Arrival! :)

Arrived in Ireland Tuesday morning.  Super pumped obviously.

Sunday & Monday Pics

French crepes.  Delicious.

Mona Lisa!

Musee du Louvre.

Went on a bus tour of Paris today which went through the courtyard of the Louvre Museum, the most visited museum in the world.
Plan to check out the inside on Monday.  Some pictures from outside of the Louvre.

Photo credit to Kenny for this gem.

Au Paris

mmmm. <3

Goodbye Vienna

Thursday, June 24th

Schonbrunn palace, Vienna.  The gardens of the former summer residence of the prominent Hasburg monarchs.

Wien.

I have fallen completely, totally, utterly in love with Vienna.  It is such a beautiful place and so rich with history and culture.


Vienna's walk of fame for Austrian composers.

World cup fever is everywhere.  This child is the cutest little patriotic thing.

Kalispera!

Back in the world of good internet connections! We spent the last few days in Athens and on a cruise through islands of Greece and a spot along the west coast of Turkey. Greece is often also called Hellas, which means "city of light", referring to the light of the sun (the name Greece means something like "many islands" since over 500 islands are associated with the country). Thus the pictures I chose to post from Greece all have the light of the sun incorporated in some way.


Also, changed the settings for posting comments and you no longer need a gmail/google account to post. Let me know if you still have problems posting comments.


Mom & I after surviving a hike down a ridiculously steep hill.

An old windmill on the island of Mykonos.

Ancient ruins of Ephesus, the second largest city of the ancient world.

Approaching the cruise boat off the coast of Santorini island!

Acropolis.  An absolutely beautiful place.

 
Vienna pictures coming soon! xo

Last Day in NZ

One time, Dad agreed to do a skywalk with me which is a walk along a ledge with no handrails 192 meters up (http://www.skywalk.co.nz/).  This picture is one of the few moments where Dad took one hand off the guide rope.  :)   Was a terrifying experience but delivered absolutely amazing views of the city.

Currently at the Dubai airport on route to Athens, Greece!  At 5:15am, the temperature outside was already 35 degrees Celsius... ridiculous.

16 days down, 349 to go.

I keep missing days...

A view along the Auckland waterfront from Tuesday.

The City of Sails

In Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, 1/4 of the population own a sailboat, earning this place the nickname "City of Sails".  Although it is approaching the middle of winter here, today we took to the seas for a sailing cruise.

more importantly...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORAINE!  Hope you have a stellar day :)!!!

Celebrations :)

Sunday, June 13th, was mom&dad's 29th wedding anniversary!  Celebrated with evening drinks at the top of Sky Tower in Auckland city.  Don't they look just lovely :)

sunrise, sunrise. looks like morning in your eyes.

Saturday was a bust as the whole day was basically spent at the airport.  So this picture is actually from the early hours of Sunday but still appropriate :)

Sunrise over New Zealand from the plane window as we prepare to land.

Seoul city, that's where we're leaving, dancing & singing til dawn.

Friday was our last night in Seoul.  As such, went to a neon-themed birthday party.  Friday's picture is of all the STFX grads present decked out in neon.

I couldn't get this song out of my head the whole time we were in Seoul...

Video: Partland Brothers, Soul City

Next stop, New Zealand!  :)

Seoul City Tower

A few days ago we went up to the observation deck at North Seoul Tower which looks out onto the entire city.  24 million people take up alot of space.  Took a video, link is posted below.  Can't figure out how to fix the camera angle but it kind of gives an interesting effect.


View of Seoul

I got Seoul, but I'm not a soldier.

Many of the streets in Korea tend to be very narrow & littered with people.  As such, the cutest vehicle ever has been made.  It looks like a transport truck, just shrunk to a ridiculously cute size.  I hope I have captured it in the pictures below.

The alternative option is to use a bike to just carry your load.  This method also ends up looking ridiculous.

Also, the highlight of this post in my opinion, is this rather epic video taken at the hotel bar.  Basically we walked in, the guy welcomed us with open arms, then perfomed this fabulous piece.

Live Performance. Worth taking a look :)

Food!

Food in Korea is all about the side dishes--the tables need to be large to accomodate all the plates and bowls.  Here are two different meals that we've eaten.

Extra picture today: Korea is so pumped up for the world cup that some of the subway cars have been decorated to look like a soccer stadium with fake grass floor. Way too funny.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.

Classic drinking picture of the family. This is after a lovely day of tourist events, followed by a Japanese style dinner and drinks/cards at a Hof (german word for beer room, basically a place to drink lots).  Dad & I are now auction120 grand champs. :)

Sunday in Seoul

Sunday afternoon in Insadong. Lanterns at Jogyesa Buddhist Temple, leftover from Buddha's birthday celebrations.  I really liked how the tree was incorporated in.

Sunday evening in Dongdaemun.  Had some delicious barbequed galbi and korean ice cream!

Busan :)

I didn't take many pictures yesterday so both of these photos are from today's trip to the city of Busan along the south east coast of Korea.


Drinks in the sun while wading in the pacific ocean. Fabulous times.

At the largest fish market in Korea, Jagalchi.  I believe these crabs are in love.

An Adventure Begins.

Three days ago, my mother, father, and myself embarked on a round the world trip to visit my lovely sister Megan in South Korea. I've decided to start up a photo blog to document the trip. Every day I'll post my favorite photo from that day's events. Here is days 1-3, enjoy!

Tuesday, June 1
Leg one of the trip: leaving Sydney in our itty bitty plane. :)

Wednesday June 2

This day happened sometime while we were in the air...but thought I'd use it to wish Laura a Happy Birthday!!  This is from the joyous days of exams.  I miss you and those pants greatly.

Thursday June 3

Reunion with offspring. A lovely moment.