Egypt (2010)

Justin and I went to Egypt in December of 2010. He had just proposed, and his Christmas present to me (besides a ring, hello) was a trip to Egypt. Oh, life abroad. 

This was our first international travel together, besides me visiting him in Abu Dhabi, and we could not have been more excited to go on this adventure! They always say if you can travel with your significant other, you can get through anything, and we were about to find out if we could make it out alive (from killing each other, of course). 

We arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on Christmas Day, and had to take a 3 hour train ride to Cairo. Once we got to our hostel, after riding in the sketchiest cab I have ever seen, it was time to get some rest for the long day ahead the following day. We woke up early and had a sweet little breakfast waiting for us of croissants with jam and some hard boiled eggs. I remember our hosts being so sweet to us and always checking to make sure our stay was comfortable. Justin had a tour guide scheduled for us for the day, and he came to pick us up from our hostel. 

When I thought about going to the pyramids, I thought there would be a grand entrance made of gold with gates that opened and it would be this magnificent site. I mean, it is one of the most well-known wonders of the world. We drove for about 30 minutes through the craziest traffic I have ever been apart of. There were no road lines, order, or thought process when it came to driving. You just honked your horn and went where you needed to. I'm pretty sure I closed my eyes a few times in fear of my life. All of a sudden there was this big tan wall in front of us. Our guide says,  "Look, there are the pyramids!". I could literally see it from the road we were on! We were surrounded by garbage and everything was very dirty. I was really surprised that such a beautiful, historic monument did not seem to be very well taken care of. 

Once we got out of the car we came upon some guys with camels. Our tour guide told us that we would need to ride a camel through the desert because it was quite a long tour and walking would not suffice. I mean how could we argue riding camels up to the pyramids!? We hopped on our camels, mine was named banana and she was evil. She kept trying to turn around and bite me the whole trip! She did not like me at all, even though I talked very nicely to her and pet her. How rude.

Once we got into the desert, it was just as I had imagined it, just without the gold gates.  It was seriously one of the coolest experiences I have ever got to be apart of. We got to see The Pyramids of Giza, The Sphinx, and see a couple of tombs as well. Our day was jam packed. I can't wait for you to see the pictures. Just know, they don't even do it justice.

This was our sketchy cab. Looking back on it now, I can't believe Justin left me alone for a picture. Ha!

Banana looking very suspicious as I try to figure out how not to fall.

So happy.

This is just an example of the garbage we saw all throughout the city.

The Pyramids of Giza.

Camel riding expert. Not.

Sportin' my Brandon Roy jersey staring at the Sphinx and Pyramids.

Hubby giving the Sphinx a smooch!

Hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane, and I hope you are blessed this week!

Budapest, Scotland, and Ireland with the 3 musketeers.

I can't believe Justin and I are trying to sit down and plan THIS year's Christmas break and I am just now posting LAST years. Oh boy. Since I really could do a post on all 3 of these, I will just do short highlights and pictures of all.

This trip was seriously so much fun. Seriously cold, but so much fun. We started off with Budapest. My heart had never been so happy as we approached my first Christmas market. I couldn't believe it. A whole market dedicated to everything Christmas. Seriously America, we need to get on that train, because it was incredible. We drank mulled wine and ate lots of cinnamon bread and it was amazing. I loved walking around to all the booths and see just the happiness on people's faces as they walked around with their families and loved ones. We went to a great viewpoint at the top of the city and the view was incredible. All of our pictures seriously look photoshopped. Here are some pictures from Budapest.

Our next destination was Scotland. This is where we were for Christmas. It was so hard being away from family during Christmas Eve and Day, but we were so blessed to be together and to be experiencing the world. Scotland was FREEZING. So so cold. We were bundled up the whole time and our heater in our place wasn't even that high, so we were constantly under blankets! I loved walking and seeing the castles just right there on the side of the road. It was awesome. The people were very friendly and I made sure to get my fill on chai tea from Starbucks :) We also hiked up to the top of Arthur's Seat and oh my word, hiking up a damp mountainside in boots and jeans was not our greatest idea. We got pretty hot hiking up, but as soon as we stood at the top, the chill of the wind made us freezing again. It was another great view point of the city. Here are some pictures.

Ireland was our last stop of our Christmas break extravaganza and it did not disappoint. It was just what we needed after an on the go trip so far. We rented a car so we could drive from city to city and just seeing all the beautiful scenery and green made us feel right at home. We loved the delicious food and loved hearing music everywhere we went. Our final night just happened to be New Years Eve so we got to see Ireland and all it's glory :) We had a blast here. One of our favorite parts for sure was The Cliffs of Moher. It was absolutely breathtaking. Picture perfect.

Our trip to Cyprus.

I'm playing catch-up with my posts since I never did any posts of my travels last time around! We're going waaaay back to last December (can't believe December is just around the corner!) to my trip to Cyprus. We had a small break/long weekend at school, and Kaylee and I wanted to get in some travel. Justin had to work, so he stayed at home, and we went by ourselves for our first solo travel of the year. 

We didn't fall in love with Cyrpus, but we did enjoy our trip! Especially because it was a lot cooler there and they actually had chai tea at Starbucks ;) ha! We stayed with the sweetest, and most helpful people in their guest bedroom. She even made us grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch :) We drove on the opposite side of the car AND on the opposite side of the road. It was WEIRD. Kaylee...did...well :) 

Hope you enjoy some of our travel pics!

Until next time...

GOD BLESS!

Kay's first time at the wheel.

We got to see the tomb of Lazarus. I got goosebumps, it was so amazing.

Our favorite day, we traveled up to the Troodos Mountains where there was SNOW!

San Diego.

What a wonderful weekend we had! 

My uncle lives in San Diego, and we never actually knew how close he was to us until we thought about a spontaneous trip for our long weekend! We took a little detoured route on the way there (not on purpose), but it took us through Palm Desert where Jus got to visit with one of his old buddies for a bit. 

San Diego is just beautiful. It was such a cool place with so many options. It was my first visit, so everything was new for me. Justin had been a few times, but never with me, so I know it was much more special for him (I just laughed inside writing that)

We mostly just drove around, walked, and really took in the city. We went to various beaches and had some really great views. Speaking of views! Seriously. My uncle has the best view in all of San Diego. Both of his living room walls are windows and open up completely to the city. He sees the sunset every single night just from sitting on his couch. It was breathtaking. 

One of my favorite things we did was go to the farmers market. It was about a 20-25 minute walk from his house, but with that cool breeze, we could've walked for days. They had such cool booths at the market, I just love looking at all the different types of things they had to offer. They had things from green smoothies, gluten free cookies (they were delish), bacon wrapped hot dogs, fresh flowers, t-shirts, and cooking oil. I loved walking around and seeing everything. I felt at home :) They also had a delicious breakfast burrito filled with eggs, arugula, sweet potato hash, bacon, and some type of cheese I don't know the name of. It was so good. Paleo? No. Delicious? YES.

My uncle was such a great host to us, we had seriously such a fun time. I don't get to see my uncle very many times throughout the year, so it was so great for me to spend such a good amount of time with him making memories we can always cherish. I really, really liked the city!

Here are some pics!

I am so blessed to have a family like mine. 

God bless everybody! Only two more days until the weekend! YIPEE!

You 2013, you.

It is actually crazy to think how much happens in one year. As I was thinking of writing this post, I was trying to think about all that we did this year, and got confused because it seemed so long ago. Then some things feel just like yesterday.

We started off 2013 world travelers, with our first Asia experience. China was so cool. And by cool, I mean incredibly cold. And also the other kind of cool. It was so crazy being in such a foreign place where there was absolutely no English spoken. The Great Wall was just freaking awesome. That was such a cool experience walking up those steps and being apart of such great history.

Then back to the sand pit.

Then, in March Kaylee came to visit! We had an absolute blast! So many memories made and so many laughs. I am so glad I got to share this experience with one of my best friends.

Then, just a few days after, my mom came!! I was so happy to see my mom and bring her into our world while we were over seas. A time I will never forget.

In April we had Spring Break and we traveled to Sri Lanka! It was absolutely beautiful! We stayed on Mirissa Beach and had the most gorgeous views and sunsets. This was such a relaxing trip for us where we got to lay on the beach and ride around on our little moped.

In June we got to travel to South Korea as Justin competed in The Crossfit Games. Another very cool place, but we didn't really get to travel around and explore that much because we were at the competition all day. My studly husband took 4th!

As the school year ended, we had to make a life changing decision. We took a risk, and resigned from our jobs in the Middle East, and decided it was time to come home. You can read all about our story here.

Bam, bam, bam I got a teaching job in Arizona, and we moved! Just like that. 

My best friend also gave birth to her perfect little boy Kyson, whom has completely stolen my heart, we went to The Crossfit Games down in LA, crossed off seeing my love, Michael Buble in concert off my bucket list, got my first bar muscle up, used my kitchen aide for the first time because we finally got to open our wedding gifts, and so much more. We are so incredibly blessed.

Looking back, we have had one heck of a year. We relied on our faith to get us through the hard times, and when we had no idea what was in store for us. Thank goodness, God is faithful and always provides. I have a feeling 2014 will just as big a year as the last! You never know what God has in store for The Ahrens :)

Have a very blessed and safe New Years Eve everyone!

God bless!