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Galapagos Islands, Santa Cruz, Lunch at Angermeyer Point. We took the panga to the restarant. Yum! Nice views from the table, too. Kids make music with the crystal glasses. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Rabida, Hawk and frigates in flight. Hawk's wings curve one way at the tip, frigate's wings curve the other. Great footage of hawk landing on cactus. jpmeyer.com

Galaagos Islands, Quito Basicalla video and the Winged Virgin of Quito. Our tour guide Santiago (scs@uio.satnet.net) describes the replacement of traditional gargoyles with dolphins, iguanas and other local animal figures. Most of our group shows on video! jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito at 6:AM and an amazing breakfast buffet. From our lovely room at the Swissotel, Quito. Also a beautiful breakfast buffet at the Cafe Quito in the Swissotel. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Rabida, John's slideshow of Rabida (Jervis) Island jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Rabida, Kathy's slideshow of Rabida (Jervis) jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Rabida, Island survey from the ship. Our daily briefing. Overview of the island from the ship, with it's orange sand beach. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Rabida, Walking on orange sand. Orange sand beach wet landing with sea lions. Weird consistency, but beautiful. Impressive cacti along the foot path and jagged shoreline. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Rabida, Departure and sunset. Mary Ann silhouetted in the sunset. Sebastian pilots the panga, Edwin gives the "Arrrgh's" jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Rabida, Green and orange vistas. Just looking around at the wonderful scenery. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos islands, Quito, Roses in the lobby of the Swissotel, and the beginning of our tour of Quito. Apparently roses grow beautifully on the equator! Our tour of Quito began at a very scenic overlook. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito, On the way to Quito video. We landed at LaGuardia in some heavy fog. Whitestone Bridge, Central Park and the West Side of Manhattan, and landing at LaGuardia airport.

Galapagos Islands, Quito, Napping kids; dinner with sunset ABOVE the clouds. This day went on forever, and the kids did great, as they always do. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito, Kathy's slideshow of Quito and the Mary Ann. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito, John's slideshow of Quito and the Mary Ann jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito, The hustle and bustle of the central square of Quito. Wow, that was a LOT of gold. Oops, the video was on for a few seconds inside the church. Santiago said the "no photography" rule has more to do with "no *flash* photography"; no flash was used in the accidental acquisition of this footage. And yes, if it looks like gold, it is 24k gold. Everywhere. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito, Independence Square. The hustle and bustle of the central square of Quito. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito, House converted to restaurant. This used to be someone's home! Again, most of our group shows here. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito, Grenadiers in front of the Presidential Palace. Plus one more pan view of Independence Square. jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Quito, First Church in Quito, plus the Winged Virgin Statue with impressive city views. If a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth a thousand pictures, it's still impossible to describe that statue or the views from atop it's hill. Most impressive. jpmeyer.com

Well, that was quick! Our Perillo Tours Familia spent more time traveling to and from the Leaning Tower of Pisa than we did visiting the Tower. We would not have missed it, but again, it would have been nice to have the time to climb to the top. At the end of this segment, you can see more of the mile after mile of nurseries on the side of the road as we drive back to Florence. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast. Sorrento's five star Hotel La Pace, probably the second nicest hotel our Perillo Tours Familia stayed at during our tour of Italy. More views of the beautiful lobby. Then, after sitting in the bus all day on our drive from Florence, the kids needed to stretch their legs a bit. Here is presented our Relay Races, footage only parents will appreciate (and probably only the parents of the children involved). We had a good time! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast beginning our drive. Here we stop outside Positano, where our hired taxi driver/tour guide (also named Tony, like our main Perillo Tours guide) gives us a local person's perspective. Tony knew which turnouts on the drive had the best views of the Amalfi Coast. He also knew which turnouts might contain the previous evening's alcoholic and post-coital refuse (inappropriate for our G-rated crowd). Tony was good! Besides being very informative, his accent was just a pleasure to listen to. Sorry the end of the tape came so suddenly, but this five minute segment gives you a good idea of what it's like to drive on Italy's famous Amalfi Coast. We had fun! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Florence, the Medici Pitti Palace. Our Perillo Tours Familia thought this must be a statue of a VERY important Medici because, in the City of David, not many people could warrant a statue with a physique like that. Wikipedia says " Across the Arno is the huge Pitti Palace containing part of the Medici family's former private collection. In addition to the Medici collection, the palace's galleries contain a large number of Renaissance works, including several by Raphael and Titian as well as a large collection of modern art, costumes, carriages, and porcelain. " Our Perillo Tours Familia exits the Medici Pitti Palace, and finally this segment ends with a night time panoramic view of Florence from right outside this evening's restaurant. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Florence. Street violinist could have been a concert violinist for our Perillo Tours Familia. A view of Florence's bell tower, trying to exclude the construction crane from the frame. Ponte Vecchio bridge from afar, and then views right from the middle of the bridge. The Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge in Florence to survive World War II intact, according to Wikipedia. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Florence. Dancing at "The Vulture's" Ristorante. Mark, a man who didn't choose to dance at his own wedding, performs his rendition of "Dancing with Cement Shoes." This performance is trumped by the other tour group at the restaurant, who truly demonstrate arrhythmic dance moves. Fortunately, Nancy's husband Vern makes our Perillo Tours Familia proud with moves that would make Glenn Miller smile. The kids wonder "Is this really what adults do for fun?" YMCA, and "Twist"-ing which looked more like "Break"-ing. But all in good fun at Pizzeria Ristorante Falciani. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Our Perillo Tours Familia each took lots of pictures of this magnificent cathedral. Hopefully this presentation will be an entertaining rendition for you. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Florence. First impressions are not so good on the first night. It's difficult to leave the serenity of Venice for the traffic of Florence! But by the second day we warmed up to Florence. After a nice walk from the hotel, our Perillo Tours Familia saw the eight foot naked giant David. No video allowed, of course. We did get video demonstrating that finding a parking spot, even for a motorcycle, was difficult! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast town of Ravello, where we spent too little time but had a fantastic lunch at Trattoria Cumpa Cosimo Ravello, which we dubbed "Mama Ravello's Restaurant." A platter full of unbelievable food was served! This was the second best meal we had in Italy, after those yummy clams we had in Venice. It was clear that the restaurants we stumbled across in Italy, based on local people's recommendations, were far superior to any of the restaurants Perillo Tours arranged for us. Too bad. After lunch, one more look around the mist-shrouded villas on the hillside of Ravello. It's easy to imagine how utterly enticing this place must be in the summer, in the sunshine. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Positano, Amalfi Coast. There's no incorrect path to choose, just not enough time to explore all the choices. More of the fragrant flowers. A picturesque seaside church. Perillo Tours should add another night to the Sorrento portion of the trip, so that we can explore the Isle of Capri and the Amalfi Coast of Italy. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast, approaching the town of Amalfi. The Perillo Tours bus would not have fit thru these two tunnels. We go past a statue dedicated to the guy who supposedly invented the compass. Tony said that Flavio Gioia invented the compass, but a check on Google for "compass inventor" indicates that the compass was invented in China some 200 years BC. Whatever; here's Amalfi's statue to the Italian inventor of the compass. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast in miniature, again. Our Perillo Tours Familia would really have enjoyed this. This setup was even more stunning than the previous one, complete with boats on water and mini trees. Simply stunning, inspiring the comment "You've got to be kidding me!" Then, more amazing scenery. To say we had fun would be an understatement! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Positano, Amalfi Coast. In this selection, we see 'the hotel' where part of the movie "Under a Tuscan Sun" was shot. (One of those buildings!) We're on our way to the town of Amalfi, passing one stunning photo op after another. Hopefully, the rest of our Perillo Tours Familia had as much fun in their tour of the Isle of Capri. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast. Sorrento's evening meal was another sub-par dinner in a stunning setting. It's easy to see why Perillo Tours would like the looks of this place, which we dubbed "The Greenhouse". The setting and landscaping were gorgeous. As for the meal: unfortunately, we have never sent back so many merely "picked at" plates. All the lush greenery outside would be worth a look during the daytime. We thought the cafeteria-style seating could have been broken up nicely by bringing some plants inside, and thus compartmentalizing sections of the dining room floor. That might also have allowed the waiters some centralized kiosks for retrieval of necessities and deposit for used items. Those poor guys had to walk an eighth of a mile to get us a glass of water! jpmeyer.com PerilloTours.com

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast leaving Sorrento in the front seat of the Perillo Tours bus. The perspective fails in the camera, but keep in mind that we're barreling down these tiny streets in a 48 passenger bus. Towards the end of this segment, we're treated to a demonstration of how Tony talks with his hands, plus how 2 adults and an infant fit in a "truck" no bigger than a golf cart, and finally, Mount Vesuvius across the bay of Naples. We're on our way to Pompeii! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Positano, Amalfi Coast. Perillo Tours guide book did not indicate the bonus sense of satisfaction gained in successfully converting currency! There's nothing diagnostic about Positano in this selection, but it was part of our experience in Italy. It was worth recording this method of entering and exiting a bank: one at a time. No quick getaways here! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast, walking around Amalfi. Perillo Tours ought to make walking around the town square of Amalfi a requirement towards a complete trip to Northern Italy. It's a street, it's a square, it's a sidewalk, it's an open air mall: Amalfi's town square all blends together into something fun and unique. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Walking around Positano, on Italy's famous Amalfi Coast, was one of the most subtle and sublime events of our trip. Perillo Tours ought to make this experience mandatory. One charming shop after another followed delightful discoveries at every turn. One section of this offering is a long, uninterrupted stretch of video, just to give you a feel for Positano. You can only imagine the fragrance of the delicate flowers. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Positano, on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. This location was high on our list of things to see in Italy. Our Perillo Tours optional trip to the Isle of Capri was a bit expensive for the six of us, but even if it was included, we would still have opted for our trip to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Tony the Taxicab driver / Tourguide negotiated some wonderful seasonings for us; a small dash of bruschetta on your tongue tasted like a pizza exploded in your mouth. Very tasty! Then Tony easily negotiated a "two way street", a passage barely big enough to be considered a sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast via Naples, from the bus. Lots of hanging laundry! Seaport of Naples. The "Sand Castle" building. Clearly, Naples would have been worth much more time than just a quick drive-thru on the way to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Naples shipyard shows in the last segment of this video, as Tony our Perillo Tours guide gives lots of great details. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast in miniature outside Positano. The Perillo Tours bus would not fit down these curvy roads, but Tony's cab allowed us to stop at unexpected surprises. At various locations along the Amalfi Coast, there are charming and unique "mini Amalfi Coast" displays. This particular display "would make a great place to set up Army guys" according to Sebastian. In Positano, we stop at a delightful restaurant / library / art gallery where we were given a complimentary espresso even though we just stopped so the kids could use the rest room. If their food is anywhere near as good as their decor, this place is certainly worth the trip. Next time you're in Positano, Italy, visit Max, the Ristorante / Art Gallery / Wine Bar. www.RistoranteMax.it. jpmeyer.com PerilloTours.com

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast. Our first beautiful views of Sorrento, Italy. Most of our Perillo Tours Familia does the 'camera salute' again, like in Venice. A much nicer hotel room at the Hotel La Pace, and a nice zoom lens view back on to the road we just traveled on our drive to Sorrento from Naples. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast. Our Perillo Tours Familia group picture! We've got David to thank for the actual picture, but here's the 20 second documentary: "The Making of our Perillo Tours Familia Group Picture!" Then, let's eat! After dinner, the kid's legs still needed more stretching after that long bus ride from Florence. They lead us on a walk which seemed mostly to be in the dark. It didn't seem so dark in person when we were looking at the empty (?) Hotel La Pace pool, further proof that the camera does not see what the eye sees. Frankly, this 60 seconds could have been edited out, but it's fun for us to try to figure out what we were doing just based on the audio cues. We had fun! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Amalfi Coast introduction to Sorrento. At the time this video was obtained, our Perillo Tours Familia thought these hillside towns looked amazing. Little did we know that there were much more amazing sites to com! "If you get nervous about our cliffside drive, do like our driver Lorenzo does, just close your eyes!" LOL! All footage is from the bus, so it's not National Geographic quality, but you get the feel for the place. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Florence to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, bus passages. This was the LONG drive from Florence to Sorrento, passing Rome and one photo op after another. Our Perillo Tours Familia tried to take photos of all the beautiful 'picture perfect' Italian hillside towns, but the bus just kept on rolling. Why were those towns built on top of hills? Well, Tony said is was to defend against barbarians: it's easier to throw stones down, instead of up! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Florence, the Medici Palace. Approaching the Medici Palace from the street, and walking the grounds. Our Perillo Tours Familia is given a fantastic view of the city of Florence from the top of the Medici Palace grounds. Florence's Medici Palace, also known as the Pitti Palace, seemed most real of all the palatial estates we have visited. Not completely over-the-top gold leaf everywhere, not every blade of grass meticulously manicured. It seemed most real, like the Medici's could actually still be living there; perhaps they were away on business somewhere. It was therefore easier to get in the turn-of-the-eighteenth-century mood of the place. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Florence. The Arno River, on our way to the famous Ponte Vecchio, or "The Old Bridge" famous for the multitude of shops built upon it's edges. What other tidbits did our Perillo Tours Familia pick up? Some went to the Uffizi museum, one of several world-class museums in Florence. There was no shortage of anything but time. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Italy travel: Pisa. First, the gauntlet of vendors. There were a LOT of vendors. Then, our Perillo Tours Familia has it's first glance at the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

The Bapistry and the Church of Pisa, and the famous bell tower, known the world over as "The Leaning Tower of Pisa." All the usual touristy videos. Insufficient time to climb the tower, which is one item Perillo Tours must change in their itinerary. There were a lot of tourists holding up or pushing down the Leaning Tower of Pisa. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!

Well, that was quick! Our Perillo Tours Familia spent more time traveling to and from the Leaning Tower of Pisa than we did visiting the Tower. We would not have missed it, but again, it would have been nice to have the time to climb to the top. At the end of this segment, you can see more of the mile after mile of nurseries on the side of the road as we drive back to Florence. (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Italy travel tours with Perillo Tours, www.PerilloTours.com Real People having Real Fun!