I've included Highlights in every blog post thus far, but as I close out this trip, I was thinking all the great things we got to do, and I started writing a list of the most memorable ones, and the list went on and on. So I thought I would share it in closing. Final highlights from our trip include:
> Watching and hearing glaciers calve in Alaska, > Walking across glaciers and rappelling into glacial crevasses in Canada > Going to sleep in a tent to the shrieking sounds of elk mating in Jasper National Park > Bright milky blue glacial lake vistas in Banff > Classical music concerts in the original Mozart hall at Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna > Getting lost in a hedge maze at the Schonbrunn Zoo in Vienna > Zooming along the crowded streets of Paris past the Eiffel Tower, Seine river and Louvre Museum on e-scooters > Gazing in awe at the mighty heights of the Nave roof and stained glass ceiling windows of the Narbonne Cathedral > spending the afternoon lounging by the pool of a southern France villa, and finishing the evening with an outdoor barbecue, hosted by our dear friends > Being hosted by wonderful friends in their homes, and seeing local sights, and feeling like guests rather than tourists in Southern France > Hiking along the stunning limestone ocean cliffs and caves of the Calanques national park > Visiting one after another more beautiful medieval mountain villages in southern France > Being part of a mini-miracle piano playing Primary program in Bratislava, Slovakia > Finding Liszt’s hidden hometown first concert building marker in Sopron, Hungary > Meeting up with missionaries across Eastern Europe for dinner and fun conversation and sending selfie pictures back home to parents > Finding and staying in an awesome little Airbnb in heart of the walking district of downtown Llubljana, Slovenia > Learning about, and then discovering in person the quirky secrets of Skopje’s downtown square, statues, architecture > Daytrips into Kosovo, Serbia, and Albania to discover mystical healing property mountainsides, riverside restaurants and ancient castle wall remains, hidden roads, and unbuilt bridges > A 5 world religion Sunday in Sofia, visiting the sacred meeting houses of Mormons, Catholics, Jews, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Muslims in a single Sabbath afternoon stroll > Making pasta and eating our own dinner in the home-kitchen of a Bologna based chef > Eating our own many pasta dished in our Airbnbs, and taking along Jacob’s personal creole seasoning stash, and our pumpkin oil bottle, and eating cruise food with our own personal touch > being inspired by the magnificent glowing mosaic patterns of churches, basilicas and baptistries in Ravenna and Venice, and wandering into multiple cathedrals in Venice, in every quarter and witnessing the worship and devotion of people > Cruising along the cities and military installations and then endless miles of desert in the Suez Canal. > Walking along the souks and ancient neighborhoods of Old Jeddah, Saudi Arabia > Hiking along the coast to a distant remote beach in Seychelles, and jumping in the water at the edge of white sand beach to cool down > Accompanying mom multiple times per week to achieve her goal of 50 hikes at beach walks, mountain paths, city strolls and forest ambles > Scuba diving in the Seychelles and Mauritius amongst Turtles, sharks, coral and reef fish in abundance > Making new friends on the cruise with Nikki and Rodrigo, and Maja and the Krause family, and getting to know Ori and Monica much better, while out in the Indian Ocean > Hiking to the top of Table Mountain in Capetown to see the clouds spilling over the mountaintops like molasses oozing off the edges of a stack of pancakes > Walking amongst penguins by the hundreds congregated at Boulder beach in South Africa > Bungee-jumping off of the 3rd highest bungee-jump bridge in the world at Bloukrans bridge > Driving into Lesotho across the border-entry point amongst hundreds of energized Lesothoan’s returning for a local holiday > Taking a walking safari in the savannah and forest of Swaziland amongst zebra, antelope, corcodiles, and giraffe and walking ankle deep through muddy ravine trails after the previous day’s rains > Spotting rhinos hidden in the brush, and waiting patiently as they exited the bushes and lumbered across the road directly in front of our Jeep in Kruger national park > Hiking down into a Blyde Canyon valley trail, and swimming in multiple waterfall lakes and marveling at the beauty of the magical landscape that exists in south Africa.
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Fall Semester 2022Here we go again! Our 8 Suitcases have been whittled down to 4 suitcases as we take a four month world trip with our two youngest kids, Megan and Jacob. From Canada to Europe to islands in the Indian Ocean and finally to South Africa, from Sep to Dec 2022, here are our travels and experiences. Archives
December 2022
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