A Little Portuguesa

The next stop on the european tour....Sintra, Portugal. We settled down in an authentic 18th century house for a month. We did so much...surfing, climbing, and exploring a beautiful old part of Portugal.

Perhaps what made this part of our trip so special was the company. Todd spent a week with us. Between the surfing, climbing, and playing with Suresh...I think we wore him out. Thanks Uncle Todd!!

And of course, Grandma and Grandpa were there too. We enjoyed some fantastic family time in some of the most beautiful settings. Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa!!

A Few Days in Rome

We had a few days to waste between Greece and Portugal. Where do you go when all of Europe is right there? The decision was tough but we agreed upon Rome and it was absolutely amazing!!

We discovered the bus tour of Rome. If you know Suresh's love for buses then you would understand how truly perfect this was. We road all around for three days, seeing the sights and eating gelato.

When the city got to be too much, we took a train to a village. There we visited the castle where Tom Cruise was married! Well, actually it was closed but we walked around it and had a gorgeous picnic of proscuitto, bread and cheese!

This is Suresh gone wild in an urban Roman fountain...his favorite part of the Rome trip. Luckily I packed dry shorts!

The sights and sounds of Rome were amazing....not to mention the gelato and pasta! We will be back. Next stop.....Portugal!

Next Stop, Kalymnos !!!

After two weeks on the sailboat we found terra firma on the island of Kalymnos. There we met up with Todd and Libby, and Meghan. Kalymnos happens to be home to not only stupendous rock climbing but also sponges !!

We spent a week rock climbing on some of the most amazing crags. Suresh hiked up there every day by himself. He was easily entertained by hours of race tracks!

In between car racing, Suresh insisted on climbing. He climbed high enough to make us both impressed and pretty nervous! (Note the friendly goat in the background)

He is almost as serious as me when I climb! Just look at that focus!

In truth, we think he just climbed high to be able to swing better on the way down! It was our first family climbing holiday. Thanks to a little help from our friends...we pulled it off!

Exploring the Greek Islands

Our adventure to Greece was not all waves and wind. We anchored in some amazing places and saw some amazing things. In the end, we explored 7 of the Dodecanese islands. This is the top of a very old chapel on top of a castle on Astypalia.

The castles in Greece are very old and very rustic. They were the kind of places that conjure up images of pirates and moors. There is Suresh catching some air time outside the castle.

Our favorite island was Astypalia. Oddly enough, the guide book didn't recommend it! Suresh and I are navigating the winding streets leading to the castle on top.

Many of the islands had not only castles but also the remains of old windmills. They sat prominently on ridges and hilltops ready to catch the "meltemi" which is Greek for "really strong and scary mediterranean wind"!