Netherlands

From Dublin we flew to Amsterdam for our last stop. We were only here for a few days. The temperature was a little less cold then Dublin. This was my first time here and I was surprised how beautiful the city is. There are water canals everywhere and the buildings have very distinguished looking architecture. We had fun exploring the city and going to the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, and the Keukenhof Gardens.
We are now safely back home. Although we didn't make it to all the places we originally wanted to, we had quite an experience and are glad to be back. There's no place like home!

Ireland

We had a great time in Ireland. It was a quick five days, so we didn't venture out of Dublin. Doug's friend from college, Gavin, flew from Atlanta to meet up with us. Since it was the week of St. Patrick's Day, there was a lot to do and see! And we had fun getting bundled up for the cold- it actually snowed our last couple days there.
On our first day, we went to Trinity College to see one of the oldest books in the world- The Book of Kells. It was written around AD 800 by monks and contains the four New Testament gospels written in Latin. It is amazing how intricate and beautiful the writings and illustrations are. They showed the different minerals and plants the monks used to create such bright and vivid colors. Some famous Trinity alumni include: Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, and Oscar Wilde.
On another note, we also visited the Guinness Storehouse. It is a huge five storey center where you can learn all about the world- famous stout. The best part is the rooftop bar where you can overlook the city and drink a free pint!
For fun one night, Doug and I went on the "Ghost Bus" tour. We got on a double decker bus which had closed curtains all around it. Our guide tried to scare us by taking us to grave yards, telling "true" ghost stories, and occasionally yelling into the microphone. There is some very interesting and dark history in Ireland. We drove by the house Bram Stoker grew up in and heard how as a child his mother would tell him scary stories about people infected with cholera. This was the inspiration for him later writing about the walking dead in Dracula.
The three of us had a blast here. The Irish are extremely friendly and this is one place we hope to visit again.

Thailand Pictures

Bangkok Grand Palace.

The famous Khao San Rd.

Typical street food vendor.

Bangkok traffic is always congested.

Ohhh, fwoating market. Ferry nice!

Cobra show.

Audrey relaxing with a massage.

Hat Rin beach on Kho Phagnan

Muy Thai boxing matches.

Resort at Kho Samui.

Doug in front of the little propeller airplane we took from Kho Samui island to Bangkok.

Goodbye Thailand!

We are back in Bangkok to catch our plane tomorrow. We had a good two weeks here in Thailand. After Phi Phi Island we went to two other islands, Ko Pha-Ngan and Ko Samui. Ko Pha-Ngan was crowded and is known for its full moon parties. We had fun hanging out and meeting other travelers. We went to a "muy thai" (thai boxing) fight. We sat ring side and watched some pretty good fights. Almost everything is legal! It was very entertaining to see the whole crowd get into it and make bets. It was also interesting to see the cultural aspect of muy thai. Before the fight begins, the boxers walk the perimeter of the ring to seal out evil spirits, and then they do a spiritual dance to protect them from harm and injury.
Next we went to a beautiful resort at Ko Sumui. Here we just relaxed!
Tomorrow we fly to Dublin!

Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok March 1st and stayed in the bustling city for a few days. Despite the heat, crowds, filth, and some very strange characters, we both really like it here! We stayed in the popular backpacker neighborhood of Thanon Khao San where at 2:30 am (when we arrived) the bars were still full and the street vendors still open. The accommodation is pretty cheap and the food even cheaper- delicious pad thai for under a dollar!
We walked to the Ko Ratanakosin area which has some of the countrys most holy sites: Wat Phra Kaew -Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and The Grand Palace- the former residence of the king which is still used for certain ceremonies. Both have amazing architecture with highly detailed artwork. We also went to two markets. The Chatuchak market is huge with vendors selling everything from live chickens to fake designer handbags. Outside Bangkok, we went to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Our fist canoe traffic jam! You can shop for fresh fruits and veggies or hot food from other canoes paddled by Tai women, or souvenir shops lining the banks of the canals. A very fascinating site.
And what visit to Bangkok would be complete without seeing a cobra fight a mongoose? We went to a cobra show which was actually pretty exciting. Some "highlights" include a man picking up a huge cobra by the tail while it strikes out at the audience, another man capturing three snakes by himself- one in each hand and the other with his mouth, and of course the fight between the cobra and the mongoose- apparently the mongoose wins every time!
So after these strange but exciting days in Bangkok, we headed south to relax on the famous islands. Yesterday we took a one hour flight to Phuket, and then two boats to the island of Phi Phi. We have a simple bungalow on the beach. The scenery is pretty and the water is clear and warm. And today we got our first Thai massage on the beach. Welcome to paradise!

More New Zealand Pictures

Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Kaikora sunset

Kaikora sunset

Still looking for the fish...

A huge albatross pushing the gulls out of the way to get to some fish scraps.

Here's the fish!!! If you can't find them in the lakes or rivers, you always know that they are in the ocean. These are blue cod.

Everyone was hooking them.

We pulled some crayfish (lobster) pods and got our dinner.

More New Zealand Pictures

The Farewell Spit

Pupu Springs, the clearest water in the world.

Still no fish. Hmmm....

Wishing the waves were bigger.

Franz Joseph Glacier

Fox Glacier

East Coast

We have been traveling up New Zealand's south island. As usual, the scenery is stunning. After Queenstown, we stayed in some small towns as well as the bigger city of Christchurch. Christchurch is a charming city with beautiful Gothic architecture. It is N.Z.'s most English city. Doug and I have enjoyed some pints and fish & chips at the numerous pubs.
We also went to an aquarium which had a kiwi house! It is hard to see kiwis in the wild because they are nocturnal and very sensitive to light and smell. They are extraordinary birds. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures!
From Christchurch we drove to the beautiful fishing town of Kaikoura. It has an amazing setting of steep foothills surrounding emerald-green ocean. There is so much sea life here to see, including whales, fur seals, albatross and the endemic Hector's dolphin- the rarest and smallest dolphin.
In Kaikoura we went to a sheep shearing show! It was very entertaining and we got to see a sheep being sheared! I also got to play with two lambs that were so friendly because they were fed from a bottle. I love sheep!
We also went on a deep sea fishing charter. We caught loads of blue cod and perch! The boat also picked up a crate full of crayfish. We had an awesome dinner!
Today we are taking the ferry back across to the north island because we are flying out of Wellington tomorrow! As some of you know, Doug and I have decided to cut our trip short because we are somewhat tired of traveling. We realized we like to travel, but for short periods of time. So we have a month left- two weeks in Thailand, then two in Europe!

New Zealand Pictures

Our home (or tent) lakeside.

The town where the Shire from Fellowship of the Ring was filmed.

Zorbing, where you get in a plastic ball filled with water and roll down a hill.

D0ug sliding out of his zorb at the bottom of the hill.

Fishing. Where's the fish????

There are ten times as many sheep in NZ as people.

Tent and rental car. What you can't see are the millions of sand flies in the grass waiting to attack.

Little waves at Raglan.

Doug surfing. Maybe that's him all the way to the right.

South Island

Hello! We crossed over to New Zealand's south island. For the past week we have been traveling down the beautiful west coast. The south island is more rugged and less populated then the north. There are so many lakes and rivers. We have visited several national parks, doing some cool hikes.
In Abel Tasman National Park in the northwest, we walked through amazing forest (the location for Chetwood Forest in The Lord of the Rings) to Harwood's Hole- the biggest cave in the southern hemisphere. We also went to Te Waikoropupu Springs, or "Pupu" for short. They are the largest freshwater springs in N.Z. and supposedly the clearest in the world. Although all the water in N.Z. is sparkling and clear- but especially here!
We then drove to Farewell Spit way up in the north. It's pretty bleak, rough country with lots of birds. We had fun playing in the sand dunes.
Heading south, we have camped by some beautiful lakes and rivers (apparently with no fish!). There are so many nature trails and cool sites to see here. Yesterday, we walked to two different glaciers, both were spectacular. The only thing we really don't like about the south island are the horrible biting sand flies. We are hoping they are only on the west coast!
Today, we moved inland to the popular action packed town of Queenstown. This is where I have been before in 2001, and where I did my first and second bungee jumps! There are so many adrenalin seeking activities here. Doug and I went on a jetboat ride on the Shotover River. It's a fast 25 minute water propelled ride where the driver constantly does 360's and drives close to the rocks. It was very fun.
For tomorrow, we booked a day tour to Milford Sound down south. It is supposed to be some of the prettiest scenery in New Zealand.
Hope everyone is well!

Surf Highway

For the last few days we were on the west coast following Surf Highway. True to its name, Doug had fun riding some waves. Then we drove inland to the country. This morning we awoke to a huge deer right outside our tent. It must be someone's pet because Doug fed it some bisquits by hand.
Today we drove to the East coast to Hastings, in the Hawk's Bay area. There are many vineyards here, so we will spend some time at the wineries.
Tomorrow we will go south to Wellington and spend a couple of days there before taking the ferry over to the south island.

Waitomo Caves

We are in the town of Waitomo, famous for its caves. Yesterday, Doug and I went on an underground cave tubing adventure! It was so fun! Part of the time we were walking and caving, and at other times we were tubing on individual tubes. The water was freezing so we wore wetsuits. We got to jump off underground waterfalls, and squeeze through small crevices. My favorite part was when we all switched our helmet lights off so it was completely dark except for hundreds of glowworms on the cave ceiling. We got to float down river with their lights as our guide! This was one of our favorite things we have done on the trip.
Today we are staying in town to watch the superbowl. Hope you are all doing well.

New Zealand

We are in beautiful New Zealand. We arrived in Auckland on the north island a couple of days ago. We are both kind of sick of city life after Buenos Aires, so we didn't stick around too long. We are also sick of public transportation, so we rented a car for our month long stay here in New Zealand. So far, we have camped our first two nights and will hopefully continue to do so. It is absolutely breathtaking everywhere you look. We are so happy to be here. The weather is warm and sunny. Our plan is to stay at the north island for two weeks, then take the ferry to the south island and stay there for two weeks.

Yesterday we stayed in the town of Matamata. Nearby is Hobbiton, the Hobbit village from the Lord of the Rings. There isn't much remaining from the movie set, so we opted not to go on the $50 tour! The whole area is very beautiful. The day before that we were in a beach town on the eastern coast. We camped there as well and Doug did some surfing before heading out to a winery not too far away.

Today we are in Rotorua, which has thermal springs and spurting geysers. It is also on a lake so we plan on doing some trout fishing. While driving into town we stopped at the hill where they offer "Zorbing". This is where you crawl into an inflated clear plastic ball. They fill it partially with water, and then they roll you down the hill. Doug tried it out and had a great time sliding around inside the ball as it wound its way down the zig zag track.

This afternoon we will have our first try at fishing in New Zealand. The local tackle shop said that our pole and reel (which is fine by California standards) is much too small for the trout here. Hopefully we are able to get a fish on the line to see if they were right.

Buenos Aires

We are at our last stop in South America- Buenos Aires. It is a huge city with lots to do and see. We are staying in a little hotel right in the main center of everything. We have done lots of window shopping and hanging out with locals at the popular bars at night. People are very friendly and always want to know how we like it in their country.
Today we went to a fine arts museum called, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Along with the famous works of Renoir, Monet, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh, we also viewed classic Argentine artists.
We then went to Cementerio de la Recoelta, where huge, impressive crypts hold the city´s most elite. People like past presidents, military heroes, politicians, and Evita! Our visit amoung the dead was complete with loud thunder and ferral cats.
Tonight we are going to a tango show at a famous cafe. Should be fun!

Argentina

We have been in Argentina for a few days. In Mendoza, we walked around the city which had multiple plazas. There was lots going on- vendors and different comedy acts. It was fun for people watching. We also did a wine tour which was informative, but we didn´t care too much for the tastings because they weren´t liberal enough! We have been enjoying the area´s wine, Malbec, with delicious steaks. We like the food here the best so far. I just have to get used to eating so late. Argentines don´t eat dinner until around ten.
We are now in the city of Cordoba. It has several universities so there are alot of young people here with plenty of restraunts and bars. Today we took a two hour bus ride to a German town! (Doug has been homesick) It´s called Villa General Belgrano, and their origins are from a German battleship which sank during WWII. It was very fun. Lots of shops with gnomes and cool knicknacks- both Argentinian and German.
Tomorrow we are taking an early bus to another town, Rosario.

Chile

We moved through Chile pretty fast. From Peru, we took a bus to the beach town, Iquique in northern Chile. We stayed for a couple days. It was very crowded with vacationers from all over South America. While surfing, Doug cut his feet on the reef. Although the cuts weren´t too bad, we went to the emergency room the next day to get the cuts cleaned. It was not the prettiest (or cleanest) of hospitals, and they didn´t use any novicain when they cut deeper to remove rocks and coral! But, so far no infection.
After Iquique, we went to Santiago. We heard from other travelers that it was pretty ugly with lots of pollution, but it didn´t seem to be too bad. We didn´t travel far from our hostal though because it is still painful for Doug to walk. Doug and I did go to a famous bar one night where the drink of the house is called terremoto- icecream and wine. The drink was pretty disgusting, but the atmosphere was fun.
Overall, Chile is more expensive than its neighboring countries. It is also cleaner. We would have liked to go exploring to the south, but we fly out of Buenos Aires in two weeks, so we are somewhat time limited.
We took a beautiful bus ride from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina. It lasted six hours and went right through the Andes Mts. Mendoza is a very European-type of town. Lots of fashionable shops and dining tables outside. It is also wine country so we are going to see about booking a tasting tour for tomorrow.

Last Day In Peru!

Today, we went on a short tour to a place called Sillustani. It sits in the Lake Umayo peninsula. A war-like tribe called the Colla people, burried their nobility here in funerary towers called chullpas. The structures are massive- you can see them scattered along the hilltops. Other people, including the Incas, used this sacred site as well.
The cylindrical structures vary in size, some housing complete families, or a group of shamans or kings. They were burried with plenty of food and belongings for their next life. Only a small hole facing east was left unsealed.
So this was our last full day in Peru. We take a night bus tonight to Tacna, then a short train ride in the morning across the border into Chile!

Lake Titicaca

We are at a city called Puno in southern Peru. The city borders the big Lake Titicaca. It is the highest lake with boat service in the world. We have noticed the change in altitude. Besides breathing a litter harder, the sun is more intense and the air is very clear.
Yesterday, we went on a day tour visiting several islands in the lake. It was very interesting to see and hear about the different histories and cultures of the people.
The first island we went to was Isla Taquile. With a population of about 2000, the Quechua-speaking islanders have a strong sense of group identity. They rarely marry non-Taquile people. I love the clothing the people wear. Very bright, multilayered skirts and beautifully embroidered blouses for the women. The men are equally as bright- wearing a woven hat (looks like a cute floppy nightcap!) that they weave themselves. The color of the hat denotes social position and marital status. The hats worn by officials looked somewhat ridiculous. Kind of amusing!
We walked around the Island which had beautiful scenery. The lake is very clear(which made me want to plan a family Tahoe trip for summer 2008!)
We had a tasty fish lunch with papas fritas, rice, and matè tea. Doug likes this tea, made from coca leaves, it helps fight symptoms of the high altitude.
The next Islands we went to were Islas Flotantes, literally- floating islands! The islands are built using the buoyant totora reeds that grow in the lake. The Uros poeple who live here constantly replenish the top with more reeds as they rot from the bottom. And they use an anchor to keep from floating away! They first made these floating islands centuries ago to isolate themselves from aggressive peoples.
Today, several hundred people live on the islands. I was surprised when a boy proudly showed me his home- made from the totora reeds- and there was a t.v.! They have a few solar panels throughout the islands. The Uros people are very friendly and used to tourists visiting them. We rode in one of their reed boats to another floating island. They gathered around and sang to us as we left!

Machu Picchu

On Tuesday morning, we took the earliest bus (5:30) to Machu Picchu. It was a perfect morning to go. We got there just in time to see the sun rise up over the site. Machu Picchu is one of the most amazing places we have ever seen. The location itself is spectacular, and when you climb the steps and get your first glimpse of the ruins, it litterally takes your breath away!
Machu Picchu is the best known Inca site, however, little is known about what its function was. Archaeologists have different theories and speculations about why it was built and when it became uninhabited (the Spanish Conquistadors never found it). Although, because of the quality of stonework and detailed ornaments, it must have been a place for ceremonies.
It was fun walking through the maze-like ruins. We passed ceremonial baths, towers used for astronomy, altars, tombs, and an amazing carved rock pillar in which the Incas were able to predict the solstices by using the angles. We were impressed. Now I remember why I studied Anthropology!
Doug and I also did a short walk next to the ruins. It was more of a steep climb up a mountain called Huayua Picchu. The top gave us a great view of the back of the ruins.
Pictures to come soon....

Machu Piccu Pictures