[2012] Petra, Jordan

After the longest Ferry ride known to man (11 hrs) from Egypt, we took a taxi from the port to Petra. (I should mention, it took a long while negotiating with the taxi the price of the ride, since he was trying to take advantage of us, but we managed to get a fair fare.) We arrived at 1 am and luckily the hotel owner had called to check that we were still staying there and had waited up to let us in. We woke up at the crack of dawn and went to Petra as soon as it opened, maybe 6am (I can't recall anymore). It was a great call though, we were able to see it without any crowds. By 9am we had decided we'd seen enough and started moving to our next destination: Jerusalem (with a stop at the Dead Sea of corse). I know some people would advise to visit Petra for a full day, but the length we wandered was perfect for us. It may have had to do with the fact that we were running on just a few hours of sleep and my allergies were horrible.

I look really unhappy for some reason riding this donkey! Maybe it was my allergies? Ah---Choo!

[2013] Paris, France with Faith

Highlights:
1. Bastille Day = Firefighter Parties with CHAMPAGNE. Each fire station around the city converts into a club each Bastille Day for a few nights and they literally sell Champagne by the bottle. It was amazing!
2. Concert on Champ de Mars. We sat right in front of the Eiffel Tower and listened to famous French opera singers singing La Vie en Rose backed by the Paris Philharmonic. Finished off by some great fireworks. Could it have been more romantic?

Another successful trip to Paris!

[2013] Doolin + Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

This little Irish town stole our hearts. With the Cliffs of Moher just a few minutes away, it set the scene as we stopped into the tiny bars filled with folk music and locals. The one thing that I found difficult about the music was that the musicians were playing music around a table, and although they were performing, they weren't really performing. It felt that I was intruding on an intimate music session between friends. I'm not sure whether this was a positive or negative, but regardless it made me unsure about it all.

We played a round of golf on a par-3 course and enjoyed the wonderful sunshine and scenery. It all seems really relaxing, but in fact I spent a lot of my time hacking the ball in some very deep, thick grassy. I think by the 4th hole I gave up and starting just dropping my ball onto the green. ;) I'm glad we were persistent about playing. When we got to the office it was locked up and we had to call a number and then the owner drove down to give us some irons and balls. Therefore the best thing about it was that we were the only ones on the course. I guess others weren't ready to be golfing in early April in 5 degree weather.

[2013] Lisbon + Algarve, Portugal

We went to Portugal for the second year in a row. This is kind of a first for us, excluding visiting back home we rarely go back to the same place. (Another exception to this rule is St. Gilgen -- which we've generally gone back each summer). This time in Portugal we spent more time in Lisbon and it was so great to discover the city with a local, Raquel. They sell wonderful drinks for very very cheap and I thought it would be the wiser choice to get a margarita that was nearly 1L. I guess it seemed wise because I was partially inebriated. In the morning I realized that it wasn't the smarter choice.

Local tip: get a shot of Ginginha from one of the stands downtown with a fruit in it. It's a sweet liquor that old Portuguese men tend to have mid-day. Lovely.