A Day in Florence, Italy

Florence like Pisa, is located in the historic Tuscan region of central Italy & was once home to many of the Renaissance writers & artists of the 15th century. On this trip we only had one day to roam the streets...hardly enough time to take in the rich culture & historic significance of the area. I pray that we return for another visit in the near future, but for now I share this small taste.


On the streets of Florence.

Santa Maria Cathedral was breath taking!

The climb & descent of the Duomo of Santa Maria Cathedral...quite the workout & NOT a place for the claustrophobic or those with a fear of heights!

Views around Florence from high atop the Duomo of Santa Maria Cathedral...built 1334-1463 & still the highest point in the city.

Finally, some pics of life in Cairo :)

Have not yet done any of the tourist stuff around Cairo, but this is what I do have. Promise to get some of the traditional tourist photos of Egypt for you all, soon :)

Walking to the Maadi Sports Club...Joshua's new favorite place to hang out.



At the pool. Smile Joshua, I just took the picture!



Dinner at TGI Firday's on the Nile with Thomas (my temp Co-Captain/fellow furloughee) on his last night in Cairo before returning home to Dallas. We'll all miss you Bud!


Then the Felucca Boat tour on the Nile.



Pics of Cairo at night, from the Nile.

Pisa, Italy

Gotta get going for the flight back to Cairo, but wanted to get these pics up real quick. Pisa is a beautiful city with way more history that we were able to take in on this trip. Good thing we are told that we will likely be here once a month.


This was a useless task, as many were finding out :)



Me & my First Officer, Anas Tawfik.



Around Pisa.





Cathedral Santa Maria Assunta

A Couple Day to Roam Around Beirut, Lebanon

When I first heard that we were going to Beirut for the weekend, I thought like many Americans may have...Beirut, isn't that a war zone? Well, maybe in the 1980's it was, but modern day Beirut is a fast remodeling city with much to see & do & we just scratched the surface on this trip by walking around some of the downtown area. From the look of things, this city will be quite full of more things to do & more fancy places to stay within the next 5-10 years, as construction was going on everywhere downtown.
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The snow covered Jebel Liban mountain range to the north & east of downtown Beirut.




The fabulous view of the Mediterranean Sea from the top floor restaurant of our hotel in Beirut.




Here is the view of the Mediterranean Sea, just across the street from my second floor hotel room.




Ah, the streets of Beirut…mixed with ancient ruins, modern ruins & many modern developments & high rise buildings like one would see around Europe or America.








Downtown Beirut at night.




My Co-Captain, Thomas & myself at this little outdoor cafe for supper, on the streets of Beirut.

A Few Days in Milan, Italy

My Co-Captain Thomas (fellow furloughee) & I have decided that of all the places we've visited thus far on this journey, Italy is our favorite. The people are friendly, the scenery is GREAT & the food is EXCELLENT! Sounds like we will be in Italy a lot & short of missing our families while we are away, the time n Italy is definitely a high point. Here are a load of pics from our time in Milan last week.




Here are a some of the mountains in northern Italy, between Pisa & Milan. Milan lies just south of the Alps & Switzerland, for those that are unfamiliar.




This fort was way too big for my camera.



The BMW solution to an all-season scooter. Saw a lot of these around town.



That is one BIG set of double doors!



This little girl was certainly a good sport for all the picture that were being taken of her. I'm sure that after all this, she found out what statues likely know to be true...birds aren't the cleanest creatures out there :)










Quite the network of wiring for all the trolley cars & even busses that run on electricity.