[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.

[2013] Christmas in Toronto, Canada

I have been living in another country for 7.5 years now and I have missed a total of 2 Christmases. As in, I didn't fly home for it. After the second time, I came to the decision that Christmas must be spent with family and friends. Here's why...

Every time that I'm there it's special, but this time around it was REAL special. We had our annual "Asian Christmas" which is a terrible name, but if you look at the attendees I'm sure you can deduce why it's called that. It's our 11th get together and it's always some good ol' fashioned fun. This year someone came up with the genius idea of having a pajama party, so we were in comfy jam jams the whole night. Special alright, I mean look at Lucas in those sweet Superman jammies! I always look forward to this blast from the past. Everyone must feel the same way because they all drove out to Whitby this year in the aftermath of the ice storm.

Oh yeah, the icestorm...our house, my aunt's and uncle's were all without power for a few days so we had to sleep in my grandmother's house for a few nights. Can you say slumber party with family? It was like a flashback to the times we used to visit halmuni and halabuji in Korea and slept on the floor. Toronto has never looked so pretty under the thick layer of ice.

This year we spent Christmas eve at jageun emoya's house, and she encouraged us all to wear festive sweaters. I didn't need any encouragement -- my uniform this break was my green sweater that I wore EVERYDAY. The food was amazing like always, but it was just so fun to hang out with my family!

Other highlights included - visiting my grandfather, hanging out with Ericson after his LASIK surgery, meeting up with Iris and Jess and their Caucasian counterparts, crashing Chan family Christmas, family photo shoots and Les Miserables.

[2012-2014] Construction Zone Park Basel, Switzerland

We have gone to this little park behind our house countless times to catch up with the Rawsons. You can always count on them being there on a Sunday afternoon, and we'd usually just walk over without calling to catch them for some family time. It's actually the perfect setting for a mini photoshoot, so we usually took our camera with us. It is probably one of the coolest little parks I've ever seen. An amazing (but dangerous) jungle gym, ropes course, climbing wall and slide. It looks like an abandoned house that they converted into a park. It's amazing to see how much Roran has grown.

The imminent departure of the Rawson's makes Hayes and I start to realize how much like family these guys have become.

We will miss them so much! What will we now do on a lazy Sunday afternoon? Let alone the fact that we will need to move our GoT viewings to another place and I'm losing my co-organizer for TEDx and Amazing race. Big Sigh.

Update -- Said our "goodbyes/see you laters" today and I held it altogether, until the moment they left. It took a good 20 minutes of weeping to feel alright again. T.T

Love you all!!! xoxo Can't wait till we meet again.

[2013] Steamboat Springs, USA

The first time I visited Steamboat there were a lot of firsts for me. This time around there weren't as many, except for snoeshowing. It was very hard work though. Laying the track down was like being on a stair master but with beautiful surroundings. Poor Renni had trouble staying on top of tracks because her small paws kept poking through. I think the hardest part for her was going at such slow speeds, since she is geared to run.

Most of our afternoon was spent just lounging out on the deck with a beer and some nuts. We also went down the mile long driveway on a sled...it was almost like Swiss sledding ==> very dangerous. Another upside to winter sports here is we get to borrow grandma and grandpa's one-piece snowsuits!

Colorado is so blessed with sunshine, I can't help but be jealous since Basel is usually so dreary and grey during the winter. We only stayed for one night, but it was so relaxing that the long drive was worth it.

[2012] Jerusalem, Israel

This is probably in my top 3 places to visit as a tourist. It was absolutely jam packed with history and life. I was surprised at how spiritual this visit was, which sounds dumb now that I think of it. I guess, I wasn't planning on it being spiritual for me. Amidst the myriad of religions, people, tourists and just business of the city, we fell in love with it. I found that seeing people's faith so overtly in their actions and emotions was really moving for me. I'm so glad that I was lucky enough to visit this sacred place. 

I think one of the best decisions we made before traveling to Israel was using AirBnB. This was our first time to use it and we ended up staying with Barak and Idan. They were the best hosts! The price of the room was so reasonable and we got very good tips on places to eat and really enjoyed getting to know them. We stayed in a few times because Hayes was really sick from a stomach bug he caught in Egypt, so we watched the Amazing Race Israel, baked cupcakes together and were even invited to join them for Shabbat with their friends.  We enjoyed great food and even better conversations. We have yet to have as good of an experience with AirBnb, but we understand that sometimes you just click with people.

Another highlight on this trip was the food! Especially the local meals that were recommended to us. I think Israel makes the best salads in the world. They had the most surprising combinations of fruit, nuts, vegetables and cheese. Hayes' highlight were the fresh juices that you could find on every street corner with pomegranates that they would squeeze in front of you for just a few dollars.

Hopefully we will make it back to Israel. We have plans to visit the Sea of Galilee next time.