tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80448615957949863282024-03-05T10:09:15.741-08:00Where In The World Is Ashley Now?Appreciating The United States!acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-18478569444104564002012-12-31T07:24:00.001-08:002012-12-31T07:24:10.754-08:00Michigan AdventuresPics from Christmas break in Michigan.<br/><br/><br/><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYSfp4SMLYN20r2mdTy9O8gol6binSmqGpHbJ1guJ_xFKBSBCjUHxNyXXFsMcnoWLgN_8sifgvOzUO6btXczS_FTxpSExf6x1pQmb6eKGaSIMmIQYT1HPtt3vdqX2Hx3iAZVk-WoiWCvW/s288/My%252520Uploaded%252520Photos.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br/><br/><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TRE_dAYHd07njksRrJVra2eZTKStwJl9DbIzA5RNinf3qRtC-BrwaAewmnp3sG6YD8_FyemexKfpl0mP8it6Ha68Hepmzn14WGwNf35laYFBQMDlw8UJhONg0wblZOtrKI4SqaoE5yEq/s288/My%252520Uploaded%252520Photos.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br/><br/><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnih2M1dY3wvwOXK3nBNtwnFAGpxdsxmGYE6Fphd4chRNHpPCl7aDp-3HN3nJiCh3zE0l0iTRQiWKuijvAL7ug0Ma4ZQUOHSnxs2fUISuB6xnqGwA5byQ8ycq7GwfAehA0pFie0OSx7vN1/s288/My%252520Uploaded%252520Photos.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br/><br/><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQEJDAo1E63J_fWAYTJpT3U3U7Vd14I3zreOjQqK9UCECi8MkCVd4GPcQd1F0JpsqK8kUL8XQiWnjWIw_B2Md2LEhtBFGEa99I1gGG-dwxHTP4kcdGXbvQcJZdIAH0faW8ECXqP8-7bu2/s288/My%252520Uploaded%252520Photos.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br/><br/><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEb36aC7IkRoi2gtRY00gt2T3TovN-K1oQgQqyTpx5UnJknAWcCfOVVGk_-EdDbgDHB6gEtE0NEA0D4lBOTbao3cix7rbf1il-HyoR1EZFvfMZKZjx7P58i_Mv5dZ_TGM59XECGPkjP7k/s288/My%252520Uploaded%252520Photos.jpg" border="0" alt="" />acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-67672616769654934832012-11-17T16:55:00.000-08:002012-11-17T16:55:09.258-08:00Frist Day Out With My New Camera!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-6242890256416639852011-09-14T20:41:00.001-07:002011-09-14T20:41:35.159-07:00Vancouver to San Fransico Road Trip<br/><br/><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoTqnfy_Fkny8r6EKtBJCQr-H9NhdJaldIHjQ5ZiNcY9V_DgVp1fJH8xdtZJEtWyj4PSxQZ6ikNSydrqwq7YDy1rkIwttrTdJhxhSNQmb8sZvQDXxAN_U7SIh3Ns6Ne17nEjl9yMOfLMF/s288/My%252520Uploaded%252520Photos.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br/>The Stone Man, Vancouver.<br/><br/><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuigDDSfLQOnT_5TPies5NW0OXp87kyOxYdXB4kYpRLGiyYfLmeEwM8coI5LOqQgO_0pv5lWOtt3TVSRI4DN57i9WV46aiOhX833J_-TcRtEhcglu-PEsUb4kUueCLcvnIBF5GCDba8BQP/s288/My%252520Uploaded%252520Photos.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br/>Seattle Above Ground<br/><br/><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoActsgcAXodtLGO-6ktJi4W-jYzWw62xH2OxTPcuqcy9xQnBZ_7gcYMtVTHYJbnjuOuSBzH9KkBLheaUF4kSEkRg78IY-wkoZnkJQ_8rZgIvAQbPLMw9MlNLs5Qp39ANiKUQWHfQVrJfY/s288/My%252520Uploaded%252520Photos.jpg" border="0" alt="" />acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-68356966936148837832010-10-25T17:51:00.000-07:002010-10-29T13:08:35.262-07:00South America Day 7: What A Great Decision<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Tena to Banos</span></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size:130%;">Oct 18, 2010</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></em> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">South American Travels</span></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1kU9HhhN-lxIyLkKJbmwiIK_uPWV5eYd2DVylMe96G-sLoHYeIKr8HmRpUlsF_Atf6q24YO3EEMKMm0L7nfMQPTSh1_T9Vr3XZNKuqNyS9KQpdmAjBBTSMCeh-7-5DcE0P4rhNFnNxST/s1600/CIMG0942.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532454901822548898" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1kU9HhhN-lxIyLkKJbmwiIK_uPWV5eYd2DVylMe96G-sLoHYeIKr8HmRpUlsF_Atf6q24YO3EEMKMm0L7nfMQPTSh1_T9Vr3XZNKuqNyS9KQpdmAjBBTSMCeh-7-5DcE0P4rhNFnNxST/s400/CIMG0942.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left"><br />We woke up farily early, still tired. We were suppose to meet the girls we met the night before for breakfest. We got ready and headed over to thier hostel. We had a lovely breakfest. After telling the girls that we decided to leave, we all went to our hostel so they could book their jungle tour. They left to pack and we went to get some supplies for the bus ride. When we got back it was about the time need to leave so we could also do a video. We left the hostel looking like pack muels and headed for the bus station. Oh by the way our hostel guy gave us direction to go straight and you can´t miss it. You will see the busses he says! YEAH RIGHT. We walked about 10 minutes too far and had to take a taxi to the station or we would have missed the bus.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">The bus ride could have been better, but ofcourse there weren´t any bathrooms and they didn´t stop. The bus ride was right at my limit for holding it. I probably could hold it longer if it was so crazy bumpy! Anyway we made it there at around 2pm or so. We didn´t know where the hostel, that they ladies recomended, was so we just started walking and asked along the way. When we finally got to the hostel we were disappointed because it was expensive. We couldn´t afford anything like that so we had to keep walking!</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">We stumbled upon a hostel that was much for affordable but still nice.<br /></div><div align="center"></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-78977258317838011682010-10-25T17:45:00.000-07:002010-10-26T11:20:51.369-07:00South America Day 6: A Change Of Mind<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:180%;">Tena, Ecuador</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em>Oct 17 & 18, 2010</em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">South American Travels</span></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-C5fPnKFvYnycvWVXdGq_Gf0NOEx1gZOvi3Mmc1Z9yYYcxyw7gHs2_GVuhu8VcFpv837j4Qa_n-GxSQw0k7KUeZOvberCnEPAE3flOy22Uve-chLCZ18XsJqHuzEcj-iLWlXNnTSeqsd/s1600/CIMG0934.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532412733828452498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-C5fPnKFvYnycvWVXdGq_Gf0NOEx1gZOvi3Mmc1Z9yYYcxyw7gHs2_GVuhu8VcFpv837j4Qa_n-GxSQw0k7KUeZOvberCnEPAE3flOy22Uve-chLCZ18XsJqHuzEcj-iLWlXNnTSeqsd/s400/CIMG0934.JPG" /></a></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;">We had decided to go to Tena after church so that we could explore the amazon. We caught a bus at about 1pm and it took ruffly 5 hours to get there and cost $6 per person. We arrived at 6pm and got off the bus at a hostel. We hadn´t booked one before we arrived, so we had to just check prices and choose one. It was right during the dead season so our room cost 14 dollars for two people, but wasn´t much too look at. </span></div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidD_ILOA9dbNF5wbIn_4GrgoM-F8jkcdWn3vbLeTAiJ4t7gvu1598hteRBMk5hXahZAIKwbDsBSbQx20NSPisj3IXP5pOgJmUEBahmRYb_8j3u35Oy8dCpITUgzzifea4tkTf4qRbOega2/s1600/CIMG0930.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 234px; HEIGHT: 164px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532415015717324466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidD_ILOA9dbNF5wbIn_4GrgoM-F8jkcdWn3vbLeTAiJ4t7gvu1598hteRBMk5hXahZAIKwbDsBSbQx20NSPisj3IXP5pOgJmUEBahmRYb_8j3u35Oy8dCpITUgzzifea4tkTf4qRbOega2/s200/CIMG0930.JPG" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">We went out for a walk and stumbled upon the only other 4 gringos in town. We talked for a while and made plans to meet up with them for breakfest. Back at the hostel we had a change of mind. We decided not to go on a Amazon tour. We just weren´t feeling it. We just wanted to relax for a while and not travel around. So we decided to leave the next day for Banos. It took me a while to fall asleep that night because I kept thinking there were bed bugs! Don´t worry, there weren´t.</p></span><div align="center"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2r-nF-DAml9VlLFbYVO8hsU4uV39aE3tRFINyJjNAIriDxNObLhODLAln9Q-DqF0os5F9x4u7TszDHUCsKP_qKp1-jBgiSGwsrA4K_qz9QjRsqhbdwXuWsk_njYnHHt05eWdtb9TH6SN/s1600/CIMG0933.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 256px; HEIGHT: 168px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532415025615281010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2r-nF-DAml9VlLFbYVO8hsU4uV39aE3tRFINyJjNAIriDxNObLhODLAln9Q-DqF0os5F9x4u7TszDHUCsKP_qKp1-jBgiSGwsrA4K_qz9QjRsqhbdwXuWsk_njYnHHt05eWdtb9TH6SN/s200/CIMG0933.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div align="center">It was a rather unevenful day, the first, but probably not the last!</div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-65391347684564365532010-10-16T18:16:00.000-07:002010-10-16T18:59:54.815-07:00South America Day 5: Quito, Ecuador<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">What An Amazing City </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>October 16, 2010</em></span></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></em></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFxgBvTPCjvCG7U9GolerygpacxtDwoJXY72WQ5TvbCI_fqEOf8lYmai7PCVWIxWlX5KE5gOZSnQ4FXSAYtaDVbczYtPsE0qUpc4DcPTnZnWQGwBbJ9ibzwoZV_GQ9cIcJI5z8eZ4BziC/s1600/CIMG0910.JPG"></a><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">South American Travels</span></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P-XEHN98pMvaMGEneGeoLcze_QJ85EXTths_YwHbT1ErVQnqNq3IiA_84JhXVPWApyQQW7Ho4FO707cbmQW3o5V5BhdT7s98R7O5bG1CHw5r9lkLZVMLcljhRj0JiWhDGD9rZie9Uw-Q/s1600/CIMG0902.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528819552348865810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0P-XEHN98pMvaMGEneGeoLcze_QJ85EXTths_YwHbT1ErVQnqNq3IiA_84JhXVPWApyQQW7Ho4FO707cbmQW3o5V5BhdT7s98R7O5bG1CHw5r9lkLZVMLcljhRj0JiWhDGD9rZie9Uw-Q/s400/CIMG0902.JPG" /></a> </div><div align="center">Grand Plaza</div><br />I continue to be shocked by what I find in Ecuador. We went out exploring the city today. We took the electric bus, which costs 25 cents per person, to the Old Town. Wow, old town was really beautiful. The old town looks very European and has a great vibe.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0HvaJU0Xdj9Hjy8nVM19M_TJE9Ege4cOhf6K-XyhkIUoXNI0-z8FCOJR_NHZtE7ShaVUNL8Fsnus2mYQKsY_y9QGqSqG9PslRkO62HwGW1YzFt1Hf65d0dWAeaABD08gZ9AzTJzifTvo/s1600/CIMG0888.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 195px; HEIGHT: 270px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528823115360257778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0HvaJU0Xdj9Hjy8nVM19M_TJE9Ege4cOhf6K-XyhkIUoXNI0-z8FCOJR_NHZtE7ShaVUNL8Fsnus2mYQKsY_y9QGqSqG9PslRkO62HwGW1YzFt1Hf65d0dWAeaABD08gZ9AzTJzifTvo/s320/CIMG0888.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfta9DyDCt6TCYFOacFlngbe5CXh30tkiK1OeY4d30-XWk6jhYIvz6qIFu-cQjC01fm3B06_rY2Id7b5lc2C9CWC4NLUHlnaC64eZwXCcqEyL7emJy8QcXlbeh19VgSv8847UwHPrPDa6U/s1600/CIMG0900.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 168px; HEIGHT: 270px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528823121412167778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfta9DyDCt6TCYFOacFlngbe5CXh30tkiK1OeY4d30-XWk6jhYIvz6qIFu-cQjC01fm3B06_rY2Id7b5lc2C9CWC4NLUHlnaC64eZwXCcqEyL7emJy8QcXlbeh19VgSv8847UwHPrPDa6U/s320/CIMG0900.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We walked around taking it all in! We stopped at this little restaurant to get tamales. I had a sweet one with chicken, which a lady told me, is an popular Ecuadorian dish. We pooped in and out of little shops all day long. Everything in Ecuador is really cheap and you can find anything you need.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshta5YWp3LWgw5qVxT1fp-bnSSRzifQIFrFFc6K7rtcMqzHXMF50bwl681uCzz_8BJEBMGrvAJOMcA7UitVr9LjsPw6d2-9nDd2a56EpVlUgQrw-tbTkaOAKvrvyvIGCdyRdktMP_K3QW/s1600/CIMG0895.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 197px; HEIGHT: 270px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528823116930407602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshta5YWp3LWgw5qVxT1fp-bnSSRzifQIFrFFc6K7rtcMqzHXMF50bwl681uCzz_8BJEBMGrvAJOMcA7UitVr9LjsPw6d2-9nDd2a56EpVlUgQrw-tbTkaOAKvrvyvIGCdyRdktMP_K3QW/s320/CIMG0895.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJdV-UPWUXNRHnMuHvwPKaWEJFGOfu_PWMexs9Hccb4opCotzZp1UOR_1P0PuwnVx6sNKW4oczeUGHBjndV5j4WQNn_BckE7bWymEYRCTGriziQSyjKOvQf7847NoD-31lgPVgZCrV9jn/s1600/CIMG0897.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 179px; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528823117844128386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJdV-UPWUXNRHnMuHvwPKaWEJFGOfu_PWMexs9Hccb4opCotzZp1UOR_1P0PuwnVx6sNKW4oczeUGHBjndV5j4WQNn_BckE7bWymEYRCTGriziQSyjKOvQf7847NoD-31lgPVgZCrV9jn/s320/CIMG0897.JPG" /></a><br /><br />After eating the above food! We walked to the Grand Plaza. We walked around the plaza, people watching and then moved on to another area of Old town. We went by many churches, shoppes, bakeries, and a movie theater! By this time we were a little worn out and decided to walk back toward our hostel. We didn't get very far when it started sprinkling, so we hoped on an electric bus.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAEB49Ph7Qd2y_a87LjbpYhAs1bsqpCWPuAnWxHp3DcDsYh1k8Yyj8GTa6K-bYy-ebGDhETudh7ltbp5-s8aDA5d5vn3vXoNYhTGFWB_5gKABi_e_iVmtZ7elo8BIOPA3Hp6nSQXpgIpT/s1600/CIMG0906.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 170px; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528823125870993074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAEB49Ph7Qd2y_a87LjbpYhAs1bsqpCWPuAnWxHp3DcDsYh1k8Yyj8GTa6K-bYy-ebGDhETudh7ltbp5-s8aDA5d5vn3vXoNYhTGFWB_5gKABi_e_iVmtZ7elo8BIOPA3Hp6nSQXpgIpT/s320/CIMG0906.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFxgBvTPCjvCG7U9GolerygpacxtDwoJXY72WQ5TvbCI_fqEOf8lYmai7PCVWIxWlX5KE5gOZSnQ4FXSAYtaDVbczYtPsE0qUpc4DcPTnZnWQGwBbJ9ibzwoZV_GQ9cIcJI5z8eZ4BziC/s1600/CIMG0910.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 197px; HEIGHT: 208px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528825679059125458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFxgBvTPCjvCG7U9GolerygpacxtDwoJXY72WQ5TvbCI_fqEOf8lYmai7PCVWIxWlX5KE5gOZSnQ4FXSAYtaDVbczYtPsE0qUpc4DcPTnZnWQGwBbJ9ibzwoZV_GQ9cIcJI5z8eZ4BziC/s320/CIMG0910.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We took the bus back toward our hostel. We went to a book store in the Mariscal district, called Confederate Books, which has the largest collection of English books in South America! It started pouring rain so we went down the street to Mama Clorinda, which has amazing local food. I got an empanada with chicken and Davina got a dish that started with a Q! I can't remember! See picture below!<br /><div align="center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fenao1VMEUc5Fatig_x82LnA1JUx3dih1PhZ9STXEbuh0E7RKJpO1Tw3Sv0s6yVs5RcVQ9L6DC6pNHrK_BF4RM_EFt2G3_09dVLumPa1Gpub7Aiuy06SjzI_TD_Cpy28kh8Z38Lkn-fh/s1600/CIMG0924.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 299px; HEIGHT: 189px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528825683380302034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fenao1VMEUc5Fatig_x82LnA1JUx3dih1PhZ9STXEbuh0E7RKJpO1Tw3Sv0s6yVs5RcVQ9L6DC6pNHrK_BF4RM_EFt2G3_09dVLumPa1Gpub7Aiuy06SjzI_TD_Cpy28kh8Z38Lkn-fh/s320/CIMG0924.JPG" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">We headed home as soon as the rain died down. Then we have just been hanging out at the hostel watching friends and putting this blog up! Tomorrow we will go to church, then head to Tena! Can't wait!</div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-60928897287624998312010-10-16T16:51:00.001-07:002010-10-16T18:14:37.627-07:00South America Day 4: Entering Ecuador<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">The Border To Quito</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>October 15, 2010 </em></span></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></em></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><em></div></em></span><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">South American Travels</span><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4n2aVuXky2bqcqzYKs7qHYsALCUO2cpjQTm4_3_8Mc5-sl42xhrfHxAB9pKelU_8PsDPoDYBH0L2731_CVh1De_Y621aj2l60SBpHiucV7ayRuDG_I4sansCnH0epWRC-x20CJnRXVgqB/s1600/CIMG0851.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528800101894657970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4n2aVuXky2bqcqzYKs7qHYsALCUO2cpjQTm4_3_8Mc5-sl42xhrfHxAB9pKelU_8PsDPoDYBH0L2731_CVh1De_Y621aj2l60SBpHiucV7ayRuDG_I4sansCnH0epWRC-x20CJnRXVgqB/s400/CIMG0851.JPG" /></a><br />We literally Walked Across The Border! </div><div align="center"><br /> </div><div align="left">22 hours over... 5 more to go! We arrived in Ipiales at 6:30am, then took a taxi to the border. There we did our immigration stuff and walked across the border. On the Ecuador side we also had to go through immigration. After we got our stamps, we took a micro to Tulcan, a border city with buses to Quito. The border crossing was interesting because it didn't even seem like anyone cared whether or not we had a stamp in our passports! We could have easily just walked across and not gone through immigration! Or so we thought, until our bus got searched by the police multiple times and they asked for our passports, checking to see if we had stamps!</div><div align="left"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5D42o6Cj-_UOgDlV4hqgOALNp5GHwJVZlhRUvqX_E392oxENv3JcjQEJFrHcgtMK1-7WF5ns_8z8W2tlg6y3PPuWczrOnLmnsBDYWKBDUd-xwyR5uh7Hkp7Jv4B9JC9LDyFooBsJc37e/s1600/CIMG0873.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 146px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528807545293508946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5D42o6Cj-_UOgDlV4hqgOALNp5GHwJVZlhRUvqX_E392oxENv3JcjQEJFrHcgtMK1-7WF5ns_8z8W2tlg6y3PPuWczrOnLmnsBDYWKBDUd-xwyR5uh7Hkp7Jv4B9JC9LDyFooBsJc37e/s200/CIMG0873.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CyNZJFp_lSaq1vvEs2hrEgYnv8l4d-DK-Z9LXz6yY9mwi31_bwLH-1Tt7oJZ6dEX1beQgZPupCaY8piBAAaODGjz_cj3TuQN1oorgfYbLvaqAD_M7CS6fyGrZ21lU5PJUvPLzSPkgRBQ/s1600/CIMG0852.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 146px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528807553064467458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CyNZJFp_lSaq1vvEs2hrEgYnv8l4d-DK-Z9LXz6yY9mwi31_bwLH-1Tt7oJZ6dEX1beQgZPupCaY8piBAAaODGjz_cj3TuQN1oorgfYbLvaqAD_M7CS6fyGrZ21lU5PJUvPLzSPkgRBQ/s200/CIMG0852.JPG" /></a><br /><br />When we got to Tulcan, we found a bus leaving right away for Quito. The trip took about 5 hours and was beautiful. The bus wasn't as nice as the one in Colombia, especially since there were no toilets! So we had to go at a burger place when they stopped long enough! We arrived in Quito at 1:00pm. From the bus station we took a taxi to a hostel we found online. The Travellers Inn hostel is located in the Mariscal district.<br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPx50C0k-vXDB-2Tc5y8nRkh9sKgSPBCcx1zaEfpjLnmYZFzn_3oZzVKY-bsZD_qWuQ8VRbb6nqRRwk91sbpMV51SGZRERJu54Iut6uQMvodKTnaGN5Tgqd1pEfvdOqqPaSTSe4jZDnsC/s1600/CIMG0877.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 189px; HEIGHT: 146px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528807535092330802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPx50C0k-vXDB-2Tc5y8nRkh9sKgSPBCcx1zaEfpjLnmYZFzn_3oZzVKY-bsZD_qWuQ8VRbb6nqRRwk91sbpMV51SGZRERJu54Iut6uQMvodKTnaGN5Tgqd1pEfvdOqqPaSTSe4jZDnsC/s200/CIMG0877.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MUmgEk1wHWITod3bWa5MDDSNw_sCZ1JhYnRkt24-m02o2YJiIvSpVSJM8EGTYSGXHwexjLYLRZdxC1JY5mCkhrKsfF8uYGxQ12oFAYcqtxslVxhtbuqt0weKi4DaHnlViLq77NEO6BP9/s1600/CIMG0859.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 186px; HEIGHT: 151px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528807550039057138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MUmgEk1wHWITod3bWa5MDDSNw_sCZ1JhYnRkt24-m02o2YJiIvSpVSJM8EGTYSGXHwexjLYLRZdxC1JY5mCkhrKsfF8uYGxQ12oFAYcqtxslVxhtbuqt0weKi4DaHnlViLq77NEO6BP9/s200/CIMG0859.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We love our hostel! It's clean, quite and the staff is knowledgeable! After we got settled in, we went to explore the area around our hostel. We went to the fresh food market and then to eat dinner. We chose a cheap Chinese restaurant and it was delicious! Then we did some grocery shopping! We also found that Ecuador has amazing pastries! YUM! It was a long journey to get to Quito, but well worth it, we love Ecuador. Tomorrow we go exploring the city!</div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><p> </p><div align="center">Follow along as we travel through Ecuador!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJ8v22yOB5OxosAXYwu0B7nEMl7uKo9uMqzTTnnU9JH_GMtoKpYiXZXUx4LYdVadQznn7cHCGV4cVuhFk0Ba-OU8G6G7E9eB8zLWxvodnzBoKReBUoCd7c4oY26e9NkGXKk5Ok5pE_gRf/s1600/trip+2.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 190px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528808412835912610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJ8v22yOB5OxosAXYwu0B7nEMl7uKo9uMqzTTnnU9JH_GMtoKpYiXZXUx4LYdVadQznn7cHCGV4cVuhFk0Ba-OU8G6G7E9eB8zLWxvodnzBoKReBUoCd7c4oY26e9NkGXKk5Ok5pE_gRf/s320/trip+2.jpg" /></a> </div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-61082316041816505832010-10-16T15:55:00.000-07:002010-10-16T16:50:02.519-07:00South America Day 3: Colombia Country Side!<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:180%;">22 Hour Bus Ride Through Colombia!</span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>October 14, 2010</em></span></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">South American Travels</span><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7tO83dNCQvR72Lz4PeIO1B2cSoF9XRTvM7KQkijfvWwIJZzTF_AwqnQyc8hfMB0vyCXAl2rPR2o5N9MsU-Z4uWxiXIaSD19MNnCTaGmnBewhp8vSvmwsrkfL1H9D0H7s5XB7GtKskFxj/s1600/trip.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 355px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528788347627269042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7tO83dNCQvR72Lz4PeIO1B2cSoF9XRTvM7KQkijfvWwIJZzTF_AwqnQyc8hfMB0vyCXAl2rPR2o5N9MsU-Z4uWxiXIaSD19MNnCTaGmnBewhp8vSvmwsrkfL1H9D0H7s5XB7GtKskFxj/s400/trip.jpg" /></a><br />This is the route we took during our long bus ride!<br /><br /></div>I know what your thinking!! Crazy! Well my sister and I didn't plan before we came to South America! So we didn't realize that everything was far because the countries are big! So we didn't know that it would take us 24 hours to get to the border of Colombia and Ecuador! We had to make a decision on whether or not we wanted to see a few cities in each country or do a few countries and a lot of cities. So we chose few countries, many cites.<br /><br />After making that decision we decided that we wanted to spend most of our time in Ecuador and Peru. So we planned a bus ride straight through Colombia to the border. We got up in the morning and wasn't quite sure what time the bus left. We left for the bus station at around 6am. We got there in perfect time to find a bus leaving at 7:30 to the Border city of Ipiales. It was a direct bus costing about $50 each, lasting 22 hours.<br /><br />On the map above you can see the cities we passed through. The bus ride was beautiful, but slow at times due to traffic and construction. We slept a little here and there, but mostly talked. The bus was nice, with a bathroom and reclining seats. They also played <em>The Patriot</em>! Which was an interesting choice of movie for a bus ride! We stopped for lunch at around 1:00, in which I had soup and salad. Other wise they didn't really stop, except to let people on and off.<br /><br />We ended up falling asleep for the night at around 9pm. I was surprised by how much sleep I actually got. I only woke up a few times here and there. Mostly because it was FREEZING on the bus! We didn't even arrive at the border until 6:30am, the next day! I was surprised to find that it wasn't that bad of a bus ride, considering how long it really was!<br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXhgwhzSAmX_tsdque498ipSkHZDpf4_4bYttfPr4y2y36OMHvw8_X3_PLt5Hyokoq2jLuArC1ZG5-Cz6PcOIeB4Fn3RUWsnsj3kh2nZO0PbEfxaa7ujnfb6Ooswrpy4dzdofUgMgpylb/s1600/CIMG0849.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528793844728025938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXhgwhzSAmX_tsdque498ipSkHZDpf4_4bYttfPr4y2y36OMHvw8_X3_PLt5Hyokoq2jLuArC1ZG5-Cz6PcOIeB4Fn3RUWsnsj3kh2nZO0PbEfxaa7ujnfb6Ooswrpy4dzdofUgMgpylb/s200/CIMG0849.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXhgwhzSAmX_tsdque498ipSkHZDpf4_4bYttfPr4y2y36OMHvw8_X3_PLt5Hyokoq2jLuArC1ZG5-Cz6PcOIeB4Fn3RUWsnsj3kh2nZO0PbEfxaa7ujnfb6Ooswrpy4dzdofUgMgpylb/s1600/CIMG0849.JPG"></a></p><div align="center"><div align="center">Colombia was expensive, but rather well put together. </div></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-1682389767595538552010-10-16T08:24:00.000-07:002010-10-16T09:21:18.298-07:00South America Day 2: Bogota<p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">City Sight Seeing</span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">October 13, 2010</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">South American Travels</span></p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCIno_3a76wUipYsuZPMXnaNg6gF-ifRccTWzJUopo5lOoQ9JoA25KGEhiLINDhtrmnz4kpWbRBEW2jZEsCxPZrllik20UymkECsRJyvtUt7tVJeUqEsu8ab0FLBgoMNS_TujXwl-nMU5/s1600/CIMG0808.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528666815772830290" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCIno_3a76wUipYsuZPMXnaNg6gF-ifRccTWzJUopo5lOoQ9JoA25KGEhiLINDhtrmnz4kpWbRBEW2jZEsCxPZrllik20UymkECsRJyvtUt7tVJeUqEsu8ab0FLBgoMNS_TujXwl-nMU5/s400/CIMG0808.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">The View From Hill Of Monserrate.<br /></div><br />Today was an interesting day. We slept in a little, well actually we woke up at 6, and then went back to sleep! At 9am we decided to get up and get some stuff done. So we did my blog, yoga, ate breakfest, read, wrote, talked with our dad, got dressed and left the hostel at around 12:30!<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheXlqOcgGfAagdWg9aNzWKVVI820k5rCGNCI3Opm-wSBvJpMgBk9kOyS8z3ZeMghqmM_p1s3a5l4N71an5htD5ElqTs_Cut63cg-FvIhbI2QB-XXbWsVi4vq4mvy10q7ueCfqmzoLCgNW/s1600/CIMG0847.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528673593973111026" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheXlqOcgGfAagdWg9aNzWKVVI820k5rCGNCI3Opm-wSBvJpMgBk9kOyS8z3ZeMghqmM_p1s3a5l4N71an5htD5ElqTs_Cut63cg-FvIhbI2QB-XXbWsVi4vq4mvy10q7ueCfqmzoLCgNW/s200/CIMG0847.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheXlqOcgGfAagdWg9aNzWKVVI820k5rCGNCI3Opm-wSBvJpMgBk9kOyS8z3ZeMghqmM_p1s3a5l4N71an5htD5ElqTs_Cut63cg-FvIhbI2QB-XXbWsVi4vq4mvy10q7ueCfqmzoLCgNW/s1600/CIMG0847.JPG"></a>We didn't have a map or any notion of where we wanted to go. So we basically just started walking. On our walk we noticed a tram that let up to a high peak that over looks all of Bogota. So we walked toward that. We asked for directions and after some navigating we made it. We paid about 6 bucks each to go up and back.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wyaPdIGAaoAQLL77TLk4XcqiFRLxnsF3ppnuOUotjvNs_TqJRvaSOMyrjOJ0R1r85SISyMwhQ5d6hoVvlFmp37kHbqcROk4i27NGkV7CdBe5_xYwvMIIuBmRQqHNr7IMYU3wDiEc2gUr/s1600/CIMG0842.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528673602321398674" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wyaPdIGAaoAQLL77TLk4XcqiFRLxnsF3ppnuOUotjvNs_TqJRvaSOMyrjOJ0R1r85SISyMwhQ5d6hoVvlFmp37kHbqcROk4i27NGkV7CdBe5_xYwvMIIuBmRQqHNr7IMYU3wDiEc2gUr/s200/CIMG0842.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheXlqOcgGfAagdWg9aNzWKVVI820k5rCGNCI3Opm-wSBvJpMgBk9kOyS8z3ZeMghqmM_p1s3a5l4N71an5htD5ElqTs_Cut63cg-FvIhbI2QB-XXbWsVi4vq4mvy10q7ueCfqmzoLCgNW/s1600/CIMG0847.JPG"></a>The view up there was fantasic. See first picture and the picture above! That is what it was like. We didn't realize Bogota was so expansive and vast. It was a little cold at the top but over all a very lovely day. After spending a few hours on the top of The Hill Monserrate, we walked back down to the city. We walked and talked, while somehow navigating our way back toward the hostel.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvauhsxT5n4W_t3Y-ZyzFMDliyQaneeP92y6FG_rtf4xPPOyNYQGrmHKKl1hM8EvtogkedWugxwLLFj0VGRmrp9l26Z65CuuAuxlvgpbUarkNNm2PJ0a62ZiUdJsAx_azkJ8sGnq3YicJ9/s1600/CIMG0830.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528673620333313970" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvauhsxT5n4W_t3Y-ZyzFMDliyQaneeP92y6FG_rtf4xPPOyNYQGrmHKKl1hM8EvtogkedWugxwLLFj0VGRmrp9l26Z65CuuAuxlvgpbUarkNNm2PJ0a62ZiUdJsAx_azkJ8sGnq3YicJ9/s200/CIMG0830.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheXlqOcgGfAagdWg9aNzWKVVI820k5rCGNCI3Opm-wSBvJpMgBk9kOyS8z3ZeMghqmM_p1s3a5l4N71an5htD5ElqTs_Cut63cg-FvIhbI2QB-XXbWsVi4vq4mvy10q7ueCfqmzoLCgNW/s1600/CIMG0847.JPG"></a></div><div align="center"></div>We stopped at a supermarket and got some much needed supplies, such as toothpaste and a lighter (for the stove!)! Then we ask a travel agency about how to get to Equador. He told us that we would have to go to the border city, then cross over there, and then take another bus to Quito.<br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9hGLrRHO1u0z8uuGTfLqyi6kuPks5EP-E11g-B3-JN5tilcL94tiJeE2kKu45E3sTpuJht5_iIFWQ_961wAKtXmkYnE1KnON8T_FMLIAf9CZBjXvcwbJRjNdDGUEvL_zZfFQRIBB6H4W/s1600/CIMG0776.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528673632759371442" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9hGLrRHO1u0z8uuGTfLqyi6kuPks5EP-E11g-B3-JN5tilcL94tiJeE2kKu45E3sTpuJht5_iIFWQ_961wAKtXmkYnE1KnON8T_FMLIAf9CZBjXvcwbJRjNdDGUEvL_zZfFQRIBB6H4W/s200/CIMG0776.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br />After we left him, we decided to get some food. However, everything we passed didn't really look all that great, except for Crapes & Waffels. So we got a waffel there and then walked back to the hostel. We ate some leftovers for dinner and then just hungout, and planned our next day trip to the border city! A simple, but nice day!<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapsCMpvt7rjwbGcpLNHpgTPCzSE20PFb8robDxLNdXqLUPsKi9n562UEK8GQx9vzMh9na6hgsSCmz2XLbfwsZfUs8eN3TyUNYDyI_dkrIYd5JsplsL9O19soOKa2R-s7B_QuAda8FjCjk/s1600/CIMG0815.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528673630467944434" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapsCMpvt7rjwbGcpLNHpgTPCzSE20PFb8robDxLNdXqLUPsKi9n562UEK8GQx9vzMh9na6hgsSCmz2XLbfwsZfUs8eN3TyUNYDyI_dkrIYd5JsplsL9O19soOKa2R-s7B_QuAda8FjCjk/s200/CIMG0815.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />And the fun continues!acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-80336443606277412472010-10-13T08:06:00.000-07:002010-10-16T09:48:24.341-07:00South America Day 1: NYC - Bogota<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Over The Ocean</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">October 12, 2010</span></span><br /><br />South American Travels<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5RvcGIwS-JOHNCUUYRGAAbMtRNnigz9WW2RZO0H4gBbFzkhnEbZyFbomvfY2KhZ5plIES63iCToOJpazF3nWzLtB2dneB_X97RcN5sQ0uspUUHzetKYO9P8PU2Lpwol5jhkfBrBZvR1gW/s1600/CIMG0754.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527547791005491330" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5RvcGIwS-JOHNCUUYRGAAbMtRNnigz9WW2RZO0H4gBbFzkhnEbZyFbomvfY2KhZ5plIES63iCToOJpazF3nWzLtB2dneB_X97RcN5sQ0uspUUHzetKYO9P8PU2Lpwol5jhkfBrBZvR1gW/s400/CIMG0754.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">We left NYC at 11 am only to arrive in Miami at 2:30pm. We had to do an emercancy landing for some unkown reason. We waited for them to tell us what to do for what seemed like hours. Finally at around 4pm, they told us that there was a flight to Bogota at 5pm. It was kind of fun, because we got to skip tot he head of the line in secutrity and rush to the gate. We made it with plenty of time to spare!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzEf3wT38DvRwCPtPzDA_Rtmg-kwCSskbZMZ2QTFMDcM3Kjt4ZW182-Iq1O13UuqU7l2ALktlkKmLxEsfUc0g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br />We actually landed at 7:15 which is at about the same time we would have anyway! We went through customs and exchanged some currency. Then we headed out to get a taxi. I was surprised that only one person asked us if we needed a taxi! We got our taxi and were are our way! It took us about 30 minutes to get to Hostel Fatima. Our hostel is alright. We have a private room which is nice but you can hear everything that goes on downstairs. All in all I would say the first day was successful!<br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br />Lets see what day 2 brings... </div></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-65309979836278561742010-09-17T08:58:00.001-07:002010-10-12T12:07:44.714-07:00South America... Here We Come!My sister and I have many reasons in why we decided to go to South America. First, I wanted to "Stick It To The Man" and secondly my sister wanted to finish writing her book, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Year In My Dreams</span>. We have no set plans just a plane ticket and two hostel reservations! The rest is up to God. Follow us on our journey, exciting things are bound to happen!acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-24931306184882673132009-08-25T09:47:00.000-07:002010-03-01T13:21:30.912-08:00Finally at Site!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">My Home in Nicaragua! Located in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Chinandega</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKiS8V1WGnNQv54Uu82Of8Gpr4y4RI6tqw-M9GrPXJ2rCTmaUpfkY2_JOGs9whmYPefvEdTfYjw03opwlkR580-M5ZIjxr92kQl_qfvd-oVJYZQZB82MynSb9fidNxOsb8-PQzu2CQD20/s1600-h/IMG_3078.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKiS8V1WGnNQv54Uu82Of8Gpr4y4RI6tqw-M9GrPXJ2rCTmaUpfkY2_JOGs9whmYPefvEdTfYjw03opwlkR580-M5ZIjxr92kQl_qfvd-oVJYZQZB82MynSb9fidNxOsb8-PQzu2CQD20/s400/IMG_3078.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443777225084725538" border="0" /></a><br />Here are some pictures of where I live.<br />I really love my town. Its medium size, beach town and its hot!<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The little shop located next to my house!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiUjwYJS1I5Q-GwSoKhZjAeUKy3lRa2DaGeogxYS0MbUh4uudC7ISN4hYxhITHnEHsF1Doc_aArIiprzXXbF_tk2yHhR7yzN-XQsmDP756NRu8AjYry-ckUg90s9DEkeIAz7vGWcQUrdN/s1600-h/CIMG0035.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiUjwYJS1I5Q-GwSoKhZjAeUKy3lRa2DaGeogxYS0MbUh4uudC7ISN4hYxhITHnEHsF1Doc_aArIiprzXXbF_tk2yHhR7yzN-XQsmDP756NRu8AjYry-ckUg90s9DEkeIAz7vGWcQUrdN/s320/CIMG0035.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443769607325417970" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Where we get <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">smoothies</span>!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXM2JhjRc3zmRr5E2yQwHqWyNOfz7fj3hfBS2B0jvKnPqvi2lCTHWmKqcyBHZ0cwF9a8jcY7Pld9Lqs09ePR-YHUhQpTNk-YfO5w92IBaUgGF7u_zibDaopdpQfAioZgwAv4DNigYIAcl/s1600-h/CIMG0005.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 187px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXM2JhjRc3zmRr5E2yQwHqWyNOfz7fj3hfBS2B0jvKnPqvi2lCTHWmKqcyBHZ0cwF9a8jcY7Pld9Lqs09ePR-YHUhQpTNk-YfO5w92IBaUgGF7u_zibDaopdpQfAioZgwAv4DNigYIAcl/s320/CIMG0005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443769619029527698" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />A random street!<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeKoI0Qm9qO0e2xaWogKMNxZcvoweYa2vU8_WSZSysJjoReVuYJmdTCmU6xLZZv6bL8ACjA-dRYPiZWe2tnL8I23NyEnwP5pMPgm-EPE9mj14kn_BujeO6-MVIEIUJ6bsPiFxriko5RJo/s1600-h/IMG_3077.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399602034560155618" style="width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeKoI0Qm9qO0e2xaWogKMNxZcvoweYa2vU8_WSZSysJjoReVuYJmdTCmU6xLZZv6bL8ACjA-dRYPiZWe2tnL8I23NyEnwP5pMPgm-EPE9mj14kn_BujeO6-MVIEIUJ6bsPiFxriko5RJo/s320/IMG_3077.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Another Random Street!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMWVLq-XjxbdBP1RTvZ6kXvc3kEwgNbmJG6TUYUGBlOgMDiFkA4LZT5zZujkrwvOYpn_2HEjpjpNnwSe35WFoE1LTT0oVW5BK3a6sMcO3OgDnuspOVsj90lgZ2Bi_YW6Y8MVIcGF-kdKn/s1600-h/IMG_3074.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399602032397362082" style="width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMWVLq-XjxbdBP1RTvZ6kXvc3kEwgNbmJG6TUYUGBlOgMDiFkA4LZT5zZujkrwvOYpn_2HEjpjpNnwSe35WFoE1LTT0oVW5BK3a6sMcO3OgDnuspOVsj90lgZ2Bi_YW6Y8MVIcGF-kdKn/s320/IMG_3074.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This kids acts like he is 20, he is always walking around<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0RByPyi-SfXACz5mFu5sVZZpQ73-Prqgnwl-7s-KG91dlV_nAT1lpinr5PcllaZUM3zTP91tw4_MKLqnqwW5LdJMty-BF552F0v2Mkj7085t2VKi11hBrWgxu7BEJ9fEBVXlN3QYwrc-/s1600-h/IMG_3079.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399602043991455314" style="width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0RByPyi-SfXACz5mFu5sVZZpQ73-Prqgnwl-7s-KG91dlV_nAT1lpinr5PcllaZUM3zTP91tw4_MKLqnqwW5LdJMty-BF552F0v2Mkj7085t2VKi11hBrWgxu7BEJ9fEBVXlN3QYwrc-/s320/IMG_3079.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Inside of my house!<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeXhVGXNuCuL-ms-oxfubk8Xia0bQiZ8M6b6aZNWi4WDBmE60a6WdjMYoYq7qhHio-nxXXV4qd8MatpLYqWrSH3nLJt3jvCaFmIMdck2kidlZ5v73g8whLjbfJyNamFfgf_MPze9z-zMj/s1600-h/IMG_3070.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399602023094317474" style="width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeXhVGXNuCuL-ms-oxfubk8Xia0bQiZ8M6b6aZNWi4WDBmE60a6WdjMYoYq7qhHio-nxXXV4qd8MatpLYqWrSH3nLJt3jvCaFmIMdck2kidlZ5v73g8whLjbfJyNamFfgf_MPze9z-zMj/s320/IMG_3070.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /></div></div></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-28902527371232530902009-08-25T09:46:00.000-07:002009-11-02T12:11:14.804-08:00Official Volunteers<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Swearing-In<br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>July 31, 2009<br />Intercontental Hotel, Managua</em> </span></div><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59PBkfw8pnCb1_c24GEYrod2nSWYqImLGoc0itPAASY7DwbzvU0vDVmfhiraJQP5Lz6dLj-Hc39F1ED6hAyekfT7Tl0kr_WFTk9LPG4h1zVB4zHqX5AAtMPwpeDjPgYtwYSUk3X8gOImg/s1600-h/cake.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399599212941982562" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59PBkfw8pnCb1_c24GEYrod2nSWYqImLGoc0itPAASY7DwbzvU0vDVmfhiraJQP5Lz6dLj-Hc39F1ED6hAyekfT7Tl0kr_WFTk9LPG4h1zVB4zHqX5AAtMPwpeDjPgYtwYSUk3X8gOImg/s320/cake.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br />To become an official volunteer you have to be sworn-in, much like the president, except that we didn’t have the entire nation watching; just a few reps from various organizations, PC staff and our Nica host families. It was held at the Intercontental Hotel in Managua. They provided us with a light snack before with some drinks and then we began the ceremony.<br /><br />They welcomed everybody, oh yeah this was all in Spanish, by the way, and then they gave awards of recognition to your families for hosting us. After that, 2 volunteers gave a quick speech of thanks and gratitude, to the families. Then 4 of the Agriculture volunteers sang a song called Dale Una Luz, (I’m going to try and get the video). Then we had a short recess where we had more drinks and a snack.<br /><br />After the recess we sat in order of which they were going to call our names and the actual swearing in process began. We sang the national anthem of Nicaragua first (see below) and then the national anthem of the USA. Then the Ministry of Education gave a speech and then swore us in, in Spanish (which, for me really didn’t count!). But it was funny because we had to repeat what he had said, and he said a really long part, and nobody could repeat it so we just laughed and he said it again, but in smaller parts!<br /><br />Then a representative from the Embassy gave a speech in English, which I enjoyed much more, and then he swore us in (see the oath below). After that, they called our names individually and we walked up, shook hands, received a Peace Corps pendent, and then signed our names into a book (not sure what the book was!). It seemed like graduation! We took a lot of pictures and ate cake and chatted, and then we headed back to our hotel. It started at around 8am and ended at 11am. It was weird how much work we had to do to get to that point and it was over in a flash! Crazy!<br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsQISQYS4VJ3doir4shDcwvT_-H8gF_cfB6sGcTc7tYHRtVWc8ZbJPpoR05gHV2aYOSh3oyswsEvfH4aIYneYYsXEcX1mD-0j-eWwlr8TqcSI_EWAMBctq6lH9jfR2la8ShfqsLau8VVH/s1600-h/Swearing+in+group.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399601035283075090" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsQISQYS4VJ3doir4shDcwvT_-H8gF_cfB6sGcTc7tYHRtVWc8ZbJPpoR05gHV2aYOSh3oyswsEvfH4aIYneYYsXEcX1mD-0j-eWwlr8TqcSI_EWAMBctq6lH9jfR2la8ShfqsLau8VVH/s400/Swearing+in+group.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center"><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Himno Nacional de Nicaragua</span></strong><br />!Salve a ti Nicaragua! En tu suelo<br />ya no ruge la voz del cañón<br />ni se tiñe con sangre de hermanos<br />tu glorioso pendón bicolor.<br /><br />Brille hermosa la paz en tu cielo,<br />nada empañe tu gloria inmortal,<br />que el trabajo es tu digno laurel<br />y el honor es tu enseña triunfal.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Swearing-In Oath</span> </strong><br />In the name of God and for the understanding and friendship among people and Nations, I solemnly promise to work with dedication and enthusiasm in the task that are assigned to me, during two years, or during the time that I may stay in the country.<br /><br />I promise to strive to secure bonds for affections and solidarity with the Nicaraguan people through mutual respect and sincere vocation of service.<br /><br />For God, for Country, for Peace.<br /></div><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pIM55xXIbesLtZcDZcbfygapvSiYFeUEdxP6CVvMdVqs73yCC23bl6nTd9MiNmZ3pMHSLe2Bw9gMiCUE1gyaJ_KOWsgDBzHT1uIrBd4Tw1kXWtb5UQLZmE90-a37mul4I9fPFd9g_uoI/s1600-h/My+and+Kristen+a+Swearing+in.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399601041109500082" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pIM55xXIbesLtZcDZcbfygapvSiYFeUEdxP6CVvMdVqs73yCC23bl6nTd9MiNmZ3pMHSLe2Bw9gMiCUE1gyaJ_KOWsgDBzHT1uIrBd4Tw1kXWtb5UQLZmE90-a37mul4I9fPFd9g_uoI/s400/My+and+Kristen+a+Swearing+in.jpg" border="0" /></a></p>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-76591213844606626972009-07-11T13:10:00.004-07:002009-08-02T09:17:04.390-07:004th of July in Granada, Nicaragua<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Granada, Nicaragua</span></div><div align="center"><em>July 4th, 2009</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGClvla-G0QbKxNs4MIxNpZ5Vi9RiCQgY9QBypziKbU_d8omFKv2ead-KPIZMrkQQLuKVloaeCQC5l8bVkp5oA1P5aW-EDvrmaB7GXKyr0xXPPqRHexsjTdgDjHncht2TFrPvRCURn1E_b/s1600-h/Granda+main.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365400611110831122" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGClvla-G0QbKxNs4MIxNpZ5Vi9RiCQgY9QBypziKbU_d8omFKv2ead-KPIZMrkQQLuKVloaeCQC5l8bVkp5oA1P5aW-EDvrmaB7GXKyr0xXPPqRHexsjTdgDjHncht2TFrPvRCURn1E_b/s400/Granda+main.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">It looks like Europe Here!</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left"><br />Jose, Igor, Sol, Jenifer and I went to Granada on Saturday for the day. We took a bus and arrived there in the morning at around 9. Right away we went to Kathy’s waffle house to have breakfast. It was just like an American breakfast. I had a plan waffle and Jose had eggs, bacon and home fries, we shared everything and it was delicious!</div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pPNYrGD_Y1Sl9wC9Xhsi6ntv2cE-ORv7XEpaKR6xLhKpAlM905BQwcLxxTjh4aaydpvelXxyN1lU-iT4CP_HdLgS-0OTu9AuHCjRtw6mqLvd3heZoaymyR1-1NCmCa544AjJk79HXxNS/s1600-h/breakfast.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365399754272178674" style="WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pPNYrGD_Y1Sl9wC9Xhsi6ntv2cE-ORv7XEpaKR6xLhKpAlM905BQwcLxxTjh4aaydpvelXxyN1lU-iT4CP_HdLgS-0OTu9AuHCjRtw6mqLvd3heZoaymyR1-1NCmCa544AjJk79HXxNS/s200/breakfast.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLi8X_sDf7ycV6a_q5VevGv-B-45MGVVr_REs3uD8ivTq9iNjc9CK3AzmNdoXpt7uX0ynD9HHKaaE1t1p4VsacegrVXTkbYlKuyZ_RQ3p7f4S9A4wymTq6vXlMaEjpa9KjqVU8SYYVJyT/s1600-h/church.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365399760825543778" style="WIDTH: 188px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 140px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLi8X_sDf7ycV6a_q5VevGv-B-45MGVVr_REs3uD8ivTq9iNjc9CK3AzmNdoXpt7uX0ynD9HHKaaE1t1p4VsacegrVXTkbYlKuyZ_RQ3p7f4S9A4wymTq6vXlMaEjpa9KjqVU8SYYVJyT/s200/church.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were there for about an hour and a half. After breakfast we walked to the San Francisco convent and then we just walked around the city. We walked down to the lake and sat there for a while. After the lake we went back into the city and went to the old church. We sat in the church for a while, before searching for lunch. We ended up eating lunch at this place called the Garden cafe. It was great light food and they had the best smoothies. We were getting a little tired of walking around and it was hot, so we took the bus back at around 3pm.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHwbdjLrrYPQQj2kmYxiDMZuxDoaD4n3K4QdvVdnKFxjsXh2CKKo-VjSUfY3sLTXM3JeFnKkbM0ZlxhNpbd_idcd4YhXk09Vy6HjEy2A1eo8fGjl3-KRW4gi_dWsEKtRRH5JMRu64UdBl/s1600-h/beach.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365399750879914034" style="WIDTH: 187px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHwbdjLrrYPQQj2kmYxiDMZuxDoaD4n3K4QdvVdnKFxjsXh2CKKo-VjSUfY3sLTXM3JeFnKkbM0ZlxhNpbd_idcd4YhXk09Vy6HjEy2A1eo8fGjl3-KRW4gi_dWsEKtRRH5JMRu64UdBl/s200/beach.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJx76RigQ3FnBqL1gXoV9y_2bj6Q-FAeVvvjfZF1plEPM4dIVYQDONyuTLLCwDJcqmNadh6omJQnk7JhlMtycESNqU8PwXkx9f2W_j0XfaJz79fNmTCHTKXm0XGq4nDJ5jidqBz0KquCR/s1600-h/view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365399766192938786" style="WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJx76RigQ3FnBqL1gXoV9y_2bj6Q-FAeVvvjfZF1plEPM4dIVYQDONyuTLLCwDJcqmNadh6omJQnk7JhlMtycESNqU8PwXkx9f2W_j0XfaJz79fNmTCHTKXm0XGq4nDJ5jidqBz0KquCR/s200/view.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Gn2siOHGeVhkW1-vl-0G68U9IBhCMuJI0vG2jyer3zPZAwnKy-ZAt3MxduiBuHMm3jNegqHCrYDaD5bZAeXWcmAAg66WK8XqVU9OguPt8SGtVnbgaVtvQ1ddqzzTLfUs5cSUK_AvSsYl/s1600-h/me+and+church.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365399764516085378" style="WIDTH: 187px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Gn2siOHGeVhkW1-vl-0G68U9IBhCMuJI0vG2jyer3zPZAwnKy-ZAt3MxduiBuHMm3jNegqHCrYDaD5bZAeXWcmAAg66WK8XqVU9OguPt8SGtVnbgaVtvQ1ddqzzTLfUs5cSUK_AvSsYl/s200/me+and+church.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div> </div></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-74969181458305453262009-07-11T13:10:00.003-07:002009-08-02T07:52:44.727-07:00Volcan Masaya With The Gang<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Volcan Masaya</span></div><div align="center"><em>June 27, 2009</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqiiDzuIfOiUfrkVIf7CXTnyhG5WITU8i9WTARBf-rLY_W3bGP9xxW_WyzoK2wcUChbJY0aYJNnDzQoRb9oyYJJ6rsTkB-DUiIVrzuy2dr9TAuepvxINcCR9ENVcj8hMBhRTiq3skuNLP/s1600-h/CIMG0072.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365378837334648338" style="WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqiiDzuIfOiUfrkVIf7CXTnyhG5WITU8i9WTARBf-rLY_W3bGP9xxW_WyzoK2wcUChbJY0aYJNnDzQoRb9oyYJJ6rsTkB-DUiIVrzuy2dr9TAuepvxINcCR9ENVcj8hMBhRTiq3skuNLP/s400/CIMG0072.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">Ah Yeah It's Still Acitve!!</div><div align="left"><br /> My training group had a technical session at the visitor center at the bottom of Vulcan Masaya, which is located in the department of Masaya. It is one of the many active volcanoes in Nicaragua, but not the biggest. After the technical session they took us up to the volcano. The volcano was releasing a lot of smoke, but we couldn’t see any lava.</div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxx2v5smlKaTyLOABXPaQ2rZ6ey1bxwCTQvOddPjDGwsYHViT4LQmsWLfmqB-I9KZyYbrkPlCbhYQ9NJtzDSqxZgvLsCNCdNxkQH9reS-ZLCP_BLRQGJmIE_DwPo0WMNahw6Mw2HIKMF3/s1600-h/CIMG0056.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365378721648168050" style="WIDTH: 177px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxx2v5smlKaTyLOABXPaQ2rZ6ey1bxwCTQvOddPjDGwsYHViT4LQmsWLfmqB-I9KZyYbrkPlCbhYQ9NJtzDSqxZgvLsCNCdNxkQH9reS-ZLCP_BLRQGJmIE_DwPo0WMNahw6Mw2HIKMF3/s200/CIMG0056.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQKqWcrDHw9h1zzNKxYK6xFXzu2pQsZNLPlGHI8slBu1HOY_Hj6i1xNEeNyt2gXFN29V7_aUz1M5Tb2555_Bk8leLfKAiv32Gc0_X8OGlexdp6rfiidAxNDASrMBvHV-nwmwNZ0qRnQLY/s1600-h/CIMG0057.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365378725196619058" style="WIDTH: 176px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQKqWcrDHw9h1zzNKxYK6xFXzu2pQsZNLPlGHI8slBu1HOY_Hj6i1xNEeNyt2gXFN29V7_aUz1M5Tb2555_Bk8leLfKAiv32Gc0_X8OGlexdp6rfiidAxNDASrMBvHV-nwmwNZ0qRnQLY/s200/CIMG0057.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We walked up to the lookout point and had a great view of Masaya. We hung out at the lookout for a while and then headed back to the van for a snack. After the snack we busted out José’s jump ropes and we all played double Dutch. It was funny watching people try and jump into the double Dutch. We left shortly after that and headed back to our training towns. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKNosi7uyi1MOvUiX_SHKLy4C4gMsTaz2UQ5b3Szdb_Za3GlhILpq8UvA1veL6ixRNf0wbz_p4lgxA4A_H-94Ljv8z3n8ty0I33arqhK_JP8-yWIpLb56fcg7N2mSf6uCKI4D3Quzpowt/s1600-h/CIMG0064.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365378733197620002" style="WIDTH: 185px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 140px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKNosi7uyi1MOvUiX_SHKLy4C4gMsTaz2UQ5b3Szdb_Za3GlhILpq8UvA1veL6ixRNf0wbz_p4lgxA4A_H-94Ljv8z3n8ty0I33arqhK_JP8-yWIpLb56fcg7N2mSf6uCKI4D3Quzpowt/s200/CIMG0064.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTM4qtIHOCjaQDAmO_i0-nxnLkyjPCv2zb79y9-7HamWBp0tz04N46GG_c9aVfHKDZq6FhWFeAW-4Mixyjr8IZARXdGOI1qRU778rKA467F0p5PJACcaPFW_LAEEAOmIJzY9Cz-Q6Dvv9v/s1600-h/CIMG0066.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365378737001075250" style="WIDTH: 182px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTM4qtIHOCjaQDAmO_i0-nxnLkyjPCv2zb79y9-7HamWBp0tz04N46GG_c9aVfHKDZq6FhWFeAW-4Mixyjr8IZARXdGOI1qRU778rKA467F0p5PJACcaPFW_LAEEAOmIJzY9Cz-Q6Dvv9v/s200/CIMG0066.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div> </div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-42126856327410660632009-07-11T13:10:00.001-07:002009-08-02T07:46:37.735-07:00Volunteer Site Visit<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Estelí</span></div><div align="center"><em>June 14-17 2009</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipxkzMC32xXpsF8ytUX7G6P7TPNvQ3LrJK_3RvSpLyPwURD9olPafg46x4lccQa7_ePwJm2v3gkWwtRqFjcWeM0K2mzSErz3rnZROvn0UV_xyhVpJhct6cCV53fzV18fHnIhky1eJeZ_H/s1600-h/CIMG0051.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365377424252095426" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipxkzMC32xXpsF8ytUX7G6P7TPNvQ3LrJK_3RvSpLyPwURD9olPafg46x4lccQa7_ePwJm2v3gkWwtRqFjcWeM0K2mzSErz3rnZROvn0UV_xyhVpJhct6cCV53fzV18fHnIhky1eJeZ_H/s400/CIMG0051.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center">What a beautiful city!<br /></div>We were assigned sites to visit volunteers and see what volunteer life was like. I went to the department of Estelí. It was beautiful, hilly, and very green. I had to take a bus from Managua to Estelí and it took about 2 hours. I arrived on Sunday and left on Wednesday. It was a vacation because we didn’t really have anything to do. Her classes were cancelled and so we had a lot of down time.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiah2rulgUW3jokHjez_WucnzBNK7nZgxmelxciM5Wfu22t4l1n66d0RNadVE4ZM85ubELxLuPCIFhb7u3N81W5g9tB73hLweJ-v2g-RWSOY4zxY3ED8iNqxF6q1NE3v-qP6ZWEIeRl1W4G/s1600-h/CIMG0050.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365376983572077778" style="WIDTH: 196px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiah2rulgUW3jokHjez_WucnzBNK7nZgxmelxciM5Wfu22t4l1n66d0RNadVE4ZM85ubELxLuPCIFhb7u3N81W5g9tB73hLweJ-v2g-RWSOY4zxY3ED8iNqxF6q1NE3v-qP6ZWEIeRl1W4G/s200/CIMG0050.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7H7gfSHw9nkadPkSJD03dQcNei4CktTFxel5zWDdO3mNKbQX2u90PPPo5o4EDcXrwrYWUXOH-6J-8t_-5291geUa0cqwQ0FZR3iY5WKYMOEqS9w6M3u5T5p_k491TnFtWqKw5-r8DkIf/s1600-h/CIMG0049.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365376980387631186" style="WIDTH: 192px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7H7gfSHw9nkadPkSJD03dQcNei4CktTFxel5zWDdO3mNKbQX2u90PPPo5o4EDcXrwrYWUXOH-6J-8t_-5291geUa0cqwQ0FZR3iY5WKYMOEqS9w6M3u5T5p_k491TnFtWqKw5-r8DkIf/s200/CIMG0049.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>She showed me around her town and I met a lot of people that she worked with. It was nice to see what life was like after training. She was only a month away from leaving so she was winding down on her work. The point of the visit was to help us decided what we do and don’t want in a site. After that visit I decided that I wanted a mid-big size site, with less teaching and more potential for secondary projects. What will I get….?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZEgV8-siKMsGjhy-Ub76WhoxV-1lzd3X7CjzVo0psRr-k03hlHIE_5DRdrLpqZ4gdFFT5O9L-HVeWwJCssZj5lyeZIgh6Ubbv3SusXim2-FOAQ9iIOs7-yLOctLdCiY36y-fS-NTj-pJ/s1600-h/CIMG0052.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365376988883357122" style="WIDTH: 191px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZEgV8-siKMsGjhy-Ub76WhoxV-1lzd3X7CjzVo0psRr-k03hlHIE_5DRdrLpqZ4gdFFT5O9L-HVeWwJCssZj5lyeZIgh6Ubbv3SusXim2-FOAQ9iIOs7-yLOctLdCiY36y-fS-NTj-pJ/s200/CIMG0052.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6hIg-JJG-Df89Za4VhR2wNSFwzd5kM-7vONp60wjIfzIdU5bLxOWeFXBwTE-8OqV-SBDMGPLhF47Bg_zsHShUYyHFxvoO0c02I7sbqNZYn4y61kE_7biLJ0FzOo-oLjZ1cxHIFhbPRKr/s1600-h/CIMG0053.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365376992054371682" style="WIDTH: 189px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6hIg-JJG-Df89Za4VhR2wNSFwzd5kM-7vONp60wjIfzIdU5bLxOWeFXBwTE-8OqV-SBDMGPLhF47Bg_zsHShUYyHFxvoO0c02I7sbqNZYn4y61kE_7biLJ0FzOo-oLjZ1cxHIFhbPRKr/s200/CIMG0053.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div>a dog feeding a kitten.. you dont see that everyday!</div></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-64969257634439800062009-07-11T13:03:00.000-07:002009-08-02T09:06:33.157-07:00At A Finca With Our Youth Group!<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">The Finca & The Youth Group</span></div><div align="center"><em>June 1, 2009</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVosFDInuLOIwDpga9HwBwKKncoE9nwD1ywSqfuUM06OdCIyZjTY3KJLvafgypPOvYVxD33QORsI-Jp87SNwQX30ANdZKghRx4kSSwDf8QuNtAKWUqgDWwo6r2oAsEEmVrMKZNmmxhAkgQ/s1600-h/CIMG0008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365374205936128962" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVosFDInuLOIwDpga9HwBwKKncoE9nwD1ywSqfuUM06OdCIyZjTY3KJLvafgypPOvYVxD33QORsI-Jp87SNwQX30ANdZKghRx4kSSwDf8QuNtAKWUqgDWwo6r2oAsEEmVrMKZNmmxhAkgQ/s400/CIMG0008.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">The Finca (AKA someone's back yard!)</div><br />Our Youth group invited us to a Finca, which is like a fruit farm. One of the girls in our group lives on a Finca. It took our training town (Juan, Igor, Jenifer and I) 30 minutes to walk there. Lucky for us had a guide to get to her house otherwise we would have never found it! At her house they gave us some cacao juice that tasted like chocolate and coconut. After our juice, we walked around and they showed us all the different types of fruits that grow there.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMfTeIU9sLsflHrn7HQGyLDUNqx5XzhyY33wpPH5UM12t65ocSGwcEK0k9UchmNM4jn_HD71PBWy3_gCGH7FmGgSgmh-9yEPYvnkGAroSJk_lmQBNkeuFLe4e_kI_Rdv-WQ28GC36ePCL/s1600-h/CIMG0013.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365374014860818834" style="WIDTH: 173px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMfTeIU9sLsflHrn7HQGyLDUNqx5XzhyY33wpPH5UM12t65ocSGwcEK0k9UchmNM4jn_HD71PBWy3_gCGH7FmGgSgmh-9yEPYvnkGAroSJk_lmQBNkeuFLe4e_kI_Rdv-WQ28GC36ePCL/s200/CIMG0013.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigppJ_LJsCY9tQzVMNMovIQbE_1hhxaTVWL5ZRwpE2RcJ6JiwmdJ03J3HPe6atI7BBcN0lnokBdR7YRzSTweOLAhHoW8eGZM-zSnc1wSroemLdkPWU5ZwKgA2qn1HeGYYgTWHxTWSPmeyf/s1600-h/CIMG0031.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365374002914908354" style="WIDTH: 185px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigppJ_LJsCY9tQzVMNMovIQbE_1hhxaTVWL5ZRwpE2RcJ6JiwmdJ03J3HPe6atI7BBcN0lnokBdR7YRzSTweOLAhHoW8eGZM-zSnc1wSroemLdkPWU5ZwKgA2qn1HeGYYgTWHxTWSPmeyf/s200/CIMG0031.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />We tried fresh coconut, Mangos, and other fruits that I don’t know the name too! We walked further and further into the forest, down toward the lagoon. We passed a bunch of Monkeys and tried a lot of different types of fruits along the way. We didn’t make it all the way to the lagoon, thank goodness, but we make it too this pool that is at the bottom of a small waterfall. The kids were great, teaching us all about the forest and fruits! We probably spent 3 hours total at the Fina, before going back home.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SxpKRGsL5_HhBvDAfDn8DmMJ1dbNbttkVOCfM_67Dq7hbLr7qzyjHWncTLzJg8x1N2yKRUUA_v7bGJYqpI5tJgwJhaAacAwywYDpjjct1Vog6adlYRnczVVGhVc0KmGGf5-1qPpFXg0J/s1600-h/CIMG0039.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365374010786298098" style="WIDTH: 179px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SxpKRGsL5_HhBvDAfDn8DmMJ1dbNbttkVOCfM_67Dq7hbLr7qzyjHWncTLzJg8x1N2yKRUUA_v7bGJYqpI5tJgwJhaAacAwywYDpjjct1Vog6adlYRnczVVGhVc0KmGGf5-1qPpFXg0J/s200/CIMG0039.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5ghd6ZHzXTv5dAdomZhPm9YN9pFannQbvUVzY9DLkNEPncA-dgAhx8jRvssrUtpEQU3MA3Qq4H7O_SRTilsZl8YJS84LufbvxcYkYgwSHUgaWfaGWrd4XVRE1Rrfx1HGnoS8uPWOZWOI/s1600-h/CIMG0010.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365374027668144994" style="WIDTH: 185px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5ghd6ZHzXTv5dAdomZhPm9YN9pFannQbvUVzY9DLkNEPncA-dgAhx8jRvssrUtpEQU3MA3Qq4H7O_SRTilsZl8YJS84LufbvxcYkYgwSHUgaWfaGWrd4XVRE1Rrfx1HGnoS8uPWOZWOI/s200/CIMG0010.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhex9aVGgt1sjD9GlSXrWuhLzSp7c53VfVUKFnHxVwspwLErDfbP_omCWvGTDfT2cbX172E6R99efLkOXVu-P4yMc2f0wFeoOEj26r4oygzC4fgSdXDD4Qt1IaL1rma8A3H_BM1vQnPqCj-/s1600-h/CIMG0005.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365374023367387426" style="WIDTH: 143px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 190px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhex9aVGgt1sjD9GlSXrWuhLzSp7c53VfVUKFnHxVwspwLErDfbP_omCWvGTDfT2cbX172E6R99efLkOXVu-P4yMc2f0wFeoOEj26r4oygzC4fgSdXDD4Qt1IaL1rma8A3H_BM1vQnPqCj-/s200/CIMG0005.JPG" border="0" /></a>Cacao Juice... UMMMM<br /><br /><br />Cutting the Coco!<br /><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyhBP0gzSRLtbzgeumtW7lP24__vagk8KPKTuZWucNXkG7lw3tL521pec4o0R295p1Svmdhr2haFMfWMOPD1w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>Crazy Monkies Video!</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0-5CYjFiogcFQngzvCmFP0Wi2j4KDzrM_mnyi7SUlBaa-2ztTIKuiv4gfrmVc-9xafXMrIr5jd-MCf0m5Ow' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>A Rondom Religious Procession!</p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw275ISXqkEY6vvYUa-pOxtJux0Q-_9T08fQ9kOH1dFXhxbfBF434MG_A_0h8xhRp--TQZ83MvNbJs7UvQ5iA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-75549654084240998102009-05-21T17:45:00.000-07:002009-05-21T18:39:02.252-07:00My Town and Daily Life<div><div><div><div align="center">San Juan, Nicaragua<br />May 16-July 31st 2009<br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BLFJrSFNdXIxeNP4CkJqRKm8WF-42r0Xs4SjPWRvkzABbXG7sJXWGR5nbukuYLf3AA3IBNmB92T4513WAt_B6Q4s24ZJpT1qVga_6SS1432q4oqVmYoJHxwxUTFaG0pH5fTk8-SK4Pwx/s1600-h/CIMG0218.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338454386959559186" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BLFJrSFNdXIxeNP4CkJqRKm8WF-42r0Xs4SjPWRvkzABbXG7sJXWGR5nbukuYLf3AA3IBNmB92T4513WAt_B6Q4s24ZJpT1qVga_6SS1432q4oqVmYoJHxwxUTFaG0pH5fTk8-SK4Pwx/s400/CIMG0218.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">The main street in my town!!<br /></div><div align="left"><br />I am living with my host family now! They are a well to do family and very nice. I have a nice room with a queen size bed!! YAY I have my mosquito net up. ( i will post pictures on my blog soon) The town is small and you can walk the entire thing in like 20 minutes! I shower using buckets! So i splash the water over me, and then dip my hair in another one!! We flush the toilet with buckets of water, and we don't put toilet paper in the toilet. I have cable tv with lots of channels that play movies and shows in english, with spanish subtitiles!! The internet cafe is right next to my house!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7DPZAdigILpmeAe8po1_wZKFeoejNNgBq46HtmMKgSOMohqvPTwfG-2ySXmkNdo7gxyU4gh3sjsBEayUPgk0uzIWBTZpNDP0-EvMkIhCbNATGLv0WN9j3ipzS7eifjbQLroKXW2uspVP/s1600-h/CIMG0220.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338456183053146210" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7DPZAdigILpmeAe8po1_wZKFeoejNNgBq46HtmMKgSOMohqvPTwfG-2ySXmkNdo7gxyU4gh3sjsBEayUPgk0uzIWBTZpNDP0-EvMkIhCbNATGLv0WN9j3ipzS7eifjbQLroKXW2uspVP/s200/CIMG0220.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Most days this week have been as follows:<br /><br />Wake up at 7am get ready<br />Eat fruit, or eggs with beans and toast at 7:30 (we are having pancakes on Saturday!)<br />Spanish class is from 8-12<br />Lunch at 12, Rice, chicken, beans...<br />Applied Spanish from 1-3 (walk around and talk with people)<br />Shower by bucket<br />Work with group on homework, readings or prep for next class<br />Go for a walk to neighboring towns<br /><br />Next week we will start a youth group and begin giving lessons (in spanish.. ahhh) on business and start our project with them. (creating a product or service to compete in the product fair!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzYsVI45DIBUDErZIx_PjQTl4NscPuWksXRfuZfO3-0tQjANsgTJk60zN8ckSRIyBJVih5S7nVj36cN_glSPROrxgGHl6HwlMKqZzSMvp53umgljosEZcnD5PJH7UBWFR9YZOGJaEPQNx/s1600-h/CIMG0221.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338456187652436114" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzYsVI45DIBUDErZIx_PjQTl4NscPuWksXRfuZfO3-0tQjANsgTJk60zN8ckSRIyBJVih5S7nVj36cN_glSPROrxgGHl6HwlMKqZzSMvp53umgljosEZcnD5PJH7UBWFR9YZOGJaEPQNx/s200/CIMG0221.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />The days are long but its good because we are kept busy and then time goes by faster. I think my Spanish is improving, but I feel like such a child. I get frustrated trying to get my point across!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWGl1E30gVZc0fG2qpq1h9Kg0tK14-BET8h5IIOriENBV5djLVyv4f9fSsttJJ7PPuK-LOg9g13gpEoy1WkQGIs1Vlx4WMOmGBKZ6wuGNXOhrGJNqJVHwWIh5b-JsIXx9_sajGvNYbFUp/s1600-h/CIMG0226.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338456193643296082" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWGl1E30gVZc0fG2qpq1h9Kg0tK14-BET8h5IIOriENBV5djLVyv4f9fSsttJJ7PPuK-LOg9g13gpEoy1WkQGIs1Vlx4WMOmGBKZ6wuGNXOhrGJNqJVHwWIh5b-JsIXx9_sajGvNYbFUp/s200/CIMG0226.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />GUESS WHAT!!! I already got sick! they think it was food poisoning!! I had massive diarrhea and i was vomiting! I had to give a stool sample and that was amusing because the laboratory place didn't have a bathroom. So we were going door to door asking if I could use their bathroom. So i had to collect a sample of diarrhea in the most unsanitary conditions!! It was hilarious!!! I now get to check food poising off the list of possible illnesses!! I expect to go through them all! It only makes me stronger!!! At least I had the Peace Corps backing me!! They drove me around and talked to everyone and got my medicine and then called me like 20 times to make sure I was getting better!!</div><div align="left"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzke6hkZONMjdyyMa6ny__sia0SO2jaBtd6ILnP5huL7I5UptiHcITnKce1xASefH-ZULlvv6u3tudlh_jMBPLbbqgdOo8P8eTPZtbILtgRs70UJM89MVRzQljGmLqJ3vlOCnvox9gX2p/s1600-h/CIMG0239.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338456196790901026" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzke6hkZONMjdyyMa6ny__sia0SO2jaBtd6ILnP5huL7I5UptiHcITnKce1xASefH-ZULlvv6u3tudlh_jMBPLbbqgdOo8P8eTPZtbILtgRs70UJM89MVRzQljGmLqJ3vlOCnvox9gX2p/s200/CIMG0239.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left">Until next time....</div></div></div></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-91922231986060212322009-05-18T14:58:00.001-07:002009-05-18T15:20:39.401-07:00Retreat in Managua<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Peace Corps Retreat in Managua</span></div><div align="center"><em>May 13-16 2009</em></div><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFc1rfBqxLorVnBMYDjwqYhYOaT_c2O-ByiwGD4ja8l16VMDo3Kj5Y-OY8SUFUjonC6Z1O0YCD3b-1fpA_n2lcpi4ZBS7hTa2SXS2tsus9ii8wu5rbXKFl_jZmGtSrqxR9zcUGi14tVpS/s1600-h/CIMG0103.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337289151065046386" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFc1rfBqxLorVnBMYDjwqYhYOaT_c2O-ByiwGD4ja8l16VMDo3Kj5Y-OY8SUFUjonC6Z1O0YCD3b-1fpA_n2lcpi4ZBS7hTa2SXS2tsus9ii8wu5rbXKFl_jZmGtSrqxR9zcUGi14tVpS/s400/CIMG0103.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Retreat area with a few buildings and surrounded by a barbed wire fence!</p><p><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">I am glad to say that I have finally made it, and I'm now a Peace Corps trainee! I still have a long way to go before I can become an official volunteer, but at least I have made it to Nicaragua.<br />Staging on Tuesday (in DC) went well and it was fun meeting a lot of great people. The early flight to Managua on Wednesday went by flawlessly! We arrived in Managua and were greeted by Peace Corps staff! They loaded up our luggage and bussed us to our Retreat site, just outside the City.</span> </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q8fyHUvj75B7-o1KTfcyjwL0wauTCc7Q-v015VhaJT4Yw4HKrIBG18WV1HqeSmseiFldu2QJtqeDg9-aUjb58SYIcZ4-OH57_l-K2Zkzd-lw_8DRNGpamO3sRsMQim9P8i9XCkEQuafh/s1600-h/CIMG0100.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337288251933431794" style="WIDTH: 171px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 123px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q8fyHUvj75B7-o1KTfcyjwL0wauTCc7Q-v015VhaJT4Yw4HKrIBG18WV1HqeSmseiFldu2QJtqeDg9-aUjb58SYIcZ4-OH57_l-K2Zkzd-lw_8DRNGpamO3sRsMQim9P8i9XCkEQuafh/s200/CIMG0100.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2qQ5rWzQm1CGOlNzRrCQttjhNSCy6gRSFZmerNPSnsVGzclSTeUADu3lUmzsGZaKnXTnp1FqmP_yNsnPg6OY9cGIYMqE_XW4zPFgRNZ_S2jfaZ-f0tDtWLBiqbbMvdQcSKKbGhOxNuVw/s1600-h/CIMG0096.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337288250316234034" style="WIDTH: 159px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 124px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2qQ5rWzQm1CGOlNzRrCQttjhNSCy6gRSFZmerNPSnsVGzclSTeUADu3lUmzsGZaKnXTnp1FqmP_yNsnPg6OY9cGIYMqE_XW4zPFgRNZ_S2jfaZ-f0tDtWLBiqbbMvdQcSKKbGhOxNuVw/s200/CIMG0096.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">For the rest of Wednesday and all of thrusday we spent the day going over rules, regulations, formalities and what to expect at the training sites. We had to do our language interviews and lets just say mine was funny! I was using a lot of German words mixed in with broken Spanish! It doesn't matter, what is important, is being placed in the right groups according to your language skills so that you can learn more efficiently!</span></p><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGZ7zaGk4QZl5f0ycI7gFKRLtHFF6GCFwyKXpSZbCAZMtFRAQtAHQvJAdNfIRAE3zYxHuUrK4pSLxsZe5mTXKvTBNsQpCdFB9Dcddcf_RsNwOB7dsqTm45UsK51e0ZS6o11lv5QHvhMfo/s1600-h/CIMG0107.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337288264011139522" style="WIDTH: 170px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGZ7zaGk4QZl5f0ycI7gFKRLtHFF6GCFwyKXpSZbCAZMtFRAQtAHQvJAdNfIRAE3zYxHuUrK4pSLxsZe5mTXKvTBNsQpCdFB9Dcddcf_RsNwOB7dsqTm45UsK51e0ZS6o11lv5QHvhMfo/s200/CIMG0107.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojLYE2-lqz0plyGcd8Abfg6OX2RSoGO_tcQfe2YXcPza_e1qC7QzZRKYZGvK0lSA49ka4Fj8G_VAIRQjXIG-T33w80eUdHBrDaNFv6qZCbSyCVzNv1i0v-E5MDTn15fbNCX0Q8TuA53oQ/s1600-h/CIMG0104.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337288258946338978" style="WIDTH: 162px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojLYE2-lqz0plyGcd8Abfg6OX2RSoGO_tcQfe2YXcPza_e1qC7QzZRKYZGvK0lSA49ka4Fj8G_VAIRQjXIG-T33w80eUdHBrDaNFv6qZCbSyCVzNv1i0v-E5MDTn15fbNCX0Q8TuA53oQ/s200/CIMG0104.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#33ccff;">On Friday we went over more information and took a tour of Managua. Then on Saturday we were taken to our designated training sites and met our host families. We will be living with our host families and be in small groups of 4 people per town (the towns are close by so we can all meet up). We will then meet up each week with other business volunteers and do a group training. Training will last for 11 weeks.</span><br /><br /><br />More to come about how my time has been in my new city!!<br /></p>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-37329394479132651392009-01-08T13:45:00.001-08:002009-04-02T07:29:15.723-07:00Peace Corps Intro<p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;"><em>My Adventures as a Peace Corps Volunteer!</em></span></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIeG9mJ0l8wM5hiX3oP8MV-f8GhFW0ArfWFidnsUjlZxQOHJT5c-KbUBuFO7bRqBiqDpHGvMK7nP1vXuBtG0U64lRb9a2YarmmNsaFpWs45hIZQWpsGhqJhT2lQsy1hGxUpVUvwITw9hC/s1600-h/black%2520peace%2520sign.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289043617798362082" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIeG9mJ0l8wM5hiX3oP8MV-f8GhFW0ArfWFidnsUjlZxQOHJT5c-KbUBuFO7bRqBiqDpHGvMK7nP1vXuBtG0U64lRb9a2YarmmNsaFpWs45hIZQWpsGhqJhT2lQsy1hGxUpVUvwITw9hC/s200/black%2520peace%2520sign.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center">I will be starting a new adventure this year as a Peace Corps Volunteer!!! </div><div align="center"></div><br /><span style="color:#ffcccc;"><strong><em>Where</em>:</strong> Nicaragua, Central America. (I may live in a small town or big city, depending on need!)</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffff66;"><strong><em>When</em>:</strong> Official Service: August 1, 2009- July 31st, 2011 (I leave home on May 12, 2009 for staging, then I leave the states on the May 13 for a 10 week training program in Nicaragua, before service starts.)<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#66ff99;"><strong><em>What</em>:</strong> Program: Small Business Development Job: Small Business Educator/Advisor. (I will be teaching business at a high school or secondary school. I will also be giving lectures to local business owners and providing advice as well as technical training and support. Furthermore, I will work with university students to provide mentors for my high school students. I will also be working with business owners to create internships for students interested in business as a career. and much more!)<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#33ffff;"><strong><em>How</em>:</strong> Main mode of transport will depend on my location it could be by bike, on foot, bus, or even by horse (which would be sweet)! I will teach business in Spanish... AHHHH. I am very excited to be able to help people, while putting my education to good use and learning another language! It is similar to most jobs, I work 9-5 (theatrically), 7 days a week, have vacation, get paid (through living expenses), but it will be hands on and the daily work will vary!</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#9999ff;"><strong><em>Visiting:</em></strong> Anyone is welcome to come and visit me. I will put you to work and show you what I have learned about the country and people. If you are thinking of visiting, it would have to be after the end of September 2009. But we can discuss that when the time comes!!!<br /></span><br />For more information about the Peace Corps go to <a href="http://www.peacecorps.gov/">http://www.peacecorps.gov/</a> .<br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;">Change of plans again! I was initially suppose to be going to Madagascar in February 2009, however it was delayed a month until March 9th. Now however, it has been cancelled due to political differences within the country. I have been re-assigned to Nicaragua, which I am very excited about!</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color:#3366ff;"> I will keep everyone up-to-date as best as possible while serving. I will send out another letter to friends and family, with Nicaragua information in it!. If you do have anymore questions please feel free to email me.</span><br /><br />Wish me luck and come and visit!!</div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-54008127325645335082009-01-01T10:35:00.001-08:002009-01-05T12:11:24.304-08:002008 Recap!<div align="center">Another year of amazing adventures and travels has gone by. I went to 33 countries this year, which is 20 more than last year!! I had an amazing time in Germany and living in Europe. Once again I was lucky to be able to travel as much as I did. Its good to be back in the States though! I hope 2009 brings as much excitement as 2008 did. I'm sure that will happen since I will be in Madagascar serving as a Peace Corp Volunteer. I will keep everyone updated during my service, so keep coming to this blog to stay updated!!</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Thank You 2008! Welcome 2009!</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qLRx43B8ks">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qLRx43B8ks</a></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-18634205738269097692008-11-26T09:08:00.000-08:002008-11-27T06:22:24.531-08:00Morocco<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Marrakech</span></div><div align="center"><em>November 20-25th 2008</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFeFiYpCH8h4csVmbKFWPPbIYwC-80JJ85gzbd9DUtPcnRsc5Dg0A6CEt4NCcF4FY8MXgRMJRk3hwDPJiBD-mgl-nYZF3-o0d-kCgfUtuM2WHeN38gZAz6c3QwOWhGvYDV63XTi3DQxp0v/s1600-h/poster.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273028761539877490" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFeFiYpCH8h4csVmbKFWPPbIYwC-80JJ85gzbd9DUtPcnRsc5Dg0A6CEt4NCcF4FY8MXgRMJRk3hwDPJiBD-mgl-nYZF3-o0d-kCgfUtuM2WHeN38gZAz6c3QwOWhGvYDV63XTi3DQxp0v/s400/poster.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center">A view of Place Jamaa el Fna from a terrace resturant at night! </div><br /><br /><div align="left"><br />Day 1<br /><span style="color:#9999ff;">The trip to Morocco started in Reutlingen, Germany at 1:45am. Travis, Rogier, Victoria, Priscilla and I piled into a rented car and drove to Frankfurt Hahn Airport to catch our flight. I drove the 3 hours it took to get to the airport and I had a blast. At 3am there aren’t many drivers out on the road and Germany doesn’t have speed limits on the autobahns, in most cases. We had a nice Mercedes and I got that baby up to 200km/hr or 125miles/hr. Anyway we got to the airport about 2 hours early, checked in and went to our gate. We boarded a little late but we arrived in Marrakech 20 minutes early. We took bus 19 to the city center which took about 30min. Once off the bus we had no idea how to get to our hostel, the Equity Point Marrakech. This guy came up to us and told us that he new where our hostel was. We were a little skeptic, but there were 5 of us and 1 of him and it was day time; so we followed him. As we were walking, we picked up two more people staying at our hostel. We followed the guy to our hostel, through the souks, and random alleys, which made us a little nervous. But he got us there safely and wanted us to pay him 10euros, which was ridiculous so we paid him 4euros!<br />We couldn’t check into our room at the hostel, so we had to put our stuff down and check in later. We went out to explore the city and taking it all in. The first day was the craziest and very overwhelming. We ate lunch at a restaurant suggested in lonely planet and it was delicious. It was a great introduction into the Morocco food culture. After lunch we went back to the hostel to check in and relax. We hung out there for a while, playing cards or reading. At around 6pm we went out to find dinner. The first night there, we learned that at around sunset the market square gets crazy. Donkeys come in bringing food stalls, food, and gas powered grills. They are known as El-Fna Food Stalls and there were about 30 of them. The workers harass you until you sit down and eat at their stall. If you don’t choose theirs then they can get pretty nasty. Anyway we sat at one table and ordered a variety of dishes; from salads and fries to meats, calamari, fish fillets and dessert. After our meal we went back to the hostel and hung out before going to bed.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjII79m3BlaR8nKZBYA1VIWS2M91tyOPTTPC9zzptUWE98CwL8QpSkRUunX8-upL-3ha0SktL6goX2ZFhKWoMmN1-_9-t0wr2XN4RBlfuBwyoDheOu2n_xpKLrBoUTuj83LfdEWlx6FwLol/s1600-h/us+as+locals.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273099655667287634" style="WIDTH: 194px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjII79m3BlaR8nKZBYA1VIWS2M91tyOPTTPC9zzptUWE98CwL8QpSkRUunX8-upL-3ha0SktL6goX2ZFhKWoMmN1-_9-t0wr2XN4RBlfuBwyoDheOu2n_xpKLrBoUTuj83LfdEWlx6FwLol/s200/us+as+locals.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicViLzsEUQwLqkfguRR2hhWPHcKQnjyFYJjS9R7fkKU2LZZMzknXqWhkzPb-2JuYVMLL7T0rRCdUaZAOWby_fEasDhJiReeYxBTiVEGE16MKJwZ6nd5eQMATdE04ejmmQ4kDLFcV8NY3b0/s1600-h/poster+7.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273028113341054066" style="WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicViLzsEUQwLqkfguRR2hhWPHcKQnjyFYJjS9R7fkKU2LZZMzknXqWhkzPb-2JuYVMLL7T0rRCdUaZAOWby_fEasDhJiReeYxBTiVEGE16MKJwZ6nd5eQMATdE04ejmmQ4kDLFcV8NY3b0/s200/poster+7.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Day 2<br /><span style="color:#ffff99;">We slept in as much as we could, but we still ended up waking up early. We ate breakfast, which consisted of bread, jam, cream cheese and orange juice. After breakfast we all got ready and then headed out. We were headed for the train station so that we could buy our tickets for the next’s day’s trip to Casablanca. We walked back to the main bus stop, got money out at the bank and then got on the bus. We got off the bus at the wrong stop so we had to walk about a mile to the train station. Once there we bought our tickets and then decided to continue to walk to see other sights. We walked down Ave Med VI to Ave de la Menara and went to the Menara, which is close to the airport. La Menara wasn’t anything special except the large “pool” behind the building that had some massive fish. We thought it might be nice to go swimming, but after seeing those fish we thought they might eat us! After resting there for a while we walked back toward city center coming to the fancier part of Marrakech. It was full of nice houses, large hotels and country clubs/spas. We had lunch at a famous restaurant called, Alizia, which is a mix of Italian and Moroccan food. After that we walked back to the city center and then down to the Royal Palace and Palais Badi. We couldn’t really get into the palaces so we just rested for a while in a courtyard, which was full of westerners, and then headed back to our hostel. We relaxed a little at our hostel and played cards. For dinner we went to a restaurant that was suggested by the hostel. Mabrouka restaurant was very nice and close to our hostel which was near the market. They had live music and good food. The only thing that was annoying to my friends was the amount of cats that were just walking around and staring at you while you ate! It didn’t really bother me, as my family has a lot of cats. After dinner we walked around the market square and souks until we ended up at our hostel. Then we played mad libs and went then went to bed.</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyS5ZNLWioBtyqXdujgz3OGOI_FgcCtSBrr1vXsiA8UkaWaO-pCboKZd_JFLBzEoX7CRgG6kykS3rHssJ4aRuFNgqOIsRZWSoJ76O5gwfXj1FJ0qg8n8HGRh4Yt2vKTLDOnolMORuJmep/s1600-h/poster+9.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBbO5LF6b4lkWCZ6IJvexFVpTDErysim9sRldemBOZyF9ZEzEbZTbKfglfn3Ds6Urg7VDRKJf1aCFNNMKhau6Q3SnH4bkHriH871aiepUyQt2i6JjgQagCvbegwobk0cVDisX-Bj-zlVf/s1600-h/carpets.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273099650654547858" style="WIDTH: 193px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBbO5LF6b4lkWCZ6IJvexFVpTDErysim9sRldemBOZyF9ZEzEbZTbKfglfn3Ds6Urg7VDRKJf1aCFNNMKhau6Q3SnH4bkHriH871aiepUyQt2i6JjgQagCvbegwobk0cVDisX-Bj-zlVf/s200/carpets.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitH-DG_Z4uCupnn07zcToj8sR4xcfqjO3cX_P9xebhq05kkziIYEFCqksu40AcWAF1P9oD4Y7hRzlhzFYRGXXAlPMWrDWlkn-M0ZYtU79VcSgzU1fiXwpZAhVtHgZlEFoeR7MBkqYZU5uy/s1600-h/the+gang+in+Marrakech.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273317430419408866" style="WIDTH: 193px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitH-DG_Z4uCupnn07zcToj8sR4xcfqjO3cX_P9xebhq05kkziIYEFCqksu40AcWAF1P9oD4Y7hRzlhzFYRGXXAlPMWrDWlkn-M0ZYtU79VcSgzU1fiXwpZAhVtHgZlEFoeR7MBkqYZU5uy/s200/the+gang+in+Marrakech.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Day 3<br /><span style="color:#ff9966;">We had to wake up early to catch our train to Casablanca. So we woke up at 7am, everyone showered, got breakfast to go and then walked to the bus stop. We took bus 66 to the train station and were right on time. Our train was already there so we boarded and looked for an empty cabin. We left on time and we had a nice train ride, but it took longer than we expected to get there. (See Casablanca for more details.) We got back to Marrakech at around 10pm and there were no busses running so we had to take a cab. The cab situation was a little sketchy. With five people it’s a little more difficult to get a cab. We managed to find one, after being sketched out by this guy who wanted to take us in his van! Anyway, we finally made it to the hostel and went to bed.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1AY-sjFVE6Ywe1D8Ns46JuOn_D7u3Dkm-EmgVvQvxidlNJxI2f1cJ2fkX76J9A7joqwm9BkxE5HVc92xUk6IzSWJoSA50ESkMY67FQ4MONLgTf17UZon8bSTM3qujTT-nqmx_3s_iq66/s1600-h/poster+6.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273028101773836738" style="WIDTH: 185px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1AY-sjFVE6Ywe1D8Ns46JuOn_D7u3Dkm-EmgVvQvxidlNJxI2f1cJ2fkX76J9A7joqwm9BkxE5HVc92xUk6IzSWJoSA50ESkMY67FQ4MONLgTf17UZon8bSTM3qujTT-nqmx_3s_iq66/s200/poster+6.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTAL6wJrmtGMUa-uryEy5WIL9r6FwWFctSKJ_t6iBcotvO9vbOrl3okwW7eXSGulK5s4tbXjNT7RTkdngiEMaSx1KosIQxRaNUOZsZKsp7wpw6LxyvQGMQ55ATqJENVqLkC2f8mctbgymz/s1600-h/poster+1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273027424301549234" style="WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTAL6wJrmtGMUa-uryEy5WIL9r6FwWFctSKJ_t6iBcotvO9vbOrl3okwW7eXSGulK5s4tbXjNT7RTkdngiEMaSx1KosIQxRaNUOZsZKsp7wpw6LxyvQGMQ55ATqJENVqLkC2f8mctbgymz/s200/poster+1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Day 4<br /><span style="color:#33ff33;">We didn’t really have anything planned for the day except souks shopping!! We woke up, got breakfast, then got ready and headed out at around 10am. It was so much fun just walking around and looking at all the stuff. It’s crazy to see how much stuff they sell, especially when you can walk 40 yards and see the exact same thing being sold at another shop. The plethora of shops works to your advantage. You can bargain at one shop, and if you don’t get the price you want, you can go to another shop and try your luck there! We walked and shopped for hours. We got a little lost and ended up at Palais Baha, which is really far from the main souks. We had lunch in a courtyard (the one with all the westerners) at a restaurant near the Royal palace, and then walked back toward our hostel within the souks. We bought a couple more things along the way to our hostel. At the hostel we relaxed, played cards and checked out our merchandise. Later around dinner time we went back out to find dinner. We ate at Hotel Ali, which had a huge “all you can eat” Moroccan buffet. It was delicious but not worth the price, since you can’t really eat 80dh (8euros) worth of Moroccan food! After dinner we walked around a little and then went to our hostel for the night.<br /></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyITsk2W9WMG4vuJffquj6nKs6D_htT9BY5PfbaK3sMBOTWC9tsz88fow6fp3NftlVdqWQsmIfQ5hfmiOOqlF2ZwN4qAemwqs7uDpT9MiVrcZXa-LvImVUFpHsFFlJQ3rPFOMApM44Qcd/s1600-h/poster+4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273027447043338834" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyITsk2W9WMG4vuJffquj6nKs6D_htT9BY5PfbaK3sMBOTWC9tsz88fow6fp3NftlVdqWQsmIfQ5hfmiOOqlF2ZwN4qAemwqs7uDpT9MiVrcZXa-LvImVUFpHsFFlJQ3rPFOMApM44Qcd/s200/poster+4.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtpS2l3yMoS3FVJSPeFy0YNhDE0Q-z3Ip1LP43PPeEUUGodkc3Snx_1SienE_9nXUBkO4vOHjJvBKGp-hySargw3aK0On21Fqggr4d0U7NezEuRj0m385yqwCO-GUVPD5h8UD13jOjEp7/s1600-h/poster+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273027430331843762" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtpS2l3yMoS3FVJSPeFy0YNhDE0Q-z3Ip1LP43PPeEUUGodkc3Snx_1SienE_9nXUBkO4vOHjJvBKGp-hySargw3aK0On21Fqggr4d0U7NezEuRj0m385yqwCO-GUVPD5h8UD13jOjEp7/s200/poster+2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Day 5<br /><span style="color:#cc66cc;">We had planned to go to Essaoura, a coastal city about 3 hours from Marrakech. We woke up early and took the bus to the train station. We found the bus to Essaoura, but it was sold out, so we were stuck in Marrakech. We went back to the hostel and ate breakfast and went out to get some last souvenirs/gifts. Once again we spent most of the day just walking around the souks. It really didn’t get old, I had such a good time talking to the locals and bargaining. For our last lunch we ate at a shawarma restaurant, and then we went back to the hostel. We played charades and cards while sitting outside and enjoying the sun. When it got dark we went to the market and ate on the rooftop terrace at Argana café. We had a beautiful view of the Place Jama El Fna (market square) and la Koutoubia Mosque. After dinner the girls got henna tattoos and the boys drank some OJ! Then we went back to our hostel after getting some snacks for the next’s day’s plan ride/drive. At the hostel we repacked showered and then went to bed.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_RwK1pItGIH5XgrX_lEy-owrNYbtoOwIauOxUHsCDRRQZvVAH2gt8wLjcdfFSoDlTHU60sAuSunpq6PET8PGnw8_AWGtVPc4oweBZoWrvxRLypubSTMWLril2PAt1yoxlazsKSQ7SMom/s1600-h/poster+3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273027438215736322" style="WIDTH: 185px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_RwK1pItGIH5XgrX_lEy-owrNYbtoOwIauOxUHsCDRRQZvVAH2gt8wLjcdfFSoDlTHU60sAuSunpq6PET8PGnw8_AWGtVPc4oweBZoWrvxRLypubSTMWLril2PAt1yoxlazsKSQ7SMom/s200/poster+3.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273027453674425426" style="WIDTH: 177px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 137px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2H3cdhcYx9nzeoqGuHnFzR2-jHv0uroAKuclN5XuMsspcna8gIUQlyqavRk52XrJqlSZX9IHPqAjqSxQPbp4J88sVuh-5dDIsS3EgffuLZYdMGbPkrEWQuExCBtQbmFSRhhxu98i6Reg3/s200/poster+5.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />Day 6<br /><span style="color:#33ccff;">It was another early morning and a long day for us. We caught the bus to the airport at 7:20am and arrived at around 8am. We waited in line and checked in. Then we waited in line again to go through security, which was sectioned off into a male line and a female line! Then we had to wait in line again to go through passport control. After passport control we found our gate, and guess what, we waited in line again! Awesome! We took off relatively on time and landed on time as well. In Frankfurt we had to pick up our car to drive to Reutlingen. I was suppose to drive on the way back but the lady didn’t know what my Arizona’s drivers license’s code meant, so she wouldn’t let me; even though I had already driven to Frankfurt and I explained to her what it meat. Needless to say Germany is not known for customer service and she was a total jerk. Well we got the car and were on our way to Reutlingen by 3pm. We stopped at McDonalds for lunch/dinner. We were home by 6:30pm. </span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnFD79mYMGQP1y_4s790TjZRHy1rRe1ej1morMup8rTIJXaqHlJfeXf09AW1UWU54pS3Nk7iOepOCJoLvH5aeRAmQV8ypa4lHm6yfZB_iO7U4EYdzDlBv_9QL5nxN92iVSMyDTWC_LFnJF/s1600-h/poster+10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273028144926039842" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnFD79mYMGQP1y_4s790TjZRHy1rRe1ej1morMup8rTIJXaqHlJfeXf09AW1UWU54pS3Nk7iOepOCJoLvH5aeRAmQV8ypa4lHm6yfZB_iO7U4EYdzDlBv_9QL5nxN92iVSMyDTWC_LFnJF/s200/poster+10.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaxTozPqOZNku_FO1T_LscJtCZUVWzUL9wiLSpVvOQAsiC_plbM8S-jGSS324MoxuV0F5Y5mbKA9m_gvs7bf6sD7PcpfeumDCl6fhkxaBl0sz0dKHBtXBQ-2iAlhWzUEqruYwv6WcGlf6/s1600-h/poster+8.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273028125003981314" style="WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaxTozPqOZNku_FO1T_LscJtCZUVWzUL9wiLSpVvOQAsiC_plbM8S-jGSS324MoxuV0F5Y5mbKA9m_gvs7bf6sD7PcpfeumDCl6fhkxaBl0sz0dKHBtXBQ-2iAlhWzUEqruYwv6WcGlf6/s200/poster+8.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Morocco/Marrakech was a 3.5. I had a great time in Morocco. Good company, great weather, interesting culture, and amazing food. We saw a lot of tourist, but we also mingled with the locals. The people were very friendly and open, but aggressive. When you are shopping and or deciding where to eat dinner, be prepared to be surrounded, persuaded and then possible dragged to the destination. They won’t hurt you; they are just trying to make a living. Many of the locals thought Victoria, Priscilla and I were Moroccan and would speak to us in French or Arabic until they learned otherwise! It was a great Ice breaker though. The locals also loved to talk about Obama; they love him, especially his skin color! I would go back to Morocco in a second and explore the other cities such as Tangier, fes, Rabat and take a trip to the Sahara. I would recommend Morocco as an exotic travel destination to anyone!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Casablanca</span></div><div align="center"><em>November 22nd 2008</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXedrOSNZ86AL2MbnOT_5EuGX8aX7kSZCf0y6T1UqwLoM34QPQP4WFOnZ6ax9RW25uUJEfoHiqe9uPnHkE3rlTNLd0cst6VA5QyJIN4i61ouv2sf-c3GN9hkEZbYWk4uuun6LIrxBFCEW/s1600-h/poster.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273022486280162786" style="WIDTH: 294px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXedrOSNZ86AL2MbnOT_5EuGX8aX7kSZCf0y6T1UqwLoM34QPQP4WFOnZ6ax9RW25uUJEfoHiqe9uPnHkE3rlTNLd0cst6VA5QyJIN4i61ouv2sf-c3GN9hkEZbYWk4uuun6LIrxBFCEW/s400/poster.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center">Hassan II mosque is the third largest in the world and it is massive!<br /></div><br /><div><br />Day Trip<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuSnZuWkUkox7cYVCOV_j62cq4Ee8-SiF2SZlTenCOYm9cW9hSStG5bQYjQO_W3ztuGUXTWbcjEcdOSCj33i8X-IxK8wdN0C9G1nTcLJvO9cx5kOZz7-KmC85SCO-MyKm2J0FpV1Vpy_H/s1600-h/poster+3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273022157897118434" style="WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuSnZuWkUkox7cYVCOV_j62cq4Ee8-SiF2SZlTenCOYm9cW9hSStG5bQYjQO_W3ztuGUXTWbcjEcdOSCj33i8X-IxK8wdN0C9G1nTcLJvO9cx5kOZz7-KmC85SCO-MyKm2J0FpV1Vpy_H/s200/poster+3.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSBPsj0dTl0B4cAomuQugh5k020MKUi_imp_tfqRH5GWhSsW-fCQX2bh7PPKsDEFwcKzu4vCbPUGcI8eeWvcRLVDGijM5Uu1huyzy2udFB_gxpvAP4SRuy7wG3jEdJN1VRzXJf54cXtcg/s1600-h/Poster+4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273022162995666978" style="WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSBPsj0dTl0B4cAomuQugh5k020MKUi_imp_tfqRH5GWhSsW-fCQX2bh7PPKsDEFwcKzu4vCbPUGcI8eeWvcRLVDGijM5Uu1huyzy2udFB_gxpvAP4SRuy7wG3jEdJN1VRzXJf54cXtcg/s200/Poster+4.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexvx8jhLQWxYKwZfdgaicuxaVBlcEY0WF0HA3JF39VnJZReHVmQYY1hO_H0_d4rBDGrfmKPy1B5SXPq4ObLgcxl4ZfTdXqw_W3qekFO1GtsFQZ9iXy9372g1EyMVJ9Zg2lJvxcCEgE8rS/s1600-h/poster+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273022153817094546" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexvx8jhLQWxYKwZfdgaicuxaVBlcEY0WF0HA3JF39VnJZReHVmQYY1hO_H0_d4rBDGrfmKPy1B5SXPq4ObLgcxl4ZfTdXqw_W3qekFO1GtsFQZ9iXy9372g1EyMVJ9Zg2lJvxcCEgE8rS/s200/poster+2.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuxMc0Qe2nCdL5ZRIYOTpnG3ORvOSFjEYV5kzYtKl2bTj3vvSV7HqXYy_nudxHylpnSjYq0wycuyE-oDGqP6O7H9OdJwM2kQAWujX5h-nTddEW2B02nKZ_JGcV3LWHu_2sJ4ydJ0RARnt/s1600-h/poster+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273022141010776786" style="WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuxMc0Qe2nCdL5ZRIYOTpnG3ORvOSFjEYV5kzYtKl2bTj3vvSV7HqXYy_nudxHylpnSjYq0wycuyE-oDGqP6O7H9OdJwM2kQAWujX5h-nTddEW2B02nKZ_JGcV3LWHu_2sJ4ydJ0RARnt/s200/poster+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><div>Casablanca was a 2.5. It was interesting but the Souks weren't as cool as in Marrakech and there weren't as many sights either.</div></div></div></div></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-44534970424220777942008-10-21T10:25:00.000-07:002008-10-25T12:45:29.823-07:00Malta<div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Sliema and Valletta</span></div><div align="center"><em>October 18th-21st 2008</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5XSkFQl3SCYWPTdCjKjUhyphenhyphenlR1D2VjlGPQ-TRDaUwE2pzYRwzuLtwojmv2EBUuZl1o0kgI2hlLQGmLzxcRs6SSz_pZunK9lS7YKKwwpljdS8AyWbtA5Hb3L8YPzizzhPZe_KleANhOGK2/s1600-h/Poster.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259665730430916674" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5XSkFQl3SCYWPTdCjKjUhyphenhyphenlR1D2VjlGPQ-TRDaUwE2pzYRwzuLtwojmv2EBUuZl1o0kgI2hlLQGmLzxcRs6SSz_pZunK9lS7YKKwwpljdS8AyWbtA5Hb3L8YPzizzhPZe_KleANhOGK2/s400/Poster.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">View from St. Elimo's Fortress, Valletta, Malta!<br /></div><div align="left"><br />Day 1</div><span style="color:#ff99ff;">This trip started on a Saturday in Reutlingen, with just myself and my backpack! I took a 2:49pm bus to Stuttgart airport. I checked in, boarded the plane and were airborne on schedule at 4:30pm. We landed in Malta after a rather long and uneventful flight. Although I had read the entire flight and wasn't actually bored, the flight still seemed long. I think it's becuase I hadn't been on a 2.5 hour flight in a really long time! Anyway, after landing I left throught the arrivals gate expecting to find my pre-arragnged ride, but was dissapointed when I saw that he was nowhere to be found. So I had to call the hostel to see what the deal was and they told me he would be there in 20 min. Which meant that he was leaving now, and was not stuck in traffic! I was starving and had time to kill, and when I excited the building I saw those golden arches! They were calling me to them, so as not to dissapoint them, I walked with my backpack on, through the airport parking lot toward them. It was the busyiest Mcdonalds drive through line I have ever seen! Thank goodness the inside wasn't as bad. I ordered quickly and walked even more quickly back to wait for my ride. Meanwhile, I had eaten my fries and cheeseburger! Shortly after I got back to my waiting post, my ride arrived. We drove in a convertable to the hostel where he (the owner/driver of the hostel) checked me in. I asked the necessary questions and went to my room. I settled in, watched tv, then went to bed.</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45vmpXFuQ_LVdvFPHlG5LrEyUnx5MswAnf1JvaNyfd0AF77Ts9OipPNeFUyk1zwm0GxdOrKxop_MdKgWgGFMurKvk4l-cD9AVK2mAMcyKEj_CSlNhidJLEvyJWffz9Ag4z5re9P2NnJIX/s1600-h/poster+1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259665047029442674" style="CURSOR: hand" height="133" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45vmpXFuQ_LVdvFPHlG5LrEyUnx5MswAnf1JvaNyfd0AF77Ts9OipPNeFUyk1zwm0GxdOrKxop_MdKgWgGFMurKvk4l-cD9AVK2mAMcyKEj_CSlNhidJLEvyJWffz9Ag4z5re9P2NnJIX/s200/poster+1.JPG" width="187" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVqQBmu4cPWoYVg4GXRaXVdLiyTul4L3X0DdQD_xsIf_oIu4mTpM3rJOcg_lZPRs7O69H97SGNrTdGkHLAxVKU1vTA03SsGiTWDSyG07WN5XzoRKCZgrN9s_sod38_trXXi2OThWr53zg/s1600-h/poster+3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259665065043756722" style="WIDTH: 188px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px" height="134" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVqQBmu4cPWoYVg4GXRaXVdLiyTul4L3X0DdQD_xsIf_oIu4mTpM3rJOcg_lZPRs7O69H97SGNrTdGkHLAxVKU1vTA03SsGiTWDSyG07WN5XzoRKCZgrN9s_sod38_trXXi2OThWr53zg/s200/poster+3.JPG" width="190" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Day 2<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">I </span><span style="color:#ff0000;">woke up surprisingly early considering how awful I had slept that night. I dressed, ask for a map, got directions to a grocery store, and went to get milk! I came back shortly, and ate my cearal in my room and watched BBC world news. Then I headed out for some exploring. The night before I had learned that Malta had its own language, Maltese, but just about everyone there spoke English anyway. People from all over Europe came there to learn English, you know instead of going to the UK!! Anyway, all the signs, advertisements, menus, and movies were in English. They even drive on the opposite side of the road like the English; however the city resembled nothing of streets of London. It was very much like Tunisia with a French and Spanish flare. I noticed all this while walking toward my destination... the movie theater!! Well I wanted to explore, but I also wanted to see which movies where playing and when. So I walked the 40 mins to the theater, so that I could explore Sliema, St. Julian’s, and finally St. Georges bay (where the theater was). I checked the movie times and bought tickets for two shows, and then I went to the beach. I was at the beach for an hour or so reading, when I got hungry. I ate at this place inside the mall; it wasn't bad, but a little expensive! After lunch I headed to the movies and watched my two films. It was 6:30pm when I got out. I walked home quickly, since I didn't want to get lost in the dark trying to find the hostel. It only took me 30 or so minutes this time! I ate cereal for dinner, watched a movie and then went to bed!!</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsbvsc8rrxWhM-8mIkeJMfjS0_ee_J2FyQqQHne2Qco-XD6nA00EQo5A0zQ7NVogDjTA-DQDSbhA0oeiGJBiZLT7p40iJMkmQKGvINxTMzrjqL-MZXwd_52t6akb6sQfpI-760l_sL7Jq/s1600-h/poster+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259665074375882578" style="CURSOR: hand" height="140" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsbvsc8rrxWhM-8mIkeJMfjS0_ee_J2FyQqQHne2Qco-XD6nA00EQo5A0zQ7NVogDjTA-DQDSbhA0oeiGJBiZLT7p40iJMkmQKGvINxTMzrjqL-MZXwd_52t6akb6sQfpI-760l_sL7Jq/s200/poster+2.JPG" width="187" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALz9_vIKTU8XfurfZ2ft5bkcr68bBg9WwzkGNlJlHcfuNsCdtyrTKdZhVXyGFjajRiKUaRiYRsmLfa4TVnoVYr0ECbuSNAghr8pq2uFVrgYgk93KbDmt50HBkr9iH2zlZj9gZ-krGSQZm/s1600-h/poster+4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259665082534354050" style="CURSOR: hand" height="141" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALz9_vIKTU8XfurfZ2ft5bkcr68bBg9WwzkGNlJlHcfuNsCdtyrTKdZhVXyGFjajRiKUaRiYRsmLfa4TVnoVYr0ECbuSNAghr8pq2uFVrgYgk93KbDmt50HBkr9iH2zlZj9gZ-krGSQZm/s200/poster+4.JPG" width="184" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Day 3<br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">I decided that I would take a bus first thing after breakfasting, to Valetta, the capital. I was at the bus stop by quarter past nine, and waited for 30 minutes before the next bus came. The ride to Valletta was nice, a little bumpy, but short. We arrived at the bus terminal, which is really a very large round-a-bout, full of busses going any which way they please! Despite the kayos I found my way onto a busy street with many shops. I deduced that this was the main shopping area of Valletta. There were many people milling about and I became one of them. I walked until I hit the water, then I walked along the water, and took plenty of pictures. I saw St. Elmo's Fortress, some other ruins and a garden, before looping back to the main shopping street. I was a little bored and wanted to be on the beach, so I took the next bus to St. George's bay. I arrived there at 11am and laid out for a few hours before I saw another two movies! Once again it was 6:30pm when I was walking home, and again it was 7:00pm when I arrived back at the hostel. I ate my cereal for dinner and watched 2 movies again before going to bed!</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3ed_pieMuXaVvVXqGT0bCdVDH3Y8b9GKww2forBwUMJ5scBGZ1keBf6Qb3R7RH-deQcINDKWwGVhLpbZyZuEVoZMgDD3o2wsolTH1v-63HD92htzAD2DU113YBNN_h6G2f-259mKKwCL/s1600-h/poster+6.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259665097159244066" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3ed_pieMuXaVvVXqGT0bCdVDH3Y8b9GKww2forBwUMJ5scBGZ1keBf6Qb3R7RH-deQcINDKWwGVhLpbZyZuEVoZMgDD3o2wsolTH1v-63HD92htzAD2DU113YBNN_h6G2f-259mKKwCL/s200/poster+6.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8m0f82rl4qGMVgc2i26nMZ3ZUCRFLAwpoP6yeVI1qAZmO1Thg-qJgwUCpwgmoA2uXK_sm8iH7GBoHiihbP-cXYuScPohDSdt5JxsRMwnrXqWAyHvNoOeK-G-OOspdL97wqicYNK13TxoL/s1600-h/poster+5.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259665432772368034" style="CURSOR: hand" height="151" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8m0f82rl4qGMVgc2i26nMZ3ZUCRFLAwpoP6yeVI1qAZmO1Thg-qJgwUCpwgmoA2uXK_sm8iH7GBoHiihbP-cXYuScPohDSdt5JxsRMwnrXqWAyHvNoOeK-G-OOspdL97wqicYNK13TxoL/s200/poster+5.JPG" width="139" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Day 4<br /><span style="color:#33cc00;">Thankfully I woke up early, so I could enjoy the beach one last time. I walked along the harbor until it was time for me to catch the bus. At the hostel, I got my bag, dropped off the keys and headed to the bus stop. The bus ride was the same as before, short and bumpy, but nice. I waited for the airport bus, which took 20 minutes to finally come. I was at the airport at 11am after a 45min bus ride, this time long and bumpy, but nice. I waited in line for 40 minutes to check in, made it to my gate, and sat outside for 30 mins before boarding. We took off late, as usual, but arrived in Stuttgart on time!</span><br /><br />Malta was a 3.5. Warm, sunny and interesting... but it didn't have that exuberant feeling that so many other beach towns do!acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-4595520003300987052008-09-24T06:14:00.004-07:002008-11-15T04:33:03.177-08:00Berlin, Germany<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Berlin</span></div><div align="center"><em>September 19-21st, 2009</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyTtpOaqrpOfU7lNSLne5kGhLYw_FlydMxPoeSZ7niBFZD-49v7ntHnfjBB8J3Ql-KhNqXZB_wlbnEq-iUT16JbMc6OZuVppW4kE2VccBm4dFJbahpY1nseiKLiI7a4W_xcNEdvvm16Ax/s1600-h/poster.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268557841027086546" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyTtpOaqrpOfU7lNSLne5kGhLYw_FlydMxPoeSZ7niBFZD-49v7ntHnfjBB8J3Ql-KhNqXZB_wlbnEq-iUT16JbMc6OZuVppW4kE2VccBm4dFJbahpY1nseiKLiI7a4W_xcNEdvvm16Ax/s400/poster.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center">View from the parlement roof top.<br /><br /></div><br /><br />Day 16cont.<br /><span style="color:#ffcccc;">We arrived in Berlin and took the s-bahn to Alexander Platz, and then we changed to the U2 getting off at Rosa-Luxemburgstr. The Wombats hostel was right by the station and we were checked in quickly. It was a large hostel and very nice, but not as nice as the hostel I stayed at the last time I was in Berlin. We left right after we dropped off our stuff and went to Alexander Platz. We checked out the movie theater there and found that they were all in German, so we went to another theater. The theater in Potsdammer Platz had English original versions and we saw Tropical Thunder. We bought sweet popcorn and watched the movie. After that we went back to our hostel, and then to the grocery store. We bought breakfast and some soup just in case we got hungry. We didn’t get hungry; we just read, went to the bar for our free drink and then went to bed.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3JPA0Q7tZ-EGYlZXJUmSqNGdlyem_0KHyKY9nf7KfNV35ifO0iqR32W9V-0R1m3R8fcxZ6QgOAoSciTwk_qK-KNHW1c6f6Z_CDZjrA7cx_Y_R0EKg7evmkKWQA-VTT-R1k9xvl2yvppC/s1600-h/CIMG2980.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268556445595601154" style="WIDTH: 194px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3JPA0Q7tZ-EGYlZXJUmSqNGdlyem_0KHyKY9nf7KfNV35ifO0iqR32W9V-0R1m3R8fcxZ6QgOAoSciTwk_qK-KNHW1c6f6Z_CDZjrA7cx_Y_R0EKg7evmkKWQA-VTT-R1k9xvl2yvppC/s200/CIMG2980.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGfopjgCwjZD12jtJdE9HqJcSMGzpWHUmw1G3mDZp5jycqBCbinezzbRr5iuZHlOoYE0tQIKSLxRQx914pVC__iUhJWd-ZybALU8G21dTuzWUcopyUs3hchpO6Q3YYLTzQ-nJqQMJXBrJ/s1600-h/CIMG3023.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268556456488202098" style="WIDTH: 183px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGfopjgCwjZD12jtJdE9HqJcSMGzpWHUmw1G3mDZp5jycqBCbinezzbRr5iuZHlOoYE0tQIKSLxRQx914pVC__iUhJWd-ZybALU8G21dTuzWUcopyUs3hchpO6Q3YYLTzQ-nJqQMJXBrJ/s200/CIMG3023.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Day 17<br /><span style="color:#99ffff;">We had to set our alarm for 9:20am so that we could be ready in time for our tour. We got dressed and went down to eat breakfast. We left for our walking tour shortly after breakfast. We had to take a bus to Brandenburg tor to actually start our tour. Once there we got some stuff at Starbucks then followed our tour guide. It was the same tour I had taken a year before with Brian, expect that we had a different person and we started where the other tour had finished. I liked the first tour best, I thought the guy was brilliant and knew much more interesting facts. Anyway, it was a good balance because I learned some stuff that I didn’t know before. After the tour we went to the parliament building so that Victoria could see the inside. We took the bus back to our hostel after visiting the parliament building. We hung around for while then decided to go out to dinner to celebrate our last day of travel. We went to Marcus Bräu, an authentic German restaurant, a little pricey but dang good. We went back to the hostel, read and then went to bed.</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehog7B2ffQqDhvWml9WoklEt4DqZ8qDWnmlQLN8BQID6_9oTx992UNOiR7QsHIdDd9sr2gg4HQSixtDBbj4gvDIJPP9fCFFMXbyeeQt77710kc40Yq_dso__hJrACxRO2NnsNpITiSzwo/s1600-h/poster+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268556441526559522" style="WIDTH: 144px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 199px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehog7B2ffQqDhvWml9WoklEt4DqZ8qDWnmlQLN8BQID6_9oTx992UNOiR7QsHIdDd9sr2gg4HQSixtDBbj4gvDIJPP9fCFFMXbyeeQt77710kc40Yq_dso__hJrACxRO2NnsNpITiSzwo/s200/poster+2.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHGr06EAaAmX1jf-Xllg53uhKTqDRDx_0psLj4uH1qX3EQG5rfV90EUkUjrvRxRMPTKWQiAzidGmDlvLjv6CrSCwBsC8o6lSprV0HtLLjxo-OTyzmF5NtC4tKoiFumQaKi5CTSabkFamf/s1600-h/CIMG2957.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268557068065826354" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHGr06EAaAmX1jf-Xllg53uhKTqDRDx_0psLj4uH1qX3EQG5rfV90EUkUjrvRxRMPTKWQiAzidGmDlvLjv6CrSCwBsC8o6lSprV0HtLLjxo-OTyzmF5NtC4tKoiFumQaKi5CTSabkFamf/s200/CIMG2957.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Day 18<br /><span style="color:#99ff99;">We woke up at 9am again, got dressed, ate breakfast, checked out and went of a walk. We took some pictures of the Rathaus then had a coffee at a café. We walked back the hostel to get our stuff. We took the bus to the airport and checked in, ate our leftover cup of soup (we had to borrow some hot water!! It was pretty ghetto!!) and then went through security!! We boarded the plane and our September trip was over. Back to reality!</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnJErZcvevgrY0diUQOoTXXMfSAjkLDMzzspu0toD-oPXk38xWEz93e4U4Pij9xOjOmXcveKHtG3IKrkR0RW2QSV3ZH2gvX5c-NeZxthpa1WDqZwmf5GjSZURW3v0pLyzkTZIu-KpbbDI/s1600-h/poster+1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268556438683784802" style="WIDTH: 194px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnJErZcvevgrY0diUQOoTXXMfSAjkLDMzzspu0toD-oPXk38xWEz93e4U4Pij9xOjOmXcveKHtG3IKrkR0RW2QSV3ZH2gvX5c-NeZxthpa1WDqZwmf5GjSZURW3v0pLyzkTZIu-KpbbDI/s200/poster+1.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruBCcSNQZ_hkZopvSitAPsIO_IN7OV_ULjktNWtB_J4oHizJyBaXSCVAm-A08RNpPQuqTjHOOYEpw-cAwY93x6cy_eDO0f19MF-QZrskMPrMtIRbxIavMQJU3lKRV-_pYYPyksfg-fvdr/s1600-h/CIMG2990.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268557074695837522" style="WIDTH: 182px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruBCcSNQZ_hkZopvSitAPsIO_IN7OV_ULjktNWtB_J4oHizJyBaXSCVAm-A08RNpPQuqTjHOOYEpw-cAwY93x6cy_eDO0f19MF-QZrskMPrMtIRbxIavMQJU3lKRV-_pYYPyksfg-fvdr/s200/CIMG2990.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Berlin was a 3. Better the second time around. </div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044861595794986328.post-76232591459745714362008-09-24T06:14:00.003-07:002008-11-15T04:08:57.328-08:00Dresden & Leipzig, Germany<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Leipzig</span></div><div align="center"><em>September 19th, 2008</em></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTr4c2CBauuRZfIixiejmH4SFSFdPwUfl0Pyg6iQUIq8nVg2WiUnMogaYMR1EGpYaoK7WyqaZSD2sRSkRnvqXiiwg16OZBpPoBgpBBWkA3uUBcLZV4IiDBkhvTga1jUH-tOVXD7X5OCi0/s1600-h/poster.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268553273989035090" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTr4c2CBauuRZfIixiejmH4SFSFdPwUfl0Pyg6iQUIq8nVg2WiUnMogaYMR1EGpYaoK7WyqaZSD2sRSkRnvqXiiwg16OZBpPoBgpBBWkA3uUBcLZV4IiDBkhvTga1jUH-tOVXD7X5OCi0/s400/poster.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">Square infront of the National Opera.<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOuL-fQXaaWcJ6gysWtuurJUaHCKcBub49KSytJb0ogZCWCm5TFE9-VlOA2ePAevKpz1drlv1EWrYf-pxged7lwbiNPuA9pjb_T310HgOeI7I9NTt26flFNPZ_Fl6exDZzSWsyM1c1KdTT/s1600-h/poster.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br />Day 16 cont<br /><span style="color:#ff9966;">The train from Dresden arrived in Leipzig at 11am. We locked our backpacks up at the train station then walked to tourist information to find a map. After we got our map we walked toward the first sight on our very short list. On the walk we noticed that there was a lot of construction going on in the city. A few streets were closed because of it, but we could still see the main sights. We went to the Market Square, St. Peters Church, Nicholas church, the Old Rathaus, the New Rathaus, the Opera House, and through most of the shopping district, in an hour!!! We walked back to the city center and got something to eat at a Chinese restaurant. I had chicken fried rice, as usual. We walked back to the train station after lunch and still had an hour to kill before our train to Berlin left. So we sat outside and listened to music. Then we got some ice cream and went for one last walk in Leipzig. We went to the train station, got our bags out and then got on the train to Berlin at 1:51pm. Two cities down, one more to go!!</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCU00SNKNL0eOOoPHOY4QzLhg2BeePulaC4LQNEHvVQ_UI8UbHo5iNCo34yNXk7G1JsrkeDVLg2P2cCLMo5NHB-DiC6fgRLGDJKILogwZZBG0QLqqH3bQzSgw27uLVrhh8KAltex8wRc4S/s1600-h/poster+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268550976498822066" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCU00SNKNL0eOOoPHOY4QzLhg2BeePulaC4LQNEHvVQ_UI8UbHo5iNCo34yNXk7G1JsrkeDVLg2P2cCLMo5NHB-DiC6fgRLGDJKILogwZZBG0QLqqH3bQzSgw27uLVrhh8KAltex8wRc4S/s200/poster+2.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj82UBRMvxx250iDzO5z78kjxjqzsoSgvidgX1lya1mVKK2jn-8OygZCFasDcX9agrzGyBZAYnWGnKW13fDPmKxhAf17MJyFike2cahNidjaxOMFQ0eI2zeiM6H5qCaHOWTii3u4DCar95/s1600-h/poster+4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268550977707751938" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj82UBRMvxx250iDzO5z78kjxjqzsoSgvidgX1lya1mVKK2jn-8OygZCFasDcX9agrzGyBZAYnWGnKW13fDPmKxhAf17MJyFike2cahNidjaxOMFQ0eI2zeiM6H5qCaHOWTii3u4DCar95/s200/poster+4.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCs30NiTD6XBKs-N_KPiCEJwTAcMzQcKNwXMDgqGhTO0VGaVWLHRpUOHW4HPaXusLF33MQ7Vdb0yMH5IItY0PkC1_93dIPcuLbLu56AcvpZdgzTePxLlLANGxqb2G-x8EvK4dOB-0068t/s1600-h/poster+3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268550963876377842" style="WIDTH: 135px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 168px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCs30NiTD6XBKs-N_KPiCEJwTAcMzQcKNwXMDgqGhTO0VGaVWLHRpUOHW4HPaXusLF33MQ7Vdb0yMH5IItY0PkC1_93dIPcuLbLu56AcvpZdgzTePxLlLANGxqb2G-x8EvK4dOB-0068t/s200/poster+3.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8iewLq07cH4AnXfZp9eYQcqy7lnsrvxnYXz9YQTrjHMfVUan8lcFgcEoyKFAqwI_QRteiCZNcxVW3GNyR_Zs0EnUYuJnb8DgSXn0orChyOKVyQABLxsow6C9sVpHkNTtAYyI7Dpnrnlj/s1600-h/poster+1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268550957830816386" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 171px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8iewLq07cH4AnXfZp9eYQcqy7lnsrvxnYXz9YQTrjHMfVUan8lcFgcEoyKFAqwI_QRteiCZNcxVW3GNyR_Zs0EnUYuJnb8DgSXn0orChyOKVyQABLxsow6C9sVpHkNTtAYyI7Dpnrnlj/s200/poster+1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Leipzig was a 2.5. It was much more interesting after we learned more about the cities historical significants. Too bad we learned this info while we were in Berlin!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">Dresden</span><br /></div><div align="center"><em>September 18-19th, 2008</em><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8_qZJT4AjAZOQN2fXwObn0HjY9yZqxgCAp_e7N7rdsWpB6-aLFwDBjGxGLYR4-KzdaxDoQUPXwMk_beorG0GbDWTNZxgc77BNEcrXoXGe4bOj8UR7CDryZsB5uhg5vAMrxtaYYnOeMdE/s1600-h/poster.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268547830392333746" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 222px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8_qZJT4AjAZOQN2fXwObn0HjY9yZqxgCAp_e7N7rdsWpB6-aLFwDBjGxGLYR4-KzdaxDoQUPXwMk_beorG0GbDWTNZxgc77BNEcrXoXGe4bOj8UR7CDryZsB5uhg5vAMrxtaYYnOeMdE/s400/poster.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">A view from the river.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Day 15cont. </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;">The train ride from Prague to Dresden was a little under 2 hours. When we arrived in Dresden and followed the direction to our hostel, Der Doofe. It took about 20 minutes to get to our hostel once in route. We checked into our hostel and were the only ones in our room. We relaxed for a few minutes and then headed out to see the city. We took the train to the river and then walked along it, seeing: the Ministry of Interior, and the Golden Rider. Then we crossed the bridge Augustus, passed the Blockhouse, Opera, Royal Palace, Zwinger, and the National Theater. We ventured into a large square to the Church of Our Lady. We sat inside the church for a few minutes admiring the craftsmanship and then left. We walked to city hall and he Church of the Holy Cross. It was well past 2 by this time and we were starving so we took the tram to the pedestrian zone. We got some money out and ate at Pizza Hut!! Very American, but it was good!! After our late lunch we went back to the square and bought post cards. Then we took the tram to our hostel and were in for the night. We read, did a crossword, and then went to bed.<br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwTFPSy9UXk8I7FV9CGm-naEx048dXGWt09lVRwbHZqKk7SoG7JsbUBXOeFmM-vYlw0SkQxMwc1ecdVKh6Ec-zydFXoR7RC-IUOr_ip1y_tcwnpZq7dnAEm2HDLpPKZ62Nad01VU4WoEf/s1600-h/poster+6.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268546051673135538" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwTFPSy9UXk8I7FV9CGm-naEx048dXGWt09lVRwbHZqKk7SoG7JsbUBXOeFmM-vYlw0SkQxMwc1ecdVKh6Ec-zydFXoR7RC-IUOr_ip1y_tcwnpZq7dnAEm2HDLpPKZ62Nad01VU4WoEf/s200/poster+6.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgsJppcwHsNVkVVZJszLNKx2fSsX-jBYPZQEstPn_BlIGMm_bKz36Wkj-r4v_GXImbUKh5UB3IRq4NyzwAYVQIie28LMGeZr_JiHFsHHXBwOqcBzDUWN1cDJdmFzN0ru0Yg8xJBET8VUY/s1600-h/poster+1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268546028917501634" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgsJppcwHsNVkVVZJszLNKx2fSsX-jBYPZQEstPn_BlIGMm_bKz36Wkj-r4v_GXImbUKh5UB3IRq4NyzwAYVQIie28LMGeZr_JiHFsHHXBwOqcBzDUWN1cDJdmFzN0ru0Yg8xJBET8VUY/s200/poster+1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Day 16 </div><div><span style="color:#ffff00;">We had another early morning. Our train to Leipzig was at 9:21 so we dressed, ate breakfast and were out the door by 8:45. Once at the train station, we went straight to our train and were on our way to Leipzig.</span> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iJPW5tfMN7y2k2AUncUzmlcaPzV4kaavzfLGRJjIhgYerfx_izPKbGU6KiB-T47_6SX2bJzWTg9gsbWAmTsgE-1-M9_uxTVNAQqI2lSCx75iBSi6xv915OrocPtFG6rgwZIcglk44HP2/s1600-h/poster+3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268546037479926530" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iJPW5tfMN7y2k2AUncUzmlcaPzV4kaavzfLGRJjIhgYerfx_izPKbGU6KiB-T47_6SX2bJzWTg9gsbWAmTsgE-1-M9_uxTVNAQqI2lSCx75iBSi6xv915OrocPtFG6rgwZIcglk44HP2/s200/poster+3.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOdMLFXUXqpt0J5nZ7EOd_l6dg-T0Satokbnc0c8Ap4-T0I4DTAC43qsP4rye_Um-ScRxDMIVEBc9O1tZepeVd4tq9PBh5nGOI1wDArFrxakl_Y5WCTNbGdWpyiIdgcXDyAM5BoaKrl6T/s1600-h/poster+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268546036744482370" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOdMLFXUXqpt0J5nZ7EOd_l6dg-T0Satokbnc0c8Ap4-T0I4DTAC43qsP4rye_Um-ScRxDMIVEBc9O1tZepeVd4tq9PBh5nGOI1wDArFrxakl_Y5WCTNbGdWpyiIdgcXDyAM5BoaKrl6T/s200/poster+2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div>Dresden was a 2. Interesting historical buildings but little to do or see.<br /><div></div></div></div>acesideouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13778086211369286227noreply@blogger.com0