The Journey Begins

The Second Time Around Tour

It has been four years since our first trip around 

the world, The Last Hurrah Tour.  I guess in those

years we decided it was not the Last Hurrah because

here we go again.  The two pair of siblings have set

out to circumnavigate the globe again in the Second

Time Around Tour.  After a busy few months of work,

planning, graduation, wrapping up our lives so we 

could go off for a few months and driving halfway

across the country on the same day you have watched 

your child graduate from college (yup, we're nuts), it 

was finally time to hit the road.  Our first stop was

London, though it was only a short layover at Heathrow.

But we did have time for a cuppa.

And then it was on to Prague.  We think of this

stop as a bit of a homecoming for us.  Our Grandfather

left Czechoslovakia when he came to the United States

as a young man.  We believe he left from Brataslava 

which is now in Slovakia but at the time he left it was

still Czechoslovakia and we embrace this country as

part of our heritage.

We have rented an apartment and this is the view from

our street looking toward the Charles Bridge.

It was a bit rainy and overcast but we were ready 

to explore.  Prague is a beautiful city, it was not 

damaged during World War II, a rarity since so 

many European cities were bombed into rubble.

Since the city survived, it means we can enjoy the 

beautiful Baroque, Rococo and Art Nouveau 

architecture.

I kept getting separated from the group because I was

always lagging behind taking photos.  There were so

many little treasures to discover.

I love the colors and textures all around me.

So many things to inspire my creative spirit.

Look at the colors in this piece.

In every doorway, above every window is a new

delight to be discovered.

Another great use of color, it is so nice to see

the vibrantly colored buildings.  I tire of seeing

the limestone buildings that have turned an ugly 

black due to pollution in so many European cities.

This is the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town

Square.  You can watch the twelve apostles appear

every hour ~ I look forward to it.

I peeked into a doorway...

...and found this beautiful mosaic ceiling.

Then it was time to go down a lonely alley to 

find a little cafe off the tourist path and have

a lovely little dinner.

We were all fading fast after dinner and headed

toward home but stopped to take a stroll across

the Charles Bridge.

And a peek at the castle we will explore tomorrow.

Then it was time to head home and crash.

A great first day.