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Greenfield Village

Greenfield Village

Greenfield Village is the “outside museum” of “The Henry Ford.” Perhaps the best way to describe Greenfield Village is as Henry Ford’s collection of buildings – representing his heroes; his personal history; and the craft, industries, and homes that he felt both characterized the past and established a blueprint for the future. The Henry Ford Official Guidebook The picture above the title is a home typical of those on plantations. This one belonged to Henry J. Carroll, owner of the…

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Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

After leaving Mackinac Island, we spent the next day and night traveling down Lake Huron. We arrived in the Port of Detroit early the next morning. We saw beautiful views of the harbor, an incredible sunrise, and the Ambassador Bridge which connects Detroit to Windsor, Canada. Our shore excursion would take us to The Henry Ford in Dearborn. On the way, we stopped outside the Detroit Tigers baseball stadium where we saw statues of tigers, the team’s mascot. Henry Ford…

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Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island

After leaving Traverse City, our ship sailed to the most northern part of Lake Michigan and crossed into Lake Huron. Our next destination would be Mackinac Island. As we sailed, we saw the Mackinac Bridge, a five-mile long suspension bridge connecting the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. Mackinac Island is a tourist’s delight! Most of the four plus square mile island is part of Mackinac Island State Park and the entire area is a National Historic Landmark. Motorized vehicles…

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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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