Author Archives: Alyce

London…….Finally!

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London……Finally!It was our first full day in London, and we were excited to get out there and explore the city. Unfortunately, the weather was less than desirable.  The forecast showed that it was going to rain on and off all day. Oh well.  We had a nice breakfast in the club lounge, grabbed our rain gear, and hit the streets.First, we walked to the British Museum.  I’m pretty sure that every other tourist in London had the same idea.  It was packed! We caught a glimpse of the Rosetta Stone over the heads of many people taking pictures and looked at the many Greek artifacts.  I was amazed at how many pieces of Ancient Greece are housed in London.  Apparently, it’s a controversial story about how all the artifacts were obtained.DSC00359

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The Asian Detour

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The Asian Detour

Yes, yes, we went to Asia on the way to Europe. Why? Justin explains the reason in his last post. Anyway, we did it. Once again, we flew in style.

Cathay Pacific First Class Take 2:

Once again, Cathay Pacific doesn’t disappoint.  Even though I knew exactly what to expect, I am always amazed by the level of service and attention to detail provided by this great airline.  If you want a more detailed review, see our previous post (about a year ago).  My flight experience basically went like this:

1. Get on the plane

2. Eat a 4 course meal

3. Ask the flight attendant to make my bed while I change into my pajamas

4. Sleep for 8 solid hours

5. Drink some hot tea while watching TV

6. Eat again

7. Get off the plane

 

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Deja Vu

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Yep, we are on the road again……or in the air, whatever. It really seems like yesterday that we were heading out on our grand adventure.  Actually, it was less than a year ago that we were taking this same flight to Hong Kong and would return to the US about 12 weeks later.  I was reminiscing recently about my emotions before leaving for that trip.  I was about as anxious as I have ever been. Justin was about to explode with excitement.

I vividly remember sitting by the terminal in the New Orleans airport waiting to take our first flight of the trip. An airline employee walked up to us and started asking us something about our bags.  To this day, I don’t know what the man was trying to ask/tell us. I think that they were afraid that there wouldn’t be enough overhead storage, and he wanted to know if he could check our carry ons.

Sidenote: I have serious issues about my luggage.  I am constantly in a panic that my bags are going to get lost. Why? I have no idea. Our luggage has always been at our destination without any problems.

Anyway, this man dared to ask me to part with my carry on bag. Not only did I truly not comprehend what he was saying (through my state of heightened anxiety), but I gave him a look so severe and intense that he just walked away without pushing the issue any more.  I just asked Justin how he would describe “the look.” He referred to it as “the bitchiest look in the world.” Followed by ” the look of wishing death and torture on another person times infinity.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. And that is how the trip began. We can laugh about this now, but the memories are still very fresh. Luckily (for Justin), I am in much better spirits this time around. 12 nights? It will go by in the blink of an eye. Easy.

Aside from some tears (ok, ALOT of tears) about having to send my Moose baby to the kennel, I am really looking forward to this trip. So, we are going to Europe, but we are taking the long way……the really long way.  No big deal.  The 16 hour first class flight is one of the things that we are looking forward to the most! Right now, we are sitting in the British Airways First Class Lounge hanging out before our flight.

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Justin has had some Champagne and a few glasses of wine. I had some peppermint tea and a sparkling water. Anyway, we will take lots of pictures of the flight and all of our fancy flights of the trip.

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Justin has warned me that this “first class gravy train” may be drying up soon. So, I’m going to enjoy every minute! But, I am truly spoiled rotten. One year ago, I had never taken a first class or business class flight. Honestly, I never expected to. But now that I have……I don’t want to ever go back!

He created a monster! We will check in from Hong Kong.

I hope everyone has a very happy New Year.

Love you all XOXOXO

America!

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We left Abu Dhabi at 10 am and made it to New York around 5pm (14 hour flight).  I definitely have alot to say about our time in the United Arab Emirates, but I will have to catch up on that when we get home.  Aaaaaahhhhhh! HOME!

I promise that we will continue to post pictures and final thoughts on the trip.  It has been quite an adventure.  I think I need to take a few days to compile my thoughts and digest everything that has happened in the last 11 weeks.  It has been a wild ride!

I want to thank everyone who followed along with us and kept us motivated to continue blogging.  I am a first time blogger, so I was learning along the way!  We loved and read every single comment.  I may not have responded every time, but we saw them all.  I can’t tell you how good it made me feel.

Sorry the last couple of posts don’t have any pictures.  I promise, the next ones will have pictures of Dubai and Adu Dhabi!

XOXO Alyce

P.S. What is the deal with the weather? We were hoping to skip winter!!

Abu Dhabi

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We made it to our last and final stop!!  We had a long day from the Maldives, but it was so nice to see some friendly faces when we got the the UAE (United Arab Emirates).  We are staying at the home of Tommy and Mallory Ryan.  As I said in the last post, Tommy graduated Jesuit with Justin, and Mallory went to Dominican with me.  Tommy works for Exxon and got transferred here about a year ago.  He spent the day showing us the main attractions in Abu Dhabi.  Tomorrow, we go to Dubai for our very last day of the big trip.  Hallelujia.  It’s been great, but I am sooooo ready to go home!  I’ll post a more detailed report of our time here a little later.  Until then, I’m exhausted, and I’m going to bed!

Good night!

XOXO Alyce

Goodbye Maldives (and other random musings)

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For our last full day in the Maldives (boo), we slept in (well, Justin slept in) and had a late breakfast.  I haven’t been sleeping too well for the last few weeks.  I think I just miss my bed at home.  Maybe, I miss the sound of Moose snoring and Chunk whining to wake me up– just to pat him on the head and tell him he’s a good boy.  God I miss my boys.  I may complain about the dog hair, slobber, and messy house, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I absolutely adore my dogs.  Now that I’ve experienced life without them, I know that I am happier with them- without a doubt.  They make me laugh and love us unconditionally (well, at least Moose does!).  Although Chunk acts tough, he doesn’t let us out of his sight.  It was quite a process to pack for this trip without him freaking out.  Even though he never actually saw us packing, he could tell that something was up, and he didn’t like it.  We even snuck the bags in the car while he wasn’t around.

Wow, I just realized that I started rambling.  Did I say that I miss my dogs? It’s probably pretty obvious which posts are alcohol induced (oops).  Right now, I’m sitting on the beach.  Well. Not really ON the beach but on cabana sofa on the beach.  It’s happy hour, and I’ve had a margarita, and I’m working on my daiquiri. This is the way I like to do the beach.  They served me my drink with a cloth napkin.  Yes, a cloth napkin.  I am in heaven.  I could stay forever if I didn’t have the best dogs and family to come home to.  And I am ready to come home. No doubt about it.

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Mangosteen

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Nope, that’s not another country that we added to the trip!  It’s a wonderful, tropical fruit that we have tried and LOVE!  Even Justin “I don’t like fruit” Ittmann has been really enjoying all the fresh tropical fruit.  His two favorites are pineapple and mangosteen.  He even ordered a plate of mangosteen with his breakfast (never thought I’d see the day when Justin ordered extra fruit instead of extra meat)!!

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Mangosteen mainly grow in Southeast Asia.  They have a purplely red outside and are white on the inside.  It actually looks like a head of garlic.  It’s sweet, a little tangy, and delicious.  I’ve never seen them in the US.  Although, if I would have seen them, I wouldn’t have known what it was until now.

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We have also been having passion fruit, guava, dragon fruit, and papaya on a regular basis.  I’m going to be pretty sad when I get home and get back to apples and bananas!

For whatever reason, I felt that this deserved a whole post.  I think I’m running out of things to talk about!

 

Our last dive…..turtles, eagle rays, and sharks!! Ahhhhhh, sharks!

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Today, we did the 2 tank morning dive.  We were really looking forward to these two dives.  The afternoon dive yesterday was OK, although it wasn’t much different than snorkeling the house reef (but it was A LOT more expensive).  The Maldives has some of the best SCUBA in the world, and we couldn’t wait to see some different things.  There were 6 divers on the boat, plus 2 guides (a French couple, Swiss couple, and us).

Sidebar:  One of the staff at the resort told us that they very rarely get visitors from the US.  It would be an extremely long trip to solely visit the Maldives from the US (about 2 days travel each way).  Surprisingly, everything is priced in US currency.

Anyway…… It was about a 45 minute boat ride to the dive site.  During that time, they serve you water and make sure that all the equipment is ready to go.  I don’t know what I would do if I ever had to put my BCD and regulator on my tank by myself.  It’s pretty standard operating procedure that the dive shops do that for you.  Although, this place went a step further and helped me into and out of my wetsuit!

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