Photo of the Week: Sunset

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IMG_6796Coco Plum, Belize

This photo was taken a few years ago on a tiny island paradise called Coco Plum in Belize.  It  is a private island about 20 minutes off of the coast of Dangriga. The place is surrounded by pristine ocean with lots of wild sea life.  It is also a short boat ride away from many great diving sites in Belize. This picture captured the setting sun in the crook of the lounge chair where we spent countless hours that week.

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.

Peru: Layover in Lima

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View of the ocean from Larcomar

Over the years we’ve talked about going to South America; even booked a flight, but some how things always came up and the plan was postponed.  Of all the places in South America, we dreamed about going to Machu Picchu like many other travelers before us, and after a year and a half of planning, we finally made it to Peru. First stop, Lima.

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Photo of the Week: Stepping Stones

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IMG_5334Giant’s Causeway, United Kingdom

This picture was taken in Northern Ireland at the Giant’s Causeway. After reading many books about this country, I was very excited when we finally made it here.  This small island is filled with so many natural wonders. This particular World Heritage Site has a legend that the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Finn MacCool was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Finn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. Each column has anywhere from 4 to 8 sides.

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.

Travel Tips: Finding Flights

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With a long weekend coming up in September and no plans, I wanted to see if there are any cheap flights. I’ll try to share some of the basics for planning trips and tools I use to find flights/routings to help maximize your trip and minimize your costs.

Basic planning criteria:

  1. Maximize your weekends/holidays/PTO: When leaving for a trip try to leave the night before your weekend/holiday/PTO begins. This way you don’t waste the entire first day of your trip in airports.  If you take a whole week off from work, leaving on Friday night the week before, and returning on Sunday is the optimal usage of your vacation time.
  2. Use red-eyes: I know they suck, but you can catch up on your sleep when you’re back at your desk at work
  3. If you have status, use it: Free checked bags, priority security lanes/boarding, lounge access, upgrades – all of those help you save money, time, and hassles at the airport.

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California: Yosemite National Park

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View of half dome from Glacier Point

A few weeks ago, while we were on the West Coast, we decided to rent a car and drive to Yosemite. It’s been awhile since we did a road trip in North America. We used to drive all the time to Canada, but due to the time constraints and cheap airfares, we end up flying for the most part now. I love road trips because I get to be the navigator. It’s very satisfying when you can figure out how to get from point A to point B. Mind you, it’s not too hard to do that here, but in a foreign country without a GPS, it’s a lot more fun.

Yosemite different from any park I’ve been to. For one thing, it’s massive, driving from one gate to another can take up to two hours. The scenery is breathtaking, from the majestic redwoods to the sheer cliffs at Taft’s point. Everywhere we looked, we were reminded that nature is magnificent and beautiful and we are a small speck in the grand scheme of things.

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Photo of the Week: Sunrise

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IMG_4770Siem Reap, Cambodia

This picture was taken in the early morning at Angkor Wat.  We sat, along with hundreds of other photo aficionados, patiently waiting for the sun to peak out from the dark horizon. As the sun rose over the the ancient empire, the rich colors layered on top of each other creating an effect like the sky and the water were on fire. We were rewarded with this beautiful, unforgettable sight.

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.

Eating in San Francisco

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A few weeks ago, we both headed to San Francisco for the Society of Actuaries Annual Health conference.  The plan was that Fausto would attend the sessions and I would work from the hotel, then we’d meet up later on and explore the city.  Since I  was going to work East Coast hours, I thought I was going to have some time in the afternoon to do some touristy stuff.  But alas, things did not turn out the way I planned, work got really busy and both of us spent most of our time holed up in the hotel room.   The only thing we had time to do was eat.  I’ve been known to eat a lot, so this post will not disappoint.  We managed to fit in a lot of food in a little amount of time.  Here is a look at our food adventure in San Francisco. Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: Starry Night

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IMG_3457Inca Trail, Peru

We made it back from our Inca trail trek in one piece! As I sort out my notes and pictures from the trips, I knew I wanted to share this particular one as a photo of the week. This photo was taken on the second night of our hike after we crossed Dead Woman’s pass. From our camping area when you look up, all you see is the open sky and millions of stars twinkling. Personally, I don’t know any constellations, but I did recognize the Milky Way. As a city girl, I never get to see the sky like this. The view was so amazing, I knew I had to capture it. So in the freezing night, I was sitting outside of my tent playing with my camera.  I didn’t bring a tripod because it was too heavy, so I put the camera on the ground and propped it up with some rocks (I had a McGyver moment) and set the exposure to 30 seconds.  This is the result.

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 of the Week: Fireworks

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July 4th in New York

I thought this is an appropriate photo for this week.  This picture was taken from our apartment window on July 4th a few years ago.  We just moved to New York and it was the first year the Macy’s annual firework show was moved from the East River to the Hudson River.  It was serendipitous that we got to witness this momentous show from our apartment.  We set up the tripod, opened our window wide, and leaned back with some beer and Bonchon wings to enjoy the show.  Happy Canada Day and July Fourth to all our North American friends.  

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. This picture was scheduled for this week because we are currently hiking up the Inca Trail!  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.