Bahrain

Today, I just have a few pictures from when we went to Bahrain...oh, I can't exactly remember when. That's what happens when I don't immediately post; things are forgotten and they only get a half-hearted second glance.
Chris and I went to Bahrain for the weekend just to enjoy ourselves. It really isn't that big of a country, and the heat was so oppressive that we mostly went out at night. The pictures are from one day when we were wandering around, checking out a newly built business complex and the "pearl" that the country reveres so much, that it made a gigantic roundabout ornament of one. I guess when you live in a desert place, you use the resources you've got!

Belgium

Part of our summer travels were spent in Brussels, Belgium. I can't exactly say why we planned on going there, but I can say that we enjoyed it immensely! With the Flemish (Dutch), French, and German languages buzzing about our heads, we lazily walked through the streets eating good food and enjoying the extra daylight hours. During this time of year, the sun doesn't set until around 10pm, so we had plenty of time to wander, looking at building facades from the cartooned to the ornate. Here are some pictures and six facts you may not have known.


1. The Royal Palace of Brussels is bigger than Buckingham Palace.
2. The world's biggest chocolate selling point is Brussels National Airport.
3. More than 90% of the world's raw diamonds are negotiated and distributed in the city of Antwerp.
4. There are over 800 kinds of beer made in Belgium.
5. Around 6% of the country and 25% of Brussels is Muslim.
6. Brussels is the capital of the EU.

Rome 2010

We kicked off Summer 2010 by meeting our friends Mike and Destiny Bell in Rome, Italy. Because their life position also requires them to be globetrotters for the time being, we were able to coordinate a vacation together as we traveled west to the U.S. and they traveled east to China and Japan. We started our non-stop vacation on the evening of June 16th with salami and cheese sandwiches; it was history in the making. You can see our pictures in our online albums under Rome.

After visiting Rome for one action packed day, all of us headed to Croatia and Montenegro until June 23rd. After that, we flew back for one last day in Rome before we worked our way to Brussels on the 25th and they found themselves headed to Beijing. The photos in our album don't show any of that time lapse, but are the collection of our time in Rome in general. You can see some of Destiny's pictures of our trip here.

picture taken in Piazza Navona, Rome

Changes and Pictures

I mentioned before that I would be making some changes around here. One of the first is organizing all of our pictures, and you'll find a new link on the right. Beginning with our trip to Rome, Croatia, Montenegro, and Belgium, you can see our summer adventures and our future adventures at the June '10 - Present link. If you'd like to take a look at any of our pictures from the first two years overseas, you can still see them at The First Years link, which includes our recent trip to Iran.

More changes are to come, but for now you can see a glimpse of our travels with our friends Mike and Destiny in Croatia and Montenegro here. This wasn't our first destination, but I think all of us would say the best part.

picture of the switchback road taken from the overlook at Ostrog Monastery, Montenegro

never a dull moment

We're finally back in Indiana, PA for a few weeks. After traveling around Europe, spending time with friends and family in the Boston area and in the state of Indiana, going to Chicago and driving everywhere in between, we can finally unpack our suitcases for a few weeks. Tonight, I brought a taste of Kuwait here with a dinner of fattoush, sambousik, cauliflower, rice, grilled lamb and chicken, hommos, and bread with zaatar. Here's a preview of our past 4 weeks.

Day Two

Here we are, day #2 in the States. I am feeling much more "with it" today, and even woke up at 7am! With some extra time on my hands, I went back and added captions and information to our Iran picture album. You can check it out now on our picture website. I'm going to be making some changes to the blog and to our picture albums over the summer, so don't be alarmed if things start looking different.

Enjoy the day today.
"This is the day Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

In the States

We are back in the U.S.! Last evening, I flew into Logan International in Boston at about 8:30pm, anxious to get off of my 8 hour flight, but had to sit on the runway for another 45 minutes. I guess they need to expand their airplane parking.

After a good 10 hours of sleep, I feel adjusted and ready for whatever the summer may bring...which could be any number of things. For now though, I am ready for some rest. This funny picture that Chris took of me unexpectedly kind of sums up how I feel after two weeks of traveling.