French Vanilla ice cream + Root Beer (Henry Weinhard) = happy relief from a hella hot apartment in Mountain View, CA with no A/C. It's the little things that make someone cool.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Weinhard%27s
It is kind of blurry and out of focus. Also there appears to be some dust or some dirt in my SD1000 camera. It is a good thing it was recognizable after the cruise or else I would have had to like photoshop some of the photos from the cruise. Anyways, another flowery spring day in NorCal. BTW it was like 97 degrees F in NorCal, I wonder if high temperatures and probability of Earthquakes exist? Also it is really sad about China and Myanmar. So much death and destruction from mother nature, may God give strength and courage to those who have lost someone in Myanmar and China. My prayers and thoughts goes out to them.
This is for Anna. She had to have brain surgery because of a freaky accident at school. Please pray for her full recovery. She is GodsEmerald's (Mrs. T) lovely child. May God heal and watch over Anna.
From un4gettableann
http://flickr.com/photos/25856123@N00/2487993863/
Hello baby :-) This my friend's Alinna and Hideyo's new baby boy. He is now 6 weeks old in this picture. He is a cutie pie. I forget that my nephew was once this small too.
A little uninspired today, it was a tough day, my dad had to go to the hospital because he was having a hard time breathing, luckily everything is ok. The doctors prescribed inhalers, anti-biotics, and anti-inflamatory stuff. Both of my parents were really tired from the trip and from the hospital so the slept the whole day. My mom especially was a trooper. She is the best. All moms are the best. I just want to pray for God to heal, give strength and courage to my parents today. I would not be here if were not for them :-)
This was the first time I saw him in 2 weeks. He grew so much more hair than the last time I saw him. He is also picking up a lot of words and behaviors. It is funny because I think he is going to be a handful, just like my sister was a handful from the stories my family would tell me about her.
Red flowers all of a sudden were popping up around my apartment.
Day 14 - Flyng back to US, getting this boarding pass from Lufthansa in Venice was dramatic. All I am saying is I just don't want to be old Americans when there is a big queue with just 2 Italian women working a German airlines ticket counter. With just 2 flights 1 to Munich the other to Frankfurt. I swear there was almost a fist fight when old people cut in line. The happy community in the cruise ship was quickly gone. Instead a wrath of Americans wanting to be first and not left behind a flight was occurring. Some where patient, others stressed out, I just saw it as hilarious. What a fitting way to end the cruise. Thank you for the 4 contacts who follow my 365 :-) Thanks Crustydolphin gave me a head's up about Santorini and Istanbul. :-)
Arivaderci from cruise posts, now I have to get back to the modern corporate enslavement of life.
Day 13- We arrive in Venice for a full day of travel back to the United States of America. The trip went by so fast. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to see all of these different countries and cultures. I met some interesting mature individuals on this trip. I call them old spunky rich white Americans. They all had similar philosophies about seeing the world. And making the most with the time they have. I really didn't have a lot of expectations from this trip, but I am happy I went with my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my Aunt from the Philippines. It was good times all around.
Day 12 - Today was a day at sea. And all I took was a picture of this t-shirt I bought at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. My aunts and mom haggled a Turkish vendor from 18 dollars a shirt down to 9. My aunt wanted 7 for 20 shirts. But instead we settled for $9 for 20 t-shirts for my aunt's coworkers. They wanted "pasalubong" (gifts from one's travels) from the cruise.
Day 11 - We got into Katakolon after Santorini. It was another full excursion day this time to Olympia. It is about 45 minute drive from Katakolon. These are where the ancient Olympic games first started. The stadium contains a 193 meter run for the full length of the stadium. The stadium could probably hold 45,000 easily. Also the ancient runners ran naked. I didn't know this but women with one breast showing were also allowed to race. I also saw the place where the Olympic torch gets lit up every 4 years. Anyways, here is another "I am crushing your head creative" shots.
Olympia, Greece:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia%2C_Greece
Day 10 - This is Santorini Greece. This is such a picturesque place. We got in pretty early. We had a pretty funny tour guide. Santorini is great. It is a C shaped island. It is a caldera. We went to the cities called Fira, Oia, and Pyrgos. There spectacular views of the sea, and the buildings of Oia here. This place is awesome!
Santorini, Greece:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini
Day 9 - Today we docked in Kusadasi, Turkey. We then proceeded to go to Ephesus and see the house where apparently Mary died. The house has a well were you can drink from. It has some healing powers so they say. I drank some Mary water and said a prayer for health and well being. Afterward, we went to a place which sells Turkish carpets. The Turks really push these carpets to tourists. We saw a similar carpet demonstration in Istanbul. The carpets are crazy nice, but they cost hella money. One 9x7 carpet was like $12,000. I was like dayam. Anyways, they gave us some nice hot Turkish apple tea for seeing the demonstration. This woman was showing us how to actually make one of the patterns for the carpets. The villages in Turkey get a portion of the profits from selling the carpets so overall it helps everyone. But I thought it was ridiculous to buy a $12,000 carpet, but I guess I was traveling with older folks who have time and a money.
House of Virgin Mary:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_the_Virgin_Mary
Day 8 - Today was Mykonos, Greece. There was really nothing to do but relax on this island. I liked this place a lot, because I was on vacation. About Mykonos, it is a pretty small island. It is apparently a party island at night and a lot of Europeans visit this island. You can rent a scooter, a bike, or a 4-wheeler to explore the island. There is like one main bay/ downtown area with cafes, shops, and other beach stuff. This place is tranquilho. A really good, but possibly expensive honeymoon spot for couples or a chill vacation spot.
Mykonos, Greece:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykonos
Day 7 - A full day in Istanbul. This is one of the towers at the Blue Mosque. Istanbul was a crazy busy day. Lots of tourist spots. The Blue Mosque, Haga Sophia, and some the Topkapi Palace which has a footprint of Abraham. I thought that was pretty neat. I tried to take a lot of these creative "I am crushing your head..." shots of the places I visited.
Blue Mosque:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque
Haga Sophia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia
Topkapi Palace
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkap%C4%B1_Palace
