Travel is one of the most inspiring of human activities.  It literally allows us to remove ourselves from the ordinary and to experience the extraordinary.  Travel makes the world a smaller, more connected place and allows for the exchanges of great ideas.  Everyone should make the effort from time to time.  We took 3 weeks this past October to explore/re-explore Italy, Greece and Turkey.  Anyone with an appreciation for art, architecture and human ingenuity will find themselves impressed time and again by this region.  From the Greek contribution of open air theaters and storied colonades to the Roman arches and aqueduct systems and Turkey's Byzantine style of architecture with its rich use of ornamental domes, colorful mosaics, and lavish decorations, our current architectural and engineering feats will always be built upon the foundation of these  initial artistic engineering marvels.