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Showing posts from 2018

A Winter In Europe: Ireland & England

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IRELAND: DUB 2 DUB The last time we felt the bitter cold of winter had been the early months of 2014, months before we even knew we'd be setting off on this epic journey abroad. Penelope was barely a year old. Nearly four very hot and humid years later, we were ready for a winter in Europe. Well, maybe not that ready; none of us owned as much as a sweatshirt. On a layover in Stockholm, we saw our first snow! But sad spoiler alert, this would be the only snow we'd see on this trip. We seemed to just miss it each place we went. Bing Crosby would've been pissed. Our first stop on our European Winter Tour was Dublin. From Dubai to Dublin, our tickets read DUB to DUB. Our first several nights in Ireland were spent in a cozy loft above a bustling bar in a part of town known as the Temple Bar District. Little did I know, this particular B&B was clearly meant for singles and not the likes of a family. Regardless, our host Patrick made us feel at home and even

Hong Kong Surprise

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I've sung the wrong song, played ping pong, watched King Kong, and acted like a ding dong, but I had never been to Hong Kong. After saying our goodbyes to our life in Indonesia,we were on our way for a stopover at the "Pearl of the Orient".  Was it wise to go on vacation en route to a big move from Indonesia to the United States to Dubai? Was it wise to take this much luggage to a tiny hotel room in Hong Kong? Probably not, but we made it work!  Besides seeing Hong Kong, our secret mission was to reunite Pea and her best friend Jigmai at Disneyland. Our good friend Tshering, mother of Jigmai and her older brother Wangyel, planned with us accordingly. Penelope and Jigmai were practically inseparable while we lived in Jakarta and taking Penelope away from her friend was truly one of the hardest points in leaving Indonesia. And thus, with careful planning, the Hong Kong surprise was in the works! Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005 and was the first in