In 2005, September 28-October 13 saw us in Capri, Sorrento, Ravello, Amalfi and Positano. We first checked into the Weber Ambassador Hotel, which had coordinated our transfer from the airport to Capri. One day we had a delicious lunch at the Hotel Caesar Augustus, a five star hotel in Anacapri (reached after a spine-tingling bus ride from Capri). After a few days we transferred to the La Minerva hotel, which Kiyomi had fallen in love with on our bus tour of Italy many years ago. After one nice long walk along the Via Krupp, we had a nice pizza and an octopus salad, along with the local Nastro Azzuro beer for lunch at the restaurant Luigi's at the base of I Faraglioni. After lunch we continued our walk around on the Via Matermania, to the Matermania Grotto, and back to Capri town. The transition from a quiet, almost deserted scenic path high on a cliff along the coastline, to the hustle and bustle of Capri town amazed us.
Leaving Capri by jet boat to Sorrento, we took the bus along the Amalfi Coast road. The two-way road looks only wide enough for one-way traffic, but somehow the buses, trucks, taxis, bikes, pedestrians and autos manage to negotiate the thousand or so curves. We finally arrived in Amalfi, and then a short taxi ride took us to Ravello, where we walked the rest of the way up to the Villa Cimbrone, a beautiful hotel converted from a villa. We walked through the extensive and magnificent garden in the evening and the morning. We returned to Capri by boat, and checked into the Punta Tragara, a luxury hotel at the end of the charming and panoramic Via Tragara, at the Tragara Belvedere overlooking the famous I Faraglioni rocks. This was a wonderful setting to spend the last few days of our Capri visit. We hope to return someday.
In 2005, 2-22 April we took an Egypt and Jordan tour and cruise. I've wanted to see these countries for many years, but felt the security and safety were too risky. We finally decide to just do it. For the complete report, with many links to further information and references, click here. We were glad we took the tour, it exceeded our expectations, and was better than we imagined it could be. Some of the highlights wer the Egyptian Museum, the Great Pyramids & the Sphinx, Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, the Necropolis of Thebes (Valleys of the Kings and Queens) & Colossi of Memnon, the Temple of Horus, city and Temple of Kom Ombo, Aswan Old and High Dams, and the Temple of Philae. If that weren't enough, our post-trip to Jordan included two nights in the fabled red Nabatean City of Petra, the Kan Zaman Village, sightseeing in Amman, Citadel Hill, Madaba's famous mosaics, Mt. Nebo (known as Pisgah in the Bible), Mujib Valley (the Biblical Arnon Valley), Petra, a swim and mud bath in the Dead Sea, Jerash (with the world's best preserved and most complete Greco-Roman city), & Ajlun Castle. It was definitely a trip to remember.
In 2004, 1-20 August was our tour and cruise of France. Our stay in Blois (an old town on the Loire river) was enjoyable. We toured the old town (parts date back to Roman times), and had side trips to various chateaux in the neighborhood, dating from the 12th to 14th century. Catherine of Medici lived in one, Henry was assassinated in one, the dividing line between free and occupied France in WWII went through one. Then we spent four very enjoyable days in Paris, walking all over the city. Although it was August, the weather was pleasantly warm, with no rain. It was great to see the famous landmarks and sites. We didn't go into the Louvre this time, but walked through it's garden and neighborhood. We took a side trip to Giverny, home of the impressionist painter Monet. His home has been turned into a museum, and his garden and pond (with the famous water lilies) have been maintained pretty much as it was when he painted them. It was really beautiful when we were there, a sunny day, not too warm. He had an incredible collection of Japanese wood block prints - Kiyomi said better than many Japanese art galleries have. I really enjoy Hokusai prints, and there were dozens.
Our cruise ship, the MS Ravel, left from Chalon-sur-Saône, and stopped in Macon, continued on the Rhône river to Lyon, then In Tournon we had a home-cooked dinner with a local family who own the Saint-Joseph winery; needless to say, they shared some interesting wines with us. At Viviers, the gateway to Provence, of interest were the old houses with the red tile roofs - each topped with a satellite dish! We stopped by Avignon, city of Popes (until the Vatican was created in Italy), and famous for the bridge of song. Arles, where van Gogh painted some of his finest works, has extensive Roman ruins, and an excellent assortment of museums and art galleries. Leaving the ship, we traveled through Provence on our way to the Cote d'Azur, stopping in Aix-en-Provence, birthplace of Paul Cézanne. In Nice, our Hotel Plaza was in the Old Town, just blocks away from the beach and a fine assortment of cafes, coffee shops, pastry shops and restaurants. We visited the Matisse Museum, and were treated to a chronological display of his artistic development. It was fascinating to see the evolution of his style over time. A side trip to St. Paul was fascinating; it's a walled city given over to artists of all kinds. We saw many treasures, and enjoyed walking the cobbled clean streets with no motorized traffic.
In November 2003 we took a trip to Japan to attend our niece Shinobu-chan's wedding in Kobe, and also to attend a sibling family reunion (Kiyomi, her brother and sister, and their families) in Hakone near Mt. Fuji. We stayed at the Ashiwada Inn near Iga, located on a river that is famous for having 48 beautiful waterfalls. We visited Iga, home of the legendary Ninja village and museum. A highpoint was our visit to the Ise Shrine, one of the most revered of all Shinto shrines, dedicated to the founding Godess of Japan, Amaterasu Omikami. We stopped by Kumano Shrine, famous for having the world's largest Torii gate. We found time to see Miyajima Shrine on an island near Hiroshima, famous for the big red torii gate standing in the water (although when we were there, the tide was out). The whole island is a fascinating place to visit, with little shrines, pagoda, bell towers, restaurants, gift shops, nature trails, tame deer, and all sorts of other diversions. We saw the world's largest rice scoop, commemorating the invention of the rice scoop at Miyajima. Our reunion included a drive to the Fifth Station of Fuji-san, a return to where visited in 1971 while touring Japan.
In 2003, 12-22 June we visited Tahiti. We had fortunately chosen the best time of year to visit, their “winter”, when there is less rain and temperature's in the 80's. We had lovely weather the majority of the time; the rain happened at night or while we were at sea. The temperature was a warm mid to high 80's, quite comfortable with the shorts and sandals I wore, and the Hawaiian style clothes Kiyomi wore. We started and ended our cruise on the Tahitian Princess from Papeete, Tahiti. Our itinerary was Huahine. Rarotonga (Cook Islands), Raiatea, Bora Bora, and Moorea. Our main purpose was to relax in a tropical setting, and we really succeeded. We really enjoyed the ship's evening shows, especially the local performers, and music played by the Australian group Duo. I really liked to listen to their music, I wish I had bought their CD.
In 2003, 19 March-10 April we took a cruise to Australia and Southeast Asia from 19 March to 11 April on the Regal Princess. We started from Sydney, then cruised north. I snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, enjoying the various ocean scenery and life, something I've wanted to do for a long time. Then we visited a wildlife park in Darwin, where we saw all kinds of Australian animals.
We had excellent weather for the whole trip, the seas were so calm you could see reflections of the coast and clouds, and the skies clear the whole voyage. At night we could see lightning storms in the distance lighting up the sky and clouds in beautiful patterns, but we had only an occasional shower, quickly over. The temperature was in the 80's and 90's, and very humid.
We stopped by a Thai island named Ko Samui for a day (it was "atsui" (hot), not "samui" (cold)!). Apparently the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, The Beach, was filmed there. Then we finished the cruise in Bangkok.
We stayed at the Bangkok Grand Hyatt Hotel, a truly luxurious hotel. We visited the tourist spots for 3 days - the Royal Palace, Emerald Buddha, solid gold Buddha, Wat Po (home of hundreds of "rescued" Buddha statues), the Marble Temple, and the gem store (a king's ransom in precious jewellery for sale, where Kiyomi got a nice emerald earring/necklace set). We stopped by a 24-hour tailor, where I got two suits, 5 shirts and 3 ties as a package deal. (Kiyomi said it is about one-tenth the cost she would pay in the US.) We enjoyed the Thai food there, it was really good. The Hyatt had an excellent buffet lunch that we enjoyed daily.
We celebrated my father's 80th birthday with a Princess cruise to Alaska 15 - 22 Jun 2002. We started from Anchorage, went by bus through the Kenai peninsula, a beautiful national park, to the port at Seward. We stopped at Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and finished in Vancouver. Our glacier viewing was quite exciting, the glacier was calving every few minutes. Some of the more active relatives went kayaking, flying in helicopters, climbing on glaciers, and other vigorous activities. The more sedentary ones just relaxed on the ship, and took leisurely strolls when we stopped at the ports. Of course, the high point was the birthday party in the Crows Nest Lounge. Other exciting moments were Aya's dancing with our waiter at the Champagne Tower party, Alan puncturing himself with his crampons on the glacier, and the late-night dancing in the lounge.
This was my 60th birthday year, so we had a big party at the Carmel Mission Inn. We had a party game that required the relatives to try to remember trivia about Stan's and Kiyomi's past. The questions and answers sure brought back fond memories. Parties like this, with all the relatives getting together and having a good time, make getting old not quite so onerous.
Stan's own home page
Picture of Stan and Kiyomi in May, 1999, celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary in Italy. We took a 15 day bus tour "The Best of Italy and Sicily" to celebrate our 25 years together. We had a wonderful time, visiting the famous places: Rome, Pisa, Assisi, Florence, Venice, Naples, Palermo, Taormina and Mt. Etna, Sorrento, and the Isle of Capri. We took the advice not to drink the water - we had wine instead - and had no problems. The weather was beautiful for our whole trip, too. We have lots more pictures that we'd be glad to share.
I was particularly fascinated by the volcanoes, Etna and Vesuvius. They are entirely different from each other. Etna is like the Hawaiian volcanoes, that emit lava that flows slowly, giving everyone time to get out of its way. Vesuvius is like Mt. St. Helens, so when it erupts, it is suddenly and violently, sending a pyroclastic flow to broil and suffocate anyone in its path. We saw the town of Pompeii, where this happened 2000 years ago, killing thousands of people. Etna, on the other hand, has killed fewer people than the Matterhorn.
Kiyomi and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary in 2001 with a Renaissance cruise to Spain and Portugal, including Lisbon, Gibraltar, Tangiers, Casablanca, the Canary Islands, Cadiz, Malaga, Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona. It was very enjoyable, and we had nice (but cool and windy) weather the whole time. It was also interesting to see the places we read about in history books, where Columbus docked his ships and El Cid fought the Moors. Then there was the pre-history: Cadiz, the oldest inhabited city in the Western World. Phoenicians traded here 1,000 years before Christ. In the museum there were archeological finds dated to hundreds of thousands of years ago (talk about old!). If you're interested in a full report, click this link (for photos use the link above).
We're celebrating our 26th anniversary with a trip to Turkey and Greece in May 2000. The sights were incredible, and we got a whole new meaning to "new" and "old" -- anything since about 1750 is new, anything before 1 AD is old. Istanbul was fascinating, especially since we were instant millionaires. The currency conversion was 600,000 Lira per dollar! The city was really a mix of old, new and everything in between. It was a new experience to see mosques everywhere, but since the dominant religion is Muslim, it makes sense. The mosques were beautiful, and interestingly many were converted churches. When Constantinople was changed to Istanbul, the Muslims redecorated the churches as mosques.
Visiting the old ruins brought history alive. We saw where Paul gave his speeches to the Ephesians. We walked where Anthony and Cleopatra walked. We visited the marathon starting place. We viewed the site where the Athenians defended themselves against the Persians. All that History of Western Civilization came alive.
The Greek Islands were beautiful and picturesque, just like the picture postcards. We learned that Santorini may be the site of Atlantis, because the island was blown up by a volcanic eruption that probably destroyed civilization on neighboring islands, and left Santorini as a ring instead of a circle – its center was blown away, and just a caldera filled with the Mediterranean is left. Our stay in Athens was full of history. We walked around and through the Parthenon, visited the National Archaeological Museum , visited ancient Corinth, and walked around the city.
For those with an interest in Hutchings genealogy, I have some information; but I am also looking for information on my grandfather, Leonard Van Hutchings, who was (according to my grandmother Tessa Ellen Hutchings nee Riley) from Pretty Prairie, IL. I have no idea what his side of the family is like, or where. Someone named Ledford (or Leadford) on the Riley side (a cousin or something) was supposed to have ridden with Jesse James. I haven't been able to confirm that story.
For people who may be looking for me as an old friend, I have sort of an autobiography. Hopefully I don't have any old enemies looking for me! Anyway, if you think I may be the Stanley Hutchings you remember, see if our time/place lines intersect.
My favorite recipe, Bachelor Casserole, is now available online.