Kathleen Smith's Blog

Ephesus! It’s Ancient, It’s Biblical and Amazing to Walk Around

For years, my husband and I have wanted to visit Ephesus. Every time we would watch a documentary on it or something on the History Channel, my eyes would be glued to the screen. And all I could think was that I would love to visit that place. They would always talk about the wall from the library that somehow still stands. So many places from this ancient city are gone, but somehow this wall is still up. And then there is the Biblical aspect to Ephesus, the city that Paul went to many times to talk to these imperfect people about Jesus.

In July, we went on a Mediterranean Cruise for our 31st wedding anniversary, and one of the excursions was to Ephesus. That one excursion is the only reason why we went on this cruise. It was at the end of our cruise and worth the wait. Our ship docked in Kusadasi and from there we took a bus to Ephesus. I don’t think the ride was anymore then 30 minutes. I can’t explain to you how excited I was to finally see Ephesus, one of the many cities that are written in the Bible. I have read the book of Ephesians many times over the years and each time I’ve read it I’ve wondered what it looked like back then when Paul was teaching people about Jesus and wondering what it looks like today.

While we walked on this tour of Ephesus our guide was explaining to us how they are excavating the ancient city still. There are some many things they have found and it was truly amazing to walk around what they have already found. We got to walk through ancient homes called the terrace houses. The architecture is beautiful that they have found. It’s all amazing to see. And we got to see the stadium where Paul wanted to talk to the people even though he knew they wanted to kill him. I absolutley love walking around ruins and when it comes to Biblical ruins I’m even more curious.

Not to long ago I was remind about all the bad stuff that happened way back when in the ancient city of Ephesus and I was reminded that you can not sanitize the Bible. I was reminded of the prostitutes, the violence, and many other bad things. What a lot of people seem to forget though is that there is also grace, and forgiveness and love and redemption and those are just a few of the reasons why Paul was in Ephesus to remind the people of way back when. If I could have spent more time exploring that ancient Biblical city of Ephesus I would have. I think if I could have sat on those stones for a while and listened to the book of Ephesians on my phone I would have. I also think there would have been a good chance that I would have cried, which is not a bad thing.

So yeah, Ephesus is an ancient Biblical city that had a lot of bad things going on in it, but at the same time that’s why Paul was there to tell the people about Jesus and his redeeming love and how they could come to know him. I’m sure some of them believed what Paul had to say and I know there were also a lot of people who got mad at Paul for teaching them about Jesus. But you know the same is still true today. Some people are willing to believe and some people only want to hate. It’s always either or.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleens Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel

The Ark Encounter: It’s Huge, It’s Amazing and You Should Go See It

My husband asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday this year. After giving it some thought, I asked if we could go to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. We hadn’t been to it as of yet, and it’s something we have both wanted to go see for a couple of years now. So my husband booked the airline tickets with Delta and got our tickets for the Ark and the Creation Museum. I honestly had no idea what to expect. All I knew was it was a life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark, and I’ve been super curious as to what it would look like on the inside. You know, how many levels would be in it? Where would all the animals go? So on and so forth.

When we walked up to the first floor, the first thing we saw was where all the different types of birds would have been, and we got to see how they would have been fed and watered. It hadn’t occurred to me that there would be that many different birds way back then. I also noticed there were a lot of tall clay pots, which I assume would have been for food, feed, and water. Again, it never occurred to me how much water and feed Noah and his family would need for all of the different animals.

As we slowly walked up to the next level, we saw all the different Dinosaurs. We saw all types of animals. We saw two bears, which always excites me. The Ark Encounter also has a couple of life-like robotic figures with information. It was cool to press a button, and the figures would answer questions. At the very top level of this Ark, you walk through what would have been Noah’s family’s living quarters. They are all nicely done. And you see one of the wives preparing food for the family to eat. There is lots and lots of information for you to read about the ark and the different creatures that were on it, as well as where Noah’s sons went after they got off the Ark. When I took a really good look at this Ark Encounter from one end to the other, I realized how long and deep it was. A person could get a good walk in on that Ark, which makes me wonder if Noah and his family took a lot of walks on that Ark. I could also see how much work needed to be put into taking care of all of those animals.

I would highly recommend visiting the Ark Encounter. If you believe in God and the Bible, then this is a good place to learn more about how Noah built the Ark and how his family took care of so many animals and each other. If you don’t believe in God and think Noah’s Ark is just a cute story, I still think you should go and visit the Ark Encounter for yourself. I think it will change your perspective on God, the Bible, Noah, and his family, all that needed to be done to make the real Ark, and what it took to take care of so many creatures during a flood that lasted 40 days and 40 nights.

If seeing really is believing, then I would recommend you go.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleens Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel

I Have a New Found Appreciation For Sculptors

“We’re going to a sculpting class when we go to Athens, Greece”. This is what my husband told me a couple of weeks before our trip to Greece. I gave him a weird look and said, “A sculpting class? Yeah, sure, why not?” This wouldn’t be the first time my husband came up with something strange for us to do while we are on vacation, and it’s not the first time I’ve agreed to it either. I usually end up having fun and learning something new, but this was new and nerve-wracking. It turned out the class was with four other people I didn’t know, which made it more nerve-wracking.

This class was taught by two Greek brothers who work as sculptors. Their work is absolutely beautiful. They did a good job of explaining their technique and how they go about starting each project. There is way more to sculpting than I could have ever imagined. You know it’s not like what I’ve seen in the movies, where there is a guy with his chisel, chiseling away. It’s way more complex than that, and they start with a photo that is given to them of what the family or company, or whoever, wants the sculptor to create. Then they make a clay model. After they explained everything to us,they showed us the different sculptures that they have already made, all of which were amazing to look at.

When they were done explaining, they gave us each a little square marble that had leaves and olives drawn in pencil for us to chisel ourselves. Just so you know, it was already seriously hot, I was sweating, and on top of that, I was super nervous about doing this. So I would like to tell you that I did a good job, but, eh. They gave us all plastic glasses to cover our eyes, but I couldn’t see well with them because of my bifocals, so I was struggling. Towards the end, one of the brothers told me I didn’t have to use protective glasses. I took them off, which made seeing easier, but my arms were still shaking. I think if it wasn’t so hot and I wasn’t so nervous, with a lot more time, I would have done better.

When all is said and done, I had a great time despite the heat and nerves. The two brothers did a great job showing us everything. They were both good teachers and very sweet to tell me my square looked good, even when I knew it was just okay. I would highly recommend doing this class with these brothers. They know what they are doing. They are very nice to chat with. Their sculptures are beautiful to look at, and I hope to see them both again one day. If you would like to check out their work and book a class with them, you can go to www.greek-sculptor.eu, Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/5975701

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleens Korner, and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel

Bamburgh Castle Was Amazing to Visit aka Bebbanburg

Picture this: my husband and I are at home one night, sitting together. He was on his laptop planning our trip to Ireland, Edinburgh, Scotland, and the North coastline of England in Northumberland. He was figuring out what castles we could visit along the coastline while I was watching a documentary about castles in England on the History channel. The entire time we are doing this, we are also looking at our Castle app to see which castle is in the app and what might need to be added. And then all of a sudden this documentary talks about Bamburgh Castle, I become intrigued and ask if we can go to that particular castle. He takes a look at his “map” and says, “Yes, it’s on my route”. I got very excited. Little did I know.

We finally arrive in England. We are driving along on the highway. We stop at different places while we are using our Playground App and Castle App. We find some playgrounds and castle ruins. We are enjoying the sights of Northumberland while we are working our way towards Bamburgh Castle. We finally get to this Castle literally five minutes before the last entry and make it inside. Oh, by the way, you need to pay to get into the castle, and it’s worth every pound.

Anyway, we started our tour, we walked around the first room, and I was amused because the man who made the model of the castle had the same name as my husband. We somewhat quickly made our way through Bamburgh Castle. I was totally fascinated with every room I walked into. And then we entered the grand hall, and I saw this huge poster of The Last Kingdom, and I became even more intrigued. I was staring at it, and I asked my husband what that was all about. He explained to me that it’s a TV show. Apparently, we tried to watch it when it first came out, but I couldn’t get past the first episode. I told him we needed to give it a second chance when we got back home.

That’s exactly what we did. We watched all five seasons and the movie. That show really got to my emotions. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me happy. It annoyed me. It had cheering for the main character Uhtred. It also made me feel sad for him. And the end of the movie The Last Kingdom Seven Kings Must Die I was crying like a baby. Don’t know why it got to my emotions so much, but it did. One of the cool things about the show is when they are riding on the horses through the gate in York. My husband pointed out to me that, that gate is still there. Infact we ate at a restaurant right inside that gate while we were visiting York. So to see that Gate and realize that it’s still there was pretty cool.

Another thing that cool thing about the show and the movie is the Bamburgh Castle itself. I believe they used part of the castle for the show and I know they used it at the end of the movie. I’m not quite sure if Uhtrech is real or not. I did watch a show on the History Channel suggesting that he was and that Bamburgh Castle really was his at one point in history. What I do know is I enjoyed watching The Last Kingdom so much that we are watching it again for the second time. I also know that I want to go back to Bamburgh Castle and spend more time there exploring it. I also know that I am now kicking myself for not buying one of their teddy bears with a sweater on it when I had the chance. I am looking forward to going back to Bamburgh Castle one day with husband. Sooner rather then later would be nice, but realistically I know it’s going to be awhile. I guess in the mean time I will keep watching The Last Kingdom and wishing I was at Bamburgh Castle.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleens Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel

The York, England Train Museum Has Some Seriously Old Trains

I have tickets to the National Railway Museum in York for our vacation! This is what my husband told me a couple of weeks ago before we went away. The man was quite excited about these tickets too. I, on the other hand, was like Oh, yeah, tickets to a train museum. I was less than thrilled about going to a train museum before we went on our vacation, but I figured it would be ok. There will be lots of other things to look forward to on our trip so I went with it.

The day we had tickets for the train museum, we also had a walking tour. I wasn’t sure how we were going to do both, but that day, we did it. We went on the walking tour that morning. It went longer than expected, and we missed our appointment at the train museum. I did feel bad about it, so I told my husband, let’s just go anyway and see if we can get in. You know, if we can’t, we can’t, but at least try, especially since I knew how much he was looking forward to it. So we got to the train museum and explained our situation, and the guy behind the desk was very nice about it. He looked at our tickets and let us in.

I have to say I was actually amazed at all the different old trains they had. There wasn’t a huge amount, but I was impressed with what they had. We were able to walk around all of them, and I was surprised at how tall they were. You will notice what I mean by the above picture. Also, when I say we were able to walk around them, that is literally what we did. The trains, for some reason, were put in a circle. Some of the trains were rounded. Some were square. Some were somewhat colorful. Some, not so much. We did get to walk through one or two of them. I was surprised at how far in style trains have come since they were first made.

All in all, I’m actually glad I went to this train museum in York, England. It was surprisingly interesting. It’s a place I would love to take my grandchildren to one day. And I do have to say it was cool to be able to be so close to the wheels of the trains. Seeing how big they are and being able to touch them was pretty cool. Would I recommend this train museum? Yes, I would, especially if you have kids and if you love trains. It was definitely a good pick by my husband.

Kathleen Smith is the author of multiple memoirs. These memoirs include miscarriages, City life vs Country life, and losing her mom to cancer. You can find all of her books on her Amazon Author’s Page. She enjoys blogging about different places she has been to. Her podcast, KathleensKorner, shares details of different places she’s been to, things she has tried, fears she has faced, and whatever is on her mind. Kathleen is also the CEO of BearsWithApps. Our apps include The Playground App and many educational apps, along with fun apps for kids. She also has her own YouTube channel.

York, Not New York, but Old York in England

I love learning about history! I remember when I was in school history was my favorite subject. I loved learning about how America and other countries worked. At one point I was learning about New York State history and I found the early days of my state to be interesting. I didn’t realize Manhattan was an island until that course. In that course, I also learned that Manhattan was once called New Amsterdam until The Duke of York wanted to buy it and then named it after himself and that is how it became New York along with all five boroughs and Upstate.

And with that little bit of history that you may or may not have known, I have always wondered what York, England looked like. Obviously, it wasn’t going to look anything like New York, but still, I wanted to see what it looked like as my state was named after it. This is something that I have wanted to do for years now. Last week my husband and I were finally able to take a trip to York, England. It is a beautiful old city surrounded by ancient walls. And it has its own Abbey Ruin which made it even more enjoyable to walk around and take in the scenery.

While in York we stayed at the Guy Fawkes Inn. In all honesty, I’ve heard the name before, but really had no idea who this guy was until recently. Basically, he tried to blow up their parliament, got caught, and got his punishment, and the people of England love to celebrate that. The Inn we stayed at is possibly where he lived. I don’t know if that is true or not, but I can tell you that, that Inn is a very, very old place and it shows.

We did enjoy walking up and down the old streets of York even though it was cold. There are lots of different stores to go in and wander around, like one of my favorites Ecco. There is a chocolate store where you can get drinkable milk chocolate in a tiny dark chocolate cup which is difficult to eat. I did manage a couple of bites, but it was too rich for me to eat the entire thing. There are also a bunch of restaurants to eat at which apparently for most of them if you don’t have a reservation good luck on getting in. We did enjoy breakfast at one of those restaurants though. It was nice and warm and cozy to sit in considering it was raining that particular morning.

I can’t forget about the Shambles area of old York. That street is packed day or night. The stores there were purposely built to be so close to each other on the top part, which I think makes it the most unique set of buildings I’ve ever seen. That street is also where that chocolate store is I mentioned in the paragraph above. I honestly don’t know if we got to explore all of old York since we were only there for two days, but what I did see I enjoyed. I think I would like to go back there again one day. I would probably want to stay in a different hotel, but other than that I definitely enjoyed visiting Old York finally.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleens Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel

My First Christmas Without My Parents, It Hurts

I love Christmas! Christmas is my favorite holiday. It always has been and probably always will be. Growing up I loved spending time with my parents and my relatives. I loved going Christmas shopping with my parents and I loved spending Christmas Eve with my dad’s family and Christmas Day with my mom’s family. After I got married I loved when my parents drove to Upstate, NY to spend Christmas with me, my husband, our kids, and my husband’s family. It was always a fun-filled time for me. Sadly though as the years went by I had to learn to live with the sadness of losing grandparents and aunts and uncles in between the joys of the Christmas celebration.

Ten years ago was my first Christmas without my mom. As much as I was enjoying the time with my husband and our children and the holiday traditions we had as a family there was a part of me missing my mom. Yes, I was thankful my dad was still with us to celebrate Christmas, but I knew he was feeling the pain of losing my mom too. We had our moments of crying and remembering my mom in between the joys of celebrating with family.

This Christmas is my first Christmas without both of my parents. My dad passed away in March leaving me to celebrate Christmas for the first time without both of my parents. How am I doing? Well, I’m having fun Christmas shopping with my husband for our children and grandchildren. We had fun putting our Christmas tree up and I put our lights up. I mailed out our Christmas cards and wrapped presents, but in between all of that, yeah I’m missing my parents. I am remembering Christmases past. I’m remembering the joys and laughter, but I’m sad. I’m so sad. I wish my parents were still with me. I miss them more than words can say. Yes, I’m thankful I still have my husband, our children, and our grandchildren, but I really miss my parents.

So if you are reading the blog and your parents are still with you, would you do me a favor and hug them? I know they would appreciate it. If your parents aren’t here anymore to celebrate Christmas, then I am truly sorry and I hope you can remember them as fondly as I can remember mine. And if there is someone who you know who might need a hug this Christmas can you give them one because even though Christmas is a time of joy and celebrating Christ’s birth, when you lose a loved one, in my case my parents, sometimes it’s hard to put a smile on your face. Sometimes you just need a few minutes to grieve in between the joy.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleens Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel

Venice My Least Favorite among Italy’s Amazing Cities

I’m told blogs are supposed to sound positive even if you’ve had a negative experience somewhere. I don’t know who made up that “rule”, but I will try to be somewhat positive on this blog about Venice even though in all honestly it truly was my least favorite place to visit so far in Italy.

Venice is a city in Italy that is built on islands so you get around on small water canals. To be fair Venice also has small bridges you can walk over to get from one little part of the city to another. Going there really wasn’t on my list of places in Italy that I wanted to visit because of the canals, but I knew my husband wanted to go so I finally agreed. Let me start out with what I did find positive about this part of Italy and then we will go with the negatives.

The biggest positive was the beautiful hotel we stayed at for our 30th Wedding Anniversary. (Hotel Ca’ Bonfadini) This hotel used to be a palace and looked beautiful on the inside. We were given a seriously nice room and my husband surprised me with some chocolate-covered strawberries he ordered from the hotel to be in our room. Everything about that room was welcoming. The food in Venice was also good. We did a tour of one of the old prisons. I think I might have been a little dehydrated because I was dizzy the entire time. We did stop in one of the little piazzas and went into a Church where an artist was showing his clay figures from the time Jesus was born until his resurrection. I did think that was very cool to see. We also did a lot of walking in Venice.

The negative for me was the bridges you need to walk over to get from one little town to the next. They aren’t the easiest things to go over. There are a lot of steps to go up and down. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t so hot that day. I really didn’t like those water canals. We took one water taxi back to our hotel which was okay, but for me, that boat was too close to the water. And we paid way too much for that taxi. Then there are the gondolas. I bit the bullet on that and decided to face a fear. We spent the money on a gondola ride and I was terrified the entire time. This is my gondola ride short if you would like to watch it and maybe get a laugh.

Overall I just wasn’t a fan of Venice, its water canals, its walking bridges, and getting lost trying to figure out where we were and ending up at a dead end that left you near yet another water canal.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleen’s Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel

Florence (Firenze) My Second Favorite Old City in Italy

Florence or Firenze as it’s called in Italy is my second favorite old city in Italy. My favorite is Naples, but today’s blog is about Florence. In July my husband and I went to Florence (Firenze) for our anniversary/vacation. This was our second trip there. I love the old city feel when we walk around this city. The first time we went was a couple of years ago and we didn’t get to spend much time there. We basically did a walking tour, walked around some, and visited one Church.

This time my husband and I stayed at a beautiful Airbnb next to the Duomo (The big main cathedral). This Airbnb looked and felt like it belonged in the 16th century around the time of the Medici family. It was great to see the Duomo every morning when we left that building and every evening when we got back. It was seriously hot the week we were there, but we loved walking around the old buildings, taking in the scenery, eating delicious food, and of course, having gelato. There was also one market after another that we walked through. It’s amazing how many pocketbooks, sweaters, and t-shirts those market stalls can hold, but be careful because when you stop to look for one second they will try to sell you their items. I did buy a pocketbook while in Florence, but not at one of those stalls, I bought it at a store named VALE in Florence.

My biggest reason for wanting to go back to Florence though wasn’t for the food or the markets. My biggest reason was because of the Medici Family. I am totally fascinated by the Medici. This is the Italian Florentine family that started the banking system that we know today. They were a very powerful family that some people liked and others hated. They had multiple castles which I finally got to walk through on our last trip to Florence (Firenze). I loved looking for their family crest when we walked around Florence. Whenever I saw the above-ground walkways they made to get from one building to another, I would point it out to my husband. We also got to see Cosimo the first’s tomb.

The Duomo that is in Florence, which people love to visit and take pictures of including me, that is the same Church that the Medici went to all those centuries ago. That is the same Church they would pray in as many like to do today. That is also where the plan to kill the Medici took place and one of the brothers was stabbed to death. Very sad, but true. There is a lot of history in Florence and a lot of it has to do with the Medici family, their rise to fame, and their downfalls, betrayals, and eventual deaths. If you have never seen it I would recommend watching The Medici on Netflix or where ever you can watch it. It would explain a lot about their family. Sadly their family no longer exists. They wanted so badly to have a legacy, but they unfortunately forgot about the biggest legacy you can leave, your family.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleen’s Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel

Returning to Disney’s Magic Kingdom After All These Years

Disney World Magic Kingdom, 1977, I was six going on seven that year. In fact, Disney’s Magic Kingdom was a surprise birthday present for me from my two great-aunts. That Summer I was daddy’s little girl and I can remember wanting to hold his hand everywhere we walked and I wanted to sit next to him on all the rides we went on. I honestly don’t remember much from that trip. I remember we stayed at a hotel. I remember going on the ride It’s A Small World.

I remember standing in the very front at the electric parade and getting to see everything. Every once in a while my mom would ask me if I was okay from behind me, and after that, my mind draws a blank when it comes to Magic Kingdom. I know we also went to SeaWorld. I recently got to see silent home videos from SeaWorld, it reminded me of watching the show with Batman and all of them.

47 years later, Disney World Magic Kingdom, 2024 I returned to Disney’s Magic Kingdom with my husband who has never been to Disney. We went on as many rides as we could. We did A LOT of walking. We ate at The Beast’s Castle. We did go on the ride It’s a Small World for nostalgia’s sake. That is a seriously slow ride and I almost cried thinking about my dad. I don’t know that I can say I had a favorite ride at Disney. I can tell you I very much enjoyed the Hall of Presidents and I thought the Philhar-Magic was cute.

We stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter resort and we also used the Disney dining package. Often we shared a “quick service meal” as we don’t eat much between the two of us, such as the foot-long hot dog and fries at Casey’s on Main Street. We did the Beast’s Castle dinner and I enjoyed seeing the beast, but the food was not particularly to my liking and the level of service was not what we had experienced in the past at up-scale restaurants. A highlight of the day was to see the fireworks show in the Magic Kingdom. They were cool to see.

So would I go back to Disney? Not for a very long time. It was ok, but Disney is seriously overpriced on everything, which is one of the reasons why my husband and I shared the food we bought. I wanted to buy T-shirts for my grandkids until I saw the prices and decided not to do that as well. I did compromise though and I bought a Mickey Mouse for the grandkids to share when they come over to my house. We did buy a mug and Christmas ornament to add to our collection, but even those were overpriced. Here’s the thing, I’ve had the chance to visit places like Ireland, Italy, and France, so after you’ve been to other Countries Disney World can’t compare (sorry). I think Disney would probably be more fun with my grandkids in a couple of years, but I will need to make sure I have A LOT of money saved by then.

Kathleen Smith is the author of Miscarriages: My Journey From Heartache to Healing, and other books. Blogs about a variety of things. Her podcast is Kathleen’s Korner and she is the CEO of BearsWithApps. OH, let’s not forget her YouTube channel