Mark Halliday Travel Log:Europe: Naples and Syracuse

EUROPE:

LONDON, BRUSSELS, SOUTHERN ITALY

JULY-AUGUST 1997

By mid-July I headed back to Europe, first stopping in London to visit Howard Golden.

It was fun to walk around London again, much more modern than I remembered.

I saw Ben Kingsley in "Waiting for Godot" at the Old Vic theatre.

Taking the Chunnel train to Brussels, I attended a conference of scientists who measure the earth's gravity tides.

A field trip to a cave near Luxembourg showed how gravimeters are used by scientists.

Along the way we visited this castle.

Luxembourg was a surprise;

this small country has great fortified walls all around it.

A meeting in Switzerland helped to finalize plans for

an airborne gravity survey of the French Alps in 1998.

Continuing by train and ferry to Sicily.

I enjoyed two nights in the ancient city of Syracuse.

Syracuse Church Facade

Burial Site of St. John

Returning by sea from Sicily to Naples, the boat passed through the Aeolian islands.

First stop was the beautiful village of Lipari. But there were NO rooms on the island, so I had to take the next boat out!

The fast hydrofoil

back to Naples

Stromboli, the most active volcano in Europe.

I then visited a customer in Naples using gravity meters to study volcanoes.

I was ready to return North, but a train wreck near Rome stopped all trains in Italy for more than a day!

This gave me a chance to visit Pompeii.

The site was bigger than I expected.

Man killed by flowing hot ash during eruption of Mt. Vesuvias

Chariot Tracks in Old Roman roadway

I visited Diana,a friend from Austin,

living near Venice for the summer.

She showed me how in Italy

you cover your pizza with green leaves!

I then took the train to Switzerland

and caught a flight home to Texas.