is possibly my favorite church we have seen, next to St. Vitus' Cathedral in Prague.  It had beautiful murals painted on the domes at the front and on each of the ceiling beams throughout the length of the church.  What a beautiful place to worship!

No trip to Sicily would have been complete without pizza and gelato so we stopped at a local pizzaria and then for gelato on the way back to the ship.

Sorry this is taking so long!!  Hopefully I can have the post on Athens to you a bit more quickly!!

Mediterranian Cruise- At Sea

There is so much to write about the cruise, I thought I would make an entry for each location.  This first one is about our time on the ship.

It was a bit difficult cruising with a one-year old (did I just say "one-year old"?), but the staff on the ship did everything in their power to accomodate Eli and his needs.  At dinner, they always brought us something special for him to eat and a special treat of some fruit, as well.  Royal Caribbean also has on-board babysitters who we used several times throughout the cruise.  They were so sweet with Elijah and absolutely fell in love with him.  They even put a love note and stuffed animal on our door as a gift to him.  The babysitting allowed us to have a special dinner at Chops (the on-board steakhouse, where we had the best steaks we've tasted since coming to the UK), to visit the casino, and to see several shows, including the ice skating spectacuar!

There were also a few on-board activities for babies on the ship.  There was a play group at least once a day and you could check out toys from the toy library for the babies to play with in your stateroom or on deck.


 
One challenge was the fact that there was no seperate baby pool and RC doesn't let children who aren't potty trained yet in the big pool so Eli didn't get to swim on board which means mommy and daddy didn't really get to either. There was plenty of room on deck for a quick play, however.

Our room attendant, Dinada, was a very nice man who took excellent care of us.  He warmed up to Elijah immediately, as he has a 10 month old daughter at home. 

We really enjoyed having a balcony on this trip.  It was a nice place to sit and relax and the views were amazing, especially when we passed through the straight of Messina between Italy's mainland and Sicily and could see the active volcano, Mt. Etna.

 

 

Be watching for posts about all the stops on the trip to be coming soon!

Llangollen, Wales

We were so happy to make a day trip to Wales last weekend.  The geneology information we have from my grandfather's family says they are not completely sure, but they believe that the family was from Llangollen, North Wales.  It also states that the Griffith name is most likley a contraction from the words "great" and "faith." 

Llangollen is a lovely town nestled on the Dee river.  There are lots of quaint little craft and antique shops, sweet shops, bakeries, and dear little places to grab a meal.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed strolling around the town.  We walked the river and then stopped at the Cottage Tea rooms for a nice lunch.  Drew had the traditional local eggs and ham and I had a very rich and meaty beef stew.  Then we split a corned beef pasty from the bakery and a strawberries and cream ice cream cone.    You can see the castle at the top of the hill from the town and the countryside around the village is gorgeous.

We were very happy to be able to make the trip to Wales to see a new part of the UK and visit the original home of the Griffiths!

Elijah's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Eli's first birthday at our house Friday afternoon with several of his close friends (and mine, too!).  It was a pretty typical birthday party, nothing fancy. 












First everyone had a snack. 





Then, the mommies had a nice chat while the babies played (it is so much harder keeping track of everyone now that all the little ones are mobile).   Eli had a great time crawling around from room to room and laughing with all of his little friends.









Then, we put on party hats,
sang the birthday song,
and had cake. 



Eli was very happy to see all of his friends and is very thankful for his new toys, books, and clothes.  It was very special to us to celebrate his birthday with you all.

 We plan to open gifts and cards that family and friends have sent from the states next week on his actual birthday.




Thanks to everyone that came to the party to help us celebrate and for everyone who is celebrating with us from afar during this special time for our family.  We appreciate all the sweet, thoughful gifts and birthday wishes.