Cruise to the Mediterranean

Hi everyone!  Amanda, the kids, and I went on a cruise out of Rome recently, stopping in Turkey, Cyprus, Israel (2 days), Crete, and Naples (near Pompeii).  I posted some pictures on facebook, but here are some Boyd family specials.

Philip was overjoyed to be at a train station.  He has been looking sharp as every with some David Ermine Jr. clothing brand jacket.

We found a roman catholic mass on Crete.  They sang one English song, the Sactus and Our Father in Latin, so we were able to follow along a bit.  I butchered the songs in Greek as I tried to pronounce contemporary Greek with my limited education in Biblical Greek.

Philip and Amanda are trying to found out way through Pompeii.

This is a Roman road in Pompeii, covered for nearly 2000 years by 20 feet of ash.  It was very well-preserved, and one can see the ruts from chariot wheels that slowly wore down the stones.

Entrance to the amphitheater.  Tristan...Dan...want to try and translate this?

Amphitheater.

Philip and Amanda on a castle wall in Alanya, Turkey.  The horizontal space above was where a large piece of wood...would have been to hold the stones and mortar as they settled.  It has since rotted away.

Stella at the beach in Turkey.

A monastery in Cyprus.

Stella at n Amphitheater in Pafos, Cyprus.

Philip and I at the Jordan river.  This site is where some entrepreneurial Israelis have turned baptisms in the Jordan river into a ridiculously over-commercialized business, totally targeted for American evangelicals.

Jerusalem

At Golgotha.  Philip didn't make it to the 11th station.

Our last day in Rome, we had lunch with 5 of my classmates from ICAS in New Hampshire.  They are studying theology there, less than two years away from ordination.  It was a lot of fun and we shared a lot.  Too much detail to divulge here.  For those that are interested, we can talk on the phone.

Happy Birthday Eddie!

Our darling little Eddie has turned two.  Happy Birthday to the little joyful rascal that can always make us smile.