“Two”
Today marks two years of living in Abu Dhabi.
xo, jill
Archives for 2011
September 5, 2011
Step one.
Arrive in Vienna.
When I landed in Vienna, I was completely exhausted. I successfully caught the correct bus from the airport and found my hostel without too much trouble. Then I fell asleep. After about 3 hours of dozing in a warm room, I forced myself up to check out the city.
I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to go so I figured the center of town was probably a good start. It was a pretty smart choice considering that the center of town is also the site of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Supposedly, one day Beethoven looked up at the bell tower at St. Stephen’s. He saw birds flying from the loud clanging of the bells, but didn’t hear a sound. This is when he realized he was deaf.
After visiting the cathedral I continued walking to Stadtpark. I had a little rest and my first meal of the trip: felafel.
Determined to keep myself awake until at least 9:00pm, I returned to my hostel and had a chat with an Australian who had recently visited Dubai. Depsite claiming that she was sleepy too, her chattiness kept me up until nearly 10:30pm. I was wiped out.
xo, jill
September 2, 2011
Q&A
Q. How do you return to Abu Dhabi after two and a half amazing weeks in Europe?
A. Reluctantly.
I’m back.
xo, jill
August 31, 2011
Hola, Peru!
[I’m still out traveling, but I have a new mini series to share! Believe it or not, I did a bit of traveling before blogging came in vogue. Over the next few days I’ll share posts about 3 trips I took pre-bloglife. The first is here and the second there.]
After finishing university, I was looking for my next big goal. It felt a little funny to not have something really obvious that I was working towards. One of my life goals is to visit all 7 continents, so I decided I should start working on that. I hadn’t been to South America yet and Peru had the cheapest airfare. I was going to Peru!
All I had to do was ask once and my good friend Shauna was ready to take the adventure with me. We took care to plan every little detail and had everything set weeks in advance. (This is a far cry as to how I travel now!)
My intrepid travel partner and me.
Our trip began in Cusco where we immediately hit the ground running and got a bit of the altitude sickness. Not a good feeling. I definitely recommend taking it easy your first day. The altitude is pretty intense.
Women in the main square in Cusco.
The view from the train on our way to Aguas Calientes (the city nearest Machu Picchu).
Our first big site was the incredible Machu Picchu. We didn’t have time to trek in but we did wake up super early to watch the sunrise over the ancient city. Incredible.
Wowza.
Sitting in a window at Machu Picchu.
Next we dropped in at Casa de Milagros. It’s really hard to describe Casa de Milagros. “Orphanage” is close but not quite right. The couple who run the home consider each of the children living there to be their sons and daughters. It’s a giant family that welcomes volunteers and interns and does work in the greater community. We were there to drop off some very heavy school supplies we collected and brought with us.
A colorful sign at Casa de Milagros.
Casa de Milagros is in an old and colorful hacienda.
We traveled south to Lake Titicaca where we participated in a homestay on the island of Amantani. Our hosts had a lovely and very comfortable home. We felt very welcome even though there were a few awkward moments. (Shauna asking in Spanish: “Does the toilet function?”)
Locals on the lake.
Before leaving we took a flight to Puetro Maldonado, a town in the middle of the Amazon. From there we ventured further into the rainforest for a stay at an eco-lodge. Ummm… this portion of the trip was half amazing and half awful. Let’s just say food poisoning in the middle of the night in a hut with thin walls is not pleasant…especially when I found out the entire guest list heard my retching.
This is the outcome of a runny nose, scratchy throat, plugged up ear, vomiting all night, and still going on the 6 hour 10k trek through the jungle.
We finished off our trip in Lima where we accidentally stayed in a… um… how do you say… hooker hotel? Shauna did a great job of documenting our confusion and horror when we realized those men and women coming in and out of rooms were there for a very different reason than us. The porno shoot we stumbled upon was the tip off. So yeah, I’d say skip Lima if you can… hehe.
I only mentioned the most memorable moments of the trip. There was much more adventure and silliness jam packed in those few weeks.
More photos are in my flickr set.
xo, jill
August 29, 2011
Bonjour, France!
[I’m still out traveling, but I have a new mini series to share! Believe it or not, I did a bit of traveling before blogging came in vogue. Over the next few days I’ll share posts about 3 trips I took pre-bloglife. The first is here.]
When I was a senior in high school we were required to complete a Senior Project. The project was a combination of a research paper, volunteer hours, and a final presentation. I decided to use this opportunity to get myself to France. I researched anti-Semitism in the country, used my volunteer hours to organize a school trip there, and presented to the community the importance of recognizing both the good and bad in cultures. It was a lot of hard work… but who wouldn’t put out a little effort for a trip to France?
I wanted to pee a little.
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?”
Notre Dame and one of my favorite photos from this trip.
Stained glass at Notre Dame.
So, after studying French for 6 years, it was time to actually use it. Unfortunately, the most vivid language memory from the trip is a shopkeeper screaming at my friends and me. I’m not sure what we did to upset him, but I was proud that even through his shouting I could understand his words.
Our trip began in Paris. Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time was a pretty special feeling. We hit the major sites including Le Louvre, Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and of course Le Tour Eiffel.
I wanted to pee a little.
Part of our group. (I’m in the khaki pants and dark top.)
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?”
Below the steps at Sacre Coeur
Notre Dame and one of my favorite photos from this trip.
Stained glass at Notre Dame.
In the Loire Valley we toured a few different chateaus but my favorite was Chenonceau. How beautiful. The ballroom stretches out over the water which creates natural air conditioning.
Chenonceau: Also known as the “Castle of Ladies” for all the women who put their touch on the chateau.
We took the TGV to the south and spent a few days in Nice, Avignon, and Eze. It was nice change from the cool weather in the north.
Roman aqueduct near Avignon, I think.
The walled city of Eze where they lock the gate at night.
Carousel in Nice.
A swim in the Mediterranean.
Traveling with a bazillion students is probably something I never need to do again, but it was quite the memorable trip.
xo, jill
August 27, 2011
Hi There, England.
[I’m still out traveling, but I have a new mini series to share! Believe it or not, I did a bit of traveling before blogging came in vogue. Over the next few days I’ll share posts about 3 trips I took pre-bloglife.]
My first big trip out of the country was when I was 16. I was super excited to go on a school sponsored trip to France. Unfortunately, no one else was. I was the only student who showed up at the informational meeting. Kind of a bummer. Instead of getting too upset, I rallied. I decided that if no one else was interested in a trip I would take one myself. But not to France (too scary since my language skills were just emerging), to England.
The start of my trip was a bit…oh, terrifying. I arrived at Heathrow ready to meet my host mom. She wasn’t ready to meet me. I felt a little anxious that no one was there to pick me up but I moved to the waiting area to wait. And wait. And wait. In between sobbing phone calls to my mom, I tried to ignore my rumbling tummy and get a little sleep. I was worried that if I went to buy food or water I’d miss my host. 13 hours later…she arrived! Something about an am/pm mix up or whatever…
host, Sheelah, and me
Thankfully, the rest of my trip was much less stressful. My host lived in a small town called West Byfleet, a bit south of London. She had several other travelers staying with her including people from France, Japan, Bahrain, and…UAE! My first time meeting an Emirati was on this trip.
Malmesbury House, complete with swimming pool
In hindsight, I wish I had been more adventurous on that trip. I wasn’t quite brave enough to navigate London on my own. Nevertheless, I still managed to see and do plenty.
My host mom took me to see Windsor Castle, Leeds Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Stratford upon Avon, the Cotswolds (love!), the Tower of London, the London Eye, and the Palace of Westminster… among other lovely things.
at Windsor Castle
at Hampton Court Palace
at Leeds Castle
London Eye
“It’s not the clock, it’s not the tower, but the bell that rings the hour.” Big Ben.
I joined a French youth trip (the leaders were staying at my house) and visited Tower Bridge and Cambridge.
at Tower Bridge
at Cambridge
punters at Cambridge
And Ahmed and his cousin, both from UAE, took me down to beachy Brighton for the day.
doesn’t look like England, does it?
I think it was a pretty good way to spend the summer of my 16th year and a pretty good indicator for my parents that there would be more traveling to come.
xo, jill
[pardon the photos, this was before digital cameras were the norm]
