Cheap Flights

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It’s almost February and we still have no travel plans for 2016! *gasp*  The year started pretty slow for us – we have a few ideas of where we want to go, but haven’t booked anything. This is a little bit shocking to our friends and family who keep asking where we’re off to this year.  By this time last year we had already snatched a great deal to Rio. With gas prices continuing to plummet, I expected that there would be a lot of cheap flights, especially to Asia.  So, this morning when I found out that American Airlines was having a great sale on flights from major cities in the US to Asia with flexible dates, I tried to jump on it. Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: Louvre Pyramid

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IMG_3295Paris, France

The Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa and countless other priceless artwork, is one of the world’s largest and most famous museums.  Located on the right bank of the Seine, it is a landmark as well as a historic monument in Paris.  

This picture was taken from inside the Louvre Pyramid, looking out of the latticed glasswork into the main courtyard. The glass pyramids, situated at the center of the complex at the location of the main entrance,  were a recent addition to the Louvre.  They were designed by famous architect I.M.Pei and completed in 1989.  

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Tribes of Tanzania

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Tanzania is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world with over 120 different cultural tribes inhabiting the country.  Each of the tribes have their own distinct customs, traditions, and languages; but together they unite to form the country of Tanzania.  After its independence, the government recognized that all the diverse spoken languages could cause a communication problem, and therefore made Swahili the official language.  Even though most people can speak Swahili, in each tribe people still speak in their own mother tongue. On our trip to Tanzania, we got to visit two of these tribes: the graceful Maasai, and the Hadza bushmen and learn a little bit about their way of life. Continue reading →

Photo Essay: Ngorongoro Crater

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Tanzania is the birthplace of the human race. It’s where they found the first human skull. If you believe in Charles Darwin’s  theory of evolution, this is where our ancestors evolved and the first humans walked across the Serengeti plains; hunted, gathered, survived, and evolved millions of years ago. “There is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows, and feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne – bubbling allover with heartfelt gratitude for being alive .” (Karen Blixen – Out of Africa) Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: Niagara

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DSCF2653Niagara, Canada

I remember the first time I visited the famous Niagara Falls and how I felt completely thunderstruck by the mighty force of water.   Even from the parking lot, I could hear the roaring water crashing down.  Over 600,000 gallons of water fall over the edge of Horseshoe Falls every second! This majestic waterfall is located at the border of Canada and the United States.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Photo Essay: Serengeti

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I’ve been dragging my feet on this article because of the holiday season, and also because I was too busy stuffing my face.  I am making up for it with a very long post! Without further ado, here are the photos from our second and third day in Africa, where we headed into the endless plain of the Serengeti, a massive wildlife park that spans across 12,000 square feet extending from northern Tanzania into Southern Kenya (that’s about the size of Maryland or Belgium if you’re interested).  In the Serengeti we got to experience the migration of the wildebeest, witness the feast of the lions, and appreciate nature in it’s rawest form – where predators and prey fight for daily survival.
Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: Spiraled

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IMG_2414Vatican City

Surprisingly, one of the most photographed pieces at the Vatican museum is not one of the numerous artworks, but this double helix staircase, located at the exit of the museum. There are two access points at the bottom – one for people going up and the other for people going down.  This graceful wrought iron staircase was designed by Guiseppe Momo who was inspired by the original stairs designed by Donato Bramante.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

IHG Rewards Promotion

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Have you ever dreamt about staying in an extremely pricey 5 star hotel?  We certainly did, and our once-in-lifetime-dream hotel is an over-water bungalow in Bora Bora.  However, the fact that the room comes with a hefty price tag of $950 per night has kept that dream from becoming a reality…until now.  We recently found out about the Priceless Surprises promotion run by the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) where you can be eligible to win anything from 500 IHG points to 2016 Paris Tennis Tournament, valued at $23,000. The great part is, you can enter up to 94 times for free!  Here is the breakdown of the promotion: Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: Caryatid

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IMG_1334Athens, Greece

This picture was taken over 8 years go on our very first trip to Europe.  After years of reading about Greek mythology, I finally set foot on the Acropolis and it was every bit as glorious as I imagined.  Treading on the same well worn path that people used on their way to the temple thousands of years ago was unreal.  

At the top, among the ruins of the Parthenon, one can look down and see the city of Athens thriving below.  

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

2015 – Year in review

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2015 Year-in-Review

Now the the holiday season is over, and the New Year draws near, it’s that time again… Time to look back on 2015 and reflect on all the places we’ve been and things we’ve seen.

At this time last year when we were writing our 2014 post, I think we had said something along the lines of 2014 being a big year for our travel; and that we might take it easy in 2015… Fast-forward one year, and all I have to say is “ha!” We didn’t have a lot planned going into 2015, but we ended up covering a fair bit of ground. It started with a mistake fare to Rio, and ended up with an aspirational booking in first class to Hong Kong on one of the top airlines in the world. Continue reading →