Bill and Rusty Bergman

Hello again from Bill and Rusty!

It is hard to believe that another year has flown by.

Rusty and I continue to enjoy our travels as traveling has become a large part of our retirement activities. Of course, even in retirement, working has also remained a steady factor.

In March we traveled to Fort Lauderdale to start our Spring Cruise with our cruising friends, with whom we try to travel every year. That 10 day cruise was back to the Caribbean with several new ports of call for us. They were Saint Kitts and Dominica. We still enjoy our days at sea relaxing around the spa pool. The food was also excellent.

The big cruise trip this year was a 13 day cruise in the Mediterranean. This was the second time we sailed that magnificent sea. We started by flying to Barcelona Spain where we stayed several days prior to the cruise departure. This trip we sailed with friends from South Carolina that we met on the last cruise to the Med. They are great people and good traveling companions. Barcelona is a wonderful city; beautiful, exciting and full of wonderful architecture….fun to walk around and safe as well. We got our overview of Barcelona by riding the “Hop on-Hop off” tour bus; it is a super way to do that.

We departed on Rusty’s birthday and traveled to Villefranche, where we took a tour to Monaco and Monte Carlo. I did get in the casino but did not gamble. We saw the church where Princess Grace was married and is buried. Then off to Livorno where our tour was to a Tuscany vineyard for lunch and wine tasting. A gorgeous area and a great tour. From there we cruised to Citicavecchia, which is the port serving Rome. We acted as tour guides and took our friends into Rome by train and back. It is about an hour trip each way.

Once in Rome we walked to the Spanish Steps and Trevi fountain, having lunch at the Bergman family favorite restaurant in Rome: “L’Archetto.” Rusty enjoyed shopping for purses. From Citicavecchia, we sailed to Piraeus Greece for a quick tour to the Acropolis in Athens. Beautiful! From there to Kusadasi Turkey where we took a tour to Ephesus, a marvelous ancient Roman City. Next was Santorini Greece which was our favorite stop on this cruise. Stunning and beautiful blue roofed white washed buildings everywhere. Very colorful.

We enjoyed a great bottle of wine with a view overlooking the harbor. From there we sailed back to Naples where we toured Herculaneum, another victim of the volcano Vesuvius. This town was buried in mud rather than ash and therefore was exceptionally well preserved. From Naples we cruised back to Barcelona for the flight home. A GREAT cruise.

Later that summer we traveled West by car to visit Bryan, Leigh, Anna and Theo going by way of several new places to visit in the US. We went to Galena, Illinois to start, a cute little town. Then on to Sioux Falls which has a great Falls River Park to see. From there we visited the Corn Palace and then off to Wall, SD where we stopped at Wall Drug, a nationally known drug store. From there it was a short trip to see Mount Rushmore, a wonderful place. We did the Needles Highway circuit and the towns of Deadwood and XXX. Then on to see Devils Tower in Wyoming, finally arriving in Boulder, where we stayed for 12 days. This visit allowed Bryan and Leigh to go to Iceland for a short vacation.

We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving, gathering together all three grandchildren, Holly, Tom, Leigh and Bryan at Bryan’s home in Boulder, the first Thanksgiving together for many, many years. That was a most memorable Thanksgiving with much to be thankful for!

We have committed to our next adventure: a 23 day land tour of Australia and New Zealand, leaving March 8th, 2011; but more on that next newsletter. Our love and best wishes for continued health and happiness to all the Bergman families.




Bill and Rusty