Travel

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 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.
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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.

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 →

Photo of the Week: French Quarter

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IMG_5704New Orleans, United States

This iconic view of the soaring St. Louis Cathedral and the statue of General Jackson atop his horse immediately brings to mind the historic Jackson Square located in the heart of the French Quarter. This famous landmark, originally founded in 18th century has been at the center of New Orleans history, from its founding during the early colonial years to the triumphant victory of the NFL’s Saints.

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: Tarangire

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We are finally back after a whirlwind two and a half week trip around Myanmar, with stopovers in Hong Kong and Bangkok.  Now it’s back to the daily grind, and of course catching up with my blogging.  For the next few posts, I’ve decided to forgo the usual format and share our experience and pictures from Tanzania in a photo essay – because that’s the only way to do it justice. Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: Stone Face

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IMG_4352Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Thom, also known as the “Great City” was the last capital of the Khmer empire.  The city was founded by Jayavarman VII, one of Angkor’s greatest kings who came to power in 1181 AD, ruling his city of over a million people. The spectacular Bayon temple was built at the heart of the ancient capital as the official Buddhist temple.

Pictured above are the distinctive stone faces atop the towers of the temple.  The serene smiling face of the bodhisattva faces outward, keeping a sharp watch at each compass point. After almost a thousand years, these stone carvings are still awe-inspiring to look at.

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.

Trip Report: Eastern Europe

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This was a special trip because it was the first one I’ve taken with my baby sister.  Even with our age difference, we always seem to be on the same page about everything, including our favorite show – Gilmore Girls.  One of the things I remembered from watching the show was the backpacking trip they took through Europe and how much fun they had.  That’s what I wanted to do with Kim, and this summer we finally got our chance. Since we were only going to be there for nine  days, we had to narrow it down and pick a few cities that we both wanted to visit.  Being on the same wavelength, we quickly decided on Prague and Berlin.  The artsy, vibrant energy of Berlin, and the beautiful architecture of Prague really appealed to both of us.  Below is the breakdown of our trip to Eastern Europe: Continue reading →