Arrival: Ios

It's hard to believe that earlier this morning we were already saying goodbye to our first Greek island - Naxos, and have since spent the day on Ios.

We got up and had breakfast before Nikos picked us up and took us to the port. It's quite notable that he will be part of our Greek memories for years and years to come, and yet we were 'quick turnaround tourists' (I totally made that phrase up, lol) for him. As always, we need to be aware of our presence as you never know what kind of mark you can make on someone's experience!

We waited for the "Flying Cat" ferry and boarded rather chaotically - we had no idea where to put our luggage and when we figured it out, there was little room for our bags. We just sat them down and hoped for the best - it worked out fine. The ferry moved really fast so we were in Ios in no time (about 50 minutes). We ended up heading to the hotel (in a van) with the same folks that sat behind us on the plane - neat! They are our parents' age and are from Oshawa. After days with only broken English it was nice to converse easily. They commended us on taking this adventure while we can, noting that it gets harder the older you get.

We ended up at a hotel called Ios Palace, although we were supposed to go to Dionysos. We're not exactly sure what happened and we were looking forward to Dionysos as it had fabulous reviews on tripadvisor. Ios Palace however is  an "option 3" hotel (i.e. more expensive, especially since we purchased the "option 1" package!). Needless to say, we aren't complaining! The hotel appears to be the largest in the area we are and is lovely (much busier than in our Naxos hotel that had approximately 10 guests... Or less, lol). Our room is on the top floor which has provided another spectactular view - mountains, beach, restaurants and the two pools of the hotel. It's pretty amazing.  This view comes at a cost though, including not one but two elevators plus a hill and some stairs, lol. Jeff and I are grateful that we're mobile and able-bodied! We were sweaty messes when we first arrived and immediately turned on the air conditioning. This Greek sun is HOT! And it sure is tough (more like gross) to try and put sunscreen on your sweaty body.

We went for a quick walk after getting into our swimsuits and then opted for the pool as it was mid afternoon and we didn't think it was worth it to cough up the 5€ for the beach chairs seeing as we'd go tomorrow. The pool was glorious - 100% refreshing. We were in and out of it a number of times whe we felt our skin was starting to fry, lol. We wear lots of sunscreen and take shade breaks whenever we can. Neither of us wants to contend with a sunburn on vacation!!

We stopped at a mini market that sold grocery store items - we picked up the essentials, beer, water, chocolate and chips. Jeff bought oregano flavoured Lays and they were good! We'd eat them at home if they were available.

We opted to try a restaurant for dinner that was recommended in our Greece guide book called Drakos. It is known for seafood; and as Jeff would say, "When in Rome!" It was on the exact opposite end of the beach, which was only a 10 minute walk. We sat at a table next to the water.

Jeff ordered the catch of the day, which was an experience! He had to select the type of fish (red snapper, scorpion fish and some other grey unknown) and then select the specific fish to get weighed (for price) and dinner! He said the only fish he had heard of was the red snapper and the scorpion fish sounded "dangerous", lol!! When it arrived, it was literally just the cooked fish on a plate. Our server offered to open it up and remove the bones, which was greatly appreciated as it would have been a challenge and a half for Jeff. He had the fish (with a lemon and oil dressing) with bread and oil that came with the meal. I ordered a squid (calamari - did you know that the word "calamari is Greek!? I didn't!) stuffed with feta cheese, tomato and onion. It was risky for me as I've only ever had calamari fried - you know, so it's practically unrecognizable! I had kidded with Jeff that I didn't know what I'd do if the whole squid came... And of course it did, tentacles and head and all. It was mind over matter at that point. Thankfully the stuffing inside of it was delicious! I ate all of it but the tentacles - I just couldn't do it, lol.

During dinner we watched a young boy throw bread into the water to feed some fish - they really gobbled it down! We also people watched around us, including a family with two toddler boys. Jeff and I had read in our Greek guide book that children are adored and they are expected to assimilate/participate in adult life (i.e. adult food, long dinners, conversation) - we've noticed a number of parents appear quite lax with their children (not compromising safety) - no helicopter parenting here!! 

We bumped in to our new Canadian friends on our way back to the hotel. As silly as it sounds, it's comforting/enjoyable to see 'familiar' faces - a little patriotic unity and similar culture unites!

We got in around 10pm and are getting ready for bed now (10:30pm).

Tomorrow will probably be a beach day - especially if this hot weather continues!

Until next time,

Amanda and Jeff xoxo

Beach day in Naxos

Again I was wide awake last night at midnight, but this time I think I can attribute it to the heat. I spent a ridiculous amount of time (and annoying beeps from my frivilous button pushing) trying to figure out the air conditioner, with no real success. Well, I was able to get it working but then it got too cold with the fan, so then had to turn it off. Urgh! Thankfully I was able to get back to sleep some time after 1am.

We were up at 8am and then slowly made our way to breakfast. There were only a few other guests around. I had yogurt with nutella, juice (that tasted like apple spice tea??), some canned peaches, a hardboiled egg and some fried things we couldn't identify, lol. It all hit the spot. We're pretty easy to please.

We called our friendly cab driver, Nikos, to take us to the beach. Nikos has driven us nearly a half dozen times at this point so he's become a familiar face. We told him we wanted to go to Propokios beach but he said no, Plaka is better as there are fewer people. Seeing as he is a resident of Naxos we figured we'd trust his reccomendation. He was bang on. We drove by Propokios and he was right, it was a crowded beach in size and full of people.

It took about 10 minutes or so to get to Plaka and we were glad we followed Nikos' advice. Naxos has some of the most beautiful beaches in Greece and this didn't disappoint. It is 4km long, wide and soft sand. The water was clear and warm too - as warm as the ocean gets anyway! Nikos dropped us off at Cedar Cafe, which he said was his friend, and left us to our own devices. The main road was dirt, which added to the beachside charm. Jeff and I walked a little bit down the road before opting to return to the Cedar Cafe because we liked the look of the thatch umbrellas on the beach (and Nikos said they would call him for us when we wanted to return to our hotel). We rented a couple of chairs and umbrella (already in place on the beach) for 5€ and settled in for the day. A server from the cafe took our order, bringing Jeff a large beer for the beach. Jeff's easy to please.

We spent the afternoon in the sunshine and heat, reading, swimming and lounging. At one point, Jeff and I were in the water and a fish got eerily close to us - seeing as a fish attacked us and our friends in Cuba in February, I was quick to get out of the water! Jeff said it wasn't big deal (ha!). It didn't stop me from going in again when I got too hot.

We watched the waves vary from calm stillness to roaring, at one point crashing over the sandy incline of the beach and past our chairs! It made nearly everyone jump to grab their belongings should they have been on the sand! I don't think anyone was expecting the water to go as far as it did - it only happened once but it was enough to have everyone move their stuff, lol. Thankfully I had my backpack off the ground.

We opted for lunch at the Cedar Cafe and it was delicious! I had a Greek salad (tomato, onion, feta, olives, capers, olive oil), and it was so good! The feta cheese was so creamy and the olive oil wasn't the cheapy kind we get on sale at Zehrs (lol). I tried a black olive - still don't like them, lol. Jeff had saginaki (fried cheese) and it was okay, nothing really special. We split bread and tzatziki (drizzled with olive oil) which was also super delicious. We are quickly making our way through our must-try Greek food list! Only thing that is left is moussaka!! And the drinks ouzo and kitron (although we bought some and will try soon!)

At 5pm we had the Cedar Cafe call Nikos, who picked us up and dropped us to our hotel. We'll be seeing him in the morning when he drives us back to the port for our ferry at 11:35am. The people here have been very friendly and accomodating. We're lucky as our Greek only includes the word 'hello' (yassus) at this point, lol. 

Jeff and I have showered and are now thinking about dinner. I'm writing on the ipad as I look out over the bay and at the town of Naxos and surrounding mountains (beauty). While we've enjoyed our stay and would return, we would probably stay elsewhere to avoid the need for a taxi - we could rent a car or atv but we weren't prepared to navigate that with only a day and a half here.

Update - we tried the kitron. It's made from citrus leaves and comes in three different varieties. Clear is strongest, then orange, then green (increasing in sweetness). Jeff bought a sample of orange. He said it tasted good, after it burned down your throat. I say, it burns down your throat and into your belly. I had to chase it with beer, lol. I guess that's what 40% alcohol will do to you. Blegh! lol

Side note - it's kind of gross to have to put your used toilet paper in the garbage after using it. Nothing like poop paper in the trash can for a day. Be thankful for the sewer system back home!

We've now had dinner. I had cheese and spinach pastries and a plate of eggplant and Jeff had fried cod with beets - all was very good. My mai tai however was SUPER strong, which was was unpleasant.

It's 9pm and we're ready to head inside after taking in the lights from town. The wind isn't too strong so it feels warmer tonight. I hope it doesn't stay too warm or it'll be me against the air conditioner again!

Tomorrow we're off to the island of Ios (pronounced ee-ohs) and the reviews of our hotel on tripadvisor are awsome!! We're excited.

Until tomorrow,

Amanda and Jeff xo

Day 3: Island of Naxos

We started today early, way too early - I'm talking before 5am and I had already been awake tossing and turning since 12am. I think my late afternoon siestas, albeit brief, plus jet lag are still interefering with a good night's rest.

We grabbed a very quick breakfast at the hotel - most of the items from yesterday werent available (due to the ugly earliness of our need, lol). I was surprised to see so many people taking the same bus as us to the port for our ferry. 

We had a brief few minutes of anxiety when we still hadn't received our ferry tickets for one of our trips, but thankfully at the very last minute (actually a few minutes late) our air transat guide showed up, confirmed the bus and gave us our needed tickets. We stopped at a few other hotels to pick up other guests heading to th port. When we got there, it was quite busy, but we had no issue getting on or loading our luggage. We found our seats (after realizing there was assigned seating) and settled in for the journey. The ferry itself was really quite big, holding loads and loads of people. It was going to three different islands (Mykanos, Naxos, Santorini). We sat in a foursome with a small table between, more comfortable than those sitting in airplane fashion. The seats were comfortable and there was lots of room. There were two decks; the upper for the "club class", which I assume was first class. We sat with a woman who spoke Greek and a girl about my age named Shannon. She is from Oklahoma This was her 3rd time to Greece. We chatted a bit before retreating to our headphones. Jeff and I each took a gravol for motion sickness, just in case, and we felt fine. I had a nap. Jeff said he watched people fall all over the place trying to walk when the boat was quite rocky. He said it looked like Oktoberfest!! lol. 

We stopped at Mykanos first. The transition from passengers off to new ones on was really efficient. An hour (about 11am or so) later we arrived to Naxos. When we got off the boat we had thought we were looking for an air transat person, however quickly realized that wasn't the case when we saw a man holding a typed piece of paper with "Litt" on it! That was funny and something Jeff nor I had experienced before. He took us to our hotel, Naxos Magic Village. It is about 10 minutes away from the port. It looks a little old but it sure has charm and the view from our room is spectacular - overlooking the ocean, beach, and town. It really is something to see. I'm guessing we have a premium room as not all have this view. It pays to come during the mid-season versus during the summer! We've barely seen anyone here.

We unpacked, got changed and called for a taxi to take us to town. We could have rented a car, 4 wheeler or mo-ped but after seeing how close the taxi drivers drive to one another, we decided against it. The parking itself would have been tough too without anyone really following any rules, lol.

We wandered through the town, eventually finding a castle area that housed a Catholic Church that is still used regularly, and a dilapetated tower. It wasnt really all that much to see. We then walked along the street near the water that had many restaurants and souvenir shops geared to tourists. We stopped for ice cream, which was delicious! Jeff had caramel and I had nutella. 

We walked until we could see the temple of Apollo - which was started and never completed, and then cabbed it back to our hotel. The downside to being so far from town is the taxi fare as there aren't any restaurants, etc. near us. The hotel has a restaurant which is where we will have dinner.

We spent the afternoon at the pool; only one other person was there with us. It has been very quiet here. The sound of the ocean is our background noise, which is lovely. The sun was hot but the breeze cool so it was perfect for some R&R. We then headed back for a snack and to chill out berfore dinner. Our view is beautiful but chilly since the sun has moved. I had to put a sweater on!

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant as it would cost us 10€ each way to go to town. We each got a kebab, which was a huge ground meat patty (like a homemade hamburger patty but longer) on top of a pita and on the side was fries, tomato, onion and tzatziki. It was all very good, although we weren't sure how to eat it; did we pick it up like a wrap? Use knife and fork? It was messy but we ate it with our hands. It was a lot of food and we were full when done. Then the waitress brought us ice cream; I tried to say I'm so full and she replied with, "it's just ice cream", lol. We ate a few bites and then paid. It was much cheaper than going to town and we are satisfied, if not slightly uncomfortably full!

So far we've really enjoyed the pitas, gyros, tzatziki, yogurt, spanokopita and ice cream. I have yet to have mousakka and look forward to trying it when I can!

We're now in bed at 8:36pm - that's what happens when you're up ridiculously early. We were able to get wi-fi, which we didn't think they would have, so that was a really nice surprise - I get to write to you!

Jeff's found a fishing show (in Greek of course) to watch. Yes, despite our quaint room, we still have a flatscreen TV, lol. So far, we've been able to watch Mike and Molly as well as Two and a Half Men in English before bed. Huzzah!

Tomorrow we are heading to the beach for most of the day and looking forward to some ocean swimming.

Hope all is well on the other side of the pond!

With love,

Amanda and Jeff xo

Day two:History, sun and gyros

After an odd night's sleep (wide awake at 1am - stupid jet lag!) we headed down for breakfast that the hotel offers and is part of our package. I was surprised to see the variety of foods as Greeks aren't known to be big breakfast eaters - I guess the hotel has figured out their tourists! There were baked goods (croissants, cheese pie?, bread), fruit, boiled eggs, bacon (cold and too soft though), cereal, yogurt, assorted deli meats, feta cheese, mushrooms... We were able to make our plates up pretty easily - my favourite, yogurt with nutella!

We then had to decide what to do today. As it was shaping up to be another scorcher, we opted to head to the National Archaeological Museum as we figured there would be air conditioning, lol. The other option was to climb some big hill Jeff found on our map. It is supposed to have a great view of the city, but all I could think of was what sweaty messes we would be. We have a pretty stellar view from our room and from the penthouse of the hotel anyway.

Side note - the elevators in this hotel are divided by even and odd floors. I've never seen that before. They're also a little unnerving as they make scary sounds and don't remain open despite trying to keep them from closing!

We walked quite a ways down town, which is covered in graffiti, to the subway station where we bought tickets and made our way to the train. It took one transfer to get to where we were going. We didn't get lost once! 

The museum, as hoped, was beautifully air conditioned and after our walk we were grateful for the respite. We spent a few hours wandering through the exhibits. It was pretty incredible to see pieces from ancient (neolithic) Greece that were over 6000 years old! I can hardly comprehend what life would have been like back then. We sure saw a lot of pots and pans - even back then they were creative in style! We also saw huge sculptures of gods (Poseidon, Aphrodite, Dionysus) and men (e.g. Emperor Hadrian who was worshipped as a god), as well as endless figures carved from different materials and lots of jewelry. There was lots to see and after we had our fill and things began to look the same (which is inevitable after your first 100 items in an exhibit), we stopped for lunch in the museum cafe. It was a disappointment (neither of our meals were all that tasty - phyllo pastry kind of stuff). I got a slushie that cost more than 5x than what we'd pay at home (whoops!!). Oh well.

When we got back to the hotel we put our trunks on and spent a few hours at the pool. We were lucky to get seats as Jeff had read that it gets quite busy up there, but maybe that was more during high season. It was beautiful again and a lovely way to spend the afternoon - warm breeze by the pool.

We grabbed dinner from the same gyro place as last night (cheap, easy and good) - we each had a chicken and pork kind, both were delicious. 

We have to be up super early tomorrow to get to the port where a ferry will take us to the island of Naxos. We have to be ready for the bus at 5:45am... eww. Jeff thinks the ferry ride will take 4-6 hours; I'm hoping it'll only be 4.

So, pretty early to bed for us so we can be up for our 5:15am breakfast.

It was another relaxed, even-paced kind of day. We're enjoying ourselves and looking forward to experiencing what 3 of the Greek islands have to offer!

Off to the next leg of our adventure (but first, bed).

With love,

Amanda and Jeff xo

Greece Day One

We made it! Opa! It's been a really long day though. I'm not quite sure what day my body even thinks it is at this point. Our flight from Toronto was scheduled to leave at 2:40pm Sunday (and we were right on time) but we experienced a Hollywood-like interruption when the lady across the aisle from Jeff needed medical attention. I've got to say, it sure was something to hear, "Is there a doctor on board?" from the pilot. Needless to say we were right next to the drama and the poor lady was not doing well (chest pains). This was all happening just moments before taking off (I mean, we're on the runway at this point!). The plane returned to the gate, fire and rescue entered and she and her husband left. The poor woman! I hope it was nothing serious. I'm glad she got the support as I'd want it if it were me. We ended up delayed an hour.  

The flight beyond that was calm. We had Ipad screens in the seats ahead of us so we watched movies (Pitch Perfect 2 and Inside Out) and played games. It helped the time go by (10.5 hours in total with the flight delay - was long). I took a couple of Gravol at one point after dinner (chipotle chicken with rice, Greek type salad, bun, fudge) which helped me get a wee bit of a sleep but nothing substantial. It's next to impossible to get good sleep on a plane - no comfortable positions, especially after 8 hours.

We arrived to Athens at 8:20am Monday (today - yes, we travelled through time to the future!), found our luggage, made it to air transat bus and got to our hotel - a 45 minute drive from the airport. We had a brief orientation (that was more boring than anything) and then headed out of the hotel because we couldn't check in yet. We wandered through a supermarket on our walk as we always enjoy doing this. We went up and down the aisles looking at everything. It's pretty amazing how much is familiar (nutella, cheerios, tide, pringles, stride gum, activia yogurt...).  And yet there were many items we didn't have a clue what they were. The grocery store was two levels, with Walmart-like items on one level (luggage, clothing, household items) and food below. You had to take a flat escalator down between the floors (I later realized it was flat because people would be pushing shopping carts between floors). There was a whole section devoted to fresh fish lying out in buckets too, heads still on and everything. We were wondering where the funky smell was coming from! We picked up water and chips before heading back outside. Jeff grabbed a Starbucks coffee and I grabbed, what I assume was, spanakopita, which was delicious! Layers of phyllo pastry and cheese and spinach - yum!!  We sat the shade a bit before heading back to the hotel. It appears we are in a grimy part of the city. The buildings sure look run down. Also note, the cross walk man sign changes from green to red immediately - no blinking, no yellow, so they're basically telling you to HURRY UP!

We were able to check in to the hotel when we got back and the room is just fine, nothing special, and not bad. The view though is pretty amazing. All I can see are white, off white or beige buildings that house Athens' 5 million residents (for a country of 11 million, that's a lot!).  There is barely any free land space or natural greenery - just building after building after building. These places are so close together someone could sneeze three blocks away and you'd hear them. It sure is a sight to see. Nothing like home.

Jeff and I fell asleep this afternoon in our room. We're creatures of habit and this disrupted sleep (i.e. Jeff hadn't slept all night) was tough. It's also been 30+ degrees out which is tiring in and of itself. We knew today would be generally low key and we've both been okay with that. We woke at approximately 3pm Athens time and headed to the Penthouse to the pool and bar. It was gorgeous! The lounge for drinks was very pretty, the pool was refreshing and we were totally surrounded by the city (I mean 360 panoramic!). From my lounge chair, I could see a mountain. It was beautiful. The sun was hot and the pool was cool so we spent a couple of hours lounging comfortably. 

We picked up some beer and snacks from the grocery store before grabbing gyros at a shop along the road - they were delicious. We'd have them again easily! 

We've found the computer where I can blog (at least for another day) so we've taken some time to get that done before going to bed for a good night's sleep before figuring out tomorrow's plan. We're in no rush and are going to take our time. We're both looking forward to it.
 
Overall, I think today was a very relaxing way to start our trip - long but pretty low key.

Hope you are enjoying your long weekend!

With love,

Amanda and Jeff

P.S. Thankfully there is English all over the place or we would be doomed! I don't know the names of the letters in Greek, let alone how to pronounce them! We just smile and say thank you, a lot. So far so good.

Opa!

It's been two and a half years since my last post - hard to believe (well, maybe not, since I just totally forgot about this blog *gasp*). So much has happened.  In a nutshell, we went to Cuba as my last post indicated and we had a great time - the hotel was fabulous and the beach was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The water was crystal clear and glorious - the definition of my 'happy place' (I'm pretty thrilled as you can see...).

After that adventure, my husband (of a year now!) and I got married - had a great day despite the rain. Great food (homemade mac n' cheese anyone!??), great music, a photobooth, friends, family and a day that celebrated the joy and commitment we bring to each others lives.

 

We then headed off to Wald Disney World for our honeymoon. It was wild - 108 degrees every day (don't ever go in August...) and that made it pretty miserable at times, but we did our best to enjoy the experience. We ate like royalty (Disney food is AMAZING!!) and saw all sorts of fantastic displays and rides and larger than life parks. It really was magical (despite sweating the entire time). We left for one day to Universal Studios so I could see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - which totally made my trip. We got to tour Hogsmeade village (Honeydukes candy shop anyone? And Butter beer - which tasted SUPER sweet); take the Hogwarts Express (train) to Diagon Alley and we got to try on wizard robes and I picked out a wand (well, really it found me). I mean, for Harry Potter fans, this is beyond fantastic!! It was such a ball, even hubby was impressed and he's only a "fan" by default through me. 

 

     (Below is lunch one day - LUNCH!)

                    (This was a lucky shot as there were a bazillion people around. I ran over and got hubby to snap this quick!)

Since then, we've been to Cuba again (that's 5 times for me) - Holguin. It wasn't super fabulous but it was nice enough. I wasn't at work! That was in February of this year, so 7 months ago, and now my hunny and I are heading off to Greece. GREECE!! We've got a fantastic two week trip ahead of us starting tomorrow. We're flying out mid-afternoon on a direct flight to Athens. With the time change, we'll arrive about 7am Athens time - kind of crazy. That jet lag will get me for sure! Or, perhaps the adrenaline will keep me pumped throughout the day - I guess I'll see!

We then spend 2 nights in Athens, then a few nights each on the islands of in Ios, Naxos and Santorini before returning to Athens for a few extra nights we added on to our package (http://www.transatholidays.com/en/Athens/Island-Hopping-Omega?ID=25533&tmpl=DO) just to chill out and relax before returning home. We're so excited! Well, I am - hubby is the quiet enthusiast :)

I haven't packed yet and we'll be on the road in less than 24 hours! With all the traveling I've done though, I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll pull it together pretty easily. I've got most items ready to go, but still waiting on some laundry to dry (and at 30+ degrees outside, it's drying quickly).

What an adventure this will be - again! I can't wait to get to the airport. We love the anticipation and the possibilities of the airport - the ability to go anywhere in the world is pretty amazing and very much for the privileged of us that are able to afford (in many ways) that luxury. We are so privileged to live the life we do and so we try to take our traveling experiences and apply them to our day-to-day to make our world at home a little better - whether that's compassion, a broader mind, curiosity or patience.

Until we meet again - see you soon! Or in Greek, "α λέμε σύντομα" (I think anyway - I just Googled it...). My broken Spanish isn't going to help me here... :)

Amanda

New adventures

Wow... it's been awhile since I last posted - nearly a year! 
The highlights of the last year? Well, I was unemployed until August, which was stressful and then I I was hired for a position in my field that really is a great fit! It's a contract position though... *fingers crossed that something comes out of it* I'm enjoying it and learning a lot, which is awesome.

I can't believe it's been over a year since we got home from our Eurotrip adventure - time sure flies when you're having fun, I guess!  We still talk about it often and smile at memories and stories we find ourselves rehashing.  Around Christmas time, for example, we went into a popular upscale bistro/grocery store/market place in town and found a whole ton of products that we saw all over Europe... it made us laugh and reminisce.  We saw the Mozart chocolate balls from Austria, the awful cookies we had in Germany at the Haus Reinbeck, the Italian chocolates in the pretty blue wrapper... Pretty neat to see it all together in one store - IN TOWN!

I often reminisce about my travels and find myself wondering about the people that I've met around the world. I thought of the girls we met in Portugal who introduced us to the chocolate cookie, Tim Tams, that we found in our local Zehrs market - it made me smile at the memory of having dinner with them in Lisbon at the hostel.

When it snows, I often think about my host family in Ghana - wondering how they are doing and what life looks like 5 years since I've seen them.  I've emailed Pops a few times lately but haven't heard anything from him.  I fear the worst and that I won't hear from him again - I wonder if it's inevitable after so much time.  It makes me sad to think it.  At the very least, his son, Godwin, is on my facebook page (thank you Mark Zuckerberg - inventor of facebook), so at least we can still be in touch.

As for our current plans, Jeff and I have decided not only to join three of our friends on a relaxing, vacation to Cuba in Feburary, but we are also on an adventure to marriage!  The biggest adventure of my life I would guess (ask me in 60 years!).   He asked on Christmas day and it was sweet and funny - the way it should be coming from him.  I'm a lucky lady.  We're excited to be planning a great event to celebrate so many years together - 2014 will be here before we know it.

So, for our fabulous February vacation to Cuba, we're going to the Melia Cayo Santa Maria.  Aside from the 116 km drive from the airport, it's got everything the group of us were looking for; beachfront, swim up bar (a must), a la carte options, disco, international drinks... you know, all the important stuff!

It may not be a big adventure but it sure feels like a necessary trip!  We're very excited to be getting away on a vacation.  The holidays were busy and with the engagement and wedding planning, I feel a little bit like a spinning top! Not to mention my birthday is coming up soon - it's a busy time of season for us (essentially, all winter!).  It'll be nice to lay by the pool and the beach, with a cold drink and a good book.  I'm looking forward to the recharge.

Anyway - that's essentially the update for now - lots going on and yet not a whole heck of a lot to report on :)   Our next adventure may be our honeymoon! We'll have to start thinking about that one! Maybe another overseas adventure?  The possibilities are endless :)