tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132934952024-03-06T22:57:30.267-08:00What Next?Just exploring life one experience at a time.Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08142824895406301453noreply@blogger.comBlogger217125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-74633117760364560322012-01-22T23:31:00.011-08:002012-02-21T13:01:19.223-08:002011 May - StockholmI left Lebanon and headed to Stockholm, Sweden! After a layover in Prague (still need to visit that city), I arrived in Stockholm around noon. My wonderful friend Noriko lives in Stockholm and was kind enough to let me stay with her for the weekend. Noriko and I worked a lot of long hours together in NY and I was so excited to reunite with her again!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBpcyiV4TTAY7F4ahjthyphenhyphen7GNk8JUAWeUgWj943X1-EE0riIWNJei44N-WLhRN3dGWVDWVfVzPyc5Cb3mdf0A6bS-e2h_PalBc_zfAs6ggyO6ZbPc24ow9kVN0UnpCnEAv4f0s/s1600/Sweden.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBpcyiV4TTAY7F4ahjthyphenhyphen7GNk8JUAWeUgWj943X1-EE0riIWNJei44N-WLhRN3dGWVDWVfVzPyc5Cb3mdf0A6bS-e2h_PalBc_zfAs6ggyO6ZbPc24ow9kVN0UnpCnEAv4f0s/s320/Sweden.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711080943156972354" border="0" /></a>I dropped my bags off at Noriko's and then ventured around the city until she got off work. Stockholm is really a beautiful city. I really liked it. I just wondered around, taking pictures, and doing some shopping.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0Mlr7QI3Ka0jWIETPJG2bKrpvgvB6WItAKibJrjTk8KiAFMnRZYokEe7BfA1B-VevTk8hHZtIvm-YZTFauiSgjrkNi6ruSlS9SLB3oZQWbU0k4_yMctmjAxtGmmW5gjXwr8f/s1600/1Sweden+2011_076.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0Mlr7QI3Ka0jWIETPJG2bKrpvgvB6WItAKibJrjTk8KiAFMnRZYokEe7BfA1B-VevTk8hHZtIvm-YZTFauiSgjrkNi6ruSlS9SLB3oZQWbU0k4_yMctmjAxtGmmW5gjXwr8f/s320/1Sweden+2011_076.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711080164801921602" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyx_Y3xs-4fJAGNND2CzK139pqg4rMsdngasvD0i_-OpNlTuwcDCj1mjLw8-TbRROm1d6vPHnci_3cyNuRqIY98iWqasSNC8mWS0tATtEJy9GxCQ_Qh7iJRdlP1FOVTr0nHE6/s1600/1Sweden+2011_068.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyx_Y3xs-4fJAGNND2CzK139pqg4rMsdngasvD0i_-OpNlTuwcDCj1mjLw8-TbRROm1d6vPHnci_3cyNuRqIY98iWqasSNC8mWS0tATtEJy9GxCQ_Qh7iJRdlP1FOVTr0nHE6/s320/1Sweden+2011_068.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711080157239692706" border="0" /></a><br />After walking around Galma Stan (the old town) and taking in as much as I could....I met up with Noriko and we headed back towards her place. Her husband met up with us for dinner at a delicious Thai place near their apartment.<br /><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xWjEFNHZRKtYbYhKfHj-9-Dxemuew2YrnNFxKtyPije7KWZ3OdKc7BVMl_7E5s_xWqQuQrjq-AAfbk555N0VJwczxcquAsDQPJV_l3yvdWt0pwboMr47Rohp7uedoFPWDDfF/s320/1Sweden+2011_082.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711076026414597058" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" border="0" /><br />Noriko had to work the next day, so after going for a run in the morning and doing some laundry....I did more wondering. And decided to go to the Vasa Museum which stores a 17th century ship.... It was pretty impressive.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6U3Db2K_i-kHgHlANi4JY4E4UyYVfA67Xipaaux7lT_7EEaLcMSsuA4SiPr2AEneZj4nTjZ6Bu-fycf1HC4vSSkyNsiLqOHwL_dq4Bz-0hcONfDkZSG-ktbjiJvjZi7VNg72/s1600/1Sweden+2011_057.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6U3Db2K_i-kHgHlANi4JY4E4UyYVfA67Xipaaux7lT_7EEaLcMSsuA4SiPr2AEneZj4nTjZ6Bu-fycf1HC4vSSkyNsiLqOHwL_dq4Bz-0hcONfDkZSG-ktbjiJvjZi7VNg72/s320/1Sweden+2011_057.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711080146609374498" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next day was Saturday so Noriko was able to spend the day with me! We decided to go to the Stockholm Archipelago [Islands]. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnwXlhRo2EBeW5OkZtY6yCSaOqOFBSbdifObvJn3iY68qxbJ634eZn2ITK2HdcmgNcQ41HUGDT522np2zqFmep0q6pJ7lBgzUGaFtZtNgVvrv7L8k5H4V2Yu4lKjD9eQhUOLR/s320/1Sweden+2011_127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711076030428415794" border="0" /><div><div style="text-align: left;">The Islands are usually full of people in the summer months - but since it was only May and still a little chilly out, they were quiet. But still beautiful and very peaceful. <br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlHRa4GJ6nuCpA0wO3vmsASCvhn4iHJi4YTtMtd_zaWcvRCQpYO2MK5XvQ7PpkZS-Dzgs0jE4EDTvX4FydnAPs8myjek7OkVEPBLZYiSBwRcKIuzrHeDo2hRHXM5bduribhf6/s1600/1Sweden+2011_211.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlHRa4GJ6nuCpA0wO3vmsASCvhn4iHJi4YTtMtd_zaWcvRCQpYO2MK5XvQ7PpkZS-Dzgs0jE4EDTvX4FydnAPs8myjek7OkVEPBLZYiSBwRcKIuzrHeDo2hRHXM5bduribhf6/s320/1Sweden+2011_211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711076053924636994" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWG7MnrALlJPVCgqBvY0k5izCDYrKbnZqG3-AeGWu9a_AQeaSXZrGjcmrcq4jcx8zBGoQcR-Q0NdHgByYAFc-76hbDtNFzu84EgxvKFmOMFs0ZY_GjIV6yWqjNcDi-TZFzMrN/s1600/1Sweden+2011_172.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWG7MnrALlJPVCgqBvY0k5izCDYrKbnZqG3-AeGWu9a_AQeaSXZrGjcmrcq4jcx8zBGoQcR-Q0NdHgByYAFc-76hbDtNFzu84EgxvKFmOMFs0ZY_GjIV6yWqjNcDi-TZFzMrN/s320/1Sweden+2011_172.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711076042468550770" border="0" /></a><br />We got lunch on the Island at the only open restaurant. Of course I had to order the Swedish Meatballs and ligonberry jam! They were so good!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWG7MnrALlJPVCgqBvY0k5izCDYrKbnZqG3-AeGWu9a_AQeaSXZrGjcmrcq4jcx8zBGoQcR-Q0NdHgByYAFc-76hbDtNFzu84EgxvKFmOMFs0ZY_GjIV6yWqjNcDi-TZFzMrN/s1600/1Sweden+2011_172.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZ2GfNwMvaTo4dsPTKfXzHc_qWxQnpM1fDWPtsncBsvCykEeEkkSPItq5G7Lq41mYMxfomIb7iUPihLFsXVc630cBUAg-VVivTpCok2tMlmFWj5nQKimmP0d4Hf9y-ymif2ip/s320/1Sweden+2011_274.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711077455668140786" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" border="0" /></a>Then some ice cream before heading back on the boat back to the city!<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWG7MnrALlJPVCgqBvY0k5izCDYrKbnZqG3-AeGWu9a_AQeaSXZrGjcmrcq4jcx8zBGoQcR-Q0NdHgByYAFc-76hbDtNFzu84EgxvKFmOMFs0ZY_GjIV6yWqjNcDi-TZFzMrN/s1600/1Sweden+2011_172.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYuP43L3hXwFcv_V2OoAQLB75VVybam0kkDkNeAVENjstnK-6j63JL6Rq2mqP2FlqQtTY4J2Bb2u2aukJPPv7J9FqwLfrfZhS-S_BDeCW_M2fjpU7cAasTuIvMtBMvOd6hENc/s320/1Sweden+2011_289.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711077463986902642" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" border="0" /></a><br />When we got back, Noriko took me to a place to look out over the city. The sun was starting to set so it was really beautiful. Then we grabbed dinner on the way back to her place and I packed my stuff to get ready to fly to Norway the next day!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div></div></div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-10504024511212449632012-01-22T19:24:00.002-08:002012-02-20T22:03:27.442-08:00May 2011 - Final Day in Lebanon [Ruins in Baalbek]My last day in Lebanon, I went on a tour with my cousins to Baalbek to see the ruins. We took a bus from Beirut to Baalbek. Baalbek is actually probably only about 20 miles away from Syria.<br /><br />Anyway - the ruins were quite impressive.... Here are a few pics...<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWQrUCeG8kqM47Nw70GwB0mIzPBrXCfFq4zx_CS023ab9s-WJ30m-UDxzTCc-T3So8An33_wZbTJro2dKBDU57y3OOo11fw0DZ65dIJvmtyQXfmbOA0Q9HH-zxsSKYg5NAeNY/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1035.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700667201746920850" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWQrUCeG8kqM47Nw70GwB0mIzPBrXCfFq4zx_CS023ab9s-WJ30m-UDxzTCc-T3So8An33_wZbTJro2dKBDU57y3OOo11fw0DZ65dIJvmtyQXfmbOA0Q9HH-zxsSKYg5NAeNY/s400/Lebanon+2011_1035.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFjf8AS1qaYUcm9cLk5r9_LPns9bljMYkQeIMsg0v59jAjr1sXB2J4Fn_jsI4EjlaEHOBOWzGguDyjEb0GWeAk5618na-mEnMHp9TQ5EonOSyoi30vYAmCgJw7bDLTgopIEtD/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1047.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700667190156150418" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFjf8AS1qaYUcm9cLk5r9_LPns9bljMYkQeIMsg0v59jAjr1sXB2J4Fn_jsI4EjlaEHOBOWzGguDyjEb0GWeAk5618na-mEnMHp9TQ5EonOSyoi30vYAmCgJw7bDLTgopIEtD/s400/Lebanon+2011_1047.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22XlXsUwbptCN-ZLO_zMmoG_PsdObe6ASLni_OLRX-QtmwF3XtcOcSlq-Ul5xsFSSXTFG1XhJ9bo9yJAUs2-5YJHZYbn3i4UW1trhlxY_aYm7IBHYRoNfIOC9z36m3g7UC7Oj/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1056.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700666702149173122" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22XlXsUwbptCN-ZLO_zMmoG_PsdObe6ASLni_OLRX-QtmwF3XtcOcSlq-Ul5xsFSSXTFG1XhJ9bo9yJAUs2-5YJHZYbn3i4UW1trhlxY_aYm7IBHYRoNfIOC9z36m3g7UC7Oj/s400/Lebanon+2011_1056.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiav6egRJ96zwqxttYmoVL9sL4C5oWn4-aPdeTNTYIPpS7-6jvA7AUBLDNxSC4BGWVRKnVt3Xp8plRU6Vz-aRYtMcZ6ndCHlnlfCab0v_dqZoQw-ubeaRI_J26agp7YtSSWGu5N/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1065.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700666692779020338" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiav6egRJ96zwqxttYmoVL9sL4C5oWn4-aPdeTNTYIPpS7-6jvA7AUBLDNxSC4BGWVRKnVt3Xp8plRU6Vz-aRYtMcZ6ndCHlnlfCab0v_dqZoQw-ubeaRI_J26agp7YtSSWGu5N/s400/Lebanon+2011_1065.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRperNsvr_GnzR6tIMwZakWpsDAiDT5MsGc8cqXqMq6yzJCx6sYSh9dFwT7QIbEDQq61WC2u9bMJel7vqWo4pWqe_AfVZLOs-v8QpMLVcikiZiA744dCm9NXJrZccYEHyONGIL/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1096.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700666686769711970" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRperNsvr_GnzR6tIMwZakWpsDAiDT5MsGc8cqXqMq6yzJCx6sYSh9dFwT7QIbEDQq61WC2u9bMJel7vqWo4pWqe_AfVZLOs-v8QpMLVcikiZiA744dCm9NXJrZccYEHyONGIL/s400/Lebanon+2011_1096.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kHY6CBrdpQcuOikTrHlJl9xayUe3HnFzluG3omvMlKlEkx_NGQoWRvaTZ7AlfBVb4_0fUdvYlzFzRmTiBqjE1euppkHtaD5spaDqyl60mBV0L7tisZh7-P14-NjQ_78OBWoG/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1108.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700665318804975538" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kHY6CBrdpQcuOikTrHlJl9xayUe3HnFzluG3omvMlKlEkx_NGQoWRvaTZ7AlfBVb4_0fUdvYlzFzRmTiBqjE1euppkHtaD5spaDqyl60mBV0L7tisZh7-P14-NjQ_78OBWoG/s400/Lebanon+2011_1108.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />This was the second location of ruins we came to....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1FY2ve1yFKGmgICBh32zbYR06P2uZRxZztPWvYNZqSfqGf1GHRasQzEjCeofcDy83qCtA7rc0HcDYy21j7E2N66Zq4diK3ILcC501P4jX7FZEYb4V2ZONg9uZJbqhHjoLStMg/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1135.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700665311165298978" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1FY2ve1yFKGmgICBh32zbYR06P2uZRxZztPWvYNZqSfqGf1GHRasQzEjCeofcDy83qCtA7rc0HcDYy21j7E2N66Zq4diK3ILcC501P4jX7FZEYb4V2ZONg9uZJbqhHjoLStMg/s400/Lebanon+2011_1135.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_t8KE9xKyY98LQYqJC73z9FPeaKtPdCE3xlLt5yCZrWFYDwXts_8gbgIgSa7hBNqj0FwQqXU-wpUtKIncu8DfmsNaZKrE9ICQUcmpPWy1y20mm-rgfEUO5RL5pydtF6c3Aqbb/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1150.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700665307641783474" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_t8KE9xKyY98LQYqJC73z9FPeaKtPdCE3xlLt5yCZrWFYDwXts_8gbgIgSa7hBNqj0FwQqXU-wpUtKIncu8DfmsNaZKrE9ICQUcmpPWy1y20mm-rgfEUO5RL5pydtF6c3Aqbb/s400/Lebanon+2011_1150.JPG" border="0" /></a>Temple of Jupiter<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlYYPRMntLcUb9FJuXA3C3eSgk3hGDoSvAY5P1f8o-lgteQhvXsQvQPdH5MugwyYm7Y0cL423-1rfFJKt_hX-rkm2KZ9f6tmYlIS_Xjqj6vDlMZv53PDy6Te_0JpVrp4L5jTT/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1159.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700664606576078130" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlYYPRMntLcUb9FJuXA3C3eSgk3hGDoSvAY5P1f8o-lgteQhvXsQvQPdH5MugwyYm7Y0cL423-1rfFJKt_hX-rkm2KZ9f6tmYlIS_Xjqj6vDlMZv53PDy6Te_0JpVrp4L5jTT/s400/Lebanon+2011_1159.JPG" border="0" /></a>Temple of Baachus<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDFRgL4uaz_8Ammct81pvYjW1xznLJ6JQhqT_CknpMsxXV3FGjZCTU9RbCJ9hIISLdfeqtjz1nnHPd9-8r-_QR53RbSgyCjs5ho_9lq4JvMg9RWI6jN5RZrSaLJOQHY_adh8C/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1171.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700664597281106402" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDFRgL4uaz_8Ammct81pvYjW1xznLJ6JQhqT_CknpMsxXV3FGjZCTU9RbCJ9hIISLdfeqtjz1nnHPd9-8r-_QR53RbSgyCjs5ho_9lq4JvMg9RWI6jN5RZrSaLJOQHY_adh8C/s400/Lebanon+2011_1171.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvuQQVM3lM5YDq4mOWA3dNfZdlz5oXQn-HY0Q3BeLHgbZBzknX9-V9wXoJvJzIdRwGYveIu38skCyO50HX_YEzF6IqisFs8WFYzyHAgU1HkRNqIiM-dyzcadTgJcn7XM4wb7Q/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1190.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700664587954345122" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvuQQVM3lM5YDq4mOWA3dNfZdlz5oXQn-HY0Q3BeLHgbZBzknX9-V9wXoJvJzIdRwGYveIu38skCyO50HX_YEzF6IqisFs8WFYzyHAgU1HkRNqIiM-dyzcadTgJcn7XM4wb7Q/s400/Lebanon+2011_1190.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />We also stopped at a winery and had a delicious lunch along the way. It was a good tour. We were pretty tired out by the time we got back. Thankfully, I had already packed because I was heading to the airport at midnight to catch my flight back to Europe.<br /><br />My trip to Lebanon was absolutely amazing. I really loved the country, the people, the food, everything. I'm so happy that I went. Lebanon was not ever really a place that had crossed my mind to travel to. And I'm sure that had Jen not chosen to get married there, the chances of me ever going would have been slim to none. But now - I actually wouldn't be surprised if I return some day. Especially if Jen and Elias end up there. It was a fantastic trip! And I can't say enough about the hospitality of Elias' family! They really made the trip wonderful!<br /></div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-51590928413312585772012-01-22T19:06:00.003-08:002012-02-20T21:59:47.600-08:00May 2011 - Lebanon [Beirut]<div style="text-align: center;"><span ><br /></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">The next day we finally made it to Beirut to check out the city. Meagan and I took a taxi downtown and grabbed lunch at a cute little cafe...</span></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLu0y-JXLJfSI877GrK5Is_NgV73Wak_evcxqkFMkckGly7sKT6pFb5k48_rJ2KQGQ4qjSD_hTH0VViRw7j1ajBYlkOGKsEU1yeLwlofpNo6pkcbR1WQDPFEUktqBLBOhX0HQ/s1600/Lebanon+2011_818.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700662381594126578" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLu0y-JXLJfSI877GrK5Is_NgV73Wak_evcxqkFMkckGly7sKT6pFb5k48_rJ2KQGQ4qjSD_hTH0VViRw7j1ajBYlkOGKsEU1yeLwlofpNo6pkcbR1WQDPFEUktqBLBOhX0HQ/s400/Lebanon+2011_818.JPG" border="0" /></a><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">I was really surprised at how new a lot of the buildings and area is in Beirut. I'm not really sure what I expected, actually. But I didn't expect it to be so modern and high fashion. Some call it "the Paris of the Middle East"....</span></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxR5TfxITal_GUR2RHXWd5n9ye-sIpnURxyK3pPX5SLTRo7FrnI4QuA1cCoZQfKFR3WRSLmciJpEHivlQW67y5OzHIhdJF2kFENeMgEXE5IbFEahNl0NC_6OOGnoEiywVlrGMh/s1600/Lebanon+2011_861.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzZUndaJBR6d4RuEdUXYT0ugBgFJoe3SeSrB4hOW4fY4h_noSfj3EQ__9z6LMKt24PiELJX_9ERkGumiQp4zG8Sriad2-NR5iL2cpHSzSDJxSB3i96OuPjfWeRpDzLSE4W-jx/s1600/Lebanon+2011_873.JPG"><span ><span style="font-size: 100%; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700661349308959442" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzZUndaJBR6d4RuEdUXYT0ugBgFJoe3SeSrB4hOW4fY4h_noSfj3EQ__9z6LMKt24PiELJX_9ERkGumiQp4zG8Sriad2-NR5iL2cpHSzSDJxSB3i96OuPjfWeRpDzLSE4W-jx/s400/Lebanon+2011_873.JPG" border="0" /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span ><br /></span></div></a><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Of course there are still buildings like these from the years of war that Lebanon has sustained - a building with tons of gun holes.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzZUndaJBR6d4RuEdUXYT0ugBgFJoe3SeSrB4hOW4fY4h_noSfj3EQ__9z6LMKt24PiELJX_9ERkGumiQp4zG8Sriad2-NR5iL2cpHSzSDJxSB3i96OuPjfWeRpDzLSE4W-jx/s1600/Lebanon+2011_873.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71G-U0Uo6kto-BWRR42keybJSvBh5DQOVks4fmolMf_QPTLMFpNQncPAJ0lngoTgaFtep9hYaTzdWrQ5BcO-QO0l4dUgMXWUdJSTc8AWOFSQ5iKXnDE7x2f0zJm1cp-I-S1cN/s320/Lebanon+2011_861.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711454106916854450" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span ><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "> But you can tell they have been doing a lot of rebuilding. And there are some beautiful buildings, churches, and mosques. Lebanon is about 40% Christian and 60% Muslim. Before going, I actually thought it would have a higher Muslim population than that.</span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJVE-SKjHUV01Ze3GZHG4mpe-UU9eZ2Ke21cJkgWQClAYiffFcCK3HDPlCC9xswhvsJ-2Unq2bn90fH_51TjsFD51W1KfwpuzhF8P4xgu9sRhQHun4wqS5oN6U8umELL9jsOY/s1600/Lebanon+2011_830.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700662370612606450" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJVE-SKjHUV01Ze3GZHG4mpe-UU9eZ2Ke21cJkgWQClAYiffFcCK3HDPlCC9xswhvsJ-2Unq2bn90fH_51TjsFD51W1KfwpuzhF8P4xgu9sRhQHun4wqS5oN6U8umELL9jsOY/s400/Lebanon+2011_830.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_2aP-u_uCZj1BwhjYo2XdhOFiHDdkYfiV1WMfZ9jdqhn5jjvExP7wBhbH6z_VaFgRvjqguK2XHa22t2EvZcMKk9-N9lOpph-jRMtEs99-pW2R-s3aAEHlxbKFPSJBM4R5DMh/s1600/Lebanon+2011_831.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700662366838711794" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_2aP-u_uCZj1BwhjYo2XdhOFiHDdkYfiV1WMfZ9jdqhn5jjvExP7wBhbH6z_VaFgRvjqguK2XHa22t2EvZcMKk9-N9lOpph-jRMtEs99-pW2R-s3aAEHlxbKFPSJBM4R5DMh/s400/Lebanon+2011_831.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Meagan and I were walking around and we ran into Uncle Greg, Jen, Elias and Mel....</div><div><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700660775960608946" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1Z7-ZfKTzxFVby6aXlaX726nZ9jy0mTExiyIA1Tfl1-F2aFQP6e2Oh6kGF0GizGIXKl5TO0MJ2jFU8Hd2whA3RfQyOnUZ61d14WsJ12qWhTx_JxNi7HiCdbgT3-dG1NrMaw5/s400/Lebanon+2011_881.JPG" border="0" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px; " /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo52NdFviv3TTjBOn-XotubCRR7NhjJQQXg6bz_UxsQcMMXXjf-uNlYz0I1BBHdaSw3CHZCjqj88DWU7Kdw4MpoeT9rLvP_UzNsX9f8DFr2_wFRdGTtMWZRCQwShkuv6swmJkS/s1600/Lebanon+2011_847.JPG"><img style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px; " id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700661852424767682" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo52NdFviv3TTjBOn-XotubCRR7NhjJQQXg6bz_UxsQcMMXXjf-uNlYz0I1BBHdaSw3CHZCjqj88DWU7Kdw4MpoeT9rLvP_UzNsX9f8DFr2_wFRdGTtMWZRCQwShkuv6swmJkS/s400/Lebanon+2011_847.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Clock in the center of the city</div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnUCoIAxaqbNQ2frKklkb7SpNE6MJKQ6wJcIfzYna34fdbX_xhlBgrtrZw_4crsQfAu4HSqBWQm2hYe5_CJFRtAsJluNVRBSD3uSCTvVL-Ztuxyeu6NDeShu8pBm9Bb1kfOJC/s1600/Lebanon+2011_844.JPG"><img style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px; " id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700661902877869154" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnUCoIAxaqbNQ2frKklkb7SpNE6MJKQ6wJcIfzYna34fdbX_xhlBgrtrZw_4crsQfAu4HSqBWQm2hYe5_CJFRtAsJluNVRBSD3uSCTvVL-Ztuxyeu6NDeShu8pBm9Bb1kfOJC/s400/Lebanon+2011_844.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Trying to get a picture of the police that roam the streets with machine guns.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjnl4B1UrMSIRB2Ee7kFpTVAYl2HkqdSVGpK2cFh7mg8t9eXaOBeBcSMwwoaWAZI6A1ywL86n1ML7enuKK_oYM3p4GM70M_wLVaB5_lfOPt3jAIlkc4SDCwwEbVXFicGHItIi/s1600/Lebanon+2011_864.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700661369674643602" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjnl4B1UrMSIRB2Ee7kFpTVAYl2HkqdSVGpK2cFh7mg8t9eXaOBeBcSMwwoaWAZI6A1ywL86n1ML7enuKK_oYM3p4GM70M_wLVaB5_lfOPt3jAIlkc4SDCwwEbVXFicGHItIi/s400/Lebanon+2011_864.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Rpc0ZKZVhKsdGH8ojjzphoA0ZEmFpyvh4XqbsXFB2iRXAOzwXw2KYxHOTjLzjJkDujSTYO9daIiPB_0WhilP468Iij9JkSseqchdB1xdMJ3bHTaKNeaKgRMOPvCSnqqt6hvp/s1600/Lebanon+2011_867.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700661358297026530" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Rpc0ZKZVhKsdGH8ojjzphoA0ZEmFpyvh4XqbsXFB2iRXAOzwXw2KYxHOTjLzjJkDujSTYO9daIiPB_0WhilP468Iij9JkSseqchdB1xdMJ3bHTaKNeaKgRMOPvCSnqqt6hvp/s400/Lebanon+2011_867.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />The Al-Omari Mosque....I think it was originally a Cathedral that was later transformed into a Mosque.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSP5ORMfnzWpUDT3RUZDWcoypfvxTCu7EwPd_yrheWRPjEdu1oKEHQmUjm04vJaxYWYYqsBQ7d-dXinCdSqAG8UtoD1ZRhAIU_NLzxMn6pBtdMQFf_x3poXcqxUXaFCcplnMTY/s1600/Lebanon+2011_909.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700660764562217858" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSP5ORMfnzWpUDT3RUZDWcoypfvxTCu7EwPd_yrheWRPjEdu1oKEHQmUjm04vJaxYWYYqsBQ7d-dXinCdSqAG8UtoD1ZRhAIU_NLzxMn6pBtdMQFf_x3poXcqxUXaFCcplnMTY/s400/Lebanon+2011_909.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nS5nY1cy1MTSWHEXe155luCwFxQWub3UIEvp8ZOr2OPfDTPgS_jBfFiS_tqRUXHm8nWcFOTztlklfp4deRqgMCMWAhkjExCgq2l6SNCmNaSPTC-q2VCKNGAraNx6rlt-rJ0Z/s1600/Lebanon+2011_918.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700660758457355298" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nS5nY1cy1MTSWHEXe155luCwFxQWub3UIEvp8ZOr2OPfDTPgS_jBfFiS_tqRUXHm8nWcFOTztlklfp4deRqgMCMWAhkjExCgq2l6SNCmNaSPTC-q2VCKNGAraNx6rlt-rJ0Z/s400/Lebanon+2011_918.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Pigeons Rock (Raouche)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj70lNg70PNDPHkZIczabA9phEWOQ6gkgY61p5GdoK-4DKSQtoQhDfBoYngQzMhVFpS8O9KZPRQW3ZdAgqXrRe8jIErxGM8pDkryQwbO7nDBRpPmZMhgsPTaCKgMzVhrWKtPshu/s1600/Lebanon+2011_930.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700660019218853618" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj70lNg70PNDPHkZIczabA9phEWOQ6gkgY61p5GdoK-4DKSQtoQhDfBoYngQzMhVFpS8O9KZPRQW3ZdAgqXrRe8jIErxGM8pDkryQwbO7nDBRpPmZMhgsPTaCKgMzVhrWKtPshu/s400/Lebanon+2011_930.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Getting some delicious Schawarma!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Some more pictures of the Grand Mosque......</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wikg6esBx0MySyxiLCAAjXA934_Hnn9nzw_hy7lChyphenhyphen5dqIqL3gbjw832WLSn-7tMbAmYqQoLStCnf0oC2fEUL74nLZi1HTDiL7xTeRuh12bRwrG7nnpp131dSLjklCIwxJHb/s1600/Lebanon+2011_934.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700660002469324258" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wikg6esBx0MySyxiLCAAjXA934_Hnn9nzw_hy7lChyphenhyphen5dqIqL3gbjw832WLSn-7tMbAmYqQoLStCnf0oC2fEUL74nLZi1HTDiL7xTeRuh12bRwrG7nnpp131dSLjklCIwxJHb/s400/Lebanon+2011_934.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDYCcZ6KwmHX2IhhEntQ5ppCzMBce6VOs4ItO2MUevDGlcrO0rY9NoOpisLkWVFirW_O3012cEdCuMJa7EaRyLC0Bh8NcZXUTwkQG1C3N7d_6PsBYGkctVbOAxyKeSIX9ZzJq/s1600/Lebanon+2011_980.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700659996767198226" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDYCcZ6KwmHX2IhhEntQ5ppCzMBce6VOs4ItO2MUevDGlcrO0rY9NoOpisLkWVFirW_O3012cEdCuMJa7EaRyLC0Bh8NcZXUTwkQG1C3N7d_6PsBYGkctVbOAxyKeSIX9ZzJq/s400/Lebanon+2011_980.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirH1tRbZSm-T_7okO53cbVyfCKl9A-g55D4FLqglIng2pNRz4OAvpQOWFBtxIQ0K6ezx5zzuWR8h_kMRpXMLnTMbZs81oDT0i3ZqMtPgmTyHkyb_64VZi9k6foWQvcYkMbBJL7/s1600/Lebanon+2011_955.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700659466603252386" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirH1tRbZSm-T_7okO53cbVyfCKl9A-g55D4FLqglIng2pNRz4OAvpQOWFBtxIQ0K6ezx5zzuWR8h_kMRpXMLnTMbZs81oDT0i3ZqMtPgmTyHkyb_64VZi9k6foWQvcYkMbBJL7/s400/Lebanon+2011_955.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuduDZAW7oLranvbNun2H24EXwYyTno4O5Ff_-4kmBnYt8_iM2-jydrDGBuxs4Mc-Fi2hMgAqzy8hc_aaHIAPZNe9SluCArPvN5dG-KhgwMye9hwSA8Z6LaHppHiz0-g7pADMb/s1600/Lebanon+2011_999.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700659457306966610" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuduDZAW7oLranvbNun2H24EXwYyTno4O5Ff_-4kmBnYt8_iM2-jydrDGBuxs4Mc-Fi2hMgAqzy8hc_aaHIAPZNe9SluCArPvN5dG-KhgwMye9hwSA8Z6LaHppHiz0-g7pADMb/s400/Lebanon+2011_999.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />We hung out in the city for a while... walked around...sat at another cafe. And then finally took a taxi back to the convent. Meagan was starving so she got some McD's on the way home...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjg0AF7nrRn5fRyb458AOpHA9ApHWEZXEhDLGB2B3IUOKkiMDIVagNcxKG41-bUZqqo60OMZI5gv53GsCSmYGFjPbDdjUbbVD9LJihwUyKfFMACRP0LOYA0oSU7Rr48ggXM-Ha/s1600/Lebanon+2011_1026.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700659447402658402" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjg0AF7nrRn5fRyb458AOpHA9ApHWEZXEhDLGB2B3IUOKkiMDIVagNcxKG41-bUZqqo60OMZI5gv53GsCSmYGFjPbDdjUbbVD9LJihwUyKfFMACRP0LOYA0oSU7Rr48ggXM-Ha/s400/Lebanon+2011_1026.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><br /></div><div>And then we crashed. It was a good day. Great city.</div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-35177282165535820722012-01-22T18:53:00.000-08:002012-02-20T14:31:01.145-08:00May 2011 - Lebanon [Day After]<div>The day after the wedding...we slept in. Everyone recovered from the long, fun night. And then we [the family] were invited to meet Jen and Elias for a late lunch up in the mountains - in Faraya. It was colder up there and also beautiful. Lunch was also amazing. Like all the food that I had in Lebanon. Loved it!<br /><br /><br />After we ate, Elias' family took us to this lookout area and we [I] took a bunch of pictures....<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgKwgQWpCjRM0AP2Ye-0r0vFvTle4E5VNCSdphli-OKr_mMlFR0tRSaY0-xVv2H-cPBcrMs7uExQnvDVQBxrhtgqw-FcP1o-Bdkk_vgHf3LtxSvGkX1JDvdUtKf_JkcBW5NdU/s1600/Lebanon+2011_688.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700658116130197586" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgKwgQWpCjRM0AP2Ye-0r0vFvTle4E5VNCSdphli-OKr_mMlFR0tRSaY0-xVv2H-cPBcrMs7uExQnvDVQBxrhtgqw-FcP1o-Bdkk_vgHf3LtxSvGkX1JDvdUtKf_JkcBW5NdU/s400/Lebanon+2011_688.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoEOLFxrlmFfjWn_1VaG7y6s1l27vwVC5Et6Oc6z0ZrODgoWdVaBjmvOuJktmnnwijik6UT3xZ6yrA5o3b8_4RKqfoJOl1ctVwG-0b7H6ffRe4Lb5yOrcg4X-r5LPsr7bQxYOm/s1600/Lebanon+2011_691.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700657875587808370" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoEOLFxrlmFfjWn_1VaG7y6s1l27vwVC5Et6Oc6z0ZrODgoWdVaBjmvOuJktmnnwijik6UT3xZ6yrA5o3b8_4RKqfoJOl1ctVwG-0b7H6ffRe4Lb5yOrcg4X-r5LPsr7bQxYOm/s400/Lebanon+2011_691.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5r4UZUBETk81CrDvCTRZfLM16VvRAZLIKJj7Weiz_0-gjRXqOo2AvrxmmSna8dOLLhN5DzKsFri2o49nBBNJdmq4tMnjS5Jbd1dB5XIMc1eEqt9FIBWdc7n13kEdAC-pf0Hd/s1600/Lebanon+2011_699.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700657869369363922" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5r4UZUBETk81CrDvCTRZfLM16VvRAZLIKJj7Weiz_0-gjRXqOo2AvrxmmSna8dOLLhN5DzKsFri2o49nBBNJdmq4tMnjS5Jbd1dB5XIMc1eEqt9FIBWdc7n13kEdAC-pf0Hd/s400/Lebanon+2011_699.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaG9ficPsDMS8uLWXNF-QBgqJF4pixIMsb8sIefbZEPyK3t91UTBFpCbV7LmP-qShXy28hjSWhBuZ99aYA_f4mhFsQPLNHbAVDwnK0jDXi61SL3iw5S4YCgBevhP5vEo6DNuS/s1600/Lebanon+2011_706.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700657857263357362" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaG9ficPsDMS8uLWXNF-QBgqJF4pixIMsb8sIefbZEPyK3t91UTBFpCbV7LmP-qShXy28hjSWhBuZ99aYA_f4mhFsQPLNHbAVDwnK0jDXi61SL3iw5S4YCgBevhP5vEo6DNuS/s400/Lebanon+2011_706.JPG" border="0" /></a>Me and Melissa<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZACE_mb4FRUGMHxRElAt8H5KGlP1sM2dksgOzZ6JvZ0nxbRSSizzyczJqzCIdymYENsg2qfnKj2ykOtaG85ecaVkIKBqCusFoG5BgrgwcCZhHpK8gH7uU431ZkM7nLl5U0NJ/s1600/Lebanon+2011_712.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700657231290544098" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZACE_mb4FRUGMHxRElAt8H5KGlP1sM2dksgOzZ6JvZ0nxbRSSizzyczJqzCIdymYENsg2qfnKj2ykOtaG85ecaVkIKBqCusFoG5BgrgwcCZhHpK8gH7uU431ZkM7nLl5U0NJ/s400/Lebanon+2011_712.JPG" border="0" /></a>Meagan!<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSr_B7Q-s5njiu8J30OpRBR3xAjX2_OIu9uDYwovMxNZAfGfvi6jA6IFUcPjGtOV53PJjPQ6r5FAvRiKlIj78sYpBtJcfIOU6eJcNm-uTAuRd_7H4EUGeCaoxJgr5uLFbJn_zw/s1600/Lebanon+2011_727.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700657228780080290" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSr_B7Q-s5njiu8J30OpRBR3xAjX2_OIu9uDYwovMxNZAfGfvi6jA6IFUcPjGtOV53PJjPQ6r5FAvRiKlIj78sYpBtJcfIOU6eJcNm-uTAuRd_7H4EUGeCaoxJgr5uLFbJn_zw/s400/Lebanon+2011_727.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVbE42CWr5wEBPM98kEunfigWZ2Gau50TakqxF5ES8BdcyHqD0d7COjewW-6TVCzmQPpsIEY_5TFNIleDLXoo2Mk-gtupQZRxgA4VURYGTCBPdYxjYj7rrJNOEIPARPr84E4h/s1600/Lebanon+2011_762.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700657212925790898" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVbE42CWr5wEBPM98kEunfigWZ2Gau50TakqxF5ES8BdcyHqD0d7COjewW-6TVCzmQPpsIEY_5TFNIleDLXoo2Mk-gtupQZRxgA4VURYGTCBPdYxjYj7rrJNOEIPARPr84E4h/s400/Lebanon+2011_762.JPG" border="0" /></a>Mel, Jen, Meagan, and Christine<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuhrNL0G_hX6I3_b1Ne2ShyphenhyphenUdzW_te8BSbObcDsDh5tcniOtNvO6fP_e7GVjCzybAn4ex3620gEnUoWARt5FyVwbohjRwQYd6Y1b4lva2yvlRJcSe6P3O9dvlc-B_OUYKiuB3/s1600/Lebanon+2011_777.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 265px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700656358923832754" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuhrNL0G_hX6I3_b1Ne2ShyphenhyphenUdzW_te8BSbObcDsDh5tcniOtNvO6fP_e7GVjCzybAn4ex3620gEnUoWARt5FyVwbohjRwQYd6Y1b4lva2yvlRJcSe6P3O9dvlc-B_OUYKiuB3/s400/Lebanon+2011_777.JPG" border="0" /></a>The entire gang!<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Z5sRrn0UpGSCYvmN6JvuFvYyLc5NDkzp3_kF2_d1kQddnA5Ziq7_PXd5d47xAMXCnOGnptx18c4-jZn0cjvluUoBP81_Tfbg3RzrOOBBc1K0ItsIRTfHIh3o_D-QdMlTYraQ/s1600/Lebanon+2011_787.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700656350194170594" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Z5sRrn0UpGSCYvmN6JvuFvYyLc5NDkzp3_kF2_d1kQddnA5Ziq7_PXd5d47xAMXCnOGnptx18c4-jZn0cjvluUoBP81_Tfbg3RzrOOBBc1K0ItsIRTfHIh3o_D-QdMlTYraQ/s400/Lebanon+2011_787.JPG" border="0" /></a>Me and the new bride!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgrIcl5iYlvG_OG7sCyHoYn5hHNi3fAiLKKik7JVvcNaBPv0v3PY81SJitjnSKL0lWEJqcZLkvg6zJGXUQsKLi4R2Aw-8VwqjPPz34_VIbGHOnRX3kf0cVjVZwv2zGELk4O5Y/s1600/Lebanon+2011_802.JPG"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 265px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700656340506912818" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgrIcl5iYlvG_OG7sCyHoYn5hHNi3fAiLKKik7JVvcNaBPv0v3PY81SJitjnSKL0lWEJqcZLkvg6zJGXUQsKLi4R2Aw-8VwqjPPz34_VIbGHOnRX3kf0cVjVZwv2zGELk4O5Y/s400/Lebanon+2011_802.JPG" border="0" /></a>Playin' around on Zyad's bike.<br /></div></div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-24513750532096510822012-01-22T18:14:00.000-08:002012-01-26T09:39:37.962-08:00May 2011 - Lebanon [The Big Day]<div align="left">So - the whole reason I decided to go to Lebanon was because my cousin Jennifer was getting married. "Why Lebanon?" everyone asks. Well - Elias is from Lebanon (duh!). Jen and Elias met in Montreal (and currently live in Morocco) but decided they wanted to get married back in Lebanon. </div><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><p align="left">I don't get to see my cousins very often so it was so fun to be able to go to the wedding and share her special day with her! She is such a wonderful person and it was fun to see her so happy!<br /></p><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lkPLuAjkJ-j661tun6WBM8MQ_p7nuP8vtUKKc18aafHmCUsWSA5Xs4H6PDDCTbPRV1qeh2XZdTQbwcziVoo3J3lMdoBkovKeFYFed9bh6i1a10MdOzU3KKxOhEGNvBnEV5i-/s1600/Lebanon+2011_200.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700655095785786194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lkPLuAjkJ-j661tun6WBM8MQ_p7nuP8vtUKKc18aafHmCUsWSA5Xs4H6PDDCTbPRV1qeh2XZdTQbwcziVoo3J3lMdoBkovKeFYFed9bh6i1a10MdOzU3KKxOhEGNvBnEV5i-/s400/Lebanon+2011_200.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">Mel, Uncle Greg, Jen, Aunt Colette</div><br /><p align="left">It was fun to see all the traditions they have in Lebanon for when they get married. Traditionally, you always visit the Bride or Groom the morning before they get married at their home. So - Megan and I walked first down to Elias' to see and congratulate him and then we got a ride to Elias' sister's home where Jen was being greeted by everyone.<br /></p><br /><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOvW0j-WLsV_GoTmh1prTjGqBRVMZXS5ZgbROFl6fPzE09T8xBLKHGbIBADnSxFlTqFy5z44jBP7IDYr-H8S2R1Wivds9vs0CIPNLGJXCwMvoY8JOoVkQ4eVDoVAJ6w5uy1Sr/s1600/Lebanon+2011_208.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700655089939809282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOvW0j-WLsV_GoTmh1prTjGqBRVMZXS5ZgbROFl6fPzE09T8xBLKHGbIBADnSxFlTqFy5z44jBP7IDYr-H8S2R1Wivds9vs0CIPNLGJXCwMvoY8JOoVkQ4eVDoVAJ6w5uy1Sr/s400/Lebanon+2011_208.JPG" /></a> The photographer was taking so many pictures (and so did I). Jennifer just looked so beautiful! And she had a gorgeous dress.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeaCDHa9nnrXuDPVB6f5uT1ICERnePX4Y6LQvZiZa3l1crysGhCbgG1KaXeOIiY4UWVea_LNW0SocfBa0wAebUz_bmYS_06WaJkPDa8kI1F1N0WkHywNK4Qekk2lLmt9nanCF/s1600/Lebanon+2011_256.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700654400878437842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeaCDHa9nnrXuDPVB6f5uT1ICERnePX4Y6LQvZiZa3l1crysGhCbgG1KaXeOIiY4UWVea_LNW0SocfBa0wAebUz_bmYS_06WaJkPDa8kI1F1N0WkHywNK4Qekk2lLmt9nanCF/s400/Lebanon+2011_256.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbJ4qlf0TeqFIZf3WUdroITs3swS3sZHVc-9lWB8DIo2YPmzVYfIO4vV_oBrxbR-khKuWrJLsIU6hMQcGhlcWAa4y5JMF8qXHnT9IhT6OgjB_EDgWqYiQH00Lc7d792JSCfva/s1600/Lebanon+2011_304.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700654386662385730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbJ4qlf0TeqFIZf3WUdroITs3swS3sZHVc-9lWB8DIo2YPmzVYfIO4vV_oBrxbR-khKuWrJLsIU6hMQcGhlcWAa4y5JMF8qXHnT9IhT6OgjB_EDgWqYiQH00Lc7d792JSCfva/s400/Lebanon+2011_304.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7Qv_T1ksLpHx1tiPpKL5v9USIPO7i-Ci0WfKZaXQDTALSBBDQrc5iCWzr399Zmb3GhKoPDUsJjAwhjlC7qCjgtrDmtNqigMZcyzd-Qj76URRRBFYV9W0djKD5HtG-pctuNMi/s1600/Lebanon+2011_319.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700654380668885106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7Qv_T1ksLpHx1tiPpKL5v9USIPO7i-Ci0WfKZaXQDTALSBBDQrc5iCWzr399Zmb3GhKoPDUsJjAwhjlC7qCjgtrDmtNqigMZcyzd-Qj76URRRBFYV9W0djKD5HtG-pctuNMi/s400/Lebanon+2011_319.JPG" /></a> After all the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">bijillions</span> of pictures... Jen and her Dad came out of the building and people threw rose petals down from the balcony as they headed to their car. A few of the cars were decorated as well and a procession of cars followed behind the bride, honking horns, all the way to the church!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSRwDsmIs2X-93jgnFYMp6zqHCDd5qngfLq_hyphenhyphenwnWf6bOetMX8TKAW7uhflF0qeHEhlc_KSrPZZgX7FTjIqAqNiMjw7YqsZpj1bZ8v97F8_KdXc_2qUMMVZX-2YgWP4vGKhz_/s1600/Lebanon+2011_327.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700653887857158722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSRwDsmIs2X-93jgnFYMp6zqHCDd5qngfLq_hyphenhyphenwnWf6bOetMX8TKAW7uhflF0qeHEhlc_KSrPZZgX7FTjIqAqNiMjw7YqsZpj1bZ8v97F8_KdXc_2qUMMVZX-2YgWP4vGKhz_/s400/Lebanon+2011_327.JPG" /></a> They were married in a small, quaint church with a gorgeous view of the sea and the town (I think the town was called <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Jounieh</span> where they got married).</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM43aR-6hf6RDaZNYq6eCP9VqEsgRo9CBviqllQqQQAsC-3TsdaCP1Gbvaom_B8cGO9zHnr0pZ7Oazq5fAdoY44HH_sEy8Uo5BJMUtcykjXz2q4Mri6zA91g6bCzMW2pXZOgnu/s1600/Lebanon+2011_344.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700653878825592210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM43aR-6hf6RDaZNYq6eCP9VqEsgRo9CBviqllQqQQAsC-3TsdaCP1Gbvaom_B8cGO9zHnr0pZ7Oazq5fAdoY44HH_sEy8Uo5BJMUtcykjXz2q4Mri6zA91g6bCzMW2pXZOgnu/s400/Lebanon+2011_344.JPG" /> <br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM43aR-6hf6RDaZNYq6eCP9VqEsgRo9CBviqllQqQQAsC-3TsdaCP1Gbvaom_B8cGO9zHnr0pZ7Oazq5fAdoY44HH_sEy8Uo5BJMUtcykjXz2q4Mri6zA91g6bCzMW2pXZOgnu/s1600/Lebanon+2011_344.JPG"></a>Elias and his Mother before the Ceremony</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2s4nHAHRbkNaIZ93PgVBPfuASzj_nFTuWwQ6lJTdXNy7DDDdA8H96FG7XdNClfNHHlkSDeY0edilktlipYiOLA2lFJE1KZFXS0hmwBZZfr9caXt3P613G1vQQaNumhcEKRM5/s1600/Lebanon+2011_355.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700653869882892306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2s4nHAHRbkNaIZ93PgVBPfuASzj_nFTuWwQ6lJTdXNy7DDDdA8H96FG7XdNClfNHHlkSDeY0edilktlipYiOLA2lFJE1KZFXS0hmwBZZfr9caXt3P613G1vQQaNumhcEKRM5/s400/Lebanon+2011_355.JPG" /> </a><br /><p align="center">Jennifer and the very proud Father of the Bride</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFCah2j9uEU6ZOxvxHHvqm6vEyYv9OBYpG2q4hIDv9IBK685QazFP6AqPmX3rs9JukMRbWhrMbGg2loFgaVYKVI6_xsPZ2YZXUFYOLvPYUCmtrkUdGZYVKbywIk-b07-4Y5-G/s1600/Lebanon+2011_390.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700653443695070242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFCah2j9uEU6ZOxvxHHvqm6vEyYv9OBYpG2q4hIDv9IBK685QazFP6AqPmX3rs9JukMRbWhrMbGg2loFgaVYKVI6_xsPZ2YZXUFYOLvPYUCmtrkUdGZYVKbywIk-b07-4Y5-G/s400/Lebanon+2011_390.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmNduQkp5lfyDUpikqKFY8d4Ba79v2KCqy3Cs2ZrCOtnjEEVVT1ZufqssofaV5O1Eg8pwxCu1ohgVk3tFl-9rfy8AqZezeP9mm3X8ns8ELn_ZynNPxCmoYev1pVU9duP1f45w/s1600/Lebanon+2011_416.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700653436379476258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmNduQkp5lfyDUpikqKFY8d4Ba79v2KCqy3Cs2ZrCOtnjEEVVT1ZufqssofaV5O1Eg8pwxCu1ohgVk3tFl-9rfy8AqZezeP9mm3X8ns8ELn_ZynNPxCmoYev1pVU9duP1f45w/s400/Lebanon+2011_416.JPG" /> </a><br /><p align="center">The happy couple!<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tBqWdT8lOtBikCjgqzCDehh0ViSBrZ1Ef_wvtmx3PszXrd3F4xnmUVel8sbezGMuPNOPd72A0-IUK-tRnVeBYbsyZ4DVB9AqR3L9ScP5Z8SiJGmYRO-h12lD8o5bEQAWzpBx/s1600/Lebanon+2011_431.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700653424358067154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tBqWdT8lOtBikCjgqzCDehh0ViSBrZ1Ef_wvtmx3PszXrd3F4xnmUVel8sbezGMuPNOPd72A0-IUK-tRnVeBYbsyZ4DVB9AqR3L9ScP5Z8SiJGmYRO-h12lD8o5bEQAWzpBx/s400/Lebanon+2011_431.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHHgybHdw3ADp-SV-hmvaaL1amXiAspse6BXdvErZtslUiPTk5diAFop7Bu_UhPwFr2Q5g_xk3NyF2iioOfMNJbwWOIIzLoj3xH-kEOnoV6si5SRGMTjjWwR-_0MYOP59_klS/s1600/Lebanon+2011_440.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700653031421210834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHHgybHdw3ADp-SV-hmvaaL1amXiAspse6BXdvErZtslUiPTk5diAFop7Bu_UhPwFr2Q5g_xk3NyF2iioOfMNJbwWOIIzLoj3xH-kEOnoV6si5SRGMTjjWwR-_0MYOP59_klS/s400/Lebanon+2011_440.JPG" /></a> <br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHHgybHdw3ADp-SV-hmvaaL1amXiAspse6BXdvErZtslUiPTk5diAFop7Bu_UhPwFr2Q5g_xk3NyF2iioOfMNJbwWOIIzLoj3xH-kEOnoV6si5SRGMTjjWwR-_0MYOP59_klS/s1600/Lebanon+2011_440.JPG"></a>Ringing the Church Bell after the Wedding!</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtmOjtRFvFybsBcHRFtyUc-VIqdsDorTcxw3fL7-mHJnB8Vai7k2YskkVXH6moXjlpn_Rxz96AgLmQ8D5iegKk-ZfY-ouBRI_OxnqOPBXcpCnsuZ0w26oIH-QdvmK3yfFGU0A/s1600/Lebanon+2011_441.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700653022001089442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtmOjtRFvFybsBcHRFtyUc-VIqdsDorTcxw3fL7-mHJnB8Vai7k2YskkVXH6moXjlpn_Rxz96AgLmQ8D5iegKk-ZfY-ouBRI_OxnqOPBXcpCnsuZ0w26oIH-QdvmK3yfFGU0A/s400/Lebanon+2011_441.JPG" /></a> <br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtmOjtRFvFybsBcHRFtyUc-VIqdsDorTcxw3fL7-mHJnB8Vai7k2YskkVXH6moXjlpn_Rxz96AgLmQ8D5iegKk-ZfY-ouBRI_OxnqOPBXcpCnsuZ0w26oIH-QdvmK3yfFGU0A/s1600/Lebanon+2011_441.JPG"></a>Exciting the Church! <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Yay</span>! </p><br />The reception was held at a nearby restaurant. I loved the setup. Everything was just so beautiful. The way they introduce the couple was also a very fun tradition. It's called <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Zaffeh</span> (i think?). A group of dances escort the groom and dance with him. All Elias' friends joined in and they danced in a circle around him. At one point he was even on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">someone's</span> shoulders. Then the dancers dance with the groom to go get the bride. And they both came back dancing. Everyone greets them, claps, dances! And of course the bride also gets hoisted up on some shoulders!<br /><br /><p><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcfl81itFKpjTpPfd15C8PouQhVAQxMHYxV8gkxN80OikEFFZwyDSmqnZCsfNOxTjhpUiPFjCJlYvomQ3Piq76mbLm693Axqef-d7UuN8APWdfadcjyXRtZm9TXNtcQDY0ldw0/s1600/Lebanon+2011_489.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700652718490692258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcfl81itFKpjTpPfd15C8PouQhVAQxMHYxV8gkxN80OikEFFZwyDSmqnZCsfNOxTjhpUiPFjCJlYvomQ3Piq76mbLm693Axqef-d7UuN8APWdfadcjyXRtZm9TXNtcQDY0ldw0/s400/Lebanon+2011_489.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK05T2l5bYpMjgM4Ir026_cosAmxEdHcqkZD7QEN1CxIYylSRqDJuzGkdiCXkpaO9-2uB42zMRLIPFVE21eHBuHRi3F1g74RFTrlvokRR9PG2aLSo9PwyPYT83oiNET_sqlcAs/s1600/Lebanon+2011_502.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700652710097991762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK05T2l5bYpMjgM4Ir026_cosAmxEdHcqkZD7QEN1CxIYylSRqDJuzGkdiCXkpaO9-2uB42zMRLIPFVE21eHBuHRi3F1g74RFTrlvokRR9PG2aLSo9PwyPYT83oiNET_sqlcAs/s400/Lebanon+2011_502.JPG" /></a> The dinner was amazing. I LOVE Mediterranean food! I was full just from the appetizers because they were so good. And then they had fish and tons of grilled meats. It was so, so, so good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it right now. Actually - I didn't even get to try most of the meal because you weren't sitting down for too long before everyone was getting up to dance!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvoIXS_SkQxFxp8co0TlNSIA7PN1wUss1g3cQ9OljWfPmSNtOCtp-5GD4t3wh8FSEaPSvNHLjkHPh7AHvG6vxas_ZGIQlUaAXIr2F12HVhaS3fBMCmNcybcgrDD6_nkF8KXa3p/s1600/Lebanon+2011_517.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700651593117320562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvoIXS_SkQxFxp8co0TlNSIA7PN1wUss1g3cQ9OljWfPmSNtOCtp-5GD4t3wh8FSEaPSvNHLjkHPh7AHvG6vxas_ZGIQlUaAXIr2F12HVhaS3fBMCmNcybcgrDD6_nkF8KXa3p/s400/Lebanon+2011_517.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>Listening to the toasts - first by Melissa (my cousin) and then <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ziad</span> (Elias' brother).<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOI4S3vq16bSMgu8kL-4dB-riF-vrgNALN4dU0ebVCykhoeovd18NU3R1TwjKNw3-Z1Ejrwi-PYVlxB6saGe_SZxZJgRtZbFZjP2eX1IFNuG1jSY6FoYAx-ZPQdc-HKiFrdawM/s1600/Lebanon+2011_525.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700651584507751202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOI4S3vq16bSMgu8kL-4dB-riF-vrgNALN4dU0ebVCykhoeovd18NU3R1TwjKNw3-Z1Ejrwi-PYVlxB6saGe_SZxZJgRtZbFZjP2eX1IFNuG1jSY6FoYAx-ZPQdc-HKiFrdawM/s400/Lebanon+2011_525.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_DsyNGdhyxOjs5De8FUk3jT_to8i-gV100nPkFmNeis3MmZeo57t9J1vDqppfSdTth3c4rUBhWC2nA-n62YwwsjsUZRLEfoLBAxD3BAzAO7VEIdbeU0t6u4rIRfJ4FVFmMSIK/s1600/Lebanon+2011_542.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700648455143813890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_DsyNGdhyxOjs5De8FUk3jT_to8i-gV100nPkFmNeis3MmZeo57t9J1vDqppfSdTth3c4rUBhWC2nA-n62YwwsjsUZRLEfoLBAxD3BAzAO7VEIdbeU0t6u4rIRfJ4FVFmMSIK/s400/Lebanon+2011_542.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>The first dance<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82Mc35N6p80COmopmDTqiQAh9b3gCHRAkM0rHj2_064X3NNd_AyuKhITLIiu68zmcPWdW3jHFsSwpz1rpWGV3vkdpxitMuds1doW6bQMc59e8Zjv8AOyE91CIvP1X0d6Zgqn7/s1600/Lebanon+2011_561.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700648439680419682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82Mc35N6p80COmopmDTqiQAh9b3gCHRAkM0rHj2_064X3NNd_AyuKhITLIiu68zmcPWdW3jHFsSwpz1rpWGV3vkdpxitMuds1doW6bQMc59e8Zjv8AOyE91CIvP1X0d6Zgqn7/s400/Lebanon+2011_561.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>Father/Daughter dance. Very sweet.<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YQwII0UvpHaK9OHklHvt01Bbbaat12jVukhgDI23Rz-qKTYt9jZwidqQkgy5kZpmuQmtEoAEmBjElVcr56TN8K_Ta7lpHb5pjhAhFMJdMV0jJ4QflWbm2G8DGpwe6YL4qnMM/s1600/Lebanon+2011_572.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700648434950018594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YQwII0UvpHaK9OHklHvt01Bbbaat12jVukhgDI23Rz-qKTYt9jZwidqQkgy5kZpmuQmtEoAEmBjElVcr56TN8K_Ta7lpHb5pjhAhFMJdMV0jJ4QflWbm2G8DGpwe6YL4qnMM/s400/Lebanon+2011_572.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKAtbIS3IvLt0-KFToYIU2o3KykzHwDRVqp-kYhdcAAMDApuzLDKKGPFz6883ma1hEpIMJeCJeaIq0BeZUQe5RkV1HxfXTIj-sljalxZYkfZF9ZoYcvOC3e1a3_63EWeiZzyR/s1600/Lebanon+2011_583.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700647943262219298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKAtbIS3IvLt0-KFToYIU2o3KykzHwDRVqp-kYhdcAAMDApuzLDKKGPFz6883ma1hEpIMJeCJeaIq0BeZUQe5RkV1HxfXTIj-sljalxZYkfZF9ZoYcvOC3e1a3_63EWeiZzyR/s400/Lebanon+2011_583.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>The Wedding Cake!<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OeVsaVIuvHHWloMq37HIPaarTgeu7EQ8MHsJ58C17qxUJ_t2cU8YxoikhJq84usatortmoyaJoOCAVNdK91jNjvNFmi4IbIW3Hgfnziq-y_we1dXE9Aj44CPF5FBTaQyatfP/s1600/Lebanon+2011_608.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700647934132772642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OeVsaVIuvHHWloMq37HIPaarTgeu7EQ8MHsJ58C17qxUJ_t2cU8YxoikhJq84usatortmoyaJoOCAVNdK91jNjvNFmi4IbIW3Hgfnziq-y_we1dXE9Aj44CPF5FBTaQyatfP/s400/Lebanon+2011_608.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>On the dance floor!<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HaeeNijEA9ff1fwD_yY4IBS4m-GPesYgRLrZ-XrWR28wiYR-KGCkCKqugid3xH5-j4AL2nJbj84ztkN2dOoCUiIccXRnacCsnX1ZiTXAuklyFhzI0L674pgJSmNbKqsAw_0D/s1600/Lebanon+2011_615.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700647923188759810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HaeeNijEA9ff1fwD_yY4IBS4m-GPesYgRLrZ-XrWR28wiYR-KGCkCKqugid3xH5-j4AL2nJbj84ztkN2dOoCUiIccXRnacCsnX1ZiTXAuklyFhzI0L674pgJSmNbKqsAw_0D/s400/Lebanon+2011_615.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>Elias threw a bunch of water (or something) as a joke before actually throwing the real garter!<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcyNn-B5k2GbyndsZOZrJ26OdtAjnVOi-0mKq4ys7stuVRbXzxVWN-gtMNATYP-OWulRvt80cLpNwRFd2i1pHVYHwsvzv8c1fuiX9WiWFdvxX4fIHwnrlyoS9OT45TTsM1Hr-/s1600/Lebanon+2011_625.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700647141342667154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcyNn-B5k2GbyndsZOZrJ26OdtAjnVOi-0mKq4ys7stuVRbXzxVWN-gtMNATYP-OWulRvt80cLpNwRFd2i1pHVYHwsvzv8c1fuiX9WiWFdvxX4fIHwnrlyoS9OT45TTsM1Hr-/s400/Lebanon+2011_625.JPG" /> <br /><p align="left"></a>Megan caught the bouquet and Elias' friend (who caught the garter) was pretty happy about that. (And so was Megan). ;)</p><br /><p align="left">The wedding was amazing. It went late. We danced for a long time and I loved it. They definitely know how to throw a wedding in Lebanon! The night didn't even end there... after the reception was over, we all (including even the bride and groom) decided to go to a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Shisha</span> Cafe (aka Hookah Cafe). <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Shisha</span> is pretty trendy in Lebanon. They have it all over - kinda like finding a Starbucks on every corner...there seems to be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">shisha</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">cafe's</span> everywhere.<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwCABSE-bqwjE93VM32ETor3Jw-IlDgxkDpmW6fXwY3Mztvggp1tUTboF1WOeBcyvklZVW95TSNZe16o2HIL1mU49FTS7Z0TICddmBAgWgH7CP59XdjP-EDi27sYQwHY3439O/s1600/Lebanon+2011_641.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700647131288852722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwCABSE-bqwjE93VM32ETor3Jw-IlDgxkDpmW6fXwY3Mztvggp1tUTboF1WOeBcyvklZVW95TSNZe16o2HIL1mU49FTS7Z0TICddmBAgWgH7CP59XdjP-EDi27sYQwHY3439O/s400/Lebanon+2011_641.JPG" /></a> We definitely got some looks as we strolled up all dressed up with the bride and groom.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIoEn-_dGhioiU7cb_-O9ajpBx9vdHws8ajPjE6Jhw9_WZZNEXdr-gMuPacq_aczBlV6AWz52kYIBFbBX88QNH3lMA9z08RK3XI1ymaN8te1b87x7t7S3fcR5e9jfjV4CavpEi/s1600/Lebanon+2011_647.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700647122889626962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIoEn-_dGhioiU7cb_-O9ajpBx9vdHws8ajPjE6Jhw9_WZZNEXdr-gMuPacq_aczBlV6AWz52kYIBFbBX88QNH3lMA9z08RK3XI1ymaN8te1b87x7t7S3fcR5e9jfjV4CavpEi/s400/Lebanon+2011_647.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>But that didn't stop Jen! :) </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhro_cpVI4aBBnCx9ZpVReAbVaI2w33a-S6asSI4IrZr_6owgZOF7rYdmDBBafaopnnj2UAcvWVvOA9fm1GdAR_a2kIBLw5u_s53j9i7TBvAzfwm4P4iGsdEdvZFrHr2GbxsGz8/s1600/Lebanon+2011_651.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700646629513550146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhro_cpVI4aBBnCx9ZpVReAbVaI2w33a-S6asSI4IrZr_6owgZOF7rYdmDBBafaopnnj2UAcvWVvOA9fm1GdAR_a2kIBLw5u_s53j9i7TBvAzfwm4P4iGsdEdvZFrHr2GbxsGz8/s400/Lebanon+2011_651.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MmgyqZHX3CW8Z0O1FPDWtOjeyxIIgMsNVEE6cpUOrmw4q2jEBZ2TEh-bSdJO2Ee4fS0-GsUOPTyLkTnSS30s1pKUUISG14SzhtfzTak1YRlBelYgsvqohEwpYMMbmVuk2q-q/s1600/Lebanon+2011_655.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700646620534176866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MmgyqZHX3CW8Z0O1FPDWtOjeyxIIgMsNVEE6cpUOrmw4q2jEBZ2TEh-bSdJO2Ee4fS0-GsUOPTyLkTnSS30s1pKUUISG14SzhtfzTak1YRlBelYgsvqohEwpYMMbmVuk2q-q/s400/Lebanon+2011_655.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>The guys playing some backgammon. A popular game in Lebanon.</p><br /><p align="left">The entire day was just amazing. It definitely made my trip to Lebanon worth every minute of this day! So happy I was able to be there and take part in the celebration!!</p>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-90107576559725987042012-01-22T17:41:00.000-08:002012-01-24T11:23:37.186-08:00May 2011 - Lebanon [Byblos]After a day at Keukenhof - I went back to the airport to catch my flight to Beirut! I got in super late and my cousin Jen had sent one of their friends to come pick me up. I didn't get back to Jen's (soon-to-be) husband's family's place until about 3am or something ridiculous like that.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700639229393664258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgLhvudf4WpKyqMJzREX8hMLSvzJll8VfTC2fEOeT3m4AOFX8_rwktwb1kGl6etrZaOMsg6CNo95Y1EE_ISpnh4ZpSXqeMMDc_xqrqRMK7uVpFTU3mLo_UUhvZz3_Lry7ZYZz/s400/Lebanon+2011_013.JPG" /><br />I spent the week with Jen's friend Megan who came from Montreal for the wedding. We were roommates at a convent up the road from Elias' family. It was great because it was only something like $20/night.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUwC5I0tIVXgQPPmcc98Xgo6d06QgQ5qj0G4z3PxS-_bt0GKWDj_kPxu6xI2ufRcLLons_gvpLLOz9b3rYr5LzRWk8SJpW8HrCvKdoCX_9GyUjayokvFbTZXGPr6diDHlNz2q/s1600/Lebanon+2011_007.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700639238242352866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjUwC5I0tIVXgQPPmcc98Xgo6d06QgQ5qj0G4z3PxS-_bt0GKWDj_kPxu6xI2ufRcLLons_gvpLLOz9b3rYr5LzRWk8SJpW8HrCvKdoCX_9GyUjayokvFbTZXGPr6diDHlNz2q/s400/Lebanon+2011_007.JPG" /></a> The next morning I went over to Elias' to see everyone. And meet Elias' family. They are all so nice! And so welcoming. Jen was super busy with wedding stuff so Megan and I decided to do a little touring of Lebanon on our own...<br /><br />The view from Elias' house....<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEozorChpkNavv1vJfewz7s-egYyWYJgfUTw3ZvuV0ki2v8GRkGUMPSVjZ_PT1L1TSvlJXmuoyYSgbKTSxdIcfFJLlOAxI-sqWlEVRypQlx04Xl4p93wA9h7ZC5S8Z8pI_62x/s1600/Lebanon+2011_022.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700639010727582882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEozorChpkNavv1vJfewz7s-egYyWYJgfUTw3ZvuV0ki2v8GRkGUMPSVjZ_PT1L1TSvlJXmuoyYSgbKTSxdIcfFJLlOAxI-sqWlEVRypQlx04Xl4p93wA9h7ZC5S8Z8pI_62x/s400/Lebanon+2011_022.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhx2dq3TzMLNBXpEDI_QPo6NLjJbeKFJBO43pzm0HPC28ysNUZnq5PIAHudFeT6orn9086i-NyEOlcjMPKsE6rYCeoVTwEWEsFK5NKHdVSz_RJA31zTBu7ddjoUBs6CK8Da49/s1600/Lebanon+2011_021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700639008721185026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhx2dq3TzMLNBXpEDI_QPo6NLjJbeKFJBO43pzm0HPC28ysNUZnq5PIAHudFeT6orn9086i-NyEOlcjMPKsE6rYCeoVTwEWEsFK5NKHdVSz_RJA31zTBu7ddjoUBs6CK8Da49/s400/Lebanon+2011_021.JPG" /></a> Megan and I went to this little town north of Beirut called Byblos. It's an ancient port city. I thought it was quaint and I really liked it. Our taxi driver said he would wait for us and then take us back when we were ready to leave. So we just wandered around the town. Took lots of pictures and got dinner at a cute restaurant with a great view of the water.</p><br /><br /><p>Here are some of the pictures....</p><br /><br /><p><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNq131PiDRgwc_hJI2IyUYibBJx7LREAcmRf-nxrCEVygl0NKEnZLglmnjg4oQuSUBYe4PB4WGkgG11GFcKkvL8jV5BvyViPXXrMocFxSeI_9ideTaRLc3Ha9IGurKaS5ynUUG/s1600/Lebanon+2011_030.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700638997590869874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNq131PiDRgwc_hJI2IyUYibBJx7LREAcmRf-nxrCEVygl0NKEnZLglmnjg4oQuSUBYe4PB4WGkgG11GFcKkvL8jV5BvyViPXXrMocFxSeI_9ideTaRLc3Ha9IGurKaS5ynUUG/s400/Lebanon+2011_030.JPG" /><br /><br /><p align="center"></a></p>An old church<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiura5pxxt_peVMYWhpBBzdMltUHW6MQiFr1UA8Os9dGFScuOnznQjXjlBj7qIuujl3hlVR-LsZNmJr8MP48hBfXPyb61ebZ5FJsHm2XrstmE0d0Vl5TPO9134WWY8Ig5acrshN/s1600/Lebanon+2011_052.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700638566934366402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiura5pxxt_peVMYWhpBBzdMltUHW6MQiFr1UA8Os9dGFScuOnznQjXjlBj7qIuujl3hlVR-LsZNmJr8MP48hBfXPyb61ebZ5FJsHm2XrstmE0d0Vl5TPO9134WWY8Ig5acrshN/s400/Lebanon+2011_052.JPG" /><br /><br /><p align="center"></a></p>The market and stores<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0vSUOnrHuCDCXce2V2ZRnCgYd_10djAJKhb1gR_81Ue0orOrrnq4JVzb5TX-Asyqu2swiFyMs1-cjd4d2W7kpo63oIqFXBtygml1B1IYG2kVHNvVYgjzHOeSFj8kNTJmwhe2/s1600/Lebanon+2011_108.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700638551991219698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0vSUOnrHuCDCXce2V2ZRnCgYd_10djAJKhb1gR_81Ue0orOrrnq4JVzb5TX-Asyqu2swiFyMs1-cjd4d2W7kpo63oIqFXBtygml1B1IYG2kVHNvVYgjzHOeSFj8kNTJmwhe2/s400/Lebanon+2011_108.JPG" /><br /><br /><p align="center"></a></p>The water<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXHBb8oJgsokOWhxHtzuPUQEfAeooR1uEcsKj6_NY2WgOqSif_Rfp8W9R3L_1Boo9YugX5vzG9o_0k6OpuBVFJG-W9sYfqFu7rwCM1_mD2GxF4WysNogfU9ht_biyZhJaeFPw/s1600/Lebanon+2011_118.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700638545100708914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXHBb8oJgsokOWhxHtzuPUQEfAeooR1uEcsKj6_NY2WgOqSif_Rfp8W9R3L_1Boo9YugX5vzG9o_0k6OpuBVFJG-W9sYfqFu7rwCM1_mD2GxF4WysNogfU9ht_biyZhJaeFPw/s400/Lebanon+2011_118.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8ZCspSmkVLfrScFv-XF_KsCz7c9wjr0vjciwQ3k6h96GN9j1J8KoPSGqbmvPOFACMU-fHa5JBuCb_Iue8cGPxpAL0Mkw8el22pMhegpYJtP_sGRbP_S8I-yUR8BAqYLcYU3R/s1600/Lebanon+2011_117.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700638100880457074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8ZCspSmkVLfrScFv-XF_KsCz7c9wjr0vjciwQ3k6h96GN9j1J8KoPSGqbmvPOFACMU-fHa5JBuCb_Iue8cGPxpAL0Mkw8el22pMhegpYJtP_sGRbP_S8I-yUR8BAqYLcYU3R/s400/Lebanon+2011_117.JPG" /><br /><br /><p align="center"></a></p>All the fisherman<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXTznQdTLS2orwKKV7OT4GvcKkAheTfBLgIgze4hHooI0c7dnM4l8dOjYjsxfizU3sbD-KbggSedRYD_gMTGeBZyWEBTzbN1kIhmgX5M_a20EyFZb3kLYV4Q6blwupLS4t0Uy/s1600/Lebanon+2011_113.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700638090713577586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXTznQdTLS2orwKKV7OT4GvcKkAheTfBLgIgze4hHooI0c7dnM4l8dOjYjsxfizU3sbD-KbggSedRYD_gMTGeBZyWEBTzbN1kIhmgX5M_a20EyFZb3kLYV4Q6blwupLS4t0Uy/s400/Lebanon+2011_113.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R7lJ9dc8OMmckl8PhJbpLK4B0Y6t7ZRfCzUuQ-Jd4EFgMATlc1y-I9w-nSBBZ3o9zE8PhXnsF3H3u9Z0-0K6lz24RqgE81dBsH3Z6jOccWiLcm65bJqUFe-gvld_yKLWSk8n/s1600/Lebanon+2011_119.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700638086368558738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R7lJ9dc8OMmckl8PhJbpLK4B0Y6t7ZRfCzUuQ-Jd4EFgMATlc1y-I9w-nSBBZ3o9zE8PhXnsF3H3u9Z0-0K6lz24RqgE81dBsH3Z6jOccWiLcm65bJqUFe-gvld_yKLWSk8n/s400/Lebanon+2011_119.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRexqL-JgZswB6m2kk_6x_zqf1fEjCnKFrEBMJtKHwiYFAz5GKD3rNQI2VadLY4pciirkeDufPjFylDAIAf2_Sobiv1fRqYpBjcGnBQ0Xj7Fr2iIAxMOD1DInyd5xpOS2YwbBt/s1600/Lebanon+2011_124.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700637713781749698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRexqL-JgZswB6m2kk_6x_zqf1fEjCnKFrEBMJtKHwiYFAz5GKD3rNQI2VadLY4pciirkeDufPjFylDAIAf2_Sobiv1fRqYpBjcGnBQ0Xj7Fr2iIAxMOD1DInyd5xpOS2YwbBt/s400/Lebanon+2011_124.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1eOFm_aKEEyrqMxpCOUA8SMshjubDZtmJ4AflDOXNwnno_N7NR7dhf2oOY4ZZKAoHSc2xi3Lhn6cqrIAWnaGHnNdwfGvLzRyQfySPzVMn5b_SYYyoUgq6B1YlTGUzJoL-5Ji/s1600/Lebanon+2011_137.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700637707283403426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1eOFm_aKEEyrqMxpCOUA8SMshjubDZtmJ4AflDOXNwnno_N7NR7dhf2oOY4ZZKAoHSc2xi3Lhn6cqrIAWnaGHnNdwfGvLzRyQfySPzVMn5b_SYYyoUgq6B1YlTGUzJoL-5Ji/s400/Lebanon+2011_137.JPG" /><br /><br /><p align="center"></a></p>Close up! eek.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStHQ_L2rn7a87zaH3sais5BGb_HtbyGyVa3i6eGdMCpjWoZCD_TszilaZ44LVMOSuUcR4Wrmcuc8dkE5FI7D531kNw58w7_K06Sv7QcFepB9LXyG38rwl0lY17RBvywh8lRCR/s1600/Lebanon+2011_142.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700637331196096962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStHQ_L2rn7a87zaH3sais5BGb_HtbyGyVa3i6eGdMCpjWoZCD_TszilaZ44LVMOSuUcR4Wrmcuc8dkE5FI7D531kNw58w7_K06Sv7QcFepB9LXyG38rwl0lY17RBvywh8lRCR/s400/Lebanon+2011_142.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFp83GRcAeUc2EsXiZz9EzJiyJmXRERjN19ONc80KTsJMgHIBZGyiyyYgd5fSTSG4XNEia8SRI2F5w1otHi8iBJkL-LoZ9fbzNeVLfaBA8W4Ic08iy6Iz3_49UekZrtymuujVR/s1600/Lebanon+2011_146.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700637323544048882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFp83GRcAeUc2EsXiZz9EzJiyJmXRERjN19ONc80KTsJMgHIBZGyiyyYgd5fSTSG4XNEia8SRI2F5w1otHi8iBJkL-LoZ9fbzNeVLfaBA8W4Ic08iy6Iz3_49UekZrtymuujVR/s400/Lebanon+2011_146.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAJ6GhThyphenhyphenklobT7V6M8sVCmX6T7MSwZZxLB5wFrnrbGgEuOr1QmuW1m-MFFXo_C0mHMNs5LUvwVSanlnftRwIpy8pe1drK-hev00n4nm1SbceyvuvkeENnKu0diPF2vK-rBkX/s1600/Lebanon+2011_147.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700637317071920978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAJ6GhThyphenhyphenklobT7V6M8sVCmX6T7MSwZZxLB5wFrnrbGgEuOr1QmuW1m-MFFXo_C0mHMNs5LUvwVSanlnftRwIpy8pe1drK-hev00n4nm1SbceyvuvkeENnKu0diPF2vK-rBkX/s400/Lebanon+2011_147.JPG" /></a> Sunset on the City.Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-47146442344742780882012-01-22T17:03:00.000-08:002012-01-23T14:18:59.038-08:00April 2011 - Keukenhof [Amsterdam]I took a big trip at the end of April! My cousin was getting married in Lebanon on May 1st and I decided that I really wanted to be there for it. So - I got to work trying to get my new passport (mine expired in March) and buy plane tickets to get myself out there. I decided that if I was going to go all the way out there that I wanted to see a few other things as well. So with the way it worked with plane tickets - I ended up using points to get myself to Europe and then bying a second ticket from Europe to Lebanon.<br /><br />Because I did it this way, I had a LONG layover at the Amsterdam airport. I was at first going to go into the city, but when I landed in Amsterdam someone had posted on a comment on my facebook status that said I should go to Keukenhof for the Tulips. So that's what I did.<br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcg8M1mIvf4PitQs6M6ZEJtBjF0a6S_Umur_OU_5lCpcjyXLzzaWxlUd4RVdxv4BP8lMZSACcSFEqogT-B7xVLt4KOU10sfJQ_v5jrk9vcbtmqdG4g2KSvX4XwfyDdQojZ5Xn/s1600/Keukenhof_002.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700631102893012498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcg8M1mIvf4PitQs6M6ZEJtBjF0a6S_Umur_OU_5lCpcjyXLzzaWxlUd4RVdxv4BP8lMZSACcSFEqogT-B7xVLt4KOU10sfJQ_v5jrk9vcbtmqdG4g2KSvX4XwfyDdQojZ5Xn/s400/Keukenhof_002.JPG" /></a> I'm really glad I did because I figured I should take advantage of the fact that I was actually there during tulip season. It was super easy to get there too. Put all my luggage in a locker and took the bus to Keukenhof.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bNVaww7kXPo_ZGBKm8oAkY2p5R0vawMbsTLBhZyBcLYCJAnVr-55ejX3-IirUqmA_HoSZsIbBpH9AyIbPtaApqMtPIqpT4RJN11uXsw-pf2jSCnzKsfsG4WeZKeV-uCL7u6B/s1600/Keukenhof_053.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700630980760779474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bNVaww7kXPo_ZGBKm8oAkY2p5R0vawMbsTLBhZyBcLYCJAnVr-55ejX3-IirUqmA_HoSZsIbBpH9AyIbPtaApqMtPIqpT4RJN11uXsw-pf2jSCnzKsfsG4WeZKeV-uCL7u6B/s400/Keukenhof_053.JPG" /></a> The tulips were amazing. And I was so excited to try out the new camera. I'm sure these probably could have been way better with a better photographer...but that will come with time!</div><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpL4kKfRmlG9K2Krohc7OdX-JnpKo6It0S05h8pTPOGWL_CuyQMo-OKkJcvhJKzhjkI94dNgRibfPk8yRMDpwU57EL4IXF_kAj8WXSpeUGKirqyn3X_KNUwfu8vp1gXtwkTfU/s1600/Keukenhof_055.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700630972870024594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpL4kKfRmlG9K2Krohc7OdX-JnpKo6It0S05h8pTPOGWL_CuyQMo-OKkJcvhJKzhjkI94dNgRibfPk8yRMDpwU57EL4IXF_kAj8WXSpeUGKirqyn3X_KNUwfu8vp1gXtwkTfU/s400/Keukenhof_055.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaG8zunfBTJGWnui785edTWhcn5LFronYrkaevJYlm2YPNpruTjYnlidt8_wwqYFmu7nPRH6e7wrOwQ0eCnC6NDpEAjHpBg0vG6FIUfE2Mwk-Nz7Ondc0Odmh3SP-EpveOP67H/s1600/Keukenhof_060.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700629786275270546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaG8zunfBTJGWnui785edTWhcn5LFronYrkaevJYlm2YPNpruTjYnlidt8_wwqYFmu7nPRH6e7wrOwQ0eCnC6NDpEAjHpBg0vG6FIUfE2Mwk-Nz7Ondc0Odmh3SP-EpveOP67H/s400/Keukenhof_060.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>Mini pancakes!<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCYqh1BevE51qajcbzIrR1CW6K1k7QHDqH4xn07PDhQzBwQyRXAapSvXUYa9AZHGt4O4D5C8IhMmxQpFh0W2WwtlpjcnrqSQ8LbcNeOjGjokwJu31eQ9ni8YRehCjHNHsw_Sy/s1600/Keukenhof_063.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700629768388573042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCYqh1BevE51qajcbzIrR1CW6K1k7QHDqH4xn07PDhQzBwQyRXAapSvXUYa9AZHGt4O4D5C8IhMmxQpFh0W2WwtlpjcnrqSQ8LbcNeOjGjokwJu31eQ9ni8YRehCjHNHsw_Sy/s400/Keukenhof_063.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomTpH4knTZoL1zT_2_Rgf_5es5YV5AGkQGB9-5Fry4V80HV4nW2gu0_VPTpKi1bju-Ww_EoMtwDxvTpjYuf1hyphenhyphenw6aQ0pJIJO3uequBL0KzcnRIvFK4BD42aacx-u5gX1HPoDV/s1600/Keukenhof_067.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700629764951668546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomTpH4knTZoL1zT_2_Rgf_5es5YV5AGkQGB9-5Fry4V80HV4nW2gu0_VPTpKi1bju-Ww_EoMtwDxvTpjYuf1hyphenhyphenw6aQ0pJIJO3uequBL0KzcnRIvFK4BD42aacx-u5gX1HPoDV/s400/Keukenhof_067.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>Wooden Shoes! Extra big ones!</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx6fQpy5CvVjTDf5uGCYJmWH1bgH9q5XDQwbf3yrrCWOFI4-Ohgc9R_woPCn7KmBpG3A8z13Ra1b7ypzdAPmLEkkbSvUIOU39JIs8DuPdiHTXHEb6-BBQRVqoQbU6gCTj1e6N/s1600/Keukenhof_083.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700628703057081458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx6fQpy5CvVjTDf5uGCYJmWH1bgH9q5XDQwbf3yrrCWOFI4-Ohgc9R_woPCn7KmBpG3A8z13Ra1b7ypzdAPmLEkkbSvUIOU39JIs8DuPdiHTXHEb6-BBQRVqoQbU6gCTj1e6N/s400/Keukenhof_083.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1S3yAIi-xfWBgRVGVKTCzNEyfxCcjWULVBf1IrxGD-pb8S9nGrtaxoTiiwWoapQgu0dQyh-knOG99c0YAwNZ29A_IhlkvSccnfPB-1M3f5XdmYGP40fMEbfi8PAmL1WRbwNk/s1600/Keukenhof_106.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700628675739031314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1S3yAIi-xfWBgRVGVKTCzNEyfxCcjWULVBf1IrxGD-pb8S9nGrtaxoTiiwWoapQgu0dQyh-knOG99c0YAwNZ29A_IhlkvSccnfPB-1M3f5XdmYGP40fMEbfi8PAmL1WRbwNk/s400/Keukenhof_106.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhigdb-qJNtT2L3to7fmVw9SkIOsDiQghTkhrvSKHL40_Dtl8ufO4YinMgVBOxQvmjQcU7PzJIVapBEo0DJVnn4JW8A8g9_5JhiYTEy27x7ZfwBTmKR6NZk7FvQ8ITsH4viW3K/s1600/Keukenhof_108.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700628671244181522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhigdb-qJNtT2L3to7fmVw9SkIOsDiQghTkhrvSKHL40_Dtl8ufO4YinMgVBOxQvmjQcU7PzJIVapBEo0DJVnn4JW8A8g9_5JhiYTEy27x7ZfwBTmKR6NZk7FvQ8ITsH4viW3K/s400/Keukenhof_108.JPG" /></a> The flowers were amazing. I love tulips and to see this many! It's definitely worth going to if you have a long layover in Amsterdam. Maybe the next time, I'll hit up the city and all it's scandal.Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-81238760623865297862012-01-19T23:28:00.001-08:002012-01-23T13:52:38.156-08:00April 2011 - New Toy!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrujYgwQ8yeAgGxp0wJWiIWVaRqSHZujkFkef1mbDCfb2AcvkPaCsCVVe1WOkQIPoJud_CsgcbBtHbkz3ciWu8WdIiLodnSZz0JCaQ0tZVUGcjUl19jO9OMSNNPUddaYOHJXfJ/s1600/DSC_0110.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699613035724841922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrujYgwQ8yeAgGxp0wJWiIWVaRqSHZujkFkef1mbDCfb2AcvkPaCsCVVe1WOkQIPoJud_CsgcbBtHbkz3ciWu8WdIiLodnSZz0JCaQ0tZVUGcjUl19jO9OMSNNPUddaYOHJXfJ/s400/DSC_0110.JPG" /></a>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-84324431645719444812012-01-19T23:24:00.000-08:002012-01-23T13:50:30.061-08:00March 2011 - Football and Camping<div align="left">With March usually comes the annual rilvary flag footbal game between Stanford II ward and San Francisco Ward. It's a favorite time of the year for me. I LOVE playing flag football. </div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqLNGqKrEti7e363T9s9sOILOFnIm-3faiAHJ-r3l5MCjFFjjnB23Rdsoyc4LRVl9XQ5SJuLaVv8L8nGkamlv0XbaK1lkLjQzkVYeVU4qeO_yw7vlpAdIFAcp0ApCZbOQK0Gs/s1600/Football+2011-3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700622301202429698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqLNGqKrEti7e363T9s9sOILOFnIm-3faiAHJ-r3l5MCjFFjjnB23Rdsoyc4LRVl9XQ5SJuLaVv8L8nGkamlv0XbaK1lkLjQzkVYeVU4qeO_yw7vlpAdIFAcp0ApCZbOQK0Gs/s400/Football+2011-3.jpg" /></a><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700622275592835426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChVQvvTfccTURVQBgBiRWAU8OiHebtMX6rjbNjIABLX3apy_AnZOWhExUSOizHW7Y_hQ9rqRj6oBYSMsKJBmcGKn3HfxAfaDA0klDUqESrT3PnT2DLy0H06Q-lPXsYGLzulLm/s400/Football+2011-4.jpg" /></div><br /><div align="left">It was a fun game. And we won. Which made it more fun. And it was raining and cold so we all felt like we were so hardcore. </div><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicV8mejpsGbqoRaJOCJ_3AOAWcDQAi83k84V-_ajX7Nh9L-QKomb0y3mu-twnpTS5PM-j-5icAGZAzcF6imJEZfdVgKUGPZmeoItku7IvsurhLFkWoe3afh8BUr41cnVlvc8pQ/s1600/Football+2011-1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700622281184839634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicV8mejpsGbqoRaJOCJ_3AOAWcDQAi83k84V-_ajX7Nh9L-QKomb0y3mu-twnpTS5PM-j-5icAGZAzcF6imJEZfdVgKUGPZmeoItku7IvsurhLFkWoe3afh8BUr41cnVlvc8pQ/s400/Football+2011-1.jpg" /></a> The entire team with Coach Dave...who i think may have gone into retirement after this.<br />I'm really sad cause for various reasons it looks like I probably won't be alble to play this year unless some of the games get pushed out to April or May. [fingers crossed].<br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700622263379197634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNukEsDIcbi-WoTASJTMMa8eeF5GJBwYq0R_59HDCqFqACIQn8boMYp-bE7X1BG5uNOGDDbVPmz2S0Hv5-nuJLslXRTLNwvBqeuwJCpwSJNhq43WrZdl5cqMJof2G4VjE1O_mX/s400/Football+2011-6.jpg" /> <br /><p align="center">Jen and I tried to keep warm as we watched the boys game.<br /><br /></p><br /><p align="left">I also went on a little (mini) overnight hike with these guys and gals...</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBb9yxoJGhlmVffxyFveNdO8sXrRVHuDmR_BC88Dlf4TBk-wvIvGulvMcw7ex7QVAW6Y50ky4iGpN4rHHMOsX9Far4LiWwpffPUiSAa9d3acMfb8vWaqlmbD0iu93_6mHGO_Z/s1600/IMG_1520.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699612621671277330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBb9yxoJGhlmVffxyFveNdO8sXrRVHuDmR_BC88Dlf4TBk-wvIvGulvMcw7ex7QVAW6Y50ky4iGpN4rHHMOsX9Far4LiWwpffPUiSAa9d3acMfb8vWaqlmbD0iu93_6mHGO_Z/s400/IMG_1520.JPG" /></a> We had a lot of fun. It was not that far away and I thought it was a really pretty hike. I love camping. I need to do more of it this year!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF8x5XHzrrnjlRTwz_lfuSeJJTEWdFuTe8oUR7A32WX-SzFO4K0MzHL5XnMkhDMpd7Vs4TgfYG_n3M1i1N-i_k6oO2meABlKfTwRxmDPGWRuWWfVieHjac0liskM6kQYKU9th/s1600/IMG_1517.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699612621868429826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF8x5XHzrrnjlRTwz_lfuSeJJTEWdFuTe8oUR7A32WX-SzFO4K0MzHL5XnMkhDMpd7Vs4TgfYG_n3M1i1N-i_k6oO2meABlKfTwRxmDPGWRuWWfVieHjac0liskM6kQYKU9th/s400/IMG_1517.JPG" /></a>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-25163251802115693072012-01-19T23:23:00.001-08:002012-01-23T13:32:56.776-08:00March 2011 - Jimmer Obsession Take 3 [New Orleans]The Cougars made to the sweet 16 and somehow I thought it would be a good idea to fly all the way to New Orleans to see them play! <br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgXhBn354Y8TiZyCuUzsZMkadzoIp2PNGzyAaUj1VgT5izVB6kO8TzKeKiIq47gZ4c4FiBhUd-RHCID3o68Js2wj5VGK7GDspkPVqHpcHLaSTnPCaiW6J3mLyVexRuekvGp3r/s1600/IMG_1386.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700618803506425042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgXhBn354Y8TiZyCuUzsZMkadzoIp2PNGzyAaUj1VgT5izVB6kO8TzKeKiIq47gZ4c4FiBhUd-RHCID3o68Js2wj5VGK7GDspkPVqHpcHLaSTnPCaiW6J3mLyVexRuekvGp3r/s400/IMG_1386.JPG" /></a> Mike and I flew out from SFO (and man those tickets were NOT cheap) and met up with Jared and Jaren (and Jaren's friend Grant) in NOLA. We had great seats for the game and we were SO excited to be there.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7y9ThxYJ_RGmcCkXrKPwA8-DVx4wbCw_FtRZF67unVowLfXnSGSWlV-asbmP19mn9LLXBD-3uGJDFO-ufzdd2wKuQi1A5x_aLrmqkfnI_9wRX8elweLs3sRHitU9LlKhstCdw/s1600/IMG_1382.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700618796122348658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7y9ThxYJ_RGmcCkXrKPwA8-DVx4wbCw_FtRZF67unVowLfXnSGSWlV-asbmP19mn9LLXBD-3uGJDFO-ufzdd2wKuQi1A5x_aLrmqkfnI_9wRX8elweLs3sRHitU9LlKhstCdw/s400/IMG_1382.JPG" /></a> Well - we all know what happened. And I don't really want to talk about it but let's just say that I was super depressed after the game. Seriously. I got back to the hotel that night and looked up flights to go home. Ha. It probably took me at least 24 hours to come to grips with the fact that the Cougars were done for the season.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoZr1jNzOzUekozLkMbdfMH1Vyg0YpMiBpkpJWiaBLg7GMGG81_IG2dVqE-EIZP5hpv9PF0Mta2q13vFW15GkzXok5XHneoDw5oMdIQo96NYS7uM_ca-yPuWXsBeTrPNphwTn/s1600/IMG_1399.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700617610018554658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoZr1jNzOzUekozLkMbdfMH1Vyg0YpMiBpkpJWiaBLg7GMGG81_IG2dVqE-EIZP5hpv9PF0Mta2q13vFW15GkzXok5XHneoDw5oMdIQo96NYS7uM_ca-yPuWXsBeTrPNphwTn/s400/IMG_1399.JPG" /></a> Thankfully I had Mike and Jared there to pull me out of my deep dark depression! We walked around NOLA quite a bit. They took lots of pictures and made me wish I had an SLR. We watched some street performers...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nor1XJzEXi0RRyNEWTvOSthU-4g8X0qjKAQShjpxYmVbZ_F2BWsefBToJFNrMbyWKyNm8JQt6DCO2uBXZ0aWEm2rXMJ0_sQ2I41Epa1T-9d9ksDT8CQVW7gzGpHNdEoUwjfj/s1600/IMG_1400.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700617601429962642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nor1XJzEXi0RRyNEWTvOSthU-4g8X0qjKAQShjpxYmVbZ_F2BWsefBToJFNrMbyWKyNm8JQt6DCO2uBXZ0aWEm2rXMJ0_sQ2I41Epa1T-9d9ksDT8CQVW7gzGpHNdEoUwjfj/s400/IMG_1400.JPG" /></a> Ate some Beignets at Cafe Du Monde... (so good!)....<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnii6drohrRBm7sb3ediQg7EM-UOGCzxt3kHMk30dLyUWKrY5G7GA06zYbMy1orZF0XKaGuhKy28sbng3ENFUTFwL_1k4nW8SK_bAJwXcrCu1WKUfjpGXzqYmCLTiAJkc4dOcF/s1600/IMG_1402.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700617589465613282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnii6drohrRBm7sb3ediQg7EM-UOGCzxt3kHMk30dLyUWKrY5G7GA06zYbMy1orZF0XKaGuhKy28sbng3ENFUTFwL_1k4nW8SK_bAJwXcrCu1WKUfjpGXzqYmCLTiAJkc4dOcF/s400/IMG_1402.JPG" /></a> And, of course, we went on a swamp tour! Definitley one of the highlights of our too long of a weekend stuck in the city that will forever hold bad memories for me.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqA0gWcPmlEDwqesunWMQ2seN6aQVmoFxxFtYN35oncCTVP7xoKBwZIB8_Skhc1VWq2aIcHryr1pBs0T5Y4WRzqHBL7KhCWu_-LBwEmex0aIfM_zrpFdJi6tHmHYK-oqVYfgjE/s1600/IMG_1413.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700617584860454946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqA0gWcPmlEDwqesunWMQ2seN6aQVmoFxxFtYN35oncCTVP7xoKBwZIB8_Skhc1VWq2aIcHryr1pBs0T5Y4WRzqHBL7KhCWu_-LBwEmex0aIfM_zrpFdJi6tHmHYK-oqVYfgjE/s400/IMG_1413.JPG" /></a> We even got to hold a tiny, baby gator. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiDatRg6-KF3o37cLZGUEMQ3K85JoKzc-VGhlGNzMpvkc26g_MDgiMRA67LULzcqLBfbU30Vdbrd4XHohDp9t6mywB26kGB6z4dZZIW79ujaQuTk8E3ElE-PWWNnqix1fr21t/s1600/IMG_1514.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700617579537653234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiDatRg6-KF3o37cLZGUEMQ3K85JoKzc-VGhlGNzMpvkc26g_MDgiMRA67LULzcqLBfbU30Vdbrd4XHohDp9t6mywB26kGB6z4dZZIW79ujaQuTk8E3ElE-PWWNnqix1fr21t/s400/IMG_1514.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div align="left">It was a fun weekend. But obviously could have been SO much better if they would have just won that stupid game. Which they totally COULD have won. It might be a while before I ever pay that much money to go to a sweet 16 game again. You live, you learn. :) Peace out NOLA - won't be seeing you for a LONG time.</div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-78589814505455078162012-01-19T23:22:00.000-08:002012-01-23T13:23:17.852-08:00March 2011 - Jimmer Obsession Take 2 [Vegas]I decided at the last minute to go to Vegas for the Mountain West Conference. I couldn't decide if i wanted to drive alllllllll that way by myself - but because I love Jimmer, I did. And I have zero regrets.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuJmeb6f0B5syqiCS_Kv77uIX4WGGLZSC-uqVrvBdb50juYRJ4_CdS5GLi_INHMtOtIdWpvqWJdWpGTsjpi5ZM4Tu3_GK9_rLE6deyXsWy2ZfzTzcfghwihYztxqQ3NeJFsuv/s1600/IMG_1336.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700615364570487106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuJmeb6f0B5syqiCS_Kv77uIX4WGGLZSC-uqVrvBdb50juYRJ4_CdS5GLi_INHMtOtIdWpvqWJdWpGTsjpi5ZM4Tu3_GK9_rLE6deyXsWy2ZfzTzcfghwihYztxqQ3NeJFsuv/s400/IMG_1336.JPG" /></a> I met up with my friend Jason who was also there for the tournament and snuck down with him to the lower section to watch the BYU vs. New Mexico game - so we had great seats! And then - Jimmer had his BEST game ever scoring 52 points. It was AMAZING. I seriously can't explain how awesome it was to be there for that. It made the 10-hour drive to Vegas so worth it!<br /><br />After the game, I ran accross the steet to Cafe Rio..and look who I ran into? Noah Hartsock from the Cougars! ha.<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sYj8D1Oqm0z0QKYLGm1OYT0lx-fhyphenhyphenEs2V6j70ujkAE6gnBVb_FrruK25CdILh7kQBpwC5NlU48q87dLM4HvhyZe4kucBHtetvvNw9l8DkoknEQibMFcgWyeJYa_IrmSxQ-si/s1600/IMG_1340.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700615350796248754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sYj8D1Oqm0z0QKYLGm1OYT0lx-fhyphenhyphenEs2V6j70ujkAE6gnBVb_FrruK25CdILh7kQBpwC5NlU48q87dLM4HvhyZe4kucBHtetvvNw9l8DkoknEQibMFcgWyeJYa_IrmSxQ-si/s400/IMG_1340.JPG" /></a> BYU, sadly, lost to SDSU in the championship game which was such a bummer. But I was still really happy I was there for the New Mexico game.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700615333788164034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXO2Itt2v87yukTLxqsE1_AQjtBNQ0WtC5iCmZ4V11z8O9EVCVLElBVM1ovpg_PMd5cburRkVkYX2b4Gue1ynd_t4ZeeTU1HOrZif1NMF_66RejoQa2zTvqhKN_RvG2NcWRdt9/s400/IMG_1353.JPG" /></p><br /><p>It was also SO much fun to hang out with Jen and Janice in Vegas. Jen and I went to see Jersey Boys one night. And Jen was nice enough to get us a room at the marriott with her points! </p><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoyICgKEE9gc_5wDZEJgLYIbUefmeuPTw6xF1UDHhyphenhyphen7O19oIyU9gn4qgJwhqy6iDK3IrgIaDwdYYsUtu__VjVkDw3nq38m8uYbpzpa_xFvjSqaz5iOuGMIHALCJKRhs6H1pfC/s1600/IMG_1343.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700615345794312882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoyICgKEE9gc_5wDZEJgLYIbUefmeuPTw6xF1UDHhyphenhyphen7O19oIyU9gn4qgJwhqy6iDK3IrgIaDwdYYsUtu__VjVkDw3nq38m8uYbpzpa_xFvjSqaz5iOuGMIHALCJKRhs6H1pfC/s400/IMG_1343.JPG" /></a> I also got to see Myra who came to meet up with Jen and I for dinner! Great weekend! Good memories! Viva Las Vegas! :)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCJIp8KHF473vQGZS0XnjCynLBxf1GSxIfjSv1M-uujlGompjkYNXwaHV5uifcXae_k4ZRSZCg49wHmk4xkKHQf1JtVQuSVZqacuqZfQfv2xHpcrvdHtNBlLngoG2-JEBhoLt/s1600/IMG_1358.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700615328814321538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCJIp8KHF473vQGZS0XnjCynLBxf1GSxIfjSv1M-uujlGompjkYNXwaHV5uifcXae_k4ZRSZCg49wHmk4xkKHQf1JtVQuSVZqacuqZfQfv2xHpcrvdHtNBlLngoG2-JEBhoLt/s400/IMG_1358.JPG" /></a> </p>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-78851727932559442532012-01-19T23:21:00.000-08:002012-01-23T13:04:21.669-08:00March Madness @ Work.<div align="center">This is how I spent my March at work. It's called multi-tasking. </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0RFjgKMS8aIFHc2n72tmgVtTgNbwRauZk_Dx1Tp2OlJAGvYs9O-0RRErjHHfD_PGgroNip5opfvc1HugslzxuQMIl4DGPUixDAgQIq-eGfT7VyiaEVWFwaQ-3ZBAfl4oXAKJ/s1600/IMG_1332.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700615781772288018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0RFjgKMS8aIFHc2n72tmgVtTgNbwRauZk_Dx1Tp2OlJAGvYs9O-0RRErjHHfD_PGgroNip5opfvc1HugslzxuQMIl4DGPUixDAgQIq-eGfT7VyiaEVWFwaQ-3ZBAfl4oXAKJ/s400/IMG_1332.JPG" /></a>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-70083954318806440402012-01-19T23:20:00.000-08:002012-01-23T12:49:03.977-08:00Feb 2011 - Jimmer Obsession Take 1 [BYU vs TCU]As the 2010-11 basketball season went on, I may have gotten a little obsessed with Jimmer and the Cougars. I really wanted to see him play...so I decided in a spur of the moment..to buy a ticket to Austin to go with my brother and nephews to the BYU/TCU game. <br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700613891228073778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsxAuiTBL4-tKQTIQjgIPkVmthW46noz3UcWVH6Gy_EokxrWoe8dZa_efKX3LQE8zYLbVGT1PwgvaqN77Peq4ZqzshFfE5PojZJflXVaT9h3VNau5P07uPJtIwgBKItsNZzui/s400/IMG_1133.JPG" /></div><br /><div>We drove up to TCU on Saturday - which is about a 3 hour drive and got to town early. We ended up at Dutch's for some delicious burgers and onion rings. I mean - look at that thing! It was so tasty!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700613882280190402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5f97l60jLfJLlu2BCGCa6-u8DhVpcHvNcDpV1fkLKwC14QlkoKj3LiSZxWdYqvn7wEAav4PjHe3dxxuA-PbJ66ihrARjb1v_b3rc7PdXFw5REsS128N9h8r_GF16vrHGkIC9/s400/IMG_1142.JPG" /></div><br /><p>Then we headed to the TCU stadium and watched the teams warm-up. Here's my boy Jimmer...<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 297px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700613872846223890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5608D5mYcrIonTwP_lgS_HyoW-nXp3TKPcZRTNfRNuUnCyGZGaKr57o7UEO-Y3RmVr7Cq8fkhD6pMtCZWbI6sQ8hCDl6Jc-hzHdCg7UyAXac8CnH1G0qFqCAc8LHt8_DgYVm/s400/IMG_1179-1.JPG" /> My friend Katie who was living in Lubbock at the time also came out to Fort Worth for the game and sad with me and my Nephew Austin..</p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700930183445371970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfmF_WXBxGEzze5ufszRejJbHjywJzP5aTtjLSabU-0X2k5nxBz8JtJeW0qW1hTtcD9SRMCq3UEW0b3WG8hoXUfHQNHnoNMU4u2eSRlLLVHQdk2ZpaA_KIlAkWMst7TbKMYVSY/s320/hi.JPG" /> <br /><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ66z0bKaIj-_WBjP5PNompoXg1owvB0J8OnXnM_xBCjEQKg0O32hHniLF0sMeSoiGXbaWXNrJXY6mDbgWp56B-jLK8J1VAIrSG8FeMTRqK6b5ove6n0jPYQ1ZR2EAaN5TXWID/s1600/IMG_1251.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700613845508793602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ66z0bKaIj-_WBjP5PNompoXg1owvB0J8OnXnM_xBCjEQKg0O32hHniLF0sMeSoiGXbaWXNrJXY6mDbgWp56B-jLK8J1VAIrSG8FeMTRqK6b5ove6n0jPYQ1ZR2EAaN5TXWID/s400/IMG_1251.JPG" /></a> It was so much fun to spend the day with my bro and these little guys! Just love them. They are SO full of energy! And of course it was so fun to see the Jimmer play. It wasn't his best game - but he still scored 23 points and it was fun to watch some of his magic.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxF6XanW7i7X0OROo0XykuiwHmARKyDHQl5OQ6nSNgWbrJblZPWCkabiC4Wfzuf_D9k99qVJd67TaTek221xafVKYy7Bat2KZLC9zHb3-hCfKasgibZpcrbcuYTd8QoD7IbtzR/s1600/IMG_1254.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700611602664177682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxF6XanW7i7X0OROo0XykuiwHmARKyDHQl5OQ6nSNgWbrJblZPWCkabiC4Wfzuf_D9k99qVJd67TaTek221xafVKYy7Bat2KZLC9zHb3-hCfKasgibZpcrbcuYTd8QoD7IbtzR/s400/IMG_1254.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-e6TmdtgBfeMNy5xM3BqEJ8jsh9lCaLkqi_rrCaL0Tl2-6Oe-_AyTrtO4jiY3tVhVBM1Dh0ovo2KWWYBMleaRla4nkgnksi63H2eIqg0C48d-ueE6zEyBe4YSAg_EgvjMUitP/s1600/IMG_1261.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700611595574166466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-e6TmdtgBfeMNy5xM3BqEJ8jsh9lCaLkqi_rrCaL0Tl2-6Oe-_AyTrtO4jiY3tVhVBM1Dh0ovo2KWWYBMleaRla4nkgnksi63H2eIqg0C48d-ueE6zEyBe4YSAg_EgvjMUitP/s400/IMG_1261.JPG" /></a> BYU fans were serious Jimmer fans. I think the stadium had more BYU fans than TCU fans.. And a lot of them (including us) stayed afterwards to see Jimmer and the team come out to the bus. Jimmer's cult following...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwiFWsfxFASdSa6Q4NdQ2VsE-i698EPSnMiBgcNpaIC780Q_42kWGvWfnMSrnltNEVjYSc1kzTmwkBSZuQ9sMSIeFdK9wfUfxC48sMha_oHZaK8hXcBbsip4uoucMvgXuamzWT/s1600/IMG_1268.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700611567318683410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwiFWsfxFASdSa6Q4NdQ2VsE-i698EPSnMiBgcNpaIC780Q_42kWGvWfnMSrnltNEVjYSc1kzTmwkBSZuQ9sMSIeFdK9wfUfxC48sMha_oHZaK8hXcBbsip4uoucMvgXuamzWT/s400/IMG_1268.JPG" /></a> I love that I get to go to Texas as often as I do! I spent the rest of my time there just visiting with all my nieces and nephews! We also celebrated Emily's birthday!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAq3M5twSPxp9W293s31QX0AoQD8VENm05KStvKgYtMkAXSyGj8xYkh5z8yEwc6aRND32SvufTIyBXRwIgcULD1g_OPI8QA5BW_eoIU9MeB-v4Nc6WmOGkyu_zsRZSxplLbXYS/s1600/IMG_1278.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700611558752915538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAq3M5twSPxp9W293s31QX0AoQD8VENm05KStvKgYtMkAXSyGj8xYkh5z8yEwc6aRND32SvufTIyBXRwIgcULD1g_OPI8QA5BW_eoIU9MeB-v4Nc6WmOGkyu_zsRZSxplLbXYS/s400/IMG_1278.JPG" /></a> And of course we made a trip to one of my favorite Austin resturant's - Chuy's! Yum!! Love this picture!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVC_4svWhnsbcdTufZNuZ-0ydJI0WDPaE2zCefKr36hAiF6DDLyyxbOmj9VfDESJP2v8hG1ZT_ZiHPJIGTSPK7xVZvwcWRzs5RRx8MaSXAyKLLFELTMnZ3kTqEcF0tyGwXkVeo/s1600/IMG_1285.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700611553685776434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVC_4svWhnsbcdTufZNuZ-0ydJI0WDPaE2zCefKr36hAiF6DDLyyxbOmj9VfDESJP2v8hG1ZT_ZiHPJIGTSPK7xVZvwcWRzs5RRx8MaSXAyKLLFELTMnZ3kTqEcF0tyGwXkVeo/s400/IMG_1285.JPG" /></a> </p></div></div></div></div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-17579130239356392252012-01-19T23:19:00.000-08:002012-01-20T19:58:24.378-08:00Feb 2011 - SF with Em<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOs6mPuntYyGD9hsBsRztO3E1Vvr9yVUPBHIpRHReMaHQH_CPocxiHXsiyw7X8QwTXg7vUjw2YlsWB19lfcZnPIFKhHZbkZY4SopNRdR3TRWQbVWy_pgFwmWplraZBa3qdPAwW/s1600/IMG_1112.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699827673361881330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOs6mPuntYyGD9hsBsRztO3E1Vvr9yVUPBHIpRHReMaHQH_CPocxiHXsiyw7X8QwTXg7vUjw2YlsWB19lfcZnPIFKhHZbkZY4SopNRdR3TRWQbVWy_pgFwmWplraZBa3qdPAwW/s400/IMG_1112.JPG" /></a>My good friend Emily was in SF one weekend in Feb and she stayed an extra day to hang out with me! It was so much fun to have her here! I picked her up and we went for a run in golden gate park in SF.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj625va_tOGBclCR6L4BoeSq0sUWgMXII5Ep6EhLz6KacR7vzmd51nx2ubpmSftNihWlgRLDRrOCCH_LfA4CzwQDHvaY2A94m4GcpfY4kke2tt1GDKiKiM6PtVMIqlEv3qbbxLJ/s1600/IMG_1119.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699827666923922786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj625va_tOGBclCR6L4BoeSq0sUWgMXII5Ep6EhLz6KacR7vzmd51nx2ubpmSftNihWlgRLDRrOCCH_LfA4CzwQDHvaY2A94m4GcpfY4kke2tt1GDKiKiM6PtVMIqlEv3qbbxLJ/s400/IMG_1119.JPG" /></a>Then, of course, we had the traditional clam chowder in bread bowl at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Boudin</span> Bakery! And we had fun catching up and getting each other all caught up on our lives!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyJ4efM4KQdMaZ44V7vazGRp5dmpfQlqGAVTc5gVD-Fynwp_R29TUUFGMlmQu6tTFOzkqBgcrAzDm5nGIWaoB-i_ZCNSF8Br0boTtJSf-zyiE2dofuOh8ky9AUUFBVEfAGdzh/s1600/IMG_1122.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699827643751313554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyJ4efM4KQdMaZ44V7vazGRp5dmpfQlqGAVTc5gVD-Fynwp_R29TUUFGMlmQu6tTFOzkqBgcrAzDm5nGIWaoB-i_ZCNSF8Br0boTtJSf-zyiE2dofuOh8ky9AUUFBVEfAGdzh/s400/IMG_1122.JPG" /></a>We walked around Fisherman's Wharf. Went to the mechanical museum. Took a picture on a trolley...<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3z3AP9vTH7RPR9zQssXSwtrZPs7nUPNT-4IyERtCubSslTD3NLSJmo26kWULnt8yjd97j6VPItDLdV5p5XbN39E0hlai1hIIhDXUOhj3l2OOb3oTZfzeNZeeKRtmZpRoyyzg/s1600/IMG_1126.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699827639987446818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3z3AP9vTH7RPR9zQssXSwtrZPs7nUPNT-4IyERtCubSslTD3NLSJmo26kWULnt8yjd97j6VPItDLdV5p5XbN39E0hlai1hIIhDXUOhj3l2OOb3oTZfzeNZeeKRtmZpRoyyzg/s400/IMG_1126.JPG" /></a>And of course...no trip to SF is complete without something from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ghirardelli</span> Square! So yum!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-L8K9pv5z95hmpvsWPzavzGN863V3Ab1FE8XxcI6zJioxfsMOMneEvWnSz6I9ROfGCmCnwR7maoSXfOTK64sPKfZvAe5hmGuANac4rdTdonRGbn8ozr1I2YV5SCAKsDYEnf5/s1600/IMG_1127.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699827636681655682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-L8K9pv5z95hmpvsWPzavzGN863V3Ab1FE8XxcI6zJioxfsMOMneEvWnSz6I9ROfGCmCnwR7maoSXfOTK64sPKfZvAe5hmGuANac4rdTdonRGbn8ozr1I2YV5SCAKsDYEnf5/s400/IMG_1127.JPG" /></a><br /><div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div>We had a wonderful time together! So happy she could extend her trip to see and play with me in the city! She came back to Palo Alto and spent the night at my place and dropped her off at the airport the next morning on my way to work.</div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-74580293302114451442012-01-19T23:14:00.000-08:002012-01-20T14:48:28.003-08:00Jan 2011 - Best Fortune Ever.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGSMeYPMOEGsx8rd57f9ghkcq3-fPIAJzbYLCc1hyphenhyphenzZy9UQM5k-EBfmI_AJZmlc0k7OOWUzmuaM6Z8uUfiDDTyfIAnwN-kbqAKEUWsdeGc0rPutwng-ER0hKd3_LzMCE6F5l3/s1600/IMG_1099.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699609412632018018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGSMeYPMOEGsx8rd57f9ghkcq3-fPIAJzbYLCc1hyphenhyphenzZy9UQM5k-EBfmI_AJZmlc0k7OOWUzmuaM6Z8uUfiDDTyfIAnwN-kbqAKEUWsdeGc0rPutwng-ER0hKd3_LzMCE6F5l3/s400/IMG_1099.JPG" /></a>Well - I could maybe think of <strong><u>one</u></strong> more fortune that would be better. But for right now - this is very applicable to my life. I'll let you know when <em><u>it</u></em>'s mine.Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-23548179587506935882012-01-19T23:13:00.000-08:002012-01-20T14:47:38.469-08:00Jan 2011 - Welcome to the United States of AmericaThat's what the pamphlet read that accompanied this in the mail when I got home from Florida.....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnUTGxmEAGb5ft94ah4nf_gGgzA8a338URX8IXGYy72fym_ivpLqB8gf8S6JM3SYXivctF51yEMK5GYyXYw2xfUNkRgwmdcC7r58vsd2c16YRJWChPpFTXM3ydBnFDBhPdIJ_/s1600/IMG_1088.2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699803280393547266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnUTGxmEAGb5ft94ah4nf_gGgzA8a338URX8IXGYy72fym_ivpLqB8gf8S6JM3SYXivctF51yEMK5GYyXYw2xfUNkRgwmdcC7r58vsd2c16YRJWChPpFTXM3ydBnFDBhPdIJ_/s400/IMG_1088.2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>Best Day of 2011? Let's just say it was a good way to start out the year. :) </div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-18303217600896240872012-01-19T23:11:00.000-08:002012-01-20T14:46:51.004-08:00Jan 2011 - The Happiest Place on Earth!Shortly after returning from Athens/Turkey - Camille, Leslie (who we met in Athens), and I decided to sign up for the Walt Disney Marathon weekend. Camille was going to do the Goofy Race - which consist of doing the Half Marathon on Saturday and then turning around and doing the FULL marathon on Sunday! <br /><div><br /><div>I decided to only do the half marathon and hoped that my foot would be well enough to handle that distance by then. My longest run before this half was the turkey trot 10k in November and I think I did another 5 or 6 mile run while I was in Canada.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699800161629983522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8nr8Yex43X0uJASQj3zhxCrttL8wLnrWpQbEGnW0jZHLUdOrZEkO0VZaMP3EFeXkI7C0MLtyLAUxbYDNc5BZbkkTE1nwGyhHfTtRUSt9Qr1pL1wdUzyFiaHhOpJlgPlKWJTG/s400/IMG_1008.JPG" />There were TONS of people! It was a fun race...but I decided that races with this many people are not my favorite. They take a lont time to start and you have to weave in and out of people if you start in the wrong coral. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699800166241772866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsZUkY8_2cTyCL2Dy57vx_q1saQPyMRevDJZnsUphVN2sTZ4emh2K33cG9s5s0fhHLQJXB41E-NuTq5h0qM1OBS9vH5zyfgurT4e1MnA6nFi_k8n8cib8DscYsNQmdudbbC-y/s400/IMG_1023.JPG" /> I was slow and I could feel some swelling in my foot - but I finished it and had fun doing it. I was, however, releaved that I wasn't crazy enough to sign up for the FULL marathon also. </div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699800173095929218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchW9EFfDt0BNsEy6MR0hw53i4xOQ8fZTaHJAa18zjTsb_b1ZEuyxyOaRMY-YAG2uTIL-9EVvmcPPt-DYtGeo4aCzr3iJleBHRWUbFCIh6q1TtacCG8ErPxjWe0Obpe2vu_Uf2/s400/IMG_1031.JPG" /> Camille is a rockstar though and she ran the 26.2 - making it a 39.3 racing weekend! She's Amazing!!!! <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699848128572994274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3gzgDxs-iJHZAqFReHIkwuR2Uva-LMiTBxlEeTp40S6skQjXnLCrnEnMLsjGQuRIQagQK5VD3QmfxrfooIG_AEpvkF9lrkgFzeoYyzYLxKCcXmSyZi3Q32db82haLiTMJgLE/s400/IMG_1030.JPG" />She ran the whole thing with Leslie and Liem (we met Liem on the plane coming back from Istanbul - he had also run the Athens marathon and when I told him about Disney he wanted to do it with us!).</div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699847093912063778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2q7VHK3t2D98NZEukr6FOyw4EF9N2pH0JtY009ZWx0wizOKDEFlX4ZFUbDTSzn-tL8SbqZGJnLw8tWwq7G7-WsCjgNgUnPm5fM-Js8DJYulbpdZGs4tKBKCWmpsIJuLZX6yX/s400/disney.jpg" />We also met up with Andy (also a friend from Athens who lives in London) for dinner a couple of times. It was such a fun weekend with the girls and a fun to reunite with our running friends.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699800206555809042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1qFFEP5aX4jWnAx7S4z1rBIeahhkheOPl_EeYhQ_fge1fjvzxXtoMlE9aDWxXB7wVxINSfQ5A61M60eMt9XTtDy7ZVtHzEz9dLDQPFjyrOohWoZlqdz-1-KIzhPHXrAKocaa/s400/IMG_1079.JPG" /> </div></div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-66717988916783664232012-01-19T23:07:00.000-08:002012-01-20T11:27:50.257-08:00Happy New Year 2010Dinner with friends, a movie, watching the ball drop, and some rootbeer. Just a typical new years eve - unlike the one I JUST had in 2011. Stay tuned for that one.. just 12 more months of catching up to do!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DlOyqFYd9nkJnokQ04P-gZ4hu6b53YEB7VwklNnkBP-RdSVSrwKDS6rf2GHb5cd3LFvhm43cOK9ma8X0rMJZeOJtCyHWGhCyT8E87zePAGy1iYGltU21MgJnXFPfHJrsCyIX/s1600/IMG_0952.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699607548827056882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DlOyqFYd9nkJnokQ04P-gZ4hu6b53YEB7VwklNnkBP-RdSVSrwKDS6rf2GHb5cd3LFvhm43cOK9ma8X0rMJZeOJtCyHWGhCyT8E87zePAGy1iYGltU21MgJnXFPfHJrsCyIX/s400/IMG_0952.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>Ryan, Jen, Me and Mike</p>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-19011670956531107322012-01-19T15:27:00.000-08:002012-01-20T11:21:17.817-08:00December 2010 - Home for the Holidays!I decided to go to Montreal for the holidays for Christmas 2010! And spent most of my time with these amazing parents of mine...<br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699785569697297410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC3hlIkbAzBg2vV4sAdDstuw8FtrTQ759-4OMtqZPPolzB7bPqh_joh1SW9fAfQ0s4KugmuUUGgn2NShTwdvxo_hq_BSLYPp06hc4jPtMmeTAdiNjNV6BWbCHjfLhba9ToA9f-/s400/IMG_0877.JPG" /> It was my first time home for the holidays in quite a few years. We normally all meet in Texas since a majority of the family live there now. But my parents were going to stay in Montreal and I thought it would be nice to be where there is snow for Christmas...<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669787624199801666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t557cYBNbz5Bs6r1t8oc6q9oeabDwrP-rpZ8pYGyvzEEO4Ri4T8qVmUpd8XeqNpkyaMLdCTbkieShSc9BWpFyVnqHtdBwMBTEv-Cpm07bYnhqjvpxK81t_eB8z1w_dbYRoBg/s400/IMG_0873.JPG" />And snow there was! Sharon - one of my bffs - was in town for the Holidays as well! I love getting together with her because we can always pick up where we left off. Anyway - we decided to take advantage of the snow and we hit the slopes....<br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669787125445893074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3g1j33x0ihCDgbE2WaAL8HgpCgEqHfSmY_eMgIrLWIgVigo9TV8JqnHyAhp7WZv0xK2UmqT3kno8EhhaGgTFsabIcHkxHs_VxzS4gVIVzncNq_0FdDIJg88O06eqLw68Iwa2U/s400/IMG_0855.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699788263858500018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqcVJLyWKUWeW7Bn8zpPfUPzq0syQCVCTrybNpB4oEdm4YNk3lUnHx7XiOjwaWyT_ErAdENcv1VkscTUwTDOSR4YeKGdUDfu8hsgv1PG35lIDBmD0-kLYkprcLsMFQTBhV7k4/s400/IMG_0861.JPG" /></div><br /><div>I also decided to take advantage of the snow to try out this new purchase of mine...... <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699789353462229586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ux5Gu_FTJaSaT3vbCdDAa7ukaJaCPTGzs65FKCOaqLhDZTmy1Fy3vKgAYSHTb6LxHzN9ltifR80gnfgy9su6ZJbVdQC1Fs_72D_dypDsWwuQrrZfTF7hAgJtRr4N7_hHDuZL/s400/IMG_0870.JPG" /></div><br /><div>I figured that I should do what I can to run in the snow when I have snow thinking ahead to that crazy marathon I signed up for in Antarctica. So I did a couple of 4-5 mile runs while I was in Canada. It was about 18 degrees Fahrenheit which should be similar to what I get in Antarctica (assuming there is not a windchill that drops it another 10-15 degrees). It was so bad. The snow slowed me down - but it didn't feel as cold as I thought it would. So that was good. </div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669787145802497090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkN-67UTrWSCQGpCPJPhdYGiahK0uXexJ_yx4rWShbJczZjPv09QgdT_L5WL7AGyxzL3db9gQj6ZMYDrB0-n4SGJXGffUAfqJIN-aokR3NPZ-woGhqzkPp-_9TVzqzyvq_qxYM/s400/IMG_0869.JPG" /></div><br /><div>I took this picture on one of my runs... In Quebec, we turn all the park basketball courts into Hockey rinks for the winter. So the guys play pick up hockey instead of pick up basketball. Actually when we were younger, there were a few years that we turned out backyard into a skating rink. That was fun.. </div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699784385666484258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwooV2yviAYKd_XhC-hV6gpj8VdZRfQCRrqTCmohxHkdvhwOs9CKQcoNqQLG6nHNIjmnmkpyw-4aNSDS4DyGrfQgIPjs3YdRR06BwbIEMcOXO3hQdX6fFHOW6KZd2YdZrShmF/s400/IMG_0929.JPG" />Christmas was pretty low key at home. It's a little different when you don't have the nieces and nephews getting up early and excited that Santa came! But we still had a nice time together.<br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699784359858475058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPNVSCnSSstqWSU13V4bElnkq0Tcw7vN6chBV0Hq_NX99Le3VS5beg0IhnZJ_D3QtSvWTd1R47Waop8WFqmUNlQEQlpP-HXmazWlkxwkB52qEEEflNUJZ1C17aM-ZKBrkoMAev/s400/IMG_0897.JPG" /></div><br /><div>We had our traditional Christmas breakfast. And mom made that delicious Swedish Sweet bread that she makes every year. LOVE this stuff. Definitely a tradition that I'll keep in the family.</div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699784363452575058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtBJiruQ6GkHbk-OVflLQcJfqcxqY_zvgFFAnYFuNReTy5xhPGi1ez7WFmoZIg9uzTCvMp0J-feZValQCgk7DhxuX3Vpp0bW75wYgubGVpXOxYPG0avjD_L8T3keKx6EBvBfA/s400/IMG_0900.JPG" /></div><br /><div>Then we opened presents. Mom got a macbook from Dad. Hmm.. present for her or for himself? Not sure. :) </div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699784772216647906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FR5sIk18yUhtZ3dqEgttCGWYWjVi8WnRqLlV94e0fczOFNNN-GWtsn2SxUBihco4AozjuzIwQHxjOHogM4QLZOH1t6E9a90jRFh35nUiZbtDrlikklNFCx1Loq0-jyIRbMs6/s400/IMG_0906.JPG" /> After we opened presents and relaxed a little, we went over to Sharon's family for Christmas dinner. They are good friend's of our family so it was nice to celebrate the holiday with them!<br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699784397586996530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivtEoshkRopYSjdVHy9Yb9g-q79LbhSnxedYZ9OXM_oCLNShcTlrrCrCnWyp-ZgL9deWIWxw432Oq7rJ7r8SRei-u4NawtI0ckebcaeUQwFcfCFcABC2Nzrb9gVlSFqs1tk0c/s400/IMG_0931.JPG" /></div><br /><div>And a few days later... like always... we celebrated my birthday! We went to dinner and then had some cake! (This picture just didn't want to rotate). </div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699784377187156354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEeLRU_22pUQBz5iV2ygNRlCiugV2okmsDrSYqHoFHhTnTtZKdWPGHxy1xtFYgmVv-MVLnllZDGNKgOtY-IRMPmg81NsQCauE8wYChUrmCwlw4B_cbS9oHZkCPToaKE0dYxJ8/s400/IMG_0926.JPG" /></div><br /><div>I finally tried making Lauren's popcorn caramel cake that she usually makes around Christmas time. It was delicious! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And no trip to Montreal is complete without some of my favorite foods....</div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699789364390673218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXmwyheW9i-X30AvzcpWtU_l6O6Yq1mZZJmaBfCUjlNoa-6-ZJvcUCf8JME9Vd6IwVGMVl01yJz65hjJ0M55NRUE8foQxqol9-ebdoDg0FGzla1pPJ2NOWTZgqZ11UDZZgSwQ/s400/IMG_0866.JPG" /></div><br /><div>Like Montreal Smoke meat at the Snowden Deli.. with delicious fries. And of course there is some vinegar on those fries! yum.... my mouth is watering just thinking about this meal.</div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669787139143556434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGl2Lvh2cuoHrqibPCGeiqv-GwbYM34eKOyDi_Hi6HguZShlE9QmmSAXUUpWr6-l4Rl5YfxS2h5P5P97r3AzAYzIfpS4OBq4bXxmPcUzasHWUjOBbsmVHZduXxfD3WDRa3UlcL/s400/IMG_0867.JPG" /></div><br /><div>And a trip to "La Belle Province" for some poutine and a couple of Hot Dog "Steamés".... [which are way better than Brazillian hot dogs if you ask me].</div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699784768126882786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbUix7BnWw4LJUDaRkTu4vy-5mdVLBg74vhpa0OyuImzNXLIdvF_wOHJVNSfgxoLmvyhpi7a6zNe2-6tsVMKrf6vzivCVox_5nSEkPYmvvtrSUSIHGNBlmw5k_NE4tZoleLeK/s400/IMG_0944.JPG" />And of course some Ketchup chips!!!....<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669787130535232690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-U_U5f7ouWMm8x0TF68Jx-0iUTuRQeT4qwQHaULYQBmWft6RspODFsC17jpYbKzM86KXvBNIMHNGJ9g1Jw41RfPFhZKoc3_TM1vIQ1vvfHWzIFsdkGYE9ckbD15r4vbpD445/s400/IMG_0860.JPG" /></div><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-90561539798924753762012-01-19T11:48:00.000-08:002012-01-19T22:56:58.626-08:00November 2010 - Turkey!<div><div>High on my list of favorite places I've been to is Istanbul, Turkey. The whole experience was just so much fun! We booked our hotel from Crete the day before we got to Turkey [yeah - that's how I typically roll].<br /><br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialnjWfbM5BceD8Cf0S-YRpBa1xxUFIof6RvuUnCOViUooI-tXQT6cJP0O2mczjMk_rW6CpLE7EnnNMCeGXv33DUKE3VDuVPQF2gzgoBtSc3ZkWKg22Lerl88SYjYu8sORF4XC/s1600/IMG_0656.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623903884923238114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialnjWfbM5BceD8Cf0S-YRpBa1xxUFIof6RvuUnCOViUooI-tXQT6cJP0O2mczjMk_rW6CpLE7EnnNMCeGXv33DUKE3VDuVPQF2gzgoBtSc3ZkWKg22Lerl88SYjYu8sORF4XC/s400/IMG_0656.JPG" /></a><br />And we stayed here! It was perfect. At first we were a little nervous because we arrived at night and it seemed like it could be a little sketchy. But we were way wrong. The place was new, clean, and close enough to everything. It was a little suite with a kitchenette, flat screen TV, and free wireless. And it included a 1-way airport transfer. All for only about $50/night. We loved it!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkA5GeuvHmwMNhC2DZTLmx9vffNu-QdmhTYG_sy279lwfcBrzkZCYkOO0OVknf-kc5214WFYQ1Hhh3m-KgzPQfhlapPVQFWKrF0SdZ7bndzwPTTLm9w0Yr6e8qOw72kU3ye1w/s1600/IMG_0311.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623543835420637202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkA5GeuvHmwMNhC2DZTLmx9vffNu-QdmhTYG_sy279lwfcBrzkZCYkOO0OVknf-kc5214WFYQ1Hhh3m-KgzPQfhlapPVQFWKrF0SdZ7bndzwPTTLm9w0Yr6e8qOw72kU3ye1w/s400/IMG_0311.JPG" /></a><br />The food in Turkey was also AWESOME! This whole trip was full of good food actually. We loved just about every meal we had.<br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0RmTdm9GkaCtDJAbLe4IsxVIJZZDpWPsZVu_x61cyCD3cKWrcloaiw543HlPmbiTj3wgLUKuHcZOEm27kuHxE70K_XiSFscMRd6Aavg_fxEF38qjUig0hQ4APJ_ADXnEFr9W/s1600/IMG_0325.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623543836741364002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0RmTdm9GkaCtDJAbLe4IsxVIJZZDpWPsZVu_x61cyCD3cKWrcloaiw543HlPmbiTj3wgLUKuHcZOEm27kuHxE70K_XiSFscMRd6Aavg_fxEF38qjUig0hQ4APJ_ADXnEFr9W/s400/IMG_0325.JPG" /></a>Camille and I got new scarves and we decided to be artistic.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntxuLawy_AjgJspih4JzYP5rIbFOVsTd0AoHZUykJ38CwJ4sF75EeUwFf78qcN0UXqlAiRbxv2v_C-00T2GwDmhzVQzOnvd83_j_TJE8jbj-AL5GDu48LZG2FxBCkWDd0F7Xj/s1600/IMG_0386.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624316118492786674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntxuLawy_AjgJspih4JzYP5rIbFOVsTd0AoHZUykJ38CwJ4sF75EeUwFf78qcN0UXqlAiRbxv2v_C-00T2GwDmhzVQzOnvd83_j_TJE8jbj-AL5GDu48LZG2FxBCkWDd0F7Xj/s400/IMG_0386.JPG" /></a><br />We took a boat to the Asia side of Istanbul. I had no idea <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Istanbul</span> was built on 2 continents. The boat ride was nice, but a little long...so we entertained ourselves with the Camille's camera features. :)</div></div><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisu1HQuP38BGV-5fPbB2R2iMLDlhYxEQsF8mkGC94KAYoWcX8BA53eAQBvhVup0j6NSbJ-JOsPpps_ghX36qyJjcZMPM7fqAvJvHYYo5MQYMOLFiPUCwC-US_gDim8V45W_1lt/s1600/IMG_0360.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623543842118630946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisu1HQuP38BGV-5fPbB2R2iMLDlhYxEQsF8mkGC94KAYoWcX8BA53eAQBvhVup0j6NSbJ-JOsPpps_ghX36qyJjcZMPM7fqAvJvHYYo5MQYMOLFiPUCwC-US_gDim8V45W_1lt/s400/IMG_0360.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcM6403sIqdsFjUzJgDOjQcrVJ4P-pQFOWpAuy5GW8hbqak1i94_01eaWK9quBBk7KKtj4mB_Sf4a_tPwp2pm1DLS2dVvgkA55T7bKNcLePMhqCX4jq5gNgHzpvcFro1sss99/s1600/IMG_0371.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623543847368399346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcM6403sIqdsFjUzJgDOjQcrVJ4P-pQFOWpAuy5GW8hbqak1i94_01eaWK9quBBk7KKtj4mB_Sf4a_tPwp2pm1DLS2dVvgkA55T7bKNcLePMhqCX4jq5gNgHzpvcFro1sss99/s400/IMG_0371.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2EYvsjYX_wXU7uWpn4r8duVteE5p76egZUE2b_udXjqmTY-gg0hoLiMTUZXg5n9NC1SsVD11RSEaykN7vaAdXrhv_1VUk16Q0K20qYWApmAxCzZQWEwGIM4p7Ckoz9UrKO3d/s1600/IMG_0754.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a>Drinking apple tea for the first time in Turkey. And definitely not the last. This stuff is everywhere (not usually such a bright green though). It's tasty and I was a fan. So was Camille - who is probably the biggest tea drinker I know. I think she fell in love with Turkey just for their tea (well and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Salop</span> also).</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztDU-iFZtVARHeazVCxKUud9wFwgtJsTDqrYinR41poCaZLNZQb05c6rR71qsG-V2cVtrY6cqvgLLKuk5vNbOEm97HZgiQvT1xstZybTLqsJ2POsLMmW5Dv2lw5SA_VSVPnqE/s1600/IMG_0396.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623545262552633138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztDU-iFZtVARHeazVCxKUud9wFwgtJsTDqrYinR41poCaZLNZQb05c6rR71qsG-V2cVtrY6cqvgLLKuk5vNbOEm97HZgiQvT1xstZybTLqsJ2POsLMmW5Dv2lw5SA_VSVPnqE/s400/IMG_0396.JPG" /></a> The view and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">sunset</span> from the boat were pretty amazing as we were getting back to the Europe side of the city.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G7dsU_03I7eO_Tb33Ug98BojOheKbx6QLSrBOdiLw__F9wUC5od4Ua0BNhy7RzZtTSFcx8ZfQd8y9BRDZjlEp-IxeLhhNhlD_LfYVSvUh57MuyawGVN53DFWQahut2BQxzX5/s1600/IMG_0405.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623545269260123490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G7dsU_03I7eO_Tb33Ug98BojOheKbx6QLSrBOdiLw__F9wUC5od4Ua0BNhy7RzZtTSFcx8ZfQd8y9BRDZjlEp-IxeLhhNhlD_LfYVSvUh57MuyawGVN53DFWQahut2BQxzX5/s400/IMG_0405.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxkKFWDIhfyXnC7MHsIdQm-sJtTWBtF4MlG8GYsyNuRaoW6csqzaj67cKiwpmYGqzUyoqlvQ-2wmM84wl41D_eTdH5QofqKsvan1UG25T0RdzHXgClam3cF9A9at_1GOpSCub/s1600/IMG_0734.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQSPxqhStr5-VefTwteeI3u4IHiUD2UzCQJnfHrxvaMzXxX1be4E8U-5yDw5LA6t8i06_Wd86l-uNvpDcgRoLJw6jWUbUtlhNLax8lkL_dICxZLfK6uXA2vqc6xC2o1WhAFUu/s1600/IMG_0409.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623545272370170914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQSPxqhStr5-VefTwteeI3u4IHiUD2UzCQJnfHrxvaMzXxX1be4E8U-5yDw5LA6t8i06_Wd86l-uNvpDcgRoLJw6jWUbUtlhNLax8lkL_dICxZLfK6uXA2vqc6xC2o1WhAFUu/s400/IMG_0409.JPG" /></a></p><br />After we got back from our (a little too long) boat trip, we made our first trip to the spice market! And we fell in love.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bEM8LbhCEV17windLWHyvLu_sJo2ruf6_wHWhtYAnsdORiQY7Ro9uE3uiTONmOHwiYzUYuhrrlkC0wM4jszhKDyuaV3bA6KxteOuJr12hHQ7CznMPBVjGpFaYAX4J6n0IkY2/s1600/IMG_0429.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623545280898273010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bEM8LbhCEV17windLWHyvLu_sJo2ruf6_wHWhtYAnsdORiQY7Ro9uE3uiTONmOHwiYzUYuhrrlkC0wM4jszhKDyuaV3bA6KxteOuJr12hHQ7CznMPBVjGpFaYAX4J6n0IkY2/s400/IMG_0429.JPG" /></a></p><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFo3FIJ6beZBtXDPTPhzs5Pdc6NcOn5hqGBUXVOPee4QvvjVxDyhU4PPxNcABwqoRjeBR-8Yu7goPJ6E7qxZifM0t18gzQIHdH9A7YCC82A_ze1oKTZeeo4q8P2QkeC276hn0/s1600/IMG_0434.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623545288303358946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFo3FIJ6beZBtXDPTPhzs5Pdc6NcOn5hqGBUXVOPee4QvvjVxDyhU4PPxNcABwqoRjeBR-8Yu7goPJ6E7qxZifM0t18gzQIHdH9A7YCC82A_ze1oKTZeeo4q8P2QkeC276hn0/s400/IMG_0434.JPG" /></a> We loved walking through the markets in Turkey. We had fun meeting all the people and trying all the flower and fruit teas. And they had so many amazing spices! We definitely didn't leave empty handed....</p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrUmmjLoItnjoyZK1UCws4VzFW8CUoD7PukN9GiJAfUC2n3cNHUVd_Byjvfb4icqkQvscOVuJUeRJkBjlfoBOLqnckzI8hZ2DMuJQ7susyVpkpTbUKY7ZTpO3WmN8YfegJM_j/s1600/IMG_0445.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623546462922384482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrUmmjLoItnjoyZK1UCws4VzFW8CUoD7PukN9GiJAfUC2n3cNHUVd_Byjvfb4icqkQvscOVuJUeRJkBjlfoBOLqnckzI8hZ2DMuJQ7susyVpkpTbUKY7ZTpO3WmN8YfegJM_j/s400/IMG_0445.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5pdhRmbbF_MpRn8yCpQNTXmhum6wJti35E307M1xEkHh31ty_2JpbewsTzqUOr5g_A9xcSaaNUYAOFGpkA_lOFVzB2sd5jUBchUH55tjJpsNSpk1TqmGHBnXosdfEGhMjpcjB/s1600/IMG_0447.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623546467314769458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5pdhRmbbF_MpRn8yCpQNTXmhum6wJti35E307M1xEkHh31ty_2JpbewsTzqUOr5g_A9xcSaaNUYAOFGpkA_lOFVzB2sd5jUBchUH55tjJpsNSpk1TqmGHBnXosdfEGhMjpcjB/s400/IMG_0447.JPG" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;">Camille and her waiter friends. They liked her! ;) </div><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGZpc2xCesuWfVG0TWBaPoQmHVT2Gg3awg7-qiq2R9BerO6tYIpNlR0JEUmR6poUc3ObWNaz27INmVeUiMesEME8t-edvh8dT5rtyZu3iXs-j2ASgGrECujkF1vEamsRz5GSo/s1600/IMG_0475.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623546475696078130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGZpc2xCesuWfVG0TWBaPoQmHVT2Gg3awg7-qiq2R9BerO6tYIpNlR0JEUmR6poUc3ObWNaz27INmVeUiMesEME8t-edvh8dT5rtyZu3iXs-j2ASgGrECujkF1vEamsRz5GSo/s400/IMG_0475.JPG" /></a> Trying <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Salop</span>! - A hot drink they make there. So delicious!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3hC9gaStAQ-KQgFdAdO1djZCqSKUTER-D581FVfJ-Iw934vwjZiQJceOwLZ6hIceGcUyDvsriXcV7JtU89pplAy2o2i9CzOXSMSk76ZR_vgiV4Wgpn532nQ8tvIQcn3EvLRf/s1600/IMG_0515.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623546479089209506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3hC9gaStAQ-KQgFdAdO1djZCqSKUTER-D581FVfJ-Iw934vwjZiQJceOwLZ6hIceGcUyDvsriXcV7JtU89pplAy2o2i9CzOXSMSk76ZR_vgiV4Wgpn532nQ8tvIQcn3EvLRf/s400/IMG_0515.JPG" /></a> Inside the Blue Mosque<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5MJ9H0IqlB0BNnI0KGjl5PIN46VsUcGks1rudDiXt_m14i09jV1UUgoQnCOt6f79OFDn5W1wIpKR9BbNi6CT8HhK9IUIwrdHGegAbDGyB3jJgHItBWjelEUieFOoqmd5wPWF/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623546489419016274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5MJ9H0IqlB0BNnI0KGjl5PIN46VsUcGks1rudDiXt_m14i09jV1UUgoQnCOt6f79OFDn5W1wIpKR9BbNi6CT8HhK9IUIwrdHGegAbDGyB3jJgHItBWjelEUieFOoqmd5wPWF/s400/IMG_0529.JPG" /></a> Fresh <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">pomegranate</span> juice! LOVE!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1WxP2nUUbUjnjGfbrTQfALfLz8mPcHxTRjNq_PaumZbsgFnOszA0QZVuRjHDpX0qXA7Zya1EtyqKGmnuZG9MVSAYW-6SyWDZqv0ssTCdE2QYbj8__O0z8b1haGijAW_W3o9d/s1600/IMG_0540.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623547666245878914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1WxP2nUUbUjnjGfbrTQfALfLz8mPcHxTRjNq_PaumZbsgFnOszA0QZVuRjHDpX0qXA7Zya1EtyqKGmnuZG9MVSAYW-6SyWDZqv0ssTCdE2QYbj8__O0z8b1haGijAW_W3o9d/s400/IMG_0540.JPG" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;">In front of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Hagia</span> Sophia</div><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPbtiYjo2_wzDaMKhqvPUDZQeRspOInPiiHxvBoBbRwn7ylQVOv7Tmynoum9jjlSsME6lKgQVyMJLnCRGRT7-H3SBY1LBY8mH5XOqX1HsfGH1LzQmNVDxJmJLbCYX0ZnH7961M/s1600/IMG_0547.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623547670432351762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPbtiYjo2_wzDaMKhqvPUDZQeRspOInPiiHxvBoBbRwn7ylQVOv7Tmynoum9jjlSsME6lKgQVyMJLnCRGRT7-H3SBY1LBY8mH5XOqX1HsfGH1LzQmNVDxJmJLbCYX0ZnH7961M/s400/IMG_0547.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3hC9gaStAQ-KQgFdAdO1djZCqSKUTER-D581FVfJ-Iw934vwjZiQJceOwLZ6hIceGcUyDvsriXcV7JtU89pplAy2o2i9CzOXSMSk76ZR_vgiV4Wgpn532nQ8tvIQcn3EvLRf/s1600/IMG_0515.JPG"><br /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pMTW8Jf87N6-xHPzNHD4Sx4DNtCE8lmD8dODxfskDjyuVZA57WGURKI2ikIS7uWs36Ck9ItzdmNwPZCgNLDrP06faMReDU9guDItLhD8v1RHqZI1O8en8iE30OaOcZF72Bgj/s1600/IMG_0555.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623547674679763538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pMTW8Jf87N6-xHPzNHD4Sx4DNtCE8lmD8dODxfskDjyuVZA57WGURKI2ikIS7uWs36Ck9ItzdmNwPZCgNLDrP06faMReDU9guDItLhD8v1RHqZI1O8en8iE30OaOcZF72Bgj/s400/IMG_0555.JPG" /></a>And inside the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Hagia</span> Sophia!</p><p align="center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8C8nvwGJZrh8kf_cUAcsHdRc63sOBCDvoQvLyhBgAockJHKkDX_T5GHybOHhqO-2DA0-d-MNV5DSEVKayLrT7THodyhuktG0yYCIRmGkw6Kek60_8BNCHuP7LtYeuKJogloc/s1600/IMG_0579.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623547676555338338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8C8nvwGJZrh8kf_cUAcsHdRc63sOBCDvoQvLyhBgAockJHKkDX_T5GHybOHhqO-2DA0-d-MNV5DSEVKayLrT7THodyhuktG0yYCIRmGkw6Kek60_8BNCHuP7LtYeuKJogloc/s400/IMG_0579.JPG" /></a>Is this not the largest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Shawarma</span> you've ever seen!?!?!!! It's like heaven.</p><p align="center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgBfvjmNMSZZKFKztIikVNBClb1rWXH94PikELYDr5XnqV492FvDzosITA7xs8PSCJ05Wmxf2BQWOGPXodKF_tVikRVnqDgTBhr8t_-TilgTHOc3BGa8lR1taCy8lRZ_rEXri/s1600/IMG_0582.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623547683840137954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgBfvjmNMSZZKFKztIikVNBClb1rWXH94PikELYDr5XnqV492FvDzosITA7xs8PSCJ05Wmxf2BQWOGPXodKF_tVikRVnqDgTBhr8t_-TilgTHOc3BGa8lR1taCy8lRZ_rEXri/s400/IMG_0582.JPG" /></a></p><div style="text-align: left;">So - a couple of the girls we met in Athens at the race (Clyde's friend's Raquel and Sherri) were also in Istanbul the same time we were. So, we decided to meet up with them... They wanted to go try out a Turkish Bath so we met up with them at this place and had the whole <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Turkish</span> bath experience! ha. We were all a little nervous...but we embraced it and went with it! "when in Rome..."</div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQwmTgjmA5m8mSJlIWGuIhP_BlKXcGjUWLcEU7Q_ZRGb72rqo1dYJVzmvOeuAhhGh9r31kxdz_lPyI7keHbQW0QB9-J2fOecNOz5SbB4OGS1FSFy2Mu5-aJlEBBE06uc7lMDq/s1600/IMG_0585-2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623549072769906370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQwmTgjmA5m8mSJlIWGuIhP_BlKXcGjUWLcEU7Q_ZRGb72rqo1dYJVzmvOeuAhhGh9r31kxdz_lPyI7keHbQW0QB9-J2fOecNOz5SbB4OGS1FSFy2Mu5-aJlEBBE06uc7lMDq/s400/IMG_0585-2.JPG" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">After getting scrubbed and having a massage...we found a place to grab dinner and some ice cream before Sheri and Raquel had to head to the airport to fly back to the US.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4tcvYsjVyE16XVHMcTBPB42165U1fVfsbCobU3V7ENNhvvFgCwd4iBkNKbZMz8j16wN32j4ZW6n1KGHv5KpeswohhlklLhtAo4lSr0k9tyBkdGY2SBSK6mqhzMlWBaGFfREW/s1600/IMG_0588-2.JPG"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdJcN5KyyNkeYaI82sesXY5TIiWwq52tyPksVB41cdkDIwGeIWOBy_0Y_hSx79Ih9MTlDKN8fHMI8N17Y2x7DwmZpCeBnQvtmC7MXJM0s_mBhD1bxH_soRZp4FmAXs-DLldk4/s1600/IMG_0586.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623549083424887202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdJcN5KyyNkeYaI82sesXY5TIiWwq52tyPksVB41cdkDIwGeIWOBy_0Y_hSx79Ih9MTlDKN8fHMI8N17Y2x7DwmZpCeBnQvtmC7MXJM0s_mBhD1bxH_soRZp4FmAXs-DLldk4/s400/IMG_0586.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4tcvYsjVyE16XVHMcTBPB42165U1fVfsbCobU3V7ENNhvvFgCwd4iBkNKbZMz8j16wN32j4ZW6n1KGHv5KpeswohhlklLhtAo4lSr0k9tyBkdGY2SBSK6mqhzMlWBaGFfREW/s1600/IMG_0588-2.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 162px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623549078735090610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4tcvYsjVyE16XVHMcTBPB42165U1fVfsbCobU3V7ENNhvvFgCwd4iBkNKbZMz8j16wN32j4ZW6n1KGHv5KpeswohhlklLhtAo4lSr0k9tyBkdGY2SBSK6mqhzMlWBaGFfREW/s400/IMG_0588-2.JPG" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Camille and I decided to walk back to our hotel from where we were...not realizing how far it was! It took us a while. But made a few stops along the way and had a good time. Camille bought one of these cool little instruments. I forget what it's called. </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzaZwU6rjmkd05cizDw1lttH3HtGZoWnuiDeJtmInHcNEyJhRKCCLR8wUMaKNRBL1lQgaaRFEkq_8c4TB_r4Lph3qrL730MXg8l_yRwrY0Md7tTEfw2VO9H55ZLxCYCKVfMJ8H/s1600/IMG_0599.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623549088029581906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzaZwU6rjmkd05cizDw1lttH3HtGZoWnuiDeJtmInHcNEyJhRKCCLR8wUMaKNRBL1lQgaaRFEkq_8c4TB_r4Lph3qrL730MXg8l_yRwrY0Md7tTEfw2VO9H55ZLxCYCKVfMJ8H/s400/IMG_0599.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVbSfZ66Y44ds1uqqNX3osyeEJ58zaCWGut0UY5L0-2UeVSXDGPHpQUQWCIEgitXohLLZrQYuPeO_6o0MYxSLKWfHB-hNgGl_EUcVTbt7BhlLQSEL-LCfsh9vim4DgTdpz0kD/s1600/IMG_0614.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623549094935128690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVbSfZ66Y44ds1uqqNX3osyeEJ58zaCWGut0UY5L0-2UeVSXDGPHpQUQWCIEgitXohLLZrQYuPeO_6o0MYxSLKWfHB-hNgGl_EUcVTbt7BhlLQSEL-LCfsh9vim4DgTdpz0kD/s400/IMG_0614.JPG" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Our last say in Turkey, we decided to hit up the palace and the Grand Bazaar. On our way...we ran into more people trying to sell us stuff. The men are so forward in Turkey and they don't give up.... Camille and I realized that the best way to deal with them was to 1 - ask them their name...and 2 - ask them if we could take a picture with them. It usually threw them off that we were interested in them instead of just ignoring them as I'm sure most tourist do. Then they would forget that they were selling to us and let us go on our way as we politely declined their offers. </div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqpCvFV_uy7N6QQshFctSpjsmo9ls_GqXNyvZ6Lsenrf1z2j4orUy93TLar9qL2ymay9xeohoi1IUqRNlPZvHi588f3fF_oHSyAmG1ZTIBL98Lj_sTpHl-P_nbtmqfGpQz4C-/s1600/IMG_0616.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623887355901729298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqpCvFV_uy7N6QQshFctSpjsmo9ls_GqXNyvZ6Lsenrf1z2j4orUy93TLar9qL2ymay9xeohoi1IUqRNlPZvHi588f3fF_oHSyAmG1ZTIBL98Lj_sTpHl-P_nbtmqfGpQz4C-/s400/IMG_0616.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwSEEIxQBKMKY0UyJFQSZU-1ujDrs2KHyFm817qIE7nFXmE7hYEt-8oUlzDW6LW4GY69cVBM8-ZRnws8i_8hZLxeaPkyyeAUVw4_WqHwT3b1A5uUtEopkxr_BjO7C6KIAQIxu/s1600/IMG_0617.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623887358547256386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwSEEIxQBKMKY0UyJFQSZU-1ujDrs2KHyFm817qIE7nFXmE7hYEt-8oUlzDW6LW4GY69cVBM8-ZRnws8i_8hZLxeaPkyyeAUVw4_WqHwT3b1A5uUtEopkxr_BjO7C6KIAQIxu/s400/IMG_0617.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhTLX4KUB2y9XYmAXTFf5LKeCaj6buRo_mW-ntIEd9oBewJnOf6sKYu5XTu6u_KP3jZB-qON2wkY6HhQZWuUFAeOOoSBFmgSrpyoq3623Vqp3l9D7WGYIYB8AbrvCbw43sqcd/s1600/IMG_0644.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623887360890298898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhTLX4KUB2y9XYmAXTFf5LKeCaj6buRo_mW-ntIEd9oBewJnOf6sKYu5XTu6u_KP3jZB-qON2wkY6HhQZWuUFAeOOoSBFmgSrpyoq3623Vqp3l9D7WGYIYB8AbrvCbw43sqcd/s400/IMG_0644.JPG" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left; ">Somewhere (pic above) in the palace. It was alright - but i realized I'm not really a palace person. They all start to look the same after a while. Old furniture, old paintings. You've seen 1, you've seen them all.. At least for the most part. Just a glorified museum. </span></div><p></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqETLsD8cGdeE5zI7ksvhX7SpwuaCaQhykfrQY7XUvRvfx4QXRZx4NnBRM6ECYjfg8xV_01JVfVGv6PsvZNd1oagD8Sla4wxJzvPkr5xMIriCnpy705L51ZwPQ-UUFkmdCJS6i/s1600/IMG_0675.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623893343789721154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqETLsD8cGdeE5zI7ksvhX7SpwuaCaQhykfrQY7XUvRvfx4QXRZx4NnBRM6ECYjfg8xV_01JVfVGv6PsvZNd1oagD8Sla4wxJzvPkr5xMIriCnpy705L51ZwPQ-UUFkmdCJS6i/s400/IMG_0675.JPG" /></a></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left; ">If any of watched the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">bachelorette</span> - Ali's season... She went here to the Cistern (above pic) for a date. </span></div><p></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfSwYCGWLIMQUO_SjDNhDVV8f8Iqg1yC8ET7uIOUYBP0VgVz_DB7dVsxHi2DxODJp-Y2D6CeTy-u46PXYIrcc40YFVa5Ftk-9wZs6jPjIqgmz2RX-W1lZjwFnIrTFE7OUMwqB/s1600/IMG_0661.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623887375035786370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfSwYCGWLIMQUO_SjDNhDVV8f8Iqg1yC8ET7uIOUYBP0VgVz_DB7dVsxHi2DxODJp-Y2D6CeTy-u46PXYIrcc40YFVa5Ftk-9wZs6jPjIqgmz2RX-W1lZjwFnIrTFE7OUMwqB/s400/IMG_0661.JPG" /></a></p><div style="text-align: left;">The view of the blue mosque from a restaurant we ate one of our last Turkish meals at. And me eating my favorite Sheppard Salad! Love this stuff. I went to a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Turkish</span> restaurant here and it wasn't the same. The funny thing is that it's supposed to be the "poor man's" salad. But I love it! It's so good!</div><p></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuWYbc5buH6I24dumBUCktc13sYljfO6JBqueckAXmTa4vaFTKZet7-enHYfJxOmblds7DuqM9lq-QwHK8x81wFtzRWDrNFkQkF92w4LYlncY4VJCEIlYicM3jxry0walp7kS/s1600/IMG_0664.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623887370507854690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuWYbc5buH6I24dumBUCktc13sYljfO6JBqueckAXmTa4vaFTKZet7-enHYfJxOmblds7DuqM9lq-QwHK8x81wFtzRWDrNFkQkF92w4LYlncY4VJCEIlYicM3jxry0walp7kS/s400/IMG_0664.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtR7MIN4VnJ8hbpYxAAZ_MQl02chVsiBMd54JJYEWQmWuhyphenhyphensohydR22jPrr5bcn6AQodmzGSxeuVN48kofqnrkcp7-VS9t7pbronTRbrSbXkTwS0Xqfup-EwpZEUWler3VaTa/s1600/IMG_0723.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623893371664125106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtR7MIN4VnJ8hbpYxAAZ_MQl02chVsiBMd54JJYEWQmWuhyphenhyphensohydR22jPrr5bcn6AQodmzGSxeuVN48kofqnrkcp7-VS9t7pbronTRbrSbXkTwS0Xqfup-EwpZEUWler3VaTa/s400/IMG_0723.JPG" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;">After lunch we hit up the Grand Bazaar and even made it back to the Spice Market for a second time... And well, we met lots of people trying to sell us stuff so our little trick came in handy and we got lots of pictures from it...... </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtR7MIN4VnJ8hbpYxAAZ_MQl02chVsiBMd54JJYEWQmWuhyphenhyphensohydR22jPrr5bcn6AQodmzGSxeuVN48kofqnrkcp7-VS9t7pbronTRbrSbXkTwS0Xqfup-EwpZEUWler3VaTa/s1600/IMG_0723.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJj3kUtexWLRyhP6rB878Tr-Rk1OqT5gIt4S7cY1NvW1wLD54aWGL093HyA8eEWuByfAOC_qpahNmgzX2jWWGx6GIWUfBD_LP2C38nJiH6LZI-NMUUH6aT5uQHMHTOE_Iz2LM/s1600/IMG_0721.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623893362640896002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJj3kUtexWLRyhP6rB878Tr-Rk1OqT5gIt4S7cY1NvW1wLD54aWGL093HyA8eEWuByfAOC_qpahNmgzX2jWWGx6GIWUfBD_LP2C38nJiH6LZI-NMUUH6aT5uQHMHTOE_Iz2LM/s400/IMG_0721.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTK8XvJ-YugRrbIXQCy5noE-M6igI-x7jYfGS12QyCCTNfH9618eM7-iaBMt6cSI0J2gDsyYx5Ul344aiBuuqLEyE5w8_0AREaTkVRaEj5rfTX4g7aY0D4kpMeeh2REbo-u5p/s1600/IMG_0719.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623893358362464946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTK8XvJ-YugRrbIXQCy5noE-M6igI-x7jYfGS12QyCCTNfH9618eM7-iaBMt6cSI0J2gDsyYx5Ul344aiBuuqLEyE5w8_0AREaTkVRaEj5rfTX4g7aY0D4kpMeeh2REbo-u5p/s400/IMG_0719.JPG" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Oops..how did that happen?</div><p></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HxxGV7VO67VyO2w8HUmPUUReFHJgfdQ4L99ypm9-QNClSyr36dUiFT-ipsTIYGGjezDvECV-gInBiqWc6ZixRUF8i6Byl9yOGjvy3x0hcy2CKBQCbxW7lCTdLcxjoqg6Impj/s1600/IMG_0714.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623893351318633602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HxxGV7VO67VyO2w8HUmPUUReFHJgfdQ4L99ypm9-QNClSyr36dUiFT-ipsTIYGGjezDvECV-gInBiqWc6ZixRUF8i6Byl9yOGjvy3x0hcy2CKBQCbxW7lCTdLcxjoqg6Impj/s400/IMG_0714.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqETLsD8cGdeE5zI7ksvhX7SpwuaCaQhykfrQY7XUvRvfx4QXRZx4NnBRM6ECYjfg8xV_01JVfVGv6PsvZNd1oagD8Sla4wxJzvPkr5xMIriCnpy705L51ZwPQ-UUFkmdCJS6i/s1600/IMG_0675.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYfSwYCGWLIMQUO_SjDNhDVV8f8Iqg1yC8ET7uIOUYBP0VgVz_DB7dVsxHi2DxODJp-Y2D6CeTy-u46PXYIrcc40YFVa5Ftk-9wZs6jPjIqgmz2RX-W1lZjwFnIrTFE7OUMwqB/s1600/IMG_0661.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuWYbc5buH6I24dumBUCktc13sYljfO6JBqueckAXmTa4vaFTKZet7-enHYfJxOmblds7DuqM9lq-QwHK8x81wFtzRWDrNFkQkF92w4LYlncY4VJCEIlYicM3jxry0walp7kS/s1600/IMG_0664.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhTLX4KUB2y9XYmAXTFf5LKeCaj6buRo_mW-ntIEd9oBewJnOf6sKYu5XTu6u_KP3jZB-qON2wkY6HhQZWuUFAeOOoSBFmgSrpyoq3623Vqp3l9D7WGYIYB8AbrvCbw43sqcd/s1600/IMG_0644.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5MJ9H0IqlB0BNnI0KGjl5PIN46VsUcGks1rudDiXt_m14i09jV1UUgoQnCOt6f79OFDn5W1wIpKR9BbNi6CT8HhK9IUIwrdHGegAbDGyB3jJgHItBWjelEUieFOoqmd5wPWF/s1600/IMG_0529.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3hC9gaStAQ-KQgFdAdO1djZCqSKUTER-D581FVfJ-Iw934vwjZiQJceOwLZ6hIceGcUyDvsriXcV7JtU89pplAy2o2i9CzOXSMSk76ZR_vgiV4Wgpn532nQ8tvIQcn3EvLRf/s1600/IMG_0515.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrUmmjLoItnjoyZK1UCws4VzFW8CUoD7PukN9GiJAfUC2n3cNHUVd_Byjvfb4icqkQvscOVuJUeRJkBjlfoBOLqnckzI8hZ2DMuJQ7susyVpkpTbUKY7ZTpO3WmN8YfegJM_j/s1600/IMG_0445.JPG"></a>Camille arm wrestling for a free scarf.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQSPxqhStr5-VefTwteeI3u4IHiUD2UzCQJnfHrxvaMzXxX1be4E8U-5yDw5LA6t8i06_Wd86l-uNvpDcgRoLJw6jWUbUtlhNLax8lkL_dICxZLfK6uXA2vqc6xC2o1WhAFUu/s1600/IMG_0409.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JnC8X0REJkJ-6EwoNxDE4ER7nxagqLilRWeRS1sLFj6PpD4nGs80lBQhfhOm92XPOPcyETF1hoBfGuB9yKJPf8mBvKuBvgsBhVPbGmrAiCAk0BDReDkO2f6Tr31wMswMwttP/s1600/IMG_0729.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623894843110557602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JnC8X0REJkJ-6EwoNxDE4ER7nxagqLilRWeRS1sLFj6PpD4nGs80lBQhfhOm92XPOPcyETF1hoBfGuB9yKJPf8mBvKuBvgsBhVPbGmrAiCAk0BDReDkO2f6Tr31wMswMwttP/s400/IMG_0729.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G7dsU_03I7eO_Tb33Ug98BojOheKbx6QLSrBOdiLw__F9wUC5od4Ua0BNhy7RzZtTSFcx8ZfQd8y9BRDZjlEp-IxeLhhNhlD_LfYVSvUh57MuyawGVN53DFWQahut2BQxzX5/s1600/IMG_0405.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2523vF_o0Vk8AiFXNjh8836etE2Tb4Tx-PTaiooTUaQYAnx_k3MiVnuX4xx3C_7AVHQdn6nLLX7WX1I_-e8hMG7x1jm23X7QoRTPuIwp8rCYL4u8wzz5YRXE7oAJhVfC0qZam/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623894854590223458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2523vF_o0Vk8AiFXNjh8836etE2Tb4Tx-PTaiooTUaQYAnx_k3MiVnuX4xx3C_7AVHQdn6nLLX7WX1I_-e8hMG7x1jm23X7QoRTPuIwp8rCYL4u8wzz5YRXE7oAJhVfC0qZam/s400/IMG_0731.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztDU-iFZtVARHeazVCxKUud9wFwgtJsTDqrYinR41poCaZLNZQb05c6rR71qsG-V2cVtrY6cqvgLLKuk5vNbOEm97HZgiQvT1xstZybTLqsJ2POsLMmW5Dv2lw5SA_VSVPnqE/s1600/IMG_0396.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxkKFWDIhfyXnC7MHsIdQm-sJtTWBtF4MlG8GYsyNuRaoW6csqzaj67cKiwpmYGqzUyoqlvQ-2wmM84wl41D_eTdH5QofqKsvan1UG25T0RdzHXgClam3cF9A9at_1GOpSCub/s1600/IMG_0734.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623894858202352626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxkKFWDIhfyXnC7MHsIdQm-sJtTWBtF4MlG8GYsyNuRaoW6csqzaj67cKiwpmYGqzUyoqlvQ-2wmM84wl41D_eTdH5QofqKsvan1UG25T0RdzHXgClam3cF9A9at_1GOpSCub/s400/IMG_0734.JPG" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-center; ">On our way back to the hotel we found the cutest little restaurant and it was perfect last meal! The waiter once again fell in love with Camille. And the bartender made us some napkin flowers! ha. </span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyR5uHZuG9QLWR_p87k1-ZNiyrcy3pJn2iK5ctxUzJPZO2p0WhzhLwvSNPn9BmaYNB7BQyr9jMkt-eLptjg7osLTc90HciNX19uVx-jNU8nmAJusJWDzoFVi4ayHygq-vR75E/s1600/IMG_0751.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623894863049718354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyR5uHZuG9QLWR_p87k1-ZNiyrcy3pJn2iK5ctxUzJPZO2p0WhzhLwvSNPn9BmaYNB7BQyr9jMkt-eLptjg7osLTc90HciNX19uVx-jNU8nmAJusJWDzoFVi4ayHygq-vR75E/s400/IMG_0751.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisu1HQuP38BGV-5fPbB2R2iMLDlhYxEQsF8mkGC94KAYoWcX8BA53eAQBvhVup0j6NSbJ-JOsPpps_ghX36qyJjcZMPM7fqAvJvHYYo5MQYMOLFiPUCwC-US_gDim8V45W_1lt/s1600/IMG_0360.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2EYvsjYX_wXU7uWpn4r8duVteE5p76egZUE2b_udXjqmTY-gg0hoLiMTUZXg5n9NC1SsVD11RSEaykN7vaAdXrhv_1VUk16Q0K20qYWApmAxCzZQWEwGIM4p7Ckoz9UrKO3d/s1600/IMG_0754.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623894874589728162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2EYvsjYX_wXU7uWpn4r8duVteE5p76egZUE2b_udXjqmTY-gg0hoLiMTUZXg5n9NC1SsVD11RSEaykN7vaAdXrhv_1VUk16Q0K20qYWApmAxCzZQWEwGIM4p7Ckoz9UrKO3d/s400/IMG_0754.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkA5GeuvHmwMNhC2DZTLmx9vffNu-QdmhTYG_sy279lwfcBrzkZCYkOO0OVknf-kc5214WFYQ1Hhh3m-KgzPQfhlapPVQFWKrF0SdZ7bndzwPTTLm9w0Yr6e8qOw72kU3ye1w/s1600/IMG_0311.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a><div style="text-align: left;">We were sad to leave! We had such a great time... I've talked to some people that have visited Turkey and didn't like it nearly as much as I did. I think I just had a great combination of the best travel buddy, a great hotel, and not really any expectations to live up to. I would definitely go back!</div><p></p></div>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08142824895406301453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-89871475870830364672011-12-18T17:47:00.001-08:002011-12-18T17:47:55.095-08:00Happy Holidays from south of the equator...It's true... I haven't been in India for a while now. I have lots to update... But for now all you really need to know is that I'm in Brazil and loving it. It's going to be a Brazilian Christmas (and birthday and New Years) for me this year!!<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/12/18/2954.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/12/18/s_2954.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='132' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08142824895406301453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-13763392512815589532011-11-30T15:24:00.000-08:002012-01-19T23:02:47.916-08:00Turkey Trot 2010<div>Just cause I want to remember....</div><div><br /></div><div>I ran it in 2010..and in 2011! Best way to start off Turkey Day if you ask me!!</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilCJe_heTp_esWTUucT3U_5yjt4m2tKjl_VQNkf1c69zPfAwtEFbV264ocGU7In-CoPShoLsaE338PkzgvOhytFKkeJOP7SuxJMnZYJ80h66uBzMHoOnQ5uIyt0PulvV7er9lL/s1600/IMG_0773.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilCJe_heTp_esWTUucT3U_5yjt4m2tKjl_VQNkf1c69zPfAwtEFbV264ocGU7In-CoPShoLsaE338PkzgvOhytFKkeJOP7SuxJMnZYJ80h66uBzMHoOnQ5uIyt0PulvV7er9lL/s400/IMG_0773.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669786362163519410" /></a>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00247931122210472997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-56034929112511725522011-07-05T20:52:00.000-07:002011-07-05T20:53:19.046-07:00I'm in India!!This blog is on a break while I'm traveling through India and Southeast Asia... Go to <a href="http://christinetheriault-india.blogspot.com">christinetheriault-india.blogspot.com</a> to see what I'm up to on this awesome trip!!!Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08142824895406301453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-51240185486193871292011-06-28T11:04:00.000-07:002011-06-28T23:57:01.736-07:00November 2010 - CRETE<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-PEqCwqQJfb1CPIG89Qip0YO4B6wRHERb0SdgfKoolDhrCRf1tsu198U_6wjTMylqwEL9dIGz_jbQjcH5i1gfcCrK0A6uX_iecWdMB2a_g7-VFPPPKVJK7Hw2WH6JLPo5Vmq/s1600/IMG_0303.JPG"><br /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85iPBwwi7X_8-Ak1KJcLqu06TXlMGsxo3lNDO_T24Ut3Xdtbq2-4IUDLpwBj6sVPEa9tIs5H6pI65W0MdAnGHDig0OQxR71ZsWnqJqyxiRu7YMfmLdaE9xcjmdvccxKuXCBMT/s1600/IMG_0198.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85iPBwwi7X_8-Ak1KJcLqu06TXlMGsxo3lNDO_T24Ut3Xdtbq2-4IUDLpwBj6sVPEa9tIs5H6pI65W0MdAnGHDig0OQxR71ZsWnqJqyxiRu7YMfmLdaE9xcjmdvccxKuXCBMT/s400/IMG_0198.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623527498011595714" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The day after the race, we left Athens and headed to Crete for a couple of days. We were so exhausted. We actually didn't go to bed the night. We had gone to dinner with our friends and were up late and didn't realize how early we needed to leave in the morning. So by the time we packed up our stuff, it was pretty much time to leave for the airport!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvwK5wzBTzESHduDwx4EtW1ztyuCtNJ7RFyCLKP2X_u5v0gLWc12ewYAlqLGVD75q1sMHe3yNsUgXQ1nTdt1BqdnW050Mx6DV5hOn9eYteUCxthkAxrwzzNXZzq6c7laDlQMS/s1600/IMG_0436.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvwK5wzBTzESHduDwx4EtW1ztyuCtNJ7RFyCLKP2X_u5v0gLWc12ewYAlqLGVD75q1sMHe3yNsUgXQ1nTdt1BqdnW050Mx6DV5hOn9eYteUCxthkAxrwzzNXZzq6c7laDlQMS/s400/IMG_0436.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623336222077390066" border="0" /></a><br />We got to Crete, went to a hotel...and slept! We were going to just take a 1 hour power nap. But it turned into a 4 or 5 hour nap!! We got up in time to watch the sun go down.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjij-bfvKXemkAgWoqraOOqlhEmOPu9QTFkRa_eh-lorZe2dA-TI4Q2fpTIRi4FENaxBQ6T5iOd5cq9R0wfwqJDjtOe8Rv59cIqn30kqhQpc2XgkbMrAjI9zwesdtED4huwvdiL/s1600/IMG_0438.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjij-bfvKXemkAgWoqraOOqlhEmOPu9QTFkRa_eh-lorZe2dA-TI4Q2fpTIRi4FENaxBQ6T5iOd5cq9R0wfwqJDjtOe8Rv59cIqn30kqhQpc2XgkbMrAjI9zwesdtED4huwvdiL/s400/IMG_0438.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623336229060592242" border="0" /></a><br />We spent 2 nights in Chania. That's it. We explored Chania and just relaxed. It was a wonderful couple of days.<br /><br />Our first night there after sleeping away the day...we just walked around and looked for a place to eat. We ended up being offered lots of free drinks in hopes that we would stay for dinner or attract other tourists.. Here we are with some free Orange Juice...<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGUOplpwGUuwxA6EWZteP-4NGXvQayEEKQ_K54pqAfO6lcG1ZcuKV4Ufo26VKpusyyFApEZt_gdwlinxXOz77FhTEFxNT_4onSEpLtR5AOHG0d5KEATS1olFA0Uo2z7L3HJbMi/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGUOplpwGUuwxA6EWZteP-4NGXvQayEEKQ_K54pqAfO6lcG1ZcuKV4Ufo26VKpusyyFApEZt_gdwlinxXOz77FhTEFxNT_4onSEpLtR5AOHG0d5KEATS1olFA0Uo2z7L3HJbMi/s400/IMG_0221.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623337424705326274" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We wondered around some more and met this nice guy at a little store..<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQFYXpkhZ9xO-d_jaO0JfG8iBSYGeprg3tISXj0xy7_bOartt8OPUddhlod0pgOvqXmUnQqvsndNkXD3A9B29zYp5WEhrNUx3JdL1JEHUEB4Pi3iYHbnD1avYvMuci_uhVLmv/s1600/IMG_0222.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQFYXpkhZ9xO-d_jaO0JfG8iBSYGeprg3tISXj0xy7_bOartt8OPUddhlod0pgOvqXmUnQqvsndNkXD3A9B29zYp5WEhrNUx3JdL1JEHUEB4Pi3iYHbnD1avYvMuci_uhVLmv/s400/IMG_0222.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623337424106590386" border="0" /></a>He was showing us the good honey and things should buy in Greece. Then he asked us where we were staying. And when we told him, he said that we should stay at his place. He had rooms above his store that he would rent out. He showed us the room and it was much nicer and cheaper than the hotel we were at. So, the next day we moved to his hotel.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UG6j-jduTn6k0INyuOCs7RpAxl8IBRsNVnAc-yv43VZlFSkZQb8sgGwNSu77Dh_p_ZHo6jHKO5UCCY4RjnbIIxYOsutc8MHbh56f7PqmK7kpzSsG04-MNPX4wZRKEJDVJwct/s1600/IMG_0489.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UG6j-jduTn6k0INyuOCs7RpAxl8IBRsNVnAc-yv43VZlFSkZQb8sgGwNSu77Dh_p_ZHo6jHKO5UCCY4RjnbIIxYOsutc8MHbh56f7PqmK7kpzSsG04-MNPX4wZRKEJDVJwct/s400/IMG_0489.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623528011907517378" border="0" /></a>We got up the next morning and after moving our stuff to his hotel, we went for a run! It was SO beautiful!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUnZ49taiDeBsPOkB2l59zMJw5wAhnuOzw4js8lwfgCFC1BoM11Cg4DNDmfqVESowPYpTzWeWu_1ULrb5j3iQ1Zbsg6N-7U1nBdErC5yu0T6B6bPG0ZeiZgXYLA15tAzbIhE7/s1600/IMG_0499.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUnZ49taiDeBsPOkB2l59zMJw5wAhnuOzw4js8lwfgCFC1BoM11Cg4DNDmfqVESowPYpTzWeWu_1ULrb5j3iQ1Zbsg6N-7U1nBdErC5yu0T6B6bPG0ZeiZgXYLA15tAzbIhE7/s400/IMG_0499.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623336245555316738" border="0" /></a>Just look at that incredible blue sky! Such a gorgeous day. We ended up getting into the water for a little swim break during our run!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeet4X9DvQUpkdPIXPSForunweuFjk6pi7TEzGSmfgPgF5CX4fNpNEOzsdeFbKKIaVWhNLamC7r85cxWfTmy9oTsufIoVt5RaDnAHwG6JtUXo2c-GFkDrH_tD_y_PLRgOc_fC/s1600/IMG_0513.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDeet4X9DvQUpkdPIXPSForunweuFjk6pi7TEzGSmfgPgF5CX4fNpNEOzsdeFbKKIaVWhNLamC7r85cxWfTmy9oTsufIoVt5RaDnAHwG6JtUXo2c-GFkDrH_tD_y_PLRgOc_fC/s400/IMG_0513.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623527519396160882" border="0" /></a><br />After the run we did more walking around...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSBeIDcwJ2-vURmZshoAuNqM_shDmmo6RMevODXbmnuQz27gxrZpXVYLWkulNsCwyqeTsHymdxWJ-3pbneiN2UMSur0yXJ3XHRmVkm_X8pDOEFaEo9nGn5SkBf-B_N5QiKamn/s1600/IMG_0236.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSBeIDcwJ2-vURmZshoAuNqM_shDmmo6RMevODXbmnuQz27gxrZpXVYLWkulNsCwyqeTsHymdxWJ-3pbneiN2UMSur0yXJ3XHRmVkm_X8pDOEFaEo9nGn5SkBf-B_N5QiKamn/s400/IMG_0236.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623527505296463010" border="0" /></a><br />And exploring...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyLEIhQa-NVQHuF9JBwnT8ohu_ktGHvN9QMgxEgRmgCSjVENW-IseQmLgCt40hXOcSLYbBzzZwgMB4kTygGJnC5fhvJnZYOpyXXbtXeWKwuBgRvEneFerUFq_Uoh_3mSQxTjO/s1600/IMG_0452.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyLEIhQa-NVQHuF9JBwnT8ohu_ktGHvN9QMgxEgRmgCSjVENW-IseQmLgCt40hXOcSLYbBzzZwgMB4kTygGJnC5fhvJnZYOpyXXbtXeWKwuBgRvEneFerUFq_Uoh_3mSQxTjO/s400/IMG_0452.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623336241294362674" border="0" /></a>And even got back in the water.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjas7yKIE3RUa8WRdG_p6kMSRHLBnsUsblvCZtu5xNiX3Qiu1HA3LEoIG4ous3CCgiWeINE4IvwzBPSi4puQJ3DgsLezIDOXB-U_QAtYepqd36pk_nCHZUt9tlG9wKX15LwbST/s1600/IMG_0472.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjas7yKIE3RUa8WRdG_p6kMSRHLBnsUsblvCZtu5xNiX3Qiu1HA3LEoIG4ous3CCgiWeINE4IvwzBPSi4puQJ3DgsLezIDOXB-U_QAtYepqd36pk_nCHZUt9tlG9wKX15LwbST/s400/IMG_0472.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623527514549847122" border="0" /></a><br />And ate some more good food!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9qCSQlR-26TTQKS5m9LWPTVKfAWG7l96R127cm8DwoQz92tmX28J6E-gdo_pVdEkmtsPizJ5L3AyWospU9pPKN0wWkclQvGwtB11C6wn4tT8L6IRgTw2DlFxQjS0lZ8VbDsc/s1600/IMG_0279.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9qCSQlR-26TTQKS5m9LWPTVKfAWG7l96R127cm8DwoQz92tmX28J6E-gdo_pVdEkmtsPizJ5L3AyWospU9pPKN0wWkclQvGwtB11C6wn4tT8L6IRgTw2DlFxQjS0lZ8VbDsc/s400/IMG_0279.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623527507622626450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It was just a perfect couple of relaxing days! After crete...we got back on the plane to head to TURKEY!!!!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-PEqCwqQJfb1CPIG89Qip0YO4B6wRHERb0SdgfKoolDhrCRf1tsu198U_6wjTMylqwEL9dIGz_jbQjcH5i1gfcCrK0A6uX_iecWdMB2a_g7-VFPPPKVJK7Hw2WH6JLPo5Vmq/s1600/IMG_0303.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-PEqCwqQJfb1CPIG89Qip0YO4B6wRHERb0SdgfKoolDhrCRf1tsu198U_6wjTMylqwEL9dIGz_jbQjcH5i1gfcCrK0A6uX_iecWdMB2a_g7-VFPPPKVJK7Hw2WH6JLPo5Vmq/s400/IMG_0303.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623532035970223394" border="0" /></a>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08142824895406301453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13293495.post-86631393759139515142011-06-28T01:02:00.000-07:002011-06-28T11:04:27.420-07:00October 2010 - The HighlightOk....so probably what was one of the major highlights of my trip was meeting this guy....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_ZhVxSqIm6QLp5JH-oZugPnodyjQdc0zdsvuJTsAFPX0f1SxfhvzL70uIU2lY3kTakhHa67vZk0xp8l0WxIUbVreBTuqf50DZmPr7ySWhthTgPwfCM-vUpPKqQDrmCohk0bx/s1600/IMG_0237.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_ZhVxSqIm6QLp5JH-oZugPnodyjQdc0zdsvuJTsAFPX0f1SxfhvzL70uIU2lY3kTakhHa67vZk0xp8l0WxIUbVreBTuqf50DZmPr7ySWhthTgPwfCM-vUpPKqQDrmCohk0bx/s400/IMG_0237.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620952182248924994" border="0" /></a><br />I don't know how many of you are basketball fans. And I'm really not sure how many of you are fans of the good ol' NBA days with Jordan and Barkley and Magic Johnson.. But this guy right here - well he played with all those guys. This is Clyde "the Glide" Drexler! He was on the original 1992 dream team!!!<br /><br />And there he was in Athens Greece....on the same tour bus as me! Sitting right in front of me! Actually, when I first got on the bus, I didn't pay much attention to him. Except I remember thinking to my self as I looked forward, "they must be ball players". Him and the girl next to him were just so tall. They had to be.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibEZ8xSnRAECaRGYcWz0Eo40fx8h8y0E0GB-p4l7sNb57czMQ_L9SFBmqi8FwxeYt_B41IoDG4RUg7ugQYAcuXmozr4OzLUjOqk_whxqiAt9u4IPv3MR-Y43UXgUi60ZRsQ5eS/s1600/Greece+2010+020.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibEZ8xSnRAECaRGYcWz0Eo40fx8h8y0E0GB-p4l7sNb57czMQ_L9SFBmqi8FwxeYt_B41IoDG4RUg7ugQYAcuXmozr4OzLUjOqk_whxqiAt9u4IPv3MR-Y43UXgUi60ZRsQ5eS/s400/Greece+2010+020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620952172103622658" border="0" /></a>Yes! I got 2 pictures with him. Don't judge.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I went up to him and said, "Can I be an annoying fan and get a picture." He said of course. And then of course everyone was asking. He's so nice though. <br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9fEOphoj4dZpWH9jHTtWV4Y6Sukct_PVu2ONuDSM8Wr0aBNyW6FADSEzNw0ezq56TxGnqNF28uXvkR5LUycU1sSUbUKfiBqahFBNNSaCWPdwVYJqcGNNt66BGNrTqVZy7Bsm/s1600/Greece+2010+019.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9fEOphoj4dZpWH9jHTtWV4Y6Sukct_PVu2ONuDSM8Wr0aBNyW6FADSEzNw0ezq56TxGnqNF28uXvkR5LUycU1sSUbUKfiBqahFBNNSaCWPdwVYJqcGNNt66BGNrTqVZy7Bsm/s400/Greece+2010+019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620952176687335202" border="0" /></a><br />He was with 2 girls that I started chatting with as everyone started taking pictures with him. Turns out they had done the Great Wall marathon the same year as me so we talked about that and other things. They were so nice. Clyde and Sheri were planning on running the 10K and Sheri's sister Raquel was going to run the marathon.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEfDR7yDWGik_2riR6GqO8lhc5VdEIpRfFittFllwNbt1neLPoyFacbcDKUK6r9Tb6ZL6vQ4q97DUM94AE9JrnEc1gF-iVlkiu9FTRX4j7y5mEoi2q5KYTETsSgEnu4pRV1lO/s1600/IMG_0019.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEfDR7yDWGik_2riR6GqO8lhc5VdEIpRfFittFllwNbt1neLPoyFacbcDKUK6r9Tb6ZL6vQ4q97DUM94AE9JrnEc1gF-iVlkiu9FTRX4j7y5mEoi2q5KYTETsSgEnu4pRV1lO/s400/IMG_0019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620952170678468594" border="0" /></a><br />We ended up bumping into them again when we went to pick up our packets. Camille got a picture this time. [Funny thing about this picture.. that blonde girl who I'm guessing was from Russia.. came up to me after she got a picture with Clyde and was like "who was that?" haha. oh people.]<br /><br />Anyway - I started chatting with Sheri at the expo again while Clyde was working his magic to get into an already closed race. I guess the guy was a Clyde fan so he let them enter.<br /><br /><br />On Race day - I kept my eyes open for Sheri and Clyde but there were SO many people that I didn't think there was any way I would see them again. But there was a turn around in the race...so we passed each other. They weren't that far behind me. So I took my time at the finish line.....and look at this:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mJvPjgoe2gTHIO76mo8dUEtYTxK6pqzel5iVd5QJk9K_uYhkR6pf8nB-0eYpgSsc_MRxGDB6FX2ysaN1rvM0Cup_QCe1JlVZPNLO1CuIorF_lrqaptb_QR7X28h83pOKQRpS/s1600/IMG_0391.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mJvPjgoe2gTHIO76mo8dUEtYTxK6pqzel5iVd5QJk9K_uYhkR6pf8nB-0eYpgSsc_MRxGDB6FX2ysaN1rvM0Cup_QCe1JlVZPNLO1CuIorF_lrqaptb_QR7X28h83pOKQRpS/s400/IMG_0391.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620952764490723090" border="0" /></a><br />Another awesome picture. Actually - Clyde even had someone take a picture of us 3 on his phone! :) Don't worry - the story gets better!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyDnPee2qIHy7e8UAhRDAkET1ffyLs3ZSXT65rL2n78PtEaK4MjErdIqnETt1CrMeUJnVoDbDsyQCkW5-IfKkNhYxdESkae3O8wEcWOfi62g56lbyZb-7r4cSYMQTFTbp9uoF/s1600/IMG_0390.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyDnPee2qIHy7e8UAhRDAkET1ffyLs3ZSXT65rL2n78PtEaK4MjErdIqnETt1CrMeUJnVoDbDsyQCkW5-IfKkNhYxdESkae3O8wEcWOfi62g56lbyZb-7r4cSYMQTFTbp9uoF/s400/IMG_0390.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620952187571410914" border="0" /></a><br />After the race was over, they asked what I was doing. Since Sheri's sister was running the marathon and all my friends were too... they asked if I wanted to walk back to the hotel with them. Of course I said YES! After I got my stuff from the bag drop.. I walked with them back to the hotel. Clyde and I waited for Sheri in the lobby when she went to her room to get something. Fans would come up to him to talk or get his picture. He would even introduce me to his fans sometimes. "This is Christine". HA! I couldn't believe it.<br /><br />I asked him if he ever got tired of having to always talk to fans. He said that it can be tiring always having to put on a face and be happy all the time. But that he is grateful for the opportunity. And that he knew that his fans only get a few seconds with him so he has to make sure they have a good experience. Seriously.. He's such a good guy. <br /><br />They were hungry - so we had lunch in the hotel.. Clyde paid. Clyde took me to lunch. It was awesome to just sit down and talk. We talked about all kinds of things. Oprah, Tiger Woods, Whether he was going to buy his kids a house or not (he said no), lots of random things. I didn't ask him about his career. I didn't want to be an annoying fan. He eventually asked me if I played sports..and when I told him I played bball in HS, i think he was surprised I hadn't already mentioned that.<br /><br />After lunch we walked back down to the race. And we found everyone. Camille, Beth, Sheri... and then back to the hotel again. It was a pretty sweet experience. That's for sure!!!! Clyde the Glide. Still can't believe it.Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08142824895406301453noreply@blogger.com2