Gran Canaria, Spain, August 5 - 9, 2009 The second installment of our time in Spain begins in Gran Canaria. Here we visited my dearest childhood friend, Bibi. When we were little our mothers were best friends, which made us practically inseparable. But then I moved to the U.S. and she moved to a small island off the coast of Morocco. It's been 13 years since our last visit, half my life. Time has done little to separate us however. Much of the visit I kept pinching myself, saying "It's really Bibi! I'm talking to Bibi!" It's funny to recognize the similarities we've experienced since we separated. We both moved to different countries around the same age and had to acclimate to new languages and cultures. We met our significant others in the same year and ... read more

Our week and a half in Germany was mostly about visiting with friends. We started off in Fulda, where we visited my childhood friend, Isabel, and her family, Alex and little Charlotte. They picked us up from the airport in Frankfurt and brought us back to Fulda, a quaint German town full of rolling hills and historic sites. Here we visited the oldest church in Germany (802), toured a palace, and strolled along cobbled streets with Charlotte running ahead. But Fulda wasn't so much about visiting the sites than it was about visiting our hosts, who have built such a nice life for themselves. Alex is a professional photographer and Isabel a part-time nurse. They live right below Alex'sparents , which allows them to work but also spend lots of time with their daughter. Now that ... read more

The New York leg of our trip got off to a rocky start. We waited in the airport for two hours for our college friend to pick us up, but she never showed. We still haven't heard from her, so we're not sure what happened there. We finally decided to reserve a hostel and found a nice, clean, boutique hostel off Broadway. After we got settled we figured, hey we're on Broadway, let's see a show. So we asked the front desk where to go. Anne Hatheway was performing in Shakespeare in the Park in a tiny outdoor theater. We stood in standby for half an hour, in the rain, but finally got tickets. We were actually grateful for the rain at this point because the line is normally five times as long as it was ... read more

To Our Friends, Family, Fellow Travelers, and The Strangers We Meet, This is the last day of our journey to the East and I would like to take this time to thank all those who have made it possible. To the those reading this journal who do not know me, do not be put off by my personal acknowledgements. Just read on and you may find something of interest to you. First, to all of our wonderful friends and family members who came to our wedding to celebrate with us and support us, thank you. To those who couldn't make it to the wedding but supported us in spirit, thank you. And to everyone who showered us with generosity in the form of time and gifts, thank you. Without the support that each of you showed ... read more

Wow China is quite the cultural shock. My first meal in China was at the airport in Shenzen and I ordered Noodles with Chicken. What I got was a huge bowl with noodles and all sorts of chicken parts floating around. There were at least one or two whole eggs in there as well. The dish was very flavorful, but I do not like eating parts of chicken that I do not know what they are. Plus the meal was so big, I could hardly eat any of it. I think in China when you eat out you are suppose to order one or two dishes and share with others, but Zara does not eat meat so that is quite hard. Also nobody speaks English, and that is expected but it makes things difficult. We know ... read more