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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

After leaving Holland, we sailed overnight to Traverse City, farther north on Lake Michigan. We then took a bus to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. While sand dunes are often associated with the desert, the wave action of the Great Lakes have resulted in sand dunes on the shores of Lake Michigan, Superior and Huron. Sand dunes are mounds of sand that have been blown by the wind. They often “land” when blocked by vegetation. In Michigan, the sand…

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Holland, Michigan

Holland, Michigan

From Chicago, we drove to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where we boarded our ship, the Le Champlain. The pictures in this section show the ship, our cabin, and the main (open air) lounge. Le Champlain, an expedition class ship, sails under the French flag. It can accommodate 184 guests. The next morning we arrived in Muskegon, Michigan and then travelled by bus to Holland. Holland was settled by Dutch immigrants in the 19th Century. Our first stop was Windmill Island Gardens that…

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Chicago

Chicago

We took Tauck’s Great Lakes Tour in the fall of 2019, the first time Tauck offered this tour. The tour began with two days in Chicago after which we traveled to Milwaukee to embark the ship. We have visited Chicago several times and wanted to see something within walking distance of our hotel where we hadn’t been before – and so chose Holy Name Cathedral. Holy Name Cathedral dates back to 1875, though it has undergone renovation, including restorative work…

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Malta – Mdina and Valletta

Malta – Mdina and Valletta

When I booked our Rome, Amalfi Coast, Sicily and Malta tour, I thought of Malta as a nice add-on, but wasn’t expecting anything much.  Malta ended up to be a nice surprise.  For such a small country, it has quite a history, some of which I will share here. Farmers initially settled Malta, as early as 5000 BC.  Over the years, Malta has been controlled by many different leaders, some (but not all) of which, include Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs,…

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Syracuse (Siracusa)

Syracuse (Siracusa)

Our last port of call in Sicily was Siracusa or Syracuse.  It has a 2,700 year history and was once a powerful city-state, one of the largest cities in the ancient world.  It was founded by Greeks but was also ruled by the Romans.  Because my husband is a retired physics teacher, I must mention that Syracuse was the birthplace of Archimedes.  He is famous for Archimedes’ Principle, which says that the buoyant force of an object placed in water…

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Taormina

Taormina

Our next port of call was Taormina, Sicily.  Taormina was founded by the Greeks in 358 BC but 300 years later it was under Roman rule.  It is on the eastern coast of Sicily on the Ionian Sea and close to Mt. Etna.  Part of our trip to Taormina took us through the Strait of Messina, lying between Sicily and mainland Italy.  This was the first night where we experienced some “rocking and rolling” aboard the ship – but it…

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Palermo and Monreale

Palermo and Monreale

Our next port of call was Palermo, Sicily.  We drove to Monreale to see the Cathedral of Monreale, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  As we looked at the exterior as seen in the first two pictures below, we would not have guessed the cathedral made the UNESCO list.  There are two bell towers on either side of the porch which seems plain with the exception of the inlaid marble.  The porch was added in the 18th Century.  When you enter…

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Segesta and Erice

Segesta and Erice

After leaving Stromboni, we made our way to Sicily where our first port of call was Trapani.  From there we drove to Segesta where we saw the remains of a Greek Temple.  Segesta was located on Mt. Barbaro which provided it with a defensible position and was also near the coast which was ideal for trading.  Segesta was founded by the Elymain people who inhabited western Sicily.  They were influenced by the Greeks, probably because Segesta was an important trading…

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Stromboli and Lipari

Stromboli and Lipari

Back on board the Le Ponant, the sails were raised for the first time on our cruise.  We had been at Tall Ships in Chicago and saw sails raised with ropes.  On the Le Ponant, this process was mechanical – but still a beautiful site!  When attending the briefing given by our tour directors, we learned that we would be passing the island of Stromboli overnight.  Stromboli is home to a “constantly active volcano” and I decided to set my…

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The Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast

After we left Herculaneum we drove to Naples where we boarded the Le Ponant.  It is a French ship and has three masts which can be used with the engine when there is wind.  We were two of the 53 passengers on board.  The cabins were small but efficient. The pictures below were taken as we left Naples and of the sunset our first night on board. The next morning we were anchored off the Amalfi coast and went ashore…

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