Traveling with the Stanfords 2025

Friday 21st we moved to our next location in Santorini - the town on Oia which is on the northern tip of the island. Oia is known for spectacular views of the sunset, houses built into the cliffs, narrow cobble stone streets and the traditional white washed blue domed churches.  We spent several days wandering the streets taking photos, and also trying to avoid the most crowded areas. Not always easy, especially at sunset when the streets were full of people. We did apply our technique to handle busy areas - we found a cafe with great views and ate desert while the streets cleared of people! One evening we had a lovely time wandering around and getting some night shots of the town and also the moonlight on the caldera. Sunday 23rd was our last day in Santorini and we decided to splurge and take a sunset cruise. This was a highlight of our time on the island. We left mid afternoon and boarded a large catamaran with 14 other people. The boat left a marina on the s...

Sunday the 16th we took the morning train from Venazza, with a quick stop in Monterosso and then on to Milan. We were sitting on the platform in Monterosso congratulating ourselves on being early, and sitting exactly where our coach was expected to stop when we heard the announcement that the train to Milan was going to be on platform 2 in 5 minutes. This required a mass rush for everyone to go down and then up the 4 flights of stairs to get on the right platform. "This happens every day" the platform official said shaking his head! Note to self - time to buy smaller bags so we pack less! After an overnight stop in Milan we flew to Athens Greece on Monday 17th.  We had a free afternoon so after checking into the hotel we headed out for what should have been a delightful late & quiet sunset explore of the Parthenon. Unfortunately the area closes an hour earlier in September, and although we had our pre-purchased tickets in hand we were told to com...

After two busy days exploring the towns of Cinque Terre we decided to spend the day in Vernazza, avoiding the crowds and trains. Before 10am the town was fairly quiet, and it was nice to breakfast at one of the many small cafes. We explored the town and walked up the narrow alleys and stairs to the castle, which has some nice high views of the town and harbor. The stone stairs and constant up and down were hard work, so we rewarded ourselves with fish and chips for lunch and took a rest back in the apartment. Sara had a lovely time swimming off the harbor beach and along the shore which was being enjoyed by many people. For the evening we hiked up one of the trails and found a great spot to enjoy a picnic dinner while we waited for sunset and the chance to get more sunset shots of the harbor and town from a different angle. The path was pretty rocky and had a lot of stone steps, and we both marveled and how John is now able to walk after being restricted to a wheel chair last ...

On  Sunday, September 9th we headed out for our European adventure to Italy and Greece. Thirty six hours later, after two flights and three train rides and minimal sleep we arrived in Vernazza, one of the small towns in Cinque Terra, Italy. We've wanted to visit the area for a number of years as there are plenty of photo opportunities for John and lots of sea swimming for Sara (who grew up on the coast of England). Cinque Terra stands for "Five towns" an d is a string of five fishing villages high on the Italian Riviera. Until recently the only access was by train, water, or the footpaths along the top of the cliffs.  We had rented a small apartment for 6 nights in the town of Vernazza, and planned to use the train to explore each village, including finding the best spots for sunsets. Tuesday we got up fairly late and after breakfast headed out to explore. First stop was the town of Corniglia, which is perched high on top of a cliff. Along with the other train p...