2 Girls in the World

catch you on the flip side

2012-01-02T02:10:00.002-05:00

Over these past couple of weeks of traveling around Southeast Asia, I’ve found myself taking photos for future “daily(ish)” pictures and making Jules wait to eat until I’ve snapped a pic of her food each meal. I still find myself writing little posts in my head as leave this sight or that, making mental notes on what I thought about it so I could later share it with you. Old habits are hard to break, but after much thought, I’ve decided this is the end of the story. At least this particular one.

I’ve been writing for over 4 years about our lives. It has been amazing to share it all with our loved ones back home and new friends, some we’ve never even met. It has been a labor of love and sometimes just a labor. For those of you who blog, you know what I mean. I am thankful to have these memories recorded and to have shared them with you.

I can’t begin to sum up these past few years. When I think about how they are ending in just under 12 hours, I am overcome with emotions. I have said it before and I’ll say it again- it is time. We both feel it and we both know within the depths of our bones that we will miss traveling, but our next adventure is at home.

I want to end all of this by answering the question we get most. It is the question that almost every single person in our lives and those we meet asks…

“What is the most amazing/awesome/favorite/incredible thing you’ve seen?”

I’ve been unsuccessfully working on a collection of short stories about our travels. I always need a bit of perspective about things before I can write about them or at least that’s my excuse for not having gotten very far.

I’m going to share with you a very short excerpt from what will be the final chapter in my book. Yes, I realize working on the final chapter before even finishing the first one is a little odd, but hey, you should know I’m not that conventional by now. Anyway, it answers that question.

…

Each time I try to focus on what it is exactly that we have come away with from all this, my mind swirls around and around, but ultimately lands on the same thing- an overwhelmingly deep appreciation for human kindness.

Human kindness has allowed us to see the world. It is the one thing that I have found in every single corner of the globe. Without fail.

When I say human kindness has allowed us to see the world, I mean it in the most literal sense. Living in places foreign to you, where you don’t know the culture, don’t know the language- you find yourself completely reliant on the kindness of strangers.

The guy behind the wheel of the taxi takes you where you need to go. Eventually, anyway.

A waiter smiles and helps you decipher the menu and points you to the best dishes.

People on the street see your look of complete confusion and help you find your way.

The tour guide shares his culture, his people’s history and takes a thousand and two photos of you along the way.

The cashier at the store helps you count out coins on the counter to pay the correct amount.

People you’ve known for just a few weeks listening, sharing your joys and your sad times, filling in as family when yours is so far away.

Strangers overhear your conversation and suggest a better way, a better sight to see, a cheaper way to get there.

The receptionist at the doctor’s office laughs and puts you as ease as you both struggle to fill out the paperwork.

People all over the world have granted us patience, have lent us their hand and have helped us in a million ways. Without them, without their kindness, we would have never seen all we’ve seen, never experienced all we have or enjoyed it as much as we did.

We are different. We speak different languages. We wear different clothes. We eat different foods. We listen to different music. We worships different versions of God. We value different things. We live different lives.

Yet, we are all human. Even if our stripes are different, we recognize ourselves in one another and we honor that innate drive to take care of our own.

It has been a humbling experience to be on the receiving end of so much kindness. It is truly the most awe-inspiring thing we have seen in this world. By far.

…

Thank you for reading, for humoring me and for being such a big part of all this.

xoxo,

MAV

the daily(ish)

2011-12-31T04:53:00.000-05:00

I was blessed with the opportunity to cross off two more things from my Life List during these last few days of 2011…

#100- See Angkor Wat…

and

#101- Spend a day with an elephant in Chiang Mai, Thailand…

Both were just as amazing as I had hoped that would be. 2011 was truly a great year.

I’m really looking forward to what 2012 has in store for us, obviously a lot less travel, but I’m sure a whole lot of wonderful as well.

May you all have a healthy, peaceful and joyful New Year.

xoxo,

MAV

the daily(ish)

2011-12-30T04:24:00.000-05:00

We missed Christmas at home this year. It was a decision that really weighed heavily on us because we’ve never missed a Christmas before and we really miss our family and friends. It was tough being away from loved ones, it is for a lot of the holidays we miss during the year. The good part was knowing that this would be the very last holiday away from them since we’re moving home in just a few days.

Christmas wasn’t too Christmas-y for us. We traveled most of the day on Christmas Eve and thanks to a couple of delayed flights, we missed out on what was going to be a fairly traditional Christmas meal. We spent Christmas day on a tour, we didn’t exchange presents and we ate Thai for dinner that night. We did sit up singing carols to each other, laughing at how many we didn’t actually know the words to and watching snippets of Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special on my phone.

I’d say the most Christmas-y thing we did do was buy a teddy bear in Siem Reap from our hotel…

The bears were to be given to children in a local hospital and all the proceeds donated to their care. I was so happy to see how many bears had been purchased by guests before us. The real spirit of Christmas, of giving to those less fortunate and doing what you can to make someone else’s day a little brighter- that’s really my favorite part of the holiday anyway.

the daily(ish)

2011-12-29T05:45:00.001-05:00

I was able to cross off a few Life List items in China...

#40- Eat and swallow a piece of Durian

It was cooked and I still want to try it raw, but I liked it. It tasted like an onion.

#107- See rice terraces

Saw them!

#56- Eat a soup dumpling in Shanghai.

Check!

BTW- Wasn’t that good, but I also just picked it up from a random vendor instead of the famous place because the queue was crazy long and it was freezing outside. Julie said she liked it though…

the daily(ish)

2011-12-28T04:41:00.000-05:00

I may have been on a first name basis with the owner of a pearl store in Shanghai…

I’ll miss you, Sara!!

the daily(ish)

2011-12-27T09:46:00.000-05:00

If we lived somewhere really cold I would have totally bought one of these little hot water bottle muffs…

I borrowed this one from a hostess stationed outside at a Xiantiandi restaurant. Of course, I would get one with a panda.

the daily(ish)

2011-12-26T05:35:00.000-05:00

I never got around to posting about our cooking classes in Shanghai. Better late than never, huh?

Click the pic to read all about it…

the daily(ish)

2011-12-25T05:29:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone near and far a very merry Christmas! I hope Santa and his precious reindeer brought you everything on your list!!

the daily(ish)

2011-12-23T05:26:00.000-05:00

Shanghai really has some incredible buildings. Architecture in Asia is just insanely modern. This was my favorite building…

Not the craziest design, but I just loved it!

the daily(ish)

2011-12-22T05:17:00.000-05:00

I think we were the last hotel in Shanghai to get a Christmas tree. The night we came home and they were finally decorating the bare tree that had been up for 3 days I decided to help them out…

They didn’t really want my help and I didn’t really care.

the daily(ish)

2011-12-21T05:20:00.000-05:00

I finally got it up! Click the pic to read all about our night market food challenge!!

Contemplating the seahorse…

the daily(ish)

2011-12-20T05:14:00.000-05:00

Aw, we did have some fun in Shanghai…

Yes, that is the Ching Dynasty guy behind us. He was hard to shake.

the daily(ish)

2011-12-19T03:51:00.000-05:00

This is some of the singing from Beijing’s Temple of Heaven park that I mentioned before…

I think it is absolutely awesome that all these people meet to sing each weekend. Who wants to start this in Piedmont with me??

flashback friday

2011-12-16T05:17:00.001-05:00

As I have mentioned before, this time in China is our last round on the road. Although the Wife has yet to leave the department, we are scheduled to be in Atlanta the 1st round of next year and during that time we’ll both be finding jobs. In Atlanta.

I don’t know how three years have already passed. With everything we’ve done and everything we’ve seen, I still don’t feel like it’s been more a few months that we’ve been gone, maybe a year, tops.

Yet, here we are on our last day of our last round on the road. I’m honestly in disbelief. I think it’s because we’ve got a bit of travel ahead of us before our feet touch Georgia clay. And hey, until Jules finds another job we will probably have a couple of weekend trips in Atlanta.

The adventure isn’t quite over yet.

Nor will it ever really be, I suppose. We will slow down, of course. It will seem a snail’s pace in comparison to these past three years, but we will never lose our wanderlust. Our desire to see the world has only gotten stronger as we’ve colored in our map. Our list of places we want to see is actually much longer than it has ever been in our lives. The more of the world you see, the more you realize how much more is left unexplored.

Today we’re flashing back to my first post on the road, in India, January 2009. It seems like yesterday, but it also sounds like another person wrote it. Mainly, I’m struck by how spoiled I now am. I’ve never once stopped being grateful for this opportunity. I thank God every single day for this blessing. What I’m talking about is being spoiled, not ungrateful. Like, how much I appreciated the hotel’s beauty, when now I barely register lobbies. Of course, I had no idea then that India would offer a level of service we would never encounter again. I just seemed to really take in every detail of everything- the flight, the hotel, the airport for God’s sake.

This post makes me hopeful that once we’re settled again and take normal vacations like normal people that I’ll regain the ability to really appreciate all the little bits of luxury and service you get when you travel. I’ll marvel at chandeliers and pools and the days of this all being my “everyday” will feel like a dream. Which is exactly what it has been.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

first impressions

I bid a bittersweet farewell to the midtown skyline as our plane taxied into the take-off line yesterday. Saying goodbye to our nearest and dearest was much harder than I had imagined. Fortunately, the heaviness I felt in my heart got easier and easier to ignore as the anticipation for what lay ahead grew stronger.

19 ½ hours proved to be as tiring as expected. The flight to Paris left much to be desired. I am always amazed at how dismal accommodations are with Delta. Domestic flights are usually short enough to overlook them but 8 hours in coach to Paris was pretty trying. The layover in Paris was nondescript saving the overly friendly woman with security who seemed to enjoy her pat-down duties just a bit too much for my liking.

The flight from Paris to New Delhi was far more pleasant. I find European Airlines to be so much more comfortable, have more amenities and by far more accommodating and pleasant staff. Air France was no exception and with a slight upgrade to the 2nd level of the 747 we found ourselves each with an entire row to ourselves to stretch out and get some much needed sleep. As the plane started its dissent into Delhi I was overwhelmed with curiosity.

Luckily, my expectations of the Delhi airport were well off-base. Although it is far from modern, I found it to be quite easy to navigate and fairly clean. Our line through customs was a bit long but ordinary and baggage claim was a breeze. Dare I think my lost baggage curse is over?

So far all the warnings of initial shocks; smells, crowds, waiting…India had yet to even make my heart skip a beat…the most discomfort we encountered was the heat and the humidity in the airport, but even it was no worse than some in Mexico.

Our drivers were waiting just outside baggage claim and it was as we stepped into the night that I had my first case of “India shock”. I had read much about the pollution in Delhi but I could never have prepared myself physically for the shear thickness of the air. The smoke and dust were so overwhelming (even in the car with the air conditioning running) that I found it difficult to imagine that this air wouldn’t kill me, much less keep me alive for the next 7 weeks. After a quick 15 minute ride from the airport (only once was I nervous and that was when all lane lines disappeared and it seemed a free-for-all was going to ensue) we arrived at The Trident.

In one word….breathtaking. As we got out of the car we were greeted by numerous people and given business card after business card but in truth I found it difficult to pay attention. With each turn of the head my eyes were filled with grandeur…from the enormous reflective pool at the entrance (above photo) to the 30 foot glass doors that opened into the stark white lobby capped high above with an impressive gold dome…it was a welcome to this country I couldn’t have imagined. Our room, is of course beautiful and each staff member we’ve encountered could not be more accommodating and pleasant. As I lie here in the sunny spring-like weather next to the enchanting pool listening to the sound of the flowing water of the infinity feature encircling above (even the air seems a bit lighter) I cannot imagine being more comfortable and relaxed... the two emotions I felt sure I would be running low on in this country.

They say India is a country full of the unexpected…with just 12 hours under my belt I have found this to be true in a most delightful way.

the daily(ish)

2011-12-16T04:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, this guy was beyond awesome…

Not only did he want to dance with us nonstop all night, but he also showed us a photo of the last emperor from the Ching dynasty and claimed to be his descendant. I think. He did show us the picture on his Ipad and honestly, he looked just like him.

Each time I looked over at Jules she had his eye makeup smeared on her face. He was a hoot, although he kinda freaked me out when he was dancing with me doing the sign of the cross saying “Hallelujah! Praise God I want to go to heaven!”

Oh Asia, I will miss you.

the daily(ish)

2011-12-15T03:58:00.000-05:00

We went to this pearl museum (read: place to be pressured into buying pearls) one weekend and the guy demonstrated taking a pearl from its little oyster home…

I guess I expected the pearl to be sitting pretty on top of a pink little tongue like in the cartoons, but that thing was really deep inside the meat. I’m going to be very careful the next time I’m eating a dozen raw!

just 2 more days

2011-12-15T03:42:00.001-05:00

Can we talk? Obviously, by that I mean- can I type and you read? You could comment and then I could comment back and it would almost be like a conversation, but I think we’ve established a couple of things over the past 3 years- a. most of you don’t like to comment and b. I don’t have any problem blabbing on and on with or without responses. It works for both of us, no?

I feel like I’ve been treading water on here for a while now. I post the daily picture, I edit the weekend photos and give you the story and we go down memory lane on Fridays, but it’s been a while since I’ve shared my actual thoughts on here, so I thought it was about time to remedy that. Especially since I’m doing more thinking than I’d like to these days.

We’re just 2 days away from the end of the round. Let me rephrase that- we’re just 2 days away from the end of the last round we’re traveling. 2 days away from the end of this so-called life.

We’ve officially been assigned to Atlanta round 1 of next year. We had requested it so the Wife can actively pursue job opportunities. I'll be doing the same. She’s ready to move on from this job; I’m more than ready to have a job.

On top of the whole “find a job” thing we’ll both have going on at the beginning of the new year, we’ve also got to tackle the all the minor and major aspects of rebuilding our lives in Atlanta.

Yes, we’re moving back to a city we know and back to friends and family, but if we’re being honest, we’ve got a lot of relationship rebuilding to do. Life has gone on without us over the past 3 years and we’re coming home to a lot of changes. Families have formed, babies have grown into toddlers, toddlers into kids, more babies are on the way, relationships have shifted and changed and we’re going to need to adjust to all of these things in one fell swoop. Even with seeing everyone a couple of times a year, it’s still weird for me to think about how much change we’re coming home to- it’s almost like we’ve been asleep for 3 years and will wake up to find everything the same, but also very, very different.

We’re going to need to buy cars, find a new house (or even more daunting/exciting build a new one), buy furniture, decide on our future in a million different ways and God help us, unpack all the things we left behind and all the things we’ve picked up along the way.

I’m excited. I’m scared. I’m up at night running through mountainous to-do lists in my head all while refusing to acknowledge this chapter is actually coming to an end.

I’m also trying to decide what I’m going to do with this here blog. I started it a year before we left. That’s 4 years of documenting our lives. I did it to stay connected, to share our experiences, to preserve our memories of this incredible time in our lives. I think it did all those things and I’m really very happy to have had the outlet through it all. To feel that connection of sharing with loved ones and new friends has really meant a lot to me.

I’m just not sure where this story ends. Is it now? Is it after our home leave vacation? Does it continue through our readjustment period back home? Right now, I’m just not sure. Which is kind of our stock answer for every question that gets thrown at us or that we throw at ourselves these day.

I know these one-sided convos have worked well for us in the past, but I may need some actual input on this one…

the daily(ish)

2011-12-14T03:51:00.000-05:00

I will never, never, never stop loving or stop laughing hysterically at these instructional posters in bathrooms. This one may be the best yet…

I wish I could steal one to frame in our guest bathroom!

the daily(ish)

2011-12-13T03:44:00.000-05:00

They had a speech from ol’ W printed on a wall at the DMZ rail station praising the effort of North and South Korea finding better ways to work together and open trading. Unfortunately, North Korea changed their mind in the last minute and the rail station was never used for it’s purpose.

What killed me is the photo of Georgie…

Couldn’t they have found one where he looked less like an idiot?

Oh, wait, I guess not.

the daily(ish)

2011-12-12T03:37:00.000-05:00

I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t found the bathrooms in China difficult. I mean that both figuratively and literally. Literally because hey, my knees just aren’t what they used to be and well, I grew up with toilets and we like what we know. I’m always on the lookout for a handicap stall. Always.

Going to Seoul was a treat because they have embraced the Japanese style “smart toilets”. These things will sing you a song, play water sounds to help you along, warm the seat and maybe dance a jig…I just haven’t found that button yet.

The bathroom in the airport even had a digital screen to show you what stalls were free…

America needs to do some serious catch-up in bathroom technology!

the daily(ish)

2011-12-10T03:09:00.000-05:00

I think there’s a witch doctor on the loose in the artic…

flashback friday

2011-12-09T03:27:00.002-05:00

Okay, so this is more like if a Flashback Friday and a Daily(ish) had a baby, but I was telling MMM about this the other night and am still laughing remembering it. For those of you not from Atlanta, Glen Burns is a local weatherman that we all grew up watching and still rely on for our weather forecasts. Don’t we? Is Glen Burns gone? I’ll be so sad! I digress.

This was one of our greatest finds in Greece back in round 2 of 2009…

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

She's no Glen Burns...

Okay last night the Wife and I were flipping through the 3 channels that sometimes have shows in English when we came across this girl...

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We thought it had to be a sketch comedy show so we watched her all the way through.

Only to realize that, nope, it was just the weather report. Her name is Petroula Kostidou and she is seriously the weather girl for a channel that we had thought of as the Greek NBC because of their logo and the fact they play old ER episodes.

I still can't get over it.

beijing

2011-12-09T02:01:00.001-05:00

Anyone else think it was weird that we’d been in China for 6 weeks and not been to the capital city?? It wasn’t due to a lack of interest in visiting, but rather trying to plan a weekend to meet up with our friend from Beijing. First off, we adore this girl and secondly, you never pass up a chance to see a city through the eyes of a local. She was originally assigned to Bangkok and supposed to have a 3 day holiday weekend, so Jules scheduled a day off. Our friend ended up being moved to Manila last minute and there went her holiday weekend. (They get local holidays off only, which can sometimes be awesome like getting 4 days for Easter and ANZAC day in Australia this year and sometimes really suck- like the year Julie got a whopping 2 holidays all year.) Then Julie was put on a project and ended up having to go through the wringer to keep her vacation day, because there is just too much to see in Beijing in 2 days. So after all the hoopla, we got it all sorted out and finally made it!

It was our last group weekend on the road, but Thursday night it was just me and Jules and enough time for a nightcap before bed. We had big plans for Friday, but woke up to a blinding whiteness outside the window. I initially thought the tales of pollution had been really downplayed, but as Jules walked towards the window she saw it was actually snowing. We knew it was going to be a cold weekend, but snow we had not planned on. We slowed our pace and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together (such a treat!) before deciding that both Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City were worth getting out in the wet, cold day.

Tiananmen is a very important place for the Chinese people, but I doubt anyone without an emotional attachment would be that impressed with this barren square…

I don’t know, maybe it’s more impressive with nicer weather.

We went across the street and hired a guy to guide us around the Forbidden City. His name was Han and I was happy he actually gave us his Chinese name instead of his made up English one. Of course, some Chinese names are too difficult for us to pronounce (I know this first hand after butchering one of my Chinese friend’s name so much she finally said “please stop trying to say it, you will never say it right”) but I at least like the opportunity to try.

Han’s English was great, he was very knowledgeable and thankfully the snow and ice kept his frantic pace in check. If he hadn’t tried to pressure us to buy some insanely expensive calligraphy at the end of the tour, I’d even recommend his little company. But he did, so my lips are sealed.

The Forbidden City was the home of the last 26 (according to Han) Chinese Emperors. It’s a sprawling complex and when they say “city” they mean it. We saw only a fraction of the buildings, but Han said we were really lucky to see it in the snow…

Although it was pretty, I have to say I wasn’t feeling that lucky for the snow when I was slipping and sliding around trying not to bust my butt on all the icy marble stairs and ramps. China has shared a lot of things with me and in return I would like to share with it the miracle of salt- use it to de-ice public areas instead of just attempting to sweep the ice with a broom made of twigs AND use it to season your food, because although I’m sure you have a very low percentage of high blood pressure around here, your food is some kind of underseasoned. That, China, is what we call killing two birds with one stone. You’re welcome.

It took us over 3 hours to tour the area and upon leaving we began our 40 minute struggle to find a taxi. Apparently, Beijing taxis don’t want to be caught up in rush hour gridlock so they just don’t pick anyone up during those hours. No. One.

We were pretty much popsicles at this point and with each taxi driver that waved me off, I was more and more tempted to beat their car hoods with my umbrella. Did I mention we didn’t eat lunch and our blood sugar was running low?

A guy finally stopped and when he dropped us off we gave him a huge tip. Tipping is not the culture in China and he was so confused and surprised, not realizing how grateful he should be that we weren’t kissing him. Our hero!

Once we were upstairs and I was cradling a hot cup of tea in my frostbitten hands, I knew there was no way in God’s green earth that I was going back outside again. Sorry, kung fu show, I’m sure you would have been cool, but I’m hoping to make it through life with all my toes.

Everyone arrived late that night and we all had a drink together before heading off to bed for our very early wake-up call. One of the old managers had a photo on the Great Wall with just him and the wall- no tourists in the background, no red jacket blights on the wall behind him. It was pretty awesome and the wife and one of her cohorts were determined to get one just like it.

We knew when the ticket office had to call the cable car operators to make sure they were going to be on time to take us up, Jules was going to get her picture…

We climbed all the way up to that first structure up the mountain. It was frigid, but as the sun rose so did the temps. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day, warmer yes, but not anymore beautiful…

It was a pretty awesome day and a pretty cool way to spend what will likely be (never say never right?) our last group weekend in the department. I can’t even comprehend that yet and is really a whole other post for another day…a day that is fast approaching.

Okay, getting a little emotional, so back to the weekend…

We got back into Beijing where we warmed up over a yummy Chinese lunch. Our friend, C, is so great at ordering for us and always seems to choose dishes that we love! Just another reason we adore her.

After lunch we went to the Temple of Heaven. The temple itself was pretty enough…

but the park surrounding it was what I really enjoyed. It was abuzz with Beijingers enjoying their Saturday afternoon- playing sports, singing songs (like huge groups of people singing- more on that later), playing instruments, practicing kung fu, bending over Chinese chess boards and playing cards. It’s these glimpses into other people’s “ordinary” that I usually find the most extraordinary.

Although we had just eaten and were all sufficiently exhausted, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have Peking duck in Beijing. So only a few hours after lunch, we were on our way to our next meal. Thankfully, the metro ride and long wait for a table allowed our appetites to come back a bit and once the golden ducks arrived at our table we were all ready to dig in.

We ended the meal with a birthday cake for one of the guys and then a short walk to the night market for our food challenge. Which I’m going to make you wait to hear about. Listen, I ate a centipede and many other creepy crawlies. That definitely deserves its own post.

After the night market we all went back to the hotel to pass out. It was a 16 hour day, an awesome one, but also long and exhausting.

Some of us slept in and enjoyed a late breakfast together before heading over to a market for a little shopping. We finally found our Chinese tea set and I was so excited that we’d bought it, at least until I realized I’d be carrying it around for 2 days.

When we left the market it was getting pretty foggy and as we made our way to the airport we could barely see the car in front of our taxi. The flight wasn’t even showing as delayed though so we proceeded through check-in and went to a café to grab a bite before the flight. About the time we were supposed to board our flight was still showing as on time. The line to board was already fully formed and then we were delayed- indefinitely.

The airline people don’t speak a whole lot of English and seemed really reluctant to tell us if our flight would be cancelled. When it finally was cancelled we joined the madness that was the ticket offices and many hours later got our flight rescheduled and were headed back to a Beijing hotel.

We got back to the airport the next morning with little change to the weather. Every flight before ours was delayed indefinitely and after a few more hours at the airport we decided to do what we needed to do to get back to Beijing. The guys really couldn’t afford to lose another day in the office, so the vast majority of us headed off for the train station. I felt like we were in an episode of The Amazing Race- trying to get things written in Chinese, trying to explain to taxi drivers where we needed to go and going from airport to train station to another train station- all with a fragile tea set in hand.

It was actually pretty fun thanks to the fact everyone in the group was on the same page and saw the humor in it all. Once we got to the train station we had time to eat lunch together and then enjoyed a really stress-free 4 hour ride to Beijing chatting and watching movies.

So there it is…our last group weekend and our last travel weekend in China. We packed a lot in, saw some amazing sights, ate some great food, shared lots of laughs, embraced adventure and made our way over a couple of humps the travel gods put in front of us…all in all, a perfect group weekend to end all group weekends.

Pics from the weekend…

Special thanks to MMM for not only letting us borrow scarves (we sent all ours home, like morons) but for even planning them out so Jules and I would be coordinated! You’re the best!

Photo credit goes to everyone in the group- thanks for sharing!

the daily(ish)

2011-12-09T00:13:00.001-05:00

I swear I’m working on the Beijing post! This week has been a busy one for both of us, but I’m taking a few hours today to play catch up. Until then, here yet another pic from the night market…

Mmm…scorpions! Actually, these guys were really delicious. I swear!

the daily(ish)

2011-12-07T03:20:00.000-05:00

Us at the Bund…

We need to go back this weekend when hopefully it isn't so foggy.

the daily(ish)

2011-12-06T00:18:00.001-05:00

We had an amazing time in Beijing this weekend and quite the adventure trying to leave. I’ve got a million photos to edit and 2.4 million to get from everyone else before I can get the post up.

Until then, here’s me eating a centipede…

Yep.

flashback friday (a few days late)

2011-12-05T21:22:00.001-05:00

Well, they say there is a first time for everything and we experienced our first flight cancellation in 3 years of constant travel this weekend. Fog laid on top of Beijing like a blanket and all flights were grounded Sunday evening. Jules and I had actually arrived on Thursday night so our 3 day weekend got extended to a 4 day and in all the hoopla I forgot to post a flashback last week. Whoops.

To make it up to you (myself?) here’s a double post from our time in Peru when we went to Machu Picchu. Peru is one of the few places in South America that I’d really like to go back to spend more time in. It’s definitely one of those places where you are drawn in and just want more and more. The people, the food, the land itself- beauty is everywhere you turn there.

And for the record that bizarro train ride back still reigns supreme as the most random thing we’ve ever experienced on the road.

We had a 4 day weekend, but we needed about 4 weeks…

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Peru- Part 1

We had a four day weekend in Peru. We did and saw so much I'm going to have to break the story into two parts…and I'm still struggling with this stupid cold so I'm lucky to have gotten this far.

Thursday night we flew into the capital city of Lima. We got there around midnight our time and after the last flights out to Cusco. So, we literally went to the hotel, had a quick pisco sour and all went straight to bed. We had an early morning flight out the next morning and had to get up at an ungodly hour. We arrived at the airport to find our flight had been cancelled but instead of putting us in a later flight they rushed us onto the earlier one. It was a mad-dash of a morning but we arrived in Cusco earlier than expected which was nice.

Cusco is located at 10,800ft above sea level and you feel the effects of the altitude almost immediately. As we walked up the ramp at the airport to baggage claim it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. My breath was so labored by the time we got to the top I thought I was going to hyperventilate. It was nuts.

Our hotel was located on one of the many small cobblestone streets in the San Blas neighborhood. It was quaint, charming and best of all served coca tea and coca leaves in the lobby. The coca is supposed to help with the altitude but after a couple of cups we were all still feeling pretty loopy from our lack of oxygen. After checking in we all headed out for lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Jesus, our tour guide, picked us up after 1pm for our tour of Cusco city. Our reason for coming to Peru was to see Machu Picchu and although we had planned a couple other tours I did not expect to be so impressed. Cusco was lovely. The people, the architecture, the surrounding scenery, the colors…it was all inviting, vibrant and drenched in history and culture.

Our tour began with the main cathedral located in the Plaza de Armas. It was almost as beautiful inside as out, although they allowed no photos of the interior. Boo.

We then went to another church. Like most colonial churches in Cusco it was built on top of Inca temples but, thanks to an earthquake the temples were discovered and restored. It was almost hard for me to ignore the beautiful Spanish colonial courtyard in favor of the Inca architecture. Although ingeniously built the cold lines didn’t do much for me aesthetically.

After this we went out to Sacsahuamen. They believe this site links up to a few other sites that have been discovered. The archeologists are still hard at work here and some of the levels were closed off but it felt great to be outside in the fresh air. No matter how little oxygen it actually provided.

We saved the last sight for the next day since we were so exhausted and still all feeling a little out of whack. After resting for a few minutes back at the hotel we went back to the same restaurant from the afternoon for an easy meal before heading back to call it an early night.

We were off by 9 the next morning for our tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This valley runs from just outside Cusco to the last town before the Inca Trail that leads to Machu Picchu. It was a full day tour but we did so many different things we rarely spent any time in the van. At least it felt that way to us.

In a nutshell we…visited the highest point in Cusco where we saw three Inca fountains, stopped at a local craft market, visited a llama farm where we got to feed and pet the animals, went into a small town to shop, had a nice lunch outside at a local restaurant, visited another Inca site where we climbed 270 stairs to the top and felt the wind of 4 valleys meet, visited a chicharia and tried the local corn beer while dodging guinea pigs as they ran around the floor and finished the day with a stop in another town where we were taught how the locals clean, spin and dye wool...

We attempted to see some local dancing when we got back into Cusco but it was fairly cheesy so we snuck out during a break and all headed back to the Plaza del Armas for some dinner. We found a great restaurant with wonderful food and thanks to the altitude my two pisco sours had me feeling like I had four. It would have been a nice to explore the nightlife but, we had to get back after dinner because our driver was picking us up at 6:15am for our train to Machu Picchu.

…to be continued

Friday, August 21, 2009

Peru- Part 2

6:15 Sunday morning and our very sweet driver, Mr. Edwin, was patiently waiting for us all to make it upstairs. The two small flights of stairs in our hotel up to the lobby literally seemed like a mountain to me each time I took them. Even as you feel you’re adjusting to the altitude you do something stupid like take a flight of stairs at a normal pace and find yourself at the top clutching your chest and screaming “I’m coming Elizabeth! I’m coming!”.

You have two choices of trains to Machu Picchu. One is the backpacker train and the other first class train is called the “Vistadome”, which alludes to its skylights in the cars. If you know me, you know I can smell a dirty hippy from at least a mile away so when discussing I was all for the first class train. And yes, I am well aware that backpackers and hippies are not always one in the same but I didn’t want to take my chances.

It turns out that the first class train offers little more than a small table in-between the seats and one pitiful excuse for a snack for the 3 hour ride. Although it is very warm in the day, the nights and morning are extremely cold, like just above freezing, so you can imagine my dismay to find that there was no heat on the train. I’m not sure what is “first class” about that but if they thought the thin little blanket made up for it they were mistaken. Needless to say I was miserably cold in my capri pants so after our table was cleared I laid my head down and napped for the majority of the ride.

When I awoke I found we had left the valley farmlands and arrived in the jungle. It was a lovely ride and thankfully the sun had come up and was slightly warming the train car. The train arrives in Agua Caliente, a small town below Machu Picchu. From there you take a 25 minute bus ride up, up and up the mountain. The views were breathtaking and when we spotted Machu Picchu for the first time I have to say my heart skipped a beat.

Visiting Machu Picchu was one of the places we wanted to see most in the world. A lost Incan city found high in the jungle and shrouded in mystic. Who wouldn’t want to see that?

Our guide, Franklin, met us as we stepped off the bus and after shedding some layers and slathering on some sunscreen we made our way to the site. Okay, after everyone else slathered on sunscreen. I was so desperate for some color I decided to forego the protection. Stupid? Yes, and I paid a dear price. The sunburn and subsequent peeling is bad enough but I will be fighting this ridiculous bib tan line for months to come.

Believed to have been built during the height of the Incan Empire in the early 15th century there are a lot of theories about the uses of the site. It seems the prevailing is that it was an estate of the then ruling Inca king. The site was largely unknown until an American historian, Hiram Bingham, was brought there by some locals in 1911.

Machu Picchu is one of those places where you cannot begin to understand its grandeur until you are standing there in front of it. The beauty of the city itself is nothing in comparison to its location...

We spent two hours with our guide and had another hour or so to enjoy the views ourselves before heading back down to Agua Caliente.
I don’t think any of us were looking forward to another three hour train ride back to Cusco. Of course this was because we had no idea what was in store for us. About halfway through the trip Julie was napping and out of nowhere this loud flute music begins to play. I look over and we’re all thinking “what is this?” and two seconds later this guy comes running out…

He was running around dancing, doing this weird trilling sound and rubbing his stuffed llama on everyone’s face and neck. Um, yeah…we have no idea but, I think Julie’s face says it all…

After he was done an announcement came on telling us that we were going to have a fashion show. Um, yeah, still no idea. The music then changed to loud techno and low and behold our attendant had taken her hair down, put on some lipstick and was cat-walking down the aisle in a sweater. They even had our male attendant modeling some of the local wool creations. They were both pretty funny strutting their stuff for the people they had just served drinks. The guy was the best though, when Julie reached out to feel the material of his sweater he leaned in, gave a bicep flex and said in a low, sultry voice “baby alpaca”. This is the term for the wool from the very first shearing of the animal- very soft and very pricey. Anyway, everyone was clapping, whistling and yelling for them…it was so strange but it did make the time go by quickly and was good for many, many laughs.

We all got freshened up and went out to dinner together for our last night in Cusco. Even with 4 days it didn’t seem enough for the trip. Peru is one of those places where you can’t help but be completely captivated with the beauty of the people, the culture and the country itself. It's one of those places where you can’t stop yourself from saying “I could so live here”.
We’ll be enjoying our last weekend of the round in Buenos Aires. We need to get in all the leather, steak, dulce de leche, and tango we can handle because in 6 short days we’re hopping on the plane bound for home!

Posted by MAV at 11:37 AM 1 comments

the daily(ish)

2011-12-05T03:41:00.000-05:00

Cynthia from Eating in Neverland asked me to do a post about Korean BBQ and I was more than happy to oblige. If you aren’t eating Korean BBQ- you are missing out! Click on the pic to check it out…

the daily(ish)

2011-12-02T07:27:00.000-05:00

Seoul wins the prize for the most high-tech city we’ve ever visited. When checking into the hotel we were asked for our Twitter ID and they had IPhones in room from the Seoul tourist board with a city tour app installed to use during your stay…

the daily(ish)

2011-12-01T08:23:00.000-05:00

You know she loves a random character on the street…

Seoul

2011-11-30T06:18:00.001-05:00

It’s been a while since I’ve been to a city I instantly fell in love with like Seoul. It reminded me a lot of Tokyo, just smaller and therefore more accessible by foot. Oh, and with tons of street food and vendors, which if you know me, made it all the better.

Our friend from Atlanta had an earlier flight from Shanghai, but we were able to meet up with him in time to walk around and grab some dinner Friday night. We, of course, had Korean BBQ and it was absolutely delish. I have GOT to find a Korean BBQ joint in Atlanta.

Saturday morning we set off for the DMZ, or the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. This 4 kilometer or 2 and half mile wide area was created in 1953 as part of the cease-fire agreement between the North and South Korea governments. Our guide quickly reminded us that these two are still at war. She pointed out the wooded areas behind barbed wire fences, telling us how 700,000 land mines are still laying in wait. She told us how parents cry with worry when finding out their sons are assigned to duty at the DMZ. She explained how the large billboards above the bridges aren’t actually advertisements, but decoy boxes filled with dynamite to be detonated if the North ever decides to invade. It was pretty unnerving.

Although this area is one of great seriousness, South Korea is attempting to change the overall feel. It has made it a tourist destination and you get the feeling that it is being built as a museum to the time of separation and division even though unification has yet to happen…

We were first taken to a memorial park, in the warm months it is actually an amusement park as well, that contains the Peace Bell…

and the Freedom Bridge, where thousands of people were allowed to cross after the cease-fire. It is covered in ribbons of prayers…

We then went to tour one of the four tunnels created in an obvious plot to invade South Korea after the cease-fire. They didn’t allow photos, but it was amazing to see where North Korea had actually painted some of the rocks black in an attempt to justify their story of “looking for coal”.

It was a long way down to the tunnel, 300 meters at a very steep incline, and then a cramped (you know it’s short if I’m having to bend over) walk into the actual tunnel. They don’t regulate how many people can go down there and I may or may not have had a minor freak-out moment about being crammed into this hole deep within the earth with too many pushy tourists (Chinese people push- like physically push you to get ahead in lines, so I mean that quite literally) and made us leave before reaching the first blockade which is as far as tourists can go. 400 meters was enough for me to get the drift.

After the tunnel, we were taken to the observatory where we could actually see into North Korea. Again, no photos. Actually I forgot and took 2, but a soldier kindly asked that I delete them and I kindly obliged.

You can look through the binoculars and see the North Korean soldiers in their lookout and even the propaganda town they built to make South Koreans think life on the other side was glamorous. The houses are just shells and no one has ever lived there, although they said they sometimes had actors there to make it more believable.

We then visited the northern most train station in South Korea, which had been built when North Korea had agreed to trade, but in the last minute changed their mind. It was just a train station, but we did get our pic with some soldiers…

I had expected so much more negativity (totally justifiable negativity) but in truth there is little North Korea bashing on the Southern side of the DMZ. The optimism that South Koreans embrace regarding the certainty of these two countries becoming one again is truly palpable here. For the world’s sake, I hope they’re right.

We arrived back in Seoul too late to go inside any of the palaces, so we spent the rest of the day walking around the city, dipping into shops and sampling the street food. Can I tell you how much I love a city that embraces street food?

We ended the night at a truly local joint where we had to point at pictures on the wall menuto be able to order. Jules made friends with the table next to us and they let us taste the local brew. I think it was some sort of rice wine. We shared some toasts and some laughs and eventually made our way back to our hotel.

Our friend from Atlanta had an early flight back and after saying our groggy goodbyes, Jules and I went back to bed to try to catch some more zzz’s.

We finally got it in gear and made it to the Gyeongbok Palace…

It was a sprawling complex and even though it was pretty cold out, it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. After wandering around for a few hours it was time to bid Seoul goodbye and make our way to the airport.

Getting another weekend with JDT was great and we seriously miss him already. I really, really loved Seoul and the little taste I got definitely left me wanting more.

This weekend we’re finally off to see this wall everyone keeps talking about. Can’t wait!

Pics from the weekend…

the daily(ish)

2011-11-30T05:21:00.000-05:00

It’s the season for hairy crabs in China and you see them touted on menus everywhere. You can even buy them at little stores in the airport, all folded up and tied up with rubber bands. Apparently some airlines won’t let you take them onboard though…

the daily(ish)

2011-11-29T03:18:00.000-05:00

We had our best Thanksgiving meal since leaving the States last week. The turkey was smoked and delicious, although the sides weren’t up to par and few and far between. As much as I can’t believe this is all coming to an end, I’m ready for my holidays back home…

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

the daily(ish)

2011-11-28T03:14:00.001-05:00

Although the Liu Sanjie show was truly incredible, their theater snack options left much to be desired…

Normally, I’d be more than happy with some good ol’ microwave popcorn, especially when I’m starving to death, but it was this weird flavor and burnt to a crisp. You’d think we’d produce a better popcorn in ‘Merica.

Guilin

2011-11-28T02:54:00.005-05:00

First, let me apologize for being a weekend behind on my posts. Our friend from Atlanta came to Shanghai for a week and things were busy, busy, busy. We were meeting him out every night for dinner and drinks and I was spending my days running around like a maniac trying to get all our Christmas shopping done so I could send it home with him. He took about 55 kilos of our stuff home with him in two huge suitcases and I seriously couldn’t be more grateful! I love you, JAT!!!

This was a HUGE part of us being able to travel during home leave, but I’ll talk about that later.

Today is all about our time in Guilin two weekends ago…

Friday went as most of our Fridays do…pack—> check out of hotel—> taxi to airport—> check-in for flight—> dinner in airport—> flight—>taxi to hotel—> check-in at hotel—> bed. Yeah, Fridays aren’t the most fun day of the week, but the effort usually pays off. It certainly did this weekend.

Saturday morning we met up with our tour guide, Jeff, who was by far the best guide we’ve had in China. His English was pretty good and he made himself giggle like every five minutes with his corny little jokes. I like people who crack themselves up.

We had a long drive out to the Longji rice terraces from Guilin and a very long hike ahead of us once we got out of the van. It took us an hour of hiking up through the tiny villages to get to the best view of the terraces, but we really enjoyed getting a glimpse into what life is like in rural China and the views along the way were just as impressive…

Winter is the least picturesque time to visit the terraces, but we were still in awe of their beauty.

The area is also home to a number of minorities that all live together, but follow their own traditions. Yao people believe a woman’s beauty is in their hair and use to only show it to their husbands…

They cut it and save the old hair to help them create this style…

They use different knots in the front to indicate if they are single, married, or married with children.

The Zhuang women wear printed towels or fabric around their hair…

I mean, how lovely is this woman? She was weaving sandals and I have no doubt that each time I look at the pair we bought from her, I will recall this sweet smiling face.

After taking a million photos, we headed back down into the village for a much needed meal. Lunch was really delicious and we got to eat outside and enjoy the views and relatively fresh air. I promise to catch up with the food blog and tell you all about it soon!

After lunch we made our way to the bottom of the village and made a quick stop at a pearl place before arriving at the hotel. We had about 20 minutes to freshen up before getting back in the van so we could drive out to Guilin’s sister city, Langshuo. It was another hour and half drive to see the Impression Liu Sanjie show, but again, the effort was totally worth it.

The show was created by the guy who did the Beijing Olympics’ opening act and is absolutely in-flippin-credible. The “theater” is an outdoor space using the actual mountains and river as the backdrop and stage. I can’t imagine there is anything like it in the world. Hundreds of people, boats, torches, singers, cows, lit-up costumes- my photos can’t begin to do it justice…

It was literally jaw-dropping.

We arrived really late after the show and long ride back to Guilin. We had just enough energy to eat some dinner and then fell into bed before our early wake-up call for our Li River cruise.

This, this is why you come to Guilin…

We had perfect weather, gorgeous scenery and a great group of people to spend the day with, especially because our dear friend from Atlanta had finally made it to China! You can’t really ask for more.

It was a packed weekend with absolutely no down time, but so worth the exhaustion. Aside from the pandas (because really, nothing will ever be better than all those baby pandas!), this has been our favorite weekend in China.

Coming soon…Seoul!

Pics from the weekend…

the daily(ish)

2011-11-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

We don’t normally get cash advances anymore and for good reason. It isn’t safe to have so much money and I feel like a drug dealer every Friday when I’m paying the hotel bill…

Flashback Friday

2011-11-25T05:10:00.000-05:00

Our weekend in Jordan reigns as one of our most loved weekends of the past 3 years. We were living in Tunisia that summer, in the time just before the world was watching this small Northern African country. We took an extra day and met up with some of the team from Egypt for one very hot, but also very, very cool weekend.

With everything going on in this region of the world now, I’m even more grateful we got to go when we did…

JORDAN

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Jules had to take a vacation day for us to make the trip work. We left on Thursday and arrived very late that evening after a layover in Istanbul. We met up with the guys from the Egypt team after breakfast the next morning and set off for Petra.

Jordan’s crown jewel and most visited site, Petra is on every “must-see before you die” list. It was built over 2000 years ago by the Nabataeans, an ancient Arab tribe, who controlled the region’s trade routes. It is massive, it is astonishing, it is laden with jaw-dropping beauty and mystique.

You begin your journey with a decent walk to the As-Siq, the main entrance to Petra. The As-Siq is a narrow and deep gorge with walls soaring over 250 feet tall and is about three-quarters of a mile long. The formations, the patterns, the colors- it is truly other-worldly in its beauty.…

As you reach the end of the As-Siq you get your first glimpse of Petra’s most famous monument, the Treasury…

It was originally a tomb built in the 1st century for an important Nabataean king and later was used as a temple. It is beauty carved out of beauty…

After the Treasury you continue on through the street of facades, to the theater and colonnaded street. Everywhere you turn you are blown away by the awesomeness that is the remains of this once thriving city…

We had all agreed if time permitted that we would try to make our way to the Monastery. I knew from reviews and Frenchie that the climb up was intense. Taking my ankle, the Wife’s newly painful heel, our empty stomachs and dehydrated bodies into consideration we hired donkeys to take us to the top. It halved our journey time to only 20 minutes and had I not been busy steering my donkey from the edge of a cliff and from taking out other tourists I would have taken photos. Apologies to the one lady I didn’t see who got the full-throttle donkey head-butt.

We still had a bit of a hike up to get to the top after the donkey’s dropped us off. After feeling like I couldn’t take another steep step, I knew we had made the right decision to take the donkeys. We also made the right decision to go up to the Monastery…

Exhausted we bucked up for the last hike up to get an even better view…

The close to 4 mile walk back was tough. I’m so glad we got to see the Treasury in a different light and without so many tourists…

But, really it was a tough walk back and the 3 hour van ride back to Amman wasn’t too much fun either. HOWEVER- it was so worth it. It was all so worth it and I would have driven twice as far and walked twice the distance to see this incredible place.

Saturday we visited the city of Madaba, which is known for its mosaics. Unfortunately, we had no idea where any of them were located so we only saw the one of the holy land located in a little Greek Orthodox Church. We then went to Mt. Nebo. Of epic biblical importance, this is where Moses first saw the promise land as well as where he died. The site is maintained by an order of Franciscan monks and also contains some large and impressive mosaics, a small museum and a church. During winter days when there’s no haze you can see all the way to Jerusalem. With it being summer there wasn’t much of a view and the church was closed for repair, so our trip up was fairly short-lived.
We then made our way down to the Dead Sea. When I say down, I mean down- the Dead Sea is the lowest point in the world. It is also 4 times saltier than our oceans, hence the “dead” part. Nothing but a few microorganisms can actually survive in it.

The real fascination with the Dead Sea, or at least our interest in going, is that you cannot sink. The hypersalinic water is so viscous you just bob like a balloon on top. Really. It was so bizarre to be able to stay afloat with no effort whatsoever.

Look Mom, no hands!! Or feet!!

You had to make a bit of an effort to even get your legs down from the surface, but once down there you could literally stand in the water. It’s a wild experience and even more so when we got into the pool and sank like stones.
The guys had to leave for Egypt that evening, so after an early dinner we said our goodbyes. It’s always so strange saying goodbye, not knowing if you’ll see each other again until January.

We were up way before the sun on Sunday to catch our two flights back to Tunisia. Only 2 weeks left before we are Europe bound! This weekend we’re keeping our feet on the ground and driving south to a beach resort town here in Tunisia. I’ve got to get some sun on these legs- they haven’t seen the light of day since we left Costa Rica.

the daily(ish)

2011-11-24T08:18:00.000-05:00

Random drunk guy at dinner the other night who came over to toast with us…

He was pretty excited to practice his English with us, but was quickly dragged away by a concerned friend. Thanks, concerned friend. Thanks.

the daily(ish)

2011-11-23T07:58:00.000-05:00

As we say in the South-bless her heart…

the daily(ish)

2011-11-22T07:21:00.000-05:00

Cool sugar artist in Chengdu…

the daily(ish)

2011-11-21T07:15:00.000-05:00

You order 7 beers at a restaurant and this is what gets set next to your table…

Haha!

the daily(ish)

2011-11-20T05:11:00.000-05:00

I don’t know if you could pick a less practical outfit for visiting the Leshan Buddha…

Okay, well, maybe a wet suit would be a bit less practical, but not by much.

the daily(ish)

2011-11-18T06:06:00.000-05:00

I don’t know if any city is going to be able to compare to Chengdu…

flashback friday

2011-11-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

We’ve been really blessed to be assigned to Europe so much over the past 3 years. We’ve seen so much and visited almost every country we ever hoped to visit on the continent. It’s disgusting really how lucky we’ve been.

We fell in love with so many places in Europe, but I’d say my favorite was probably Iceland or Island as the locals spell it.

Today’s flashback takes us back to last year’s visit to this incredible country. We had crap weather the entire time we were there, but nothing could take away from the sheer beauty of this place.

I still believe everyone should put it at the top of their vacation wish lists. If you do want to plan a visit, be sure to check out the travel piece I did for EW on it.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Island

Even rain couldn’t take away from the beauty of this country. Blast this rain! I think God is trying to get us ready for living in Ireland.
Anyhoo, back to our weekend…

We arrived early morning on Thursday and headed directly to the Blue Lagoon from the airport. Almost immediately you feel like you’ve landed on a different planet with all the green spongy moss covering fields of black lava rocks. Then you see the ethereal blue water and you’re even more convinced you’ve left Earth...

The Blue Lagoon is a hot spring and full of silica which makes it delightfully relaxing and leaves your skin super soft. I think it may be the best thing we’ve ever done after a long and early morning flight. Very relaxed girls...

After we were done soaking we made our way to Reykjavik and to our hotels. We quickly popped out to grab some food and see the town. I know it is technically the capital of the country, but I just can’t call it a city. Reykjavik feels far more like a college town than an actual city and not at all like a capital. Cute little restaurants, bars and stores selling Icelandic “woolens” (sheep outnumber people in Iceland) fill the small streets and thanks to the earthquakes there isn’t a building over a few stories high. It was ridiculously quaint.

We had one of those weird too late for lunch but too early for dinner meals and after milling about had a couple of local beers (Gull-not bad, not bad) and went to bed. We had been up since 4:30am so our 10pm bedtime seemed more than reasonable.

We set off after breakfast on Friday for the golden circle tour. This is kind of the quintessential tour in Iceland since it covers some of the best of their natural sites. We first stopped at one of their newest geothermal energy plants. What a snorefest. I’m all for being green and I actually find the concept interesting, but it was a bore of a tour. We then hit the Gullfoss Falls- really beautiful and we even had about 5 minutes where it wasn’t raining...

We saw 2 of the world’s 5 geysers although only one blew…or spurted…or erupted or whatever it is they do. Very cool...

Then we ended our day visiting the site of the world’s oldest parliament. Iceland was founded by Norwegians that wanted to escape their king’s rule. AKA- they were over the taxes. With no monarchs to rule them they created the world’s first parliament to still keep it somewhat civil, keep in mind they were Vikings. They chose the site due to the large amount of space, grass to feed the horses and available drinking water. No building was ever erected as the chieftains stood on “law rock” to announce new laws to the citizens each year. It is a place dear in the hearts of Icelanders as the birthplace of their country and government. Just so happens this is also where you can see the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia which was just freaking awesome…

Saturday we headed to Southern Iceland where drove through awe-inspiring farmlands to see waterfalls,tons of ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, a glacial tongue (also covered with ash from Eyjafjallajökull), some black sand beaches (one with very cool basalt formations) and visited a little museum founded and still run by the cutest little old Icelandic man you could imagine that focused on the culture of the Southern way of life complete with farmhouses from the 18th century…

It was a really great, but also long day- made even longer by our 1am flight out.
Iceland is just so unique and truly breathtaking. I’m sure many of you have never even thought of visiting it. God knows I didn’t a couple of years ago, but really you should put it at the top of your travel wish list. There is no other place like it.

This weekend is our last in Germany and we’re actually staying in the country to spend some QT with KS in Berlin. Can’t wait! And I’m sure I’m cursing us right now by typing it, but the weather called for rain all week but is now saying an entire weekend of sunshine. I’m still packing the umbrella.
**more photos to come as soon as i get them from our travel companion who played personal photog all weekend- thanks, v!!**

Posted by MAV at 9:38 AM

the daily(ish)

2011-11-17T05:04:00.000-05:00

The smoking in China is really out of control. Out. of. Control. You can’t even go to the bathroom stall without finding an ashtray…

Seriously? People can’t even stop smoking long enough to go to the bathroom?

the daily(ish)

2011-11-16T00:01:00.001-05:00

You know you’ve arrived in panda town as soon as you walk right outside the Chengdu airport…

Chengdu (aka- Panda Extravaganza)

2011-11-15T23:13:00.003-05:00

This story really begins about 3 1/2 years ago with me sitting in our living room watching the Travel Channel and screaming across the house to Julie about holding a panda. It’s all right here.

China has eluded each time it came up on the schedule and when we finally got it, all I thought about was that I was finally getting to hug a panda. Seriously.

#1 on my life list is officially crossed off!!! And so is #70, although I’ve added like 7 new ones. I digress.

We spent about 6 hours at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on Saturday…

Yeah. 6 hours of pandas- it was beyond incredible!!!! I mean, look at this guy…

Are you kidding me?? I can barely handle the cuteness of this photo, so you can imagine what I was like seeing it in person. I thought my head might explode at any moment from sheer joy.

We were the very first in line to do the holding. Unfortunately, it didn’t go quite as planned. We were disappointed because we weren’t told until we got into the room (and had paid a lot of money) that we couldn’t actually hold the panda. A person had been hurt by a panda and they decided the pandas were much more comfortable sitting on their own. Fair enough, panda. Fair enough…

Now, I realize anyone sitting next to a dang panda shouldn’t be complaining. The thing that bothered us is that we had paid the same price they use to charge for holding a panda and the charge for sitting next to one used to be half of that. And since we were the first ones in a long line, we only got about 10 seconds next to the little guy before being ushered outside. We’ve just been hustled so many times since arriving in China and well, we’re just tired of feeling cheated all the time.

As we were about to leave we decided to ask them about it and they eventually (read: after a whole lot of pleading) let us each have 4 more pictures with another panda. Hugging 2 baby pandas in one day was more than enough to make up for not physically holding one…

It was just an awesome, awesome day. Awesome.

That night we somehow missed out on what is supposed to be amazing Sichuan food and went to yet another hot pot. This one being the worst one yet. The restaurant was a beautiful area of Chengdu though and the majority of us enjoyed walking around the cobbled streets after dinner. You never know what you’re going to run into in China and in just a few short blocks we saw some bbq-ed rabbit heads for sale, people getting their eyes cleaned with really long metal needle-looking things and I was randomly handed a baby to hold for a picture. Good times.

Sunday we made our way to Leshan to see the giant Buddha. It was a 2 hour ride, but totally worth it…

He’s the largest pre-modern statue in the world and the largest carved Buddha anywhere.

The line to see him was both hilarious and painful. You are reminded very quickly just how few Western tourists really come to China, especially to cities like Leshan. A little boy came right up to me and pointed at my face screaming something in Chinese to his mortified parents. Everyone stared at us like we were aliens. As the first American they’d ever laid eyes on I found it my duty to represent us as a cheerful, friendly people. What they don’t know won’t hurt them, right? They would stare at me and I would just smile and say “ni hao”. They would laugh, embarrassed and excited, and say it back with huge smiles on their faces. Moments like this, when two strangers so different and so unknown to one another find common ground through smiles and shared laughter, those are the moments I truly love most about traveling.

The painful part was the crowd (personal space doesn’t exist here) and the snail-pace movement of the line as we made our way down the narrow staircase…

Once you get to the single file area of the stairs it is much more pleasant though…

and being at the foot of this Buddha you can’t help but be in awe of the sheer size…

We ended up getting very lost on our way out and wound up about two kilometers away from where we needed to be. And no, I have no idea how this happened, except to say really bad signage and maze-like staircases don’t usually make for an easy exit. Just as I was on the edge of panic we found ourselves in a fishing village. It was so pretty out there and through some creative charades we negotiated 3 tuk-tuks to take us back to the ticket office. As we sped along through the village and then through the busy highway on this rickety little tuk-tuk we were quickly reminded how getting lost can lead to the best unexpected experiences…

This was by far my favorite weekend in China. Obviously, the pandas had a lot to do with it, but I think they’re all going to be amazing going forward. We’ve got a friend coming in from Atlanta (yay!!!) this Friday and we’re headed off to Guilin this weekend to float down the river and hopefully see some rice terraces! Can’t wait!!

Pics from the weekend…

the daily(ish)

2011-11-14T21:01:00.001-05:00

Pictures from our weekend in Chengdu are on their way. It’s been a while since I’ve taken over 600 photos in a weekend, so editing is slower than normal. The fact that I have to “ooh and ah” at every single photo of the baby pandas isn’t helping things either. This is going to take a while!

Until then, here’s the cutest panda we saw all weekend…

The best part is they only had this cape in adult sizes. Oh, Asia…

photo credit: mm (thank you!!)

the daily(ish)

2011-11-14T05:28:00.000-05:00

I have a few “grammar police” friends and they know it drives me nuts. I always refer to #99 when they start in on me. That said, the insane amount of misspelling and poor grammar here is outstanding…

My grammar and spelling is atrocious and yet, I really feel I could make a killing here as a proofreader.

flashback friday

2011-11-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

Today we’re going back to the last round of 2009 again. We were living in Puerto Rico and this was by far my most cherished weekend of the round. Actually, it is one of my most loved of all our time on the road. Connecting with such incredible people has a way of touching your heart that will really change you. It was an honor that I still question my worthiness of whenever I think back to it.

If you want to see some videos of the Embera tribe we spent the day with just click here.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Panama

Want to have an experience of a lifetime, see one of the world’s engineering wonders in action, tour a lovely old city, eat delicious food and be surrounded by warm and generous people? Then head to Panama!

We had a truly amazing time there this past weekend. Our day spent in the jungle with a tribe of Embera Indians will go down as one of our favorite memories of the year. Our tour guide was an American woman who had been in Panama working on a movie. Her husband was one of the Embera Indians being used in the film and she quickly fell in love and became a full-fledged member of the tribe.

After an hour car ride outside of the city we got in a canoe for another hour long trip up river to the village. We were welcomed by the majority of thee tribe which totals just at 120 people. We spent the day learning about their culture, crafts, and even got a lesson on medicinal plants from one of the elders of the village. After a traditional lunch of fish and plantains we were treated to music and dancing by the women, men and children of the tribe.
Just as we thought they were finished we were rushed by the children and invited to join. It was definitely one of those moments when I couldn’t help but pause and say to myself “Wow, I’m in Panama dancing in the middle of the jungle with a tribe of Indians- LIFE IS AMAZING!!”

These people, especially the children, showed us just how little is needed to be truly happy. Being welcomed into their village and learning about their way of life was so humbling. I feel honored to have spent time with them and will treasure my memories forever…

The name "Embera" translates literally to "Good Man", I don't think they could have a more fitting name.

The actual canal was really fascinating as well. We were amazed at the cost of crossing the canal which at the lowest is tens of thousands of dollars while the large cruise and cargo ships pay between $100-400,000!!

They had made $4 million just the morning we were there and that afternoon would more than double that when the ships would be coming in from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It really is a marvel of engineering and I’m glad we got to see it in action before the new locks open in 2014. Then they can double their capacity and I’m guessing double their tolls. Looking for a moneymaking idea? Build a canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific. Wow!

Our guide on Saturday was telling us how Panama is trying to lure seniors from North America to retire there with tax and medical incentives. My advice is to encourage your grandparents and parents to make the move- you’re going to love visiting them!

Posted by MAV at 5:48 PM 1 comments

Labels: once in a lifetime experiences, panama

the daily(ish)

2011-11-11T05:21:00.000-05:00

Sassy terracotta warrior…

We’re 10% of the population, people…and always have been!

the daily(ish)

2011-11-10T05:19:00.000-05:00

I guessed this bathroom was for the elderly…

Which meant I totally waited in line to use it. Elderly usually equals a Western style toilet and that is worth all the wait in the world for me! Move over, Granny!

the daily(ish)

2011-11-09T05:15:00.000-05:00

I think they may have got this one backwards…

Or maybe not. Maybe impossible is nothing? Deep, very deep.

the daily(ish)

2011-11-08T04:57:00.000-05:00

Our lunch with the family from Inner Mongolia…

Click the picture to read the story on our food blog!*

*I realize I should have just had one blog to share both our gastronomic and regular adventures, but I didn’t…and now it is round 6 of our last year, meaning I’m just going to keep nudging you over there. Just humor me, people- we’re in the 11th hour of this thing

Xi’an

2011-11-07T22:54:00.001-05:00

The Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an are kind of a “must-see” when in China. So we saw them this weekend…

In 1974 four farmers were digging a well and came across fragments of this long buried clay army and by 1979 they were open to the public. They were built by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. They believe there are about 8,000 of them, each one completely different from the next and with details as minute as fingernails and earlobes. The site is still a working archeological dig and we couldn’t decide what was more painstaking and impressive- building them in the first place or putting them all back together now…

They are an incredibly impressive sight by an apparently cruel, but also undeniably impressive emperor. He was also the one that began the Great Wall. Not bad for someone who ruled for less than 20 years.

We even got to meet one of the last surviving farmers who found them…

After the warriors we went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda that was built to house the Buddhist relics brought back by a monk from India as well as the site where he translated Buddhist scriptures into Chinese.

The more you rub the happy Buddha belly the happier you will be!

We caught a cultural show that evening centering around the Wang Dynasty, the most prosperous period in China’s history. It was interesting how this music and dance has survived over 1000 years both from written records and being passed down orally.

We unfortunately had an early flight Sunday afternoon and missed seeing the city wall that encompasses Xi’an or any of the other sites. As predicted by a few of our friends, Xi’an was a must, but not the most thrilling of weekends.*

China weekends letting you down a bit? Me too. But, don’t despair- I really think the best is yet to come. I mean come on, next weekend is Chengdu and ****HELLO**** we get to see and hold baby pandas!!! Oh, and there is this Buddha the size of a mountain there too. Yes, yes, I’m excited about the Buddha, but he’s sharing the weekend with #2 on life list, so it’s a little difficult for me to get that pumped about him. Sorry, giant Buddha!

Pics from the weekend…

*Although, I’d say it was pretty exciting to finally get to see our friends from Argentina! Best of all, after this week they are in Shanghai!!

In Memorandum

2011-11-06T23:36:00.001-05:00

I can hear in my head what my Aunt Terri would say seeing this- “Hmmph…you don’t need to do that!!”

She was a humble woman. She was a woman who didn’t require and rarely received thanks for the many things she did to help others. She was that mom who always put everyone else’s needs well ahead of her own. In a family chock full of strong-willed and overly opinionated women, she was the peacekeeper, the gentle one.

When I was barely able to walk, I managed to pull down a wooden chair on top of myself. It landed directly on my face, literally splitting my nose from my lip. I had to have surgery on my then tiny face and to keep my toddler hands from ruining their handwork, I had to have my arms strapped down crucifixion style, out to the sides. I was a baby, had just had surgery, was in a strange place and was apparently wailing like no other. I was inconsolable, until that is that my Aunt Terri realized what I was missing most- my thumb. I was a fierce thumb-sucker practically until I went to preschool and had been since the womb. I had little white marks on my arms and hands when I was born where I had sucked in utero. Since my thumbs were out of my reach my aunt sucked one for me and I was immediately calmed and asleep in no time. She did it for me every single night I was in the hospital.

I was told that story a million times growing up and I know it is the reason I never once questioned my aunt’s love for me. I was her sister’s child, the first girl of the next generation and no matter the distance between us as I grew up, she would always, always love me.

When I was home visiting my Grandmother last year, my aunt met up with us while we were out at a mall. I hadn’t seen her in many years, but as soon as her arms were around me I could immediately feel that intense love, just as I had when I was a little girl.

The last time I saw her, she was walking across the mall parking lot waving and yelling to me and my grandmother “Love you, bye!” over and over. This is my family’s signature departure line whether you’re on the phone or in person. We never part without saying it to one another.

It would be just months later that she would be diagnosed with cancer. She would survive a surgery the doctors never thought she would, go through round after round of chemo and endure countless radiation treatments over the next painful 18 months.

She passed away peacefully this Sunday morning.

Terri was and will always be a beloved daughter, sister, wife, aunt, mother, grandmother and friend. She will be missed by all those who benefitted from having her in their lives and I’m beyond grateful to have been one of them.

Love you, bye, Terri. Love you, bye.

the daily(ish)

2011-11-04T03:29:00.000-04:00

Sofi and I wandered into the Chen Xiang Monastery the other day while looking for the God City Temple. We never found that temple, and I could have cared less.

This is only the second time I’ve heard Buddhist prayers being sung. The first was in Japan when we stayed in the monastery and got to listen to the resident monks one morning, so it was really freaking awesome that this time I got to hear nuns…

I’m not sure how long they had been praying, but it didn’t last too long after we arrived. Timing really is everything.

flashback friday

2011-11-04T02:08:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you’ve all got a great weekend ahead of you.

Today, we’re flashing back to our trip to the sacred Mt Koyasan in Japan last year during round 6. There is a group headed to Japan today and as much as I’m thrilled to be going to China, I can’t help but be a little jealous. I’ve never loved a country or culture more than my own, but Japan came very, very close to completely winning me over.

This weekend was one of those weekends where we were just in awe of our life, our luck and our incredible blessings.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Mt. Koyasan

There’s something about Japan that seems to allow a multitude of experiences to be somehow stuffed into a relatively short period of time. Each time I attempt to get my thoughts together about a weekend, a day or even just an afternoon I’m overwhelmed with how much actually happened, how much we saw, and how much I need to write about to really get it all out there. I’m going to really try to do justice to our first weekend outside of Tokyo, but it’s going to be an uphill battle so bear with me.

Our final destination was Mt. Koyasan, but Friday we were headed only as far as Osaka via the Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train that goes over 160 miles per hour. Getting to the Shinkasen on time proved to be tough and we’d continue this "narrowly avoiding disaster" theme for practically every single dang train/cable car/subway/taxi we had to take all weekend. Being late is at the very tippy-top of my pet peeve list so how this happened I’m not sure, but each time my insides were a tangled mess of anxiety and frustration. I am always telling the Wife that God will continue to give her opportunities to work on her patience until she no longer lets things exhaust it. Apparently God really wants me to get over this being late thing. That or we just couldn’t get our shit together this weekend, but...

“WE MADE IT!!”

The bullet train was…well, fast. Like a bullet. And they serve beer. Score.
After wandering around the streets by our hotel we finally all admitted that we really didn’t want anything Japanese or even remotely Asian for dinner. In preparation for our vegetarian meals in the temple in Mt. Koyasan we decided on burgers. After which we went for a nightcap at a place called Beering Bon. I don’t know what were expecting, but we got a lady singing the Carpenters and a table full of insanely drunk businessmen who could barely stand. It was a perfectly Japanese night.

We had the next morning in Osaka and chose to see the “castle”…I had a huge problem with this place being called a castle. Why? I don’t know, but does this look like a “castle” to you?

I’m just saying. Castle or not, it was a beautiful day and the grounds around were lovely…

and fun…

and because it is still bizzaro world Japan, even had a random parrot…

It took us a few hours to make it up to Mt. Koyasan with the train and cable car from Osaka. It’s one of the most sacred places in Japan and home to over 100 Buddhist temples. Immediately upon stepping off the train you feel a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the cities and are overcome with a sense of peacefulness.

We were staying at a Buddhist temple for the night just outside the entrance to the ancient cemetery where over 200,000 followers of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism are buried. There are like 50 or so temples that offer up lodging which I suppose is a good source of revenue for the monks.
I don’t know how to explain how serene it was, but just passing through the gates we all became hyper aware of ourselves, our voices, and our actions. We immediately started whispering, tiptoeing and swiftly lifting our rolling bags and their seemingly roaring wheels off the ground. We quietly checked in and were escorted to our rooms. This was when my peaceful, quiet, temple staying self escaped me.

You have to remove your shoes before entering any temple and there were slippers provided at each door. Well, those “slippers from hell” as I later deemed them came flying off my feet as we were going up the first flight of stairs and I had a case of the giggles like no other. The more I tried to stop laughing about it the more I laughed. I was mortified, but the laughter only got worse. I seriously was crying I was laughing so hard. I’m laughing right now just writing about it. Let’s just say that I carried my slippers around most of the time instead of wearing them and never once attempted to wear them on the stairs again.

Our room was crazy traditional and looked out onto the beautiful gardens…

We took a brief walk around before our 5:30 dinner time. We ate alone in a private room and were served by one of the monks. It was strange in the most wonderful way and an experience I’ll never forget or really be able to describe because we could identify about 3% of the food items…

After dinner we headed out for a dark walk through the cemetery. Usually night + not well lit cemetery = no go in my book, but it was really peaceful and we walked all the way to the temple at the end before heading back to our rooms. They ask that everyone is in their rooms by 9:30 so it was an uneventful night after the walk which was a good thing considering our 5:30 wake up time.

Morning prayers were held by two resident monks Sunday morning at 6 and we were allowed to watch. I struggle to find the words to describe what it was like to bear witness to something so sacred. I suppose it’s the indescribable aspect that makes it so extraordinary anyway. I will say that it is moments like these that I’m most grateful for our life and for how insanely blessed we are to have this opportunity.

Breakfast was served in the same manner as dinner, except we weren’t really in the mood for cold tofu and unidentified objects that early in the morning. This is when you're most thankful for Japan's vending machine culture.
I wanted to go back to the cemetery in the light for photos so we made our way through the majestic cedars and moss covered tombstones one last time. It was the most beautiful cemetery I’ve ever seen and truly one of the most special places I’ve ever visited. Truly breathtaking…

Traditionally bibs are places around statues of the Jizo to protect lost children in the afterlife and to pray for the long lives of living children. The practice has evolved and there were all sorts of robes and hats on the statues throughout the cemetery...

After the cemetery we spent the rest of our morning in the town visiting other temples and just enjoying the gorgeous fall colors…

I’ll refer to the second paragraph instead of going into detail about our harrowing experience trying to navigate the many modes of transport back to Tokyo. Let’s just say getting to the hotel in Tokyo never felt so good.

We’re still up in the air about our plans this weekend. After all the back-to-back travel weekends in Europe we’re feeling sluggish and living in such an incredible city like Tokyo makes it hard for us to want to leave in the first place. Maybe we’ll take a day trip; maybe we’ll stay and hit a cat café. You just never know.

the daily(ish)

2011-11-03T02:49:00.000-04:00

Yuyuan Gardens in the old town of Shanghai is a really lovely place to spend an afternoon…

Aside from the tourists it is quite serene and best of all no smoking allowed- and they actually mean it. I can’t tell you how funny (read: ridiculous) it is to me that in March a ban on smoking in public buildings was enacted and NO ONE complies.

There is a lot of spitting going on around here and although I originally thought it was the pollution, I am convinced it is because all the men smoke like houses on fire.

the daily(ish)

2011-11-01T20:38:00.001-04:00

Apologies for the lapse in daily photos. My first VPN got blocked in China and it took me a bit of time to get another one set up. So, without further ado…

These names of the places at Yuyuan Gardens made me laugh…

I suspect there are going to be a lot of posts with signage in our future.

Inner Mongolia

2011-11-01T03:19:00.001-04:00

Oh, how high my hopes were for our first weekend in China. When we first find out where we are headed we buy a travel book. We’ve learned through the years that the books are more of an inspirational starting point and try to buy the one with the most photographs. When we actually start planning and booking we use the interweb- it always has more up-to-date info and reviews are seriously your travel planning best friends. Our Chinese friend had gone through our book with us and pointed out the hot spots we should visit. But one day as I was flipping through, I spotted these photographs from Inner Mongolia and I was determined to go.

I started looking into it online and found that we could go out into the grasslands to meet Mongolian families, eat mutton, watch them wrestle (they wrestle, it’s a Mongolian thing), watch them race horses, ride horses ourselves and even sleep in a yurt (traditional Mongolian tent, albeit a modern version). I emailed a few travel agencies and found one that promised all of the above and a tour of the city’s temples and museums for Sunday. I got the team onboard and we were all off Friday night to the city of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia.

We stayed in the city that evening and met up with our guide, Tom, the next morning to make our way to the grassland. As soon as we started the drive Tom started saying we may not want to stay in the yurt because it was so cold in the grassland. I had asked the agency about this and clarified 3 times that it was okay to stay in the yurts this late in the season. I was told it was cold, but okay as long as we dressed warmly. It was only going to be just at freezing and we would have a heater in the room. Tom was making me nervous though.

Then Tom announced that although our “luxury” yurt did indeed have bathrooms, but they didn’t work. “No worries” he says “This is grassland, everywhere is toilet”. I’m now officially nervous.

We keep telling each other we’ll just check it out and if we need to, we’ll just go back to Hohhot that evening after all our awesome Mongolian activities.

We arrive at our destination and pulled up to a simple house with a number of rundown looking yurts in the front yard. There is trash everywhere, chickens roaming around and a couple cows. Tom introduces us to our host and we check out the yurts. No way, people. No way. Actually they weren’t that bad and certainly not the most basic place we’ve ever stayed, but when Tom said the everywhere in the grassland was a toilet, he meant it. There is cow, horse, chicken, camel (yes- camel) and who knows what else kind of poop and litter all over the ground. I’m not about to wander outside in the freezing dark to go to the bathroom here. I’m no sissy, I can pee outside- but this was a no-go. No. Go.

We talk to Tom and tell him we aren’t comfortable staying, but we’d like to enjoy our day out there and then after the campfire dinner with the Mongolian dancing and singing we can just go back to Hohhot. We had already talked to him about how we were going to pick out a lamb for a traditional lamb roasting.

Tom then confesses that well, there won’t be any wrestling, or songs, or dances, or campfire or anything. We can ride horses and that is extra, but the rest of it isn’t available in October. What the what?!?

Guys, can I tell you how grateful I am for the laidback people we had in the group? I can? Okay- I AM SO GRATEFUL!!!

We’re there, it is what it is, so we decide we’re going to hop on some Mongolian horses and ride out to the alboa, a place to make sacrifices and wishes for good luck.

Jules hasn’t been on a horse since a very bad horse buggy accident that happened when she was a little girl. I love to ride, but haven’t been on anything other than that crazed donkey in Petra since we’ve been together. That’s almost 10 years.

Lucky for us, Mongolians are little people and their horses are to scale…

Our horse guide, named Butter (yes, Butter which means hero in Mongolian) got us all saddled up and we were off…

The grassland was actually very pretty. Although I was riding a horse so picture taking wasn’t so easy. I actually don’t have one photo of myself from the entire weekend, but here’s a view from my horse…

I named his Snowball and he pretty much sucked. He was lazy beyond lazy and only picked up his step when Butter came up behind to grunt and shoo him. I tried to American-style “HE-YAH” him, but he didn’t speak English, although Butter thought this was hilarious. Actually, the whole ride was hilarious. We were all trying to mimic Butter’s horse language to get our horses to go which was a high pitched “HE” and a whispering “shhooo, shhooo”. So we’re all out there, 2 Americans, an Argentinian and a Mexican on top of these tiny horses in the middle of nowhere Inner Mongolia sounding like kids playing with lasers guns.

Once we got back it was time for lunch and this was really an incredible experience. Apparently during the tourist season (you know, when all the stuff is actually available) they eat at large restaurant type places, but our only choice was to eat in the family’s home. Butter’s wife prepared our meal (details to come on the food blog) which was amazing. We were the only foreigners they had ever met and they treated us with immense warmth, unwavering hospitality and a bit of curiosity. If you have ever watched that show “No Reservations” with Anthony Bourdain, that was exactly what is was like and it was beyond awesome. Their baby was more interested in her lunch than us, but she did take time to make some faces at us…

After lunch, the Grandfather pulled out some Mongolian “wine”- aka grain alcohol that will about kill you…

and then marveled at my wedding ring. I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was the fake one I travel with. Butter was more interested in Julie’s green eyes and seemed to really be asking why in the world were they that color.

This was by far my favorite part of our weekend and I think it would have been even if that had been singing and dancing and wrestling. I mean, look at the pure beauty that emits from these faces…

Upon returning to Hohhot the battle began with Tom, his boss and the agency in Beijing about all this tour business. It lasted 4 hours and no side was too thrilled with deal that was finally reached. The guys and Julie spared me from it, although I am usually a hardline negotiator, I was too in love with the family that hosted us and felt bad for poor Tom because he was just the local guide. I wasn’t going to help the situation, at least not for us.

As part of the compromise, Tom and our driver took us to eat hotpot. We were the only ones in the restaurant and clearly the only foreigners they had ever had because the entire staff just sat down at a nearby table and marveled at us eating. The food was pretty good and Tom made a peace offering of a bottle of Mongolian “wine” that reminded me of a much stronger version of moonshine.

Somehow, we then agreed to go out to a bar. We haven’t been out dancing since last year in Tokyo and seriously I just don’t have the desire anymore. So much so that people don’t even ask us to go out anymore. They know we’ll never go. Well, seems like the trick is Mongolian “wine” because there was no arm twisting involved.

The bar we went to was packed, had a handful of dj’s spinning great music and absolutely no foreigners. We were like celebrities and although a bit blurry, I remember having an absolutely amazing time. We danced with everyone, drank with everyone, some table sang a song to me and presented me with a rose and I somehow convinced the manager to let one of the dj’s let me scratch the record during a song. My 22 year old self would have been so proud of me.

However, it was my 33 year old self that I had to answer to the next morning and let me tell you, she was not a happy camper. She refused to even get out of the bed before noon and therefore missed the touring of Hohhot on Sunday. She’s such an old curmudgeon!

So there is was- our first weekend in China. Not what we expected, not what we hoped for or what we paid for, but with some pretty cool surprises along the way.

This weekend we’re off to X’ian to see the terracotta army and finally get reunited with our friends from Argentina! Can’t wait!

Pics from the weekend…more to come when I can get them from Nachito…

flashback friday

2011-10-28T09:08:00.002-04:00

Today we’re going way back to our first round in 2009 when we were in India. I’ve always said we were thrown into the deep end of the culture shock pool with our first location being India and it was a trip that has forever changed us both.

It’s really funny to me when reading back on our time there, we were such novice travelers, so full of both trepidation and excitement for the unknown.

Not that we’ve lost the excitement, but we’ve definitely lost all the trepidation about travel. Just the other day we were dying laughing about how we had wanted to go to Thailand one year for vacation. This was about 2 years before we had decided we wanted to do this International gig. We bought a travel book on Thailand and within 20 minutes of reading we deemed it too dangerous and took the book back to Barnes and Noble. Hahaha! I’m totally serious though. We were too scared to go to Thailand as two women traveling alone.

It is crazy for me to imagine the things we would have deemed too dangerous to tackle…all the amazing experiences our silly fears would have kept us from experiencing. It makes me even more grateful that we got on that plane to India almost 3 years ago.

We would have certainly never done this trip to Varanasi and what a colossal loss that would have been for us…

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Varanasi

This past weekend we visited India’s holiest city, Varanasi. It is the home of Lord Shiva and one of the world’s oldest living cities. It is here that Hindu pilgrims come to bath in the Ganges, perform religious ceremonies and even come here to die in hopes of receiving “moksha”, the Hindu liberation from birth and rebirth.

The more we told locals we were going to Varanasi the more warnings we received about our trip…everything from “wear bug repellant each time you step outside” to “don’t eat anywhere outside your hotel” to “don’t talk to anyone who is dressed in religious garb because they are tricking you into giving them money”…needless to say the more I heard the less excited I became about going.

After a very bumpy flight we arrived in Varanasi to find there were no guides available to escort us the next day. We went ahead and booked our driver for a full day of sights and I tried hard to ignore the feeling of uneasiness in my stomach.

Our driver picked us up before 6am and we headed down to the Ganges River to take the sunrise boat ride. As we walked from the van to the river I have to say I was happy for the lack of light…it wasn’t a far walk but it was straight through a little market whose “stores” were nothing more than wooden shacks with dirt floors. Cows, goats, dogs and who knows what else were all milling around and the smell was not the most pleasant. When we reached the Ghats (steps that lead to the Ganges River) we were swarmed by children selling flower lights. These small candles surrounded by flowers are used as an offering to the Ganges River, which in a city full of temples is considered the most sacred place.

It wasn’t until we had gotten into our little wooden boat and out onto the Ganges that I finally felt a little more at ease. The river was quiet and calm and immediately we began to see people bathing and performing rituals in its waters…truly sights to behold…

We also saw the Ghats where bodies are cremated in the same way and with the same flame that has been burning for hundreds of years.

After the boat ride we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and then headed out again around 9am to Sarnath. It was in this city that Buddha sat under a Bhodi tree and became enlightened and where he gave his first speech to his disciples. There was a very nice temple and we even got to see the tree, albeit a tree made from a graft of the original tree because I guess it died. Nonetheless, it was pretty cool to see the birthplace of a religion.

We then headed back to the hotel for some much needed siestas before our next boat ride to witness the evening rituals. Little did I know that I would need that nap for survival…without it I don’t think I my motor skills would have been up to the challenge of getting to the Ghats.

In the evening they do not allow motor vehicles into old Varanasi…I’m assuming to keep the noise from disturbing the ceremonies. I wish I had some pictures to show you the insanity that we waded through in the 10 minutes it took to get to our destination…but I refused even to take a picture for someone else. I needed to keep one eye on the ground to avoid feces and urine (hopefully just of the cow and dog variety-probably wishful thinking again) and the other eye darting from one direction to the next to avoid being run over by a rickshaw, bicycle, motorcycle or cow. It was a nightmare.

When we finally made it back to the Ghats we found it still filled with the children still selling their flower lights as well as hoards of people making their way down to the Ganges. Again, the uneasiness only subsided when we were back on the boat.

This ease was short-lived as our boatman decided we should take another trip down to the crematory. This time he promised many more bodies as if this would make us want to see it even more. I guess for most of the tourists he meets it is a plus, but my heart was heavy as I watched these shrouded bodies dipped into the water by their relatives before being put on the pyre. I won’t say that from a distance it wasn’t fascinating to think how sacred and unchanged this ritual is, but I had no interest in intruding on these families at such a private time and when the boatman pulled us up almost to the bank I pleaded that we go back to the other Ghats.

Bearing witness to the evening aarti (prayer ritual) was really astonishing. We have some pretty great video but until we get a replacement cable for the one I left behind in Atlanta (one that I had deemed unimportant) you’ll just have to look at the photos.

There was no way I was walking back through that lunacy so when our boatman suggested a motorized rickshaw I hopped on in. It was a crazy ride, but at least I was sure my feet would stay feces/urine free and both my eyes were free to really take it all in.

It is so difficult to explain what it was like to be there and see all that we saw. Unchanged by time, it was like we were watching the living and breathing past.

Through all the crap (both figuratively and literally) we all felt we were really privileged to have observed something this unique and truly special to India.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-27T07:54:00.000-04:00

We had such an amazing time with our friends, J & D, that came to London…

(we’re in front of Westminster Abbey, got to love when you ask someone to take a picture of you in front of a huge monument and they get the parking lot)

We’re beyond happy they were able to come visit and were thoroughly impressed with their packed European schedule- 4 countries in 2 weeks, not bad ladies, not bad at all.

Having them with us made us that much more certain that we’re ready to be home with people we love and who love us.

Seriously miss you guys already! Can’t wait for our next vacay together! XOXO

Oh, and JAC- Do you like pina coladas?

Lag being the operative word

2011-10-27T03:47:00.001-04:00

Oh, jet lag…we meet again.

I felt fairly productive yesterday and was able to stay up until midnight thanks to finding a movie on in English. Against all odds I didn’t take a nap yesterday either, so I actually slept through the night and thought I had this thing whipped.

Not. So. Much.

Although I was lucky enough to get a totally normal amount of sleep (the poor Wife hasn’t had more than 4 hours at a stretch since we left Finland) my body feels like it is in shutdown mode today.

I’ve had a righteous headache since I woke up and the energy level of a sloth. Actually sloths can move pretty fast when they want to and I’m thinking if imminent danger were to arise today, I’d probably be a goner.

They say when you’re caught in an undertow you shouldn’t fight it, but instead let it take you to the bottom where you can then swim free of it and return to the surface.

Sincerely hoping today is the bottom.

Finland

2011-10-26T03:11:00.002-04:00

Our goal was to see the Northern Lights. They can be a bit finicky, so the Wife took a couple of days vacation so we’d have a few nights to try to catch them. Friday we headed up to Northern Finland with crossed fingers and toes.

We arrived in Rovaniemi in time to go in search of them that evening. Our guide picked us up at our hotel and we began the drive out to the Artic Circle. They say the Artic Circle is the border of hastiness where regular time gives way to the magic of elves and reindeer. Now, we didn’t see any elves and the reindeer weren’t until later in the weekend, but the magic I’m going to attest to. As we drove across that imaginary parallel line at 66° 33′ 44″ we felt it. The air felt different, the sky was such a strange color and seriously, the stars seemed to stretch and bend back and forth. It was incredibly eerie and we both kept our eyes glued to the skies as we drove down the dark road. You know, just in case any UFO’s thought about beaming us up.

We arrived at a cabin and got suited up for a dark uphill hike through the frigid night air. We had only a small flashlight and some ski poles to help us keep our balance up the rocky path. It was quite a hike and I was almost grateful the other person on our tour was so out of shape the he needed to take multiple breaks. Not only did it give us a chance to catch our own breath, but it allowed us to stare at the impossible to comprehend sky. I’ve been to a lot of remote places and seen a lot of impressive skies, but this one, these stars…it was absolutely unbelievable.

Once we reached the little teepee at the top of the hill, we had an awesome view of the Northern skies. It was a bit cloudy, but the lights were there, green and glowing, dancing through the night. One of our guides told us all about the particles coming from the sun hitting the magnetic atmosphere, blah, blah, blah. I didn’t care, I just wanted to watch them.

After about a million tries it became obvious that no photos were possible that night and I was glad. It’s nice to just be able to enjoy something instead of trying to capture it from every single angle.

We ducked into the teepee to warm up by the fire, roast some Finnish sausages and have some hot chocolate. We went back outside to watch the lights and make wishes on the dozens of shooting stars falling around us. Who wouldn’t believe in magic under these skies?

We eventually made our way back down the hill and headed towards our hotel. Just before we reached the first road with streetlights we got to see the lights again, waving goodbye as we turned the corner and the artificial light blinded us from their ethereal beauty.

It was a beautiful, and as hokey as it sounds, truly magical night.

We didn’t get back from our tour until 1am so we slept in on Saturday, skipping breakfast and getting a awesomely late start to the day. We hadn’t had one of those in a while and we savored the fact that we had nothing to do and nowhere to be.

Rovaniemi is not only a great place to spot the Northern lights, but also the official home of Santa Claus. And no, I don’t have a clue as to how they got this status, but they aren’t messing around about it and as soon as you arrive you see all these signs all over saying “Official airport of Santa Claus”.

We decided to go to Santa’s village since we booked a tour for Sunday. It was fairly disappointing, but we did get a jump start on Christmas gifts for two very hard to buy for men in our family.

Sunday morning we went about an hour outside of Rovaniemi to a reindeer farm owned by an indigenous Sami family. The sweet wife greeted us as we pulled up and we started off our visit with a little reindeer roping lesson.

I missed. Of course…

(that’s my green rope laying beside the reindeer)

But so did Julie…

and so did our guide, but on the second try I got him!

And of course, so did Julie…

After wrangling our fake reindeer, we went in to feed some real ones…

This one was the prettiest and very attached to Julie, she said it was just the food, but even when I was the only one with anything to give him he followed her around. The owner didn’t speak any English, but our laughter at Jules’ reindeer boyfriend needed no translation.

We spent the rest of the afternoon inside a traditional Sami house, learning about the Sami culture and feasting on delicious crepes that our host cooked for us over the fire. We were the only people on the tour so we just asked questions and she answered through our guide. It was such an enjoyable day. Although, by the time we got back home I felt at least 3 of my toes were in danger of falling off from frostbite.

We were in bed fairly early that night to begin our insane trip to China on Monday morning.

We’re off to Inner Mongolia this weekend to hang out with some Mongolians. I was pretty worried about the weather, but it is going to be considerably warmer than Northern Finland, so I’m hoping my toes don’t have anything to worry about.

Pictures from the weekend…

what day is it?

2011-10-25T23:35:00.001-04:00

I seriously had to ask myself that question this morning and it took looking at my phone to actually get the answer. Wednesday? Seriously?

We had an awesome weekend in Finland (more on that to come), but knew it meant a bit of craziness to make it work as an “in-between” trip from London to Shanghai. That “bit of craziness” was more like a bit of a nightmare. One which included an hour flight from Rovaniemi to Helsinki with a 3 hour layover, a 3 hour flight to London where we had to pick up our stored luggage that we had dropped off on Friday afternoon before departing and another 3 hour layover, then an hour flight to Paris and yet another 3 hour layover before boarding our 11 hour flight to Shanghai. We were up at 6am Finland time and didn’t board our last flight until 11pm Paris time which was 10pm London time and we arrived at 5pm in Shanghai where it was as dark as midnight before we reached our hotel. So, I of course awoke at 3am this morning ready to start my day…just not sure which day it was exactly.

Needless to say, we’re going to have a little jet lag plaguing us for the next few days. I usually do worse coming to Asia, although this time it is only a 5 hour difference we’re battling, so maybe it won’t be too bad.

Right now I feel all out of sorts, like my circadian rhythm is trying to keep time with a toddler jazz band. Of course, the poor Wife developed a cold somewhere between Finland and Paris and has to go to work, so I really shouldn’t complain.

Through all the tiredness, I did feel incredibly anxious and excited as we were descending into Shanghai. That’s a feeling I haven’t had in a really long time and I’ve missed it. There is something so thrilling about landing in a foreign land knowing everything will be, well, so foreign. To explore, observe and learn about cultures so different from your own is by far my favorite part of traveling and I’m ready to see, touch and taste everything China has to offer me. Okay, maybe not taste everything, because I know they have some insanely bizarre eats here.

So far our hotel is a freaking dream compared to the one in London. Our room is so comfortable and other than the hard-as-a-rock bed we couldn’t be happier. It isn’t like anybody is sleeping around here anyway.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-24T09:56:00.000-04:00

Okay, last one from the British Museum- behold the tiniest mummy I’ve ever seen…

Poor little fishy. I wonder if it is actually embalmed.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-22T09:53:00.000-04:00

Why is it that my shoes are all practically falling apart (except my new boots that J&D so awesomely brought me from the States- thanks again, guys!!) and these sandals from the 3rd century B.C. are still pretty much intact????

Seriously, how can that be?

In other shoe mysteries, I found my beloved Toms! Of course they were in the one pocket of a bag that I didn’t check 14 times in my frantic search. I know you were all very concerned, but you can stop worrying as the the crisis has been averted.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-21T09:35:00.000-04:00

Our tube stop in London…

Even if our hotel was right on up down there with that craphole in Tunisia, living across the street from Green Park has been extremely nice. We had central London at our fingertips and hey, isn’t every day that one of your closest neighbors is the Queen of England.

Thanks for everything, London. You’ve been an extremely cool place to dwell these past couple of months, but the time has come to bid you cheerio.

flashback friday

2011-10-20T22:44:00.000-04:00

We had to say goodbye to Frenchie again this this week. We were really happy he made it back to London before we left Europe, but it still stunk saying goodbye again without knowing exactly when we’ll see each other next.

As an adult I find it really difficult to make friends. I don’t mean I find it hard to be friendly with people or that I don’t thoroughly enjoy meeting new people and socializing. I’m talking about good friends, as in people you really, seriously care about. I just find it’s much harder as a grown-up to really connect with people in a truly meaningful way. Back home I have very few friends that I haven’t known for 10+ years and I bet if you think about it your nearest and dearest have also been the ones who’ve been around the longest.

That said, we’ve made some incredible friends on this journey, people who we have no doubt will be in our lives forever and Frenchie is definitely one of them. No matter how far away we live from one another the experiences that we’ve shared have allowed us to forge fast, but also everlasting, friendships. That’s something I totally wasn’t expecting when we set off for this wild ride, but it is something I’m insanely grateful for.

Today’s post is actually a recap post of our last round with Frenchie before he rolled out of the department. It was just us three last summer and even aside from the fact that without him we wouldn’t have even been able to order dinner, we really couldn’t have picked a better person to spend those 2 months in Tunisia with…

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

time to reflect...

The differences between our first and second stints in Africa are as vastly different as the continent itself. From the bush to the desert southern and northern Africa are like night and day.

Tunisia has been a country of surprises for me. Maybe if I hadn’t tried so hard to decide what it was all about before I actually got here it wouldn’t have been. I like to be prepared and sometimes that leads me to prejudge more than anything else.

I won’t lie and say I wasn’t a little concerned about coming to an Arab country bordered by Libya and Algeria. Our only other experience with Northern Africa was Egypt and although many of the people we met were absolutely wonderful and warm and welcoming (I’ve run out of w’s) there were also people that made me feel incredibly uncomfortable and a little too welcome if you get my drift. It was and still is the most difficult country I’ve ever visited. But, Tunisia has been easy. It's been comfortable and with the help of our translator and pal, Frenchie, it has turned out to be a lot of fun.

Tunisia has been round of pleasant surprises like our favorite town, Pheobe Buffay (aka Sidi Bou Said)…

the amazing ruins at Dougga…

and the vastness of the Sahara…

Our location in northern Africa allowed us some pretty amazing weekend travel outside of Tunisia, like our trip home with Frenchie…

our trip to Luxor…

Istanbul…

and the jaw-dropping Petra…

It’s been a round full of laughs…

Ali Baba’s hat…

and jumping in each other’s photos…

We’ve really had a great time this round, but like all good things it must come to an end.

We’re moving in just a couple of days. I’m ready, the Wife is ready. We’ll think we’re not ready when saying goodbye to Frenchie, but it’s time to go...and that's what we do best these days- go.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-20T09:44:00.000-04:00

Wandering around the British Museum we spotted this clock from Germany in a time piece exhibit…

when the hour strikes the woman milks the cow and according to the sign liquid would actually came out.

I was a bit less impressed when we got to the modern times of the exhibit and the Casio digital clock was displayed.

I guess advances in technology don’t always mean things get better.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-19T04:09:00.001-04:00

Walking around Geneva and I kept seeing little signs like these with what looks like a cartoon Native American Indian on it…

It took me a minute to figure out what the heck this little Indian was doing, but apparently the little brave was pointing directions to various bus/train stations and streets. Is there a stereotype that American Indians possess great senses of directions? Swiss Indians? I still don’t get it.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-18T04:57:00.000-04:00

Going through the photos on my phone the other day and I see this guy…

What in the? Who in the? I believe was my response. You meet some real characters at Oktoberfest and sometimes those characters will jump out at you at a later date from your phone. And yes, that is his rat tail he has pulled across his upper lip.

Oktoberfest- the holiday that just keeps on giving.

Fjords

2011-10-17T08:49:00.002-04:00

Our trip to Norway started off with a pleasant surprise, finding out our friend from Ireland was actually on our flight out of London. This would be just the beginning of an awesome weekend with awesome friends.

Although we were arriving via London, Frankfurt and Oslo we all landed within 30 or so minutes of each other and headed off to our respective apartment/hotels before meeting up for dinner Friday night.

We had booked the Norway in a Nutshell tour which is really just a package of train and boat tickets that show off the best the country has to offer.

We spent the first couple of hours on the train from Bergen and it provided us some truly gorgeous scenery filled with rivers, waterfalls, fjords, mountains, and cute little Norwegian houses…

as we made our way to the snowy town of Mydral to take the Flamsbana train…

We rode through even more amazing scenery on this train for around an hour on our way to Flam…

with a short stop off at the Kjosfossen waterfall…

We had time to grab lunch in Flam before boarding the boat that would take us through the Songnefjorden.

Even with all the lovely landscapes we had seen on the trains, we were all blown away by the immense beauty of this fjord…

It was FREEZING on the boat, but worth every minute of it! Definitely one of those times when you cannot help but be in complete awe of our spectacular planet. There were more than a few discussions of just how we could make a living in we if we moved to one of the little towns at the base of the fjord. I mean can you imagine this being your front yard?

After two hours we took our frozen bones onto a bus for a ride into Voss. We had an hour or so before our last train back to Bergen so we headed to a cozy café for some drinks.

Our plans for a frozen pizza and card night at our little apartment were foiled by the insane fact that you can’t buy beer after 6pm on Saturday nights so we headed to a restaurant to have one last dinner together.

Sunday we met up and walked down to the wharf houses…

You almost feel like you’re walking in a fun house they are so slanted and warped.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a traditional place down by the water before bidding our goodbyes to the New Cohort and our Irish lass. Wow, I really hate goodbyes, especially when it is to people you hold so dear. It was such a great group this weekend and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate time spent with good friends…

Our friends from Atlanta are with us in London for a few more days and we plan to soak up as much “friend time” as possible before heading off to China.

We’ve got a quick stop in Finland before getting there though. Cross your fingers for us- we’re going to be in search of the Northern Lights!

Album from this weekend…

Photo credits to jac and her mrs. for some of the photos from the train and fjords! Thanks guys!!

the daily(ish)

2011-10-17T07:49:00.000-04:00

I’ve pointed out before how important snacks are for us. Our gathering skills have been honed these past 3 years and there is rarely a time I don’t have at least an apple stowed away somewhere. The Wife’s favorite fruit, however, is the banana. I find them in her purse or work bag or just lying around the room all the time. I cannot think of a worse fruit to carry around as a snack.

A. They don’t pack well- a banana in crowded bag equals squished banana all in your bag.

B. There is too much gross waste after you eat them. A banana peel isn’t something you can wrap in a single tissue and stuff into your bag until you find a trashcan.

C. Their shelf life sucks. I can carry around an apple for a week whereas that yellow banana you picked up at breakfast is going to be brown and gross by that evening.

I’m constantly giving the Wife a hard time about her dang bananas. Not solely for the reasons above, but because she never eats the things anyway. This means we’re stuck with a time bomb of a banana lurking in bags waiting to be squished or rotting in the room.

I may or may not have kicked a banana across the room in a somewhat joking/somewhat serious manner in Venice.

And of course, my griping makes the banana that much more irresistible for the Wife.

This guy was with us for 11 hours the other day on a tour…

until he finally found his brown and bruised self in the garbage when we got back into London.

Hope you enjoyed your tour, little banana. I’m sure you won’t be the last of your kind to join us on our journeys.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-15T04:15:00.000-04:00

You can always point out Georgian architecture because of the bricked in windows. At one point during this period they began taxing people based on the number of windows you had in your home. This prompted people to literally brick in their windows to avoid paying higher fees. The owners of this Georgian home apparently decided they didn’t like the look and painted in over the bricks…

If they taxed for tacky ideas, these people would be in trouble.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-14T04:07:00.000-04:00

I had no idea how inexpensive things are in the U.S. compared to other countries until I started shopping in other countries. Wow, we have it so good, Americans. Someone asked me if I was doing a lot of shopping in London. Um, no thanks. I don’t care to pay twice or sometimes three times as much for the exact same brands and products.

Although, I did spot this street in Bath and wondered if maybe I’d find some prices I could live with paying…

flashback friday

2011-10-14T01:44:00.001-04:00

This week’s post is from our second trip to Arenal (to read all about the first time we were there and how God saved me from zip-lining with what I thought was jungle rot, but turned out to be from squeezing a lime in a margarita click here) to see the volcano with the Costa Rica team and 3 friends who had flown down from Atlanta. It was a great weekend with friends and we had a much better experience this time with getting to see the volcano so clearly and getting to see it erupt, although just reading about the zip-lining again makes my stomach do flips.

I’ll never forget that jerk, Eban, and his torturous laugh as I screamed bloody murder flying through the jungle.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Arenal- Take 2

The guys arrived from Atlanta on Thursday night with enough time to grab a couple drinks before heading to bed. I had booked a fairly early trip out to the Poas Volcano the next morning.

When we got to the volcano we were told it was releasing too many fumes to go up to see the crater. After standing around for just a few minutes it was obvious they were right not to let us up…

Our insanely annoying tour guide, Mike, gave us a few options and we chose to try to see the Poas waterfall. There had been an earthquake last year that caused devastating landslides in the area where houses, business and roads were destroyed.

To his surprise the road was open so we drove down to the waterfall. He decided to see how far the road had been cleared and we drove for what seemed like forever while he talked incessantly about what used to be there and how dangerous it was for us to be driving in the area- just what you always want to hear from a guide. Where the road used to be…

We finally made him turn back, but did get to see some other waterfalls along the way…

On our drive back we stopped at a local fruit stand and gorged ourselves on fresh cheese, fried plantains, mangos, bananas and strawberries. We also made a quick stop at a coffee plantation to enjoy the views and grab a drink. The highlight of our trip was really the views and the delicious cool mountain air…

The worker bees met us at the hotel later that afternoon and we piled up into the two cars and headed out to Arenal. Once we got close enough we pulled over with the other people on the side of the road and got our first view of the lava flowing down. It was awesome.

Our hotel sat just under the volcano on the side where the lava flows. It was amazing to watch and listen to it spew and spit boulder size lava rocks that rolled and crashed down the side of the volcano. Unfortunately it was not so easy to capture on film…

We were up early the next morning to take a nature walk around the grounds of our hotel...

We then grabbed a quick lunch and made our way to the zip lining place. As soon as the instructors started instructing I was starting to panic. I was going to be responsible for braking myself…and if I did it too soon I was going to be stuck hanging there and have to pull myself hand over hand to the next platform…uh, what?1?

As we ascended the stairs to the first platform my knees were weak and when we reached the top I had tears in my eyes and said I couldn’t do it. I’m deathly afraid of heights and have been my entire life. As a kid I wouldn’t even ride on my dad’s shoulders and now you want me to jump off this thing attached to a metal wire?1?

We had two guides with us and the very sweet one assured me that I could go with the other one, Eban. He would be with me the entire way.
That meant I had to go first. I screamed the entire way to the next platform and enjoyed it about as much as a root canal. It was also very clear Eban was not going to be nurturing me with my fears. Instead he was going to take pleasure in screaming out “no brakes!” and mocking me as I screamed in terror. If Hazel had not been in worse shape than me I would have demanded to trade him in for the sweet guy. Everyone else loved it though and really enjoyed the experience…

By the 5th or 6th line I was still just as scared, but at least able to stand on the platforms without feeling like my legs were going to give way. The 8th and final line I made Eban swear to be nice and tried really hard to enjoy the views and the experience. I won’t say I enjoyed it, per se, but I did feel less like I was plummeting towards my demise...

After zip lining we stopped at a restaurant and grabbed some much needed beers and had some delicious ceviche. Every muscle in my body felt weak so I chose to skip the old lava flow tour that afternoon. I felt like I had just finished the most grueling workout of my life. I guess that’s what happens when you have tensed every muscle in your body for 2 straight hours. Jules was still struggling with the virus she caught so we went back for a quick nap before meeting everyone at the hot springs.

The hot springs were a great way to relax after the day and the swim up bars only made it that much better. We were all exhausted so after dinner there we came back to the hotel and crashed.

We had amazing luck with the volcano. Normally the tip is covered in clouds, but it was pretty much visible to us the entire time. The weather held out and Saturday had been amazing.

Of course, sometimes luck runs out. We had a minor little issue with a car key on Sunday and spent most of the day dealing with it before heading back. But, we got back to San Jose by dusk and went out for a great dinner at a nearby Peruvian restaurant.

I hated putting the guys in a taxi the next day, maybe almost as much as they hated going back to work.

It's been a while since we traveled with a big group and it was great. We're so glad you guys got to come down!!

We had planned to go to the beach in Tamarindo this weekend, but after hearing about the 7 hour drive we decided to stay put and maybe try to see some of the attractions close by

the daily(ish)

2011-10-13T04:37:00.000-04:00

Although I didn’t really care for the contents, the Natural History Museum really was a lovely building…

the daily(ish)

2011-10-12T04:24:00.000-04:00

We travel by ourselves quite a bit and have become the masters of self-portraits. Seriously, sometimes they are even better than the ones our friends take of us. When I say “we” are masters, what I really mean is “the Wife”.

I was walking around South Bank the other day and here is my attempt at a self-portrait in front of the London Eye and County Hall…

Awesome, huh? I had about 4 just like it. Me and the ugly water of the Thames. Can’t wait to frame one.

The thing that really gets me about them is that it almost killed me to even take them. I seriously don’t like posing for pictures by myself. It isn’t that I don’t want pictures of just me, I just freak out while they are being taken.

Posing in front of a camera by myself makes me really uncomfortable and super self-conscious. In the last 3 years I have trained the Wife to take any photos of me as quickly as humanly possible. If there is any lag I will inevitably ~~say~~ yell “NEVER MIND!” and storm off in an embarrassed huff. And yes, I realize this obviously brings far more unwanted attention to myself than getting my photo taken.

I am well aware that it’s a very stupid hang-up that I have and I’m really trying to work on it. This is why I forced myself to take my own picture- by myself- in front a million people.

AND when I failed so miserably at that, I even went a step further and asked a stranger to do it for me…

She was so nice and went well out of her way to ensure a good shot. She crossed the crowded sidewalk, zoomed in and out, asked people to wait as she took the picture, and slowly counted to 3. Through it all I just wanted to scream “Never mind!”, snatch my camera, and run away, but I totally didn’t and that’s what you call PROGRESS.

friend-filled weekend

2011-10-11T13:12:00.001-04:00

Let me start by saying, I have very few photos from the weekend, but will have more once I raid our friend’s camera. My point-and-shoot is seriously on it’s last leg. It has been dropped more times than I care to remember and for some reason I just never had our SLR with us. We both kept forgetting it even though we were doing awesome things around London with our friends. I know, it makes no sense. I’m starting to think we both subconsciously forgot it so we could take a break from being shutterbugs for a weekend.

Our friends arrived in London very early Thursday morning, so early that Jules could even come with me to pick them up and still make it to work on time…

They had 2 1/2 days before heading off to some other European destinations and we crammed a lot into that short amount of time- They saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham…

took a ride down the Thames to Greenwich, they had their first pint in an English pub, ate their first real fish and chips and steak and ale pies, walked around Westminster and toured Westminster Abbey…

we went up the London Eye, met our Londoner friends in Soho, tasted their first Korean food, and were even able to hit up the British Museum before leaving to catch their flight.

Since they’ll be back in London at the end of their trip I think this was a pretty nice start. And helloooooo…

I did the London Eye for them and although I did require a beer beforehand, I didn’t even freak out. It was actually not that scary, although I was literally weak in the knees and had to death grip the rails when getting close to the glass for photos.

After they were off to their next destination, we joined our sweet Londoner friends who had invited us over again to enjoy a home-cooked meal. The food was spectacular and the company great- we couldn’t have asked for a better Saturday night.

We seriously spent all day in bed on Sunday planning and booking China weekends and only left the room for breakfast and dinner. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have a lazy Sunday together, they don’t come often and it will likely be our last one this year.

Up this weekend- Norway with friends and fjords. We’re so excited!!!

the daily(ish)

2011-10-11T04:39:00.000-04:00

Not the first time our hair iron has caused damage…

or will it likely be the last. Nothing was worse than having to tell the sweet people at the Japan Westin that we had actually broken an entire glass table top when it cracked from the heat.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-10T03:32:00.000-04:00

Seriously?

Is it really necessary to put each separate article of clothing in it’s own tissue paper and bag?

Obviously, being kind to the environment isn’t high on the list of priorities at our current hotel. Which I suppose makes sense because they aren’t very nice to their guests either.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-07T03:59:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this is the last from the Natural History Museum…

I took a picture of this for few reasons. One to remind myself that my fear of the ocean is totally reasonable with things like this swimming around in it, two I thought it was really interesting and three, there was a sign I couldn’t take a photo of that said something to the effect of “The male is essentially a swimming testicle” and that made me laugh.

the return of flashback fridays (sort of)

2011-10-07T01:15:00.000-04:00

I’m still working on our photo albums (yes, I took a long break- it is tedious business, people- te-di-ous) and I use the blog to help me keep the photos in in chronological order. I usually end up reading a post or two as I’m looking back putting weekends in order and this coupled with going through the 7.3 million photos of our past travels has made me very nostalgic. We’re coming to the end of the round so quickly (just 2 weeks left!!) and then only one more round before this incredible ride is over.

So, since I’m feeling nostalgic and since I’m the one who runs this here blog, we’re going to start getting all nostalgic together on Fridays with random posts from our past trips.

I have no idea where the past 3 years have gone. I really and truly don’t, so let’s remember together and maybe sing kumbaya while we’re at it. Okay, we don’t have to sing, but maybe just hum it quietly to yourself as you read. Definitely quietly if you’re reading this at work.

First up is from our first year, round 3 in Argentina. We loved that country so much- the leather, the steaks, the wines, the amazing natural beauty. This was probably my favorite weekend although they were all pretty great. Except that whole eating cow stomach incident but hey, live and learn. Live and learn.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

El Calafate

We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend to start Rho’s Argentinean adventure. Our flight out on Friday was only an hour late which for Aerolineas Airlines is incredible.

The beauty of Patagonia is obvious before your plane even touches down. As you descend you can’t help but be mesmerized by the color of the lakes and streams. The water is this slightly eerie ethereal blue and almost seems to glow.
After a slow ride from the airport with our amusing driver we arrived just outside of El Calafate at Las Dunas Inn. Our hotel was beyond charming and just steps from Largo Argentina (the country’s largest lake) so the views were beautiful.

We headed into El Calfate for a traditional barbeque dinner (aka-meat, meat, more meat and malbec) and had a nightcap in the lounge before heading to bed for our early morning out to see the glacier.

I don’t think one can see a glacier and not be blown away by the sheer awesomeness that is our planet. Almost otherworldly, the Perito Merino Glacier just outside El Calafate was by far Mother Nature at her finest.
We did a boat ride in front of the glacier and then walked around the maze of viewing platforms to get a different perspective. The glacier itself is 25% larger than the city of Buenos Aires. It is just astounding...

We were unable to see a lot of the other glaciers due to the season. I would love, love, love to come back in the summer one day so anyone who wants to plan a trip I’m game!

We were all pretty exhausted after the three million stairs we had to climb on our way back from the glacier and the two hour ride back to El Calafate so we had an early dinner and headed to bed.

It was one of those weekends that we just couldn’t deny how incredibly blessed our life really is and we were so glad Rhonda was there to share it with us.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-06T04:48:00.000-04:00

We’re only a 15-20 minute walk from Chinatown and tend to go there a lot for dinner. It isn’t that we’re really trying to prepare for our upcoming trip to China so much as we’re now addicted to crispy duck. Thanks, Frenchie.

The other night we were there with our Chinese friend, C, and as we were walking around I spotted this window…

Me: “C, what is wrong with that duck up in the corner? Why is he by himself and a different color??”

C: “What is wrong with him is he’s a chicken.”

I’ve been out of the kitchen for far too long.

the daily(ish)

2011-10-05T04:01:00.000-04:00

Yummy little treat the new cohort bought for us…

The Wife isn’t even a fan of macaroons, but these she actually enjoyed. Thanks again, new cohort!

the daily(ish)

2011-10-04T04:29:00.001-04:00

It was all I could do to keep Jules from buying one of these outfits…

She especially loved the furry mittens.