[2013] Edinburgh, Scotland

Our trip to Edinburgh was our last stop in our Scotland trip. We were so lucky with the weather, we had sunshine the whole time we were there. We spent two nights (the perfect length) to discover the historic center, enjoy the beautiful scenery, purchase a few bottles of scotch at Caddenhead's and eat some good food. 

[2014] Geysir + Strokkur, Iceland

We arrived to the Geysir Park in the evening right after the last tour bus had left and we had the place to ourself. We watched Strokkur erupt about 5 times before we turned in. We were traveling by camper van and was parked about 200 m from the geysir for the night and therefore got to enjoy it in the morning again. This natural wonder was the coolest thing I saw in Iceland. The gurgles it makes in anticipation of its eruption and finally the eruption was so interesting we couldn't get enough of it. Each time was different, sometimes it would erupt 3 times in 5 minutes, sometimes it would take 8 minutes between each one, but every time was still exciting and shocking.

The most beautiful part is right before the surface tension of the water is broken and the beautiful aquamarine colour can be seen more exquisitely in the bubble that it forms. If we didn't have other things to see on our trip we would have stayed longer.

The view from our parking spot.

[2012] Bavarian Road trip with Billy and Nate

Zurich --> Basel --> Leysin --> Zermatt --> Neuschwanstein Castle --> Munich --> St. Gilgen --> Salzburg --> Basel

It's always so nice when friends visit. This trip was a bromantic road trip that I crashed for the most part. We visited places that we've been before, but it was so much more fun with great company and with people who appreciated it all.

Can't wait for Nate's ukulele single to be recorded about this trip
;)

[2010-2011] GIFS, S. Korea

I worked at Gyeongnam International Foreign School (not sure why they needed 2 adjectives: international + foreign, shrug) for 1 short year and it was a major contrast to my 2 years in Daejeon. Even though it was the same country, one was a major city and Sacheon was a rural town. The school was there to serve children from the multiple foreign companies that had brought their companies there due to the tax breaks. We had a great mix of students, but the most represented were French, Brazilian and Israeli. I really miss my students from this year, I grew to care for them and felt a really strong connection to them. I really hope they're all doing well, and hope that our paths will cross again in the future.
I was really blessed with this little school, my colleagues and students. It was a short chapter in my life, but I'm so glad it happened. 

[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.