we be home for the holidays....

So....for us, the holiday season last year consisted of a Thanksgiving dinner on a quiet moonlit beach near the coast of Indonesia.....I know...awful.

We powered through it though and made the best of it but as we embark on this years holiday season amongst family and friends (all in the midst of the wedding sha-bang) we feel just plain tickled with the love around us.

In the USA

We have been back now one full week and it has been an interesting adjustment. I am exhausted. I haven't been able to adjust to the time. I feel like I am going 100 miles an hour...for no real reason. I have jumped directly in full force to the "to do's" here.
We now have cell phones, a gym membership, car insurance...all within a few days.
I had my hair done and joined a yoga studio, went to the jeweler and began getting the wedding in order.
In addition, we have spent countless hours with our families and friends dining, chatting and catching up on life.
I never realized how nice it would be to come home.
I think the hardest part of being back is not forgetting where you've been and adjusting to a life that includes more than just the two of us.
Everyone is asking what will we do next, what are our plans...its seems almost impossible for everyone to take a step back and just live in today. We have no idea what is next and for the moment it feels great. We are filtering, seeing and experiencing life here and slowly beginning to intertwine it in with our life for the last 17 months.
Yesterday I took a step back..this is what I have noticed.
I will tell you this, so many people...in my opinion, need to take a step back and find themselves again. I am not sure if it is the economy, the "things" we have here or just the overwhelming desire to have everything bigger, better and the best here, but I feel as if people have elevated themselves above their own bodies and are only looking down at what once was a very fulfilling life.Now, people around us, strangers, old friends, everyone, can't seem to even find time to make themselves happy or relax because they are too busy trying to make money.
I am doing my best to stay lost in this great mindset that I have developed over the year and not be too affected by the changes I see to the society around me.
Through observation, my one piece of advice, step back, look around, open your heart, close your computers and use the very basics you learned when you were two.
Use your words and give your loved ones hugs, as for the rest, it will work itself out.

goin home...

534 days later…here we are..on an Aer Lingus flight home. The in-flight movies are lame and the Aer Lingus crew seems to chime in tryin to sell duty free items every 5 minutes so its really not worth it anyway. So, I’m sitting here with just my thoughts…for 9 hours. The thing is…there’s a lot to think about. We’re going home…we’re going to see everyone, we’re getting married (officially), thanksgiving, my 31^st bday, Christmas….our next job…oyy. With all that though, I’m somewhere else right now.

thanks Dusseldorf...

 
As our final stop, the city of Dusseldorf was a gem. Like most German cities, the cleanliness and feel of the city was top notch.

Prague....

Unfortunately, our experience in Prague was less than stellar due to the absolutely dangerous and quite literally non-existant parking situation for us and our lil red bus. We entered the city at around 10:30am in search of a good spot to lock it up and stroll but as we neared midday, the dream it seemed was not to become our reality.

Auschwitz & Birkenau

We have all learned about the Holocaust in school, some of us twice or even three times. I personally had learned about it in the 6^th grade and then again in high school. I have read the book Anne Frank and seen the movie Schindler’s List. I have been to the Holocaust Museum in Orlando, in Washington DC and also in Israel. But, none of it gave me the knowledge and understanding as visiting Auschwitz- Birkenau.

Life as a tourist

When you go on vacation you see things differently. You have money to spend, you go to the special parts of the city and see the "sights."
For example, if you come to Orlando, you will probably get a hotel down by Disney, spend 4-5 days with your family at amusement parks, walk around I-Drive, go to the shopping outlets, city walk and if you are really adventurous, spend a day in downtown Orlando or head North to see the manatees at the Springs... While spending thousands of dollars.
As a resident, maybe on the weekends we might go to citywalk a few times a year, the springs one weekend with our kids, downtown... Only for work, a magic game, the farmers market or the club and Disney... Only if we have family coming to visit from out of town.

Krakow

Our last stop in Poland before heading to Prague was the beautiful city of Krakow. We arrived on a Saturday night, which meant free parking. We found parking and spent the night beneath the Wawel Castle.

We had every intention of walking around the city and getting some pirogues, but after an encounter with a cracked out man who wanted to watch our vehicle and keep it safe from Banditos (after looking in all the windows) we opted for a nice pleasant drive through tour of the city.