Butler Family Travels

The French Riviera is really all that it’s chalked up to be. ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!! Turquoise waters, long promenades, fast, sexy cars, ungodly-sized yachts, windy scenic roads, wonderful chateaus tucked everywhere, flower markets, Frenchmen effortlessly climbing huge hills on road bikes, immaculately clean, sunshine, dramatic ocean views, and happy people eating gelato and crepes. And then […]

Things can change so quickly and I love it. Sitting in the lobby of a wonderful, 820 year old Hotel Duomo in snowy Siena, we decide to skip the Alps (for now) and fly to England. The cheapest and only reasonable option out of Milan (where we drop Jolyn off in 5 days) is a […]

Better than we expected, even though it was a total tourist trap. More people were in the most twisted positions posing and taking pictures than we have ever seen anywhere. Quite entertaining and the best part – we joined in the goofy fun. Yes, Jeb and Levi even paid to climb that old leaning tower. […]

Just a few photos:

Jolyn joined us for our Italy and South France portion of the trip and it was a blast having her. Here are some pics from Siena, Italy.

Don’t: Get lost driving around at night (It wastes a lot of time!) Trip on the black cobble-stoned streets (especially in front of cute Italian boys). Cry when you see the Sistine Chapel. Get run over by a moped or a smart car (Pedestrians are 2nd class!) Bother asking for directions. Drop your tiny gelato […]

Born in a lagoon 1,500 years ago as a refuge from barbarians, Venice is Europe’s best preserved Middle-Ages city. It is laced together by 400 bridges and 2,000 alleys. ( There are NO cars.) In the Middle-Ages, the Venetians became Europe’s clever middlemen for East-West trade and created a trading and shipping empire. The seat […]

It is interesting how the tour books suggest that one should travel to modern countries first and ease themselves into the 3rd world. The culture shock could kill you. The Butlers are finding that the best way to do it is start in super cheap, and underdeveloped places like Thailand and then ease ourselves into […]

Not much to say except that we hope you have a great day with the people you love. We took these photos today while we wandered around – relaxing. Happy Valentine’s Day!

We made it all the way around. We’re back in Athens in time for our flight and it’s a lucky thing too. Greece is split into north and south and the farmers all live smack dab across the middle. When they decide to go on strike, they block ALL the roads between the two until […]