http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Seeking-Nirvana/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Seeking Nirvana en-us Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:42:37 +0000 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:42:37 +0000 It is finally summer in Seattle.....we had a free weekend again After the challenging but not very interesting hike off of I90 the week before I was excited to head towards Highway 2 off of Stevens Pass where some of the most beautiful lakes and views can be found. So off we went with our friend Brook to Lake Serene one of my very favorite Idon'tknowwheretogo hikes I am always re http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/blog-293658.html We headed to Mexico in November hoping to encounter warmer temperatures and fewer tourists like us. I didnrsquot rub a magic lamp before we left but we received our wishes Where was that lamp when Montezumarsquos Revenge hit Jason on the day we were supposed to go to Chichen Itza.Us being us would not be content to just relax on the beach sipping margaritas in the shade of palm tree http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Riviera-Maya/blog-365282.html I hoped it would be warmer when we got back home but it hasn't been That's been my primary excuse for not hiking since we've been back A couple of weekends ago the weatherman's prediction and what was actually happening outside matched up But We also had my four year old nephew for the weekend. I remembered one of my favorite places to go with my girlfriends was Twin Fallsa short hike http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/North-Bend/blog-282525.html Last weekend we did a road trip to Boise Idaho where Jason grew up and I lived for the bulk of my twenties. I have always had mixed feelings about going to Boise since moving away in 2003 but this time I fell a little bit back in love with it again. Even though it was just as cold as Seattle and rainy there is something about Boise that tugs at my heart.Last weekend we spent time with Jaso http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Idaho/Boise/blog-262555.html Time was winding down for me in the UK and I was feeling restless. Our trip to London a couple of weekends before was great fun but I needed to see some more country side before travelling back to the US.My colleague Noshela and I hopped in our little red car for a trip to Cornwall. We could not have asked for better weather once again the sun was shining not a cloud in the sky. We loaded http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Cornwall/Tintagel/blog-247925.html 6 months and I am finally comfortable enough to miss home and crave food from home without going into any sort of panic. And then it is time to go back.The flight home is quiet and uneventful. My last glimpse of the UK was the Isle of Skye a place I felt oddly connected to maybe the winter quiet of the island reflects what is going on inside of me. I am leaving a different way of life of tr http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/blog-249008.html In between touring some of the major cities and countries we explored bits of England. From the Tor in Glastonbury rock formations in Stonehenge and Avebury to a different kind of rock in LiverpoolhellipLiverpool The Beatles and the Culture Capital November 2007A young girl sits next to the old gigantic dark wood stereo cabinet. Morning sunlight streams through the housersquos many wi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/blog-242755.html In the marketplace of Bruges stands the belfry old and brownThrice consumed and thrice rebuilded still it watches o'er the town.As the summer morn was breaking on that lofty tower I stoodAnd the world threw off the darkness like the weeds of widowhood... From the Belfry of Bruges by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.After an exciting two weeks in Germany and Prague what else was left to see W http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-242058.html Jason left on Wednesday January 31 after we got back from our trip to Scotland. It was a tearful parting but when I got back to Reading I knew I would have to move house. Little by little I took my belongings to Guildford which is just a 7 minute train ride from my job in Woking. After all of our adventures I hoped I wouldn't be too bored. I was not going to use the car because there h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Surrey/Guildford/blog-242061.html OVER THE SEA TO SKYE VARIANTSing me a song of a lad that is goneSay could that lad be IMerry of soul he sailed on a dayOver the sea to SkyeMull was astern Rum was on portEigg on the starboard bowGlory of youth glowed in his soulWhere is that glory nowGive me again all that was thereGive me the sun that shoneGive me the eyes give me the soulGive me the lad that's goneBillow and breeze isla http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Isle-of-Skye/blog-242059.html I am a lefthanded woman sitting on the right side of the vehicle driving on the left side of the road. It has been 146 days since I have driven a vehicle. I have had the luxury of going anywhere and everywhere on public transportation. All that changed with my new job. So another new worker and I decided to split the cost of a car at 387 per month including insurance it was a steal. Whic http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Surrey/Woking/blog-238699.html Warning This blog is depressing. We did the trip to Dachau on December 25th and the trip to Prague 5 days later.Throughout our travels in Europe we have taken time to visit reminders of humankinds occasionally destructive nature. In the Netherlands we visited the Anne Frank House and witnessed the fear the intimidation and the spying that infected every day life of those people living un http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Dachau/blog-239411.html The time 1230 a.m. The date the first day of January 2008. The locals rather than the tourists for once crowd the streets with many fireworks in one hand and bottles of champagne in the other. Used mortar tubes litter the streets and the bridges. Every few steps we hear another explosion. This is Prague Praha in Czech.Prague was the destination for the 2nd part of the trip. At the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-237698.html We took a couple of side trips while in Munichmdashit is the perfect place to tour some of Germanyrsquos beautiful countrysidemdashand what better way to do it then by trainDecember 23 Fssen and Neuschwanstein CastleWe traveled just 2 hours southwest of Munich to get to Fssen. Soon after leaving Munich we began to see snowmdashby the time we arrived there was heaps of gorgeous glit http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Salzburg-State/Salzburg/blog-237434.html It's a new year and with a new year has come a new job for meI will no longer be making the hour and a half trek from Reading to London everyday I have to take the slow train unfortunatelythe fast train only takes 25 minutes. I officially qualified as a social worker at the beginning of December. Right before I left for Munich I interviewed for a new position only 45 minutes away from Read http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Berkshire/Reading/blog-234037.html Kilos of pretzels soup and cookies consumed by Felicia since we arrived in Germany 3 days ago 50Kilos of sausages sauerkraut and lager consumed by Jason since we arrived in Germany 3 days ago 100Litres of mulled wine consumed by Jason and Felicia since we arrived in Germany 3 days ago 200Wandering around in German Christkindlemarkts Christmas markets priceless.We arrived at our hotel http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-233550.html King James I started the Troubles when he conquered Ireland threw the Irish Catholics off their land and replaced the Catholics with Scottish Protestants. The Irish responded by killing thousands of Protestants and wiping out an entire Protestant village. Later Oliver Cromwell arrived conquered all of Ireland and killed many Catholics in the process. Between 1969 and the Irish Republican Arm http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Northern-Ireland/Belfast/blog-230113.html Which plant is Amsterdam famous forA CarrotsB TulipsC FernsD MarijuanaE All of the AboveWhich of the following items cannot be found in an Amsterdam coffeeshopA FoodB MarijuanaC WaterD CoffeeE All of the above can be found in an Amsterdam coffeeshopWhich of the following was an influence upon Vincent Van GoghA ImpressionismB Japanese graphic artC RealismD All of the AboveTo clear http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-228628.html The game is called ldquoles boullerdquo Americans may know it as bacci ball. The players throw one small ball the size of a pingpong about 2030 feet then with the bigger balls usually shiny metal They try to land their big ball next to the small one. The other players try to get their own close to the little and also they try to knock their opponentsrsquo balls farther away from the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-223841.html ldquoLet us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years men will say lsquoThis was their finest hour.rsquordquo Winston ChurchillToday is Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom also observed in the rest of the Commonwealth and in the U.S. as Veterans Day. All week everybody in the offi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/York/blog-218822.html