Istanbul

We're here! After a long flight and a quick stopover in Frankfurt, we have arrived in Istanbul. Everything except the customs line was relatively painless. Even that wasn't really so bad. I felt sorry for the suckers that waited in the never-ending line only to find out that they needed to buy their tourist visa first (the other winding line) before they could come through this one. Thanks to Ryan being an uber-planner, we had no issues.

The flight was fairly entertaining. Ryan got THAT smile on his face every time the beverage tray went by...
And as I told you before, I set out to entertain myself with my Rosetta Stone headset.
I especially like this one... I call it, 'You Snooze, You Lose.' He obviously didn't like it or he would have finished it before he fell asleep.
While we were hanging out in Calgary, I took the time to learn how to do something... upload OUR videos onto YouTube and post them to our blog. For whatever reason, we haven't been able to get onto the YouTube website at all. We're going to crash tonight and give it another go in the morning.

Calgary, Alberta

First 1.5 hours of flight time down, 12.5 hours to go. We were originally scheduled to take a 2:30 p.m. flight from Vancouver to Calgary but we could stand being in the house anymore and wanted to get going so we jumped on a noon flight. We are currently hanging out at the Calgary International Airport and watching the lights flicker on and off in the airport lounge due to the massive thunder and lightening storm outside. They keep announcing that they are on red alert and will provide us with information as they get it. Not sure what that means exactly, but we're glad we got here when we did and that we have a couple hours to kill.

Hmmmm.... what to do, what to do...

Ladies and Gentleman, This is Your Captain Speaking

What are we, 5 years old and going to Disneyland? We were up at 5:45 a.m. this morning.

So while Ryan finishes packing, I jumped onto the computer and fired up our Rosetta Stone French lessons. We bought the software because we plan on going back to France next year. It came with the lovely headset I am sporting.
I have decided that I am going to bring the headset with me and rely on it solely for my entertainment on the plane. I've come up with several possibilities for the 14 hours of flight time:
1) Pretend it's an archaic bluetooth device and be a 'loud talker' the entire flight.
2) Talk as if I am the pilot.
3) Pretend that it is a direct line to the flight attendants so I can say to the person beside me "Excuse me. I'm supposed to finish your wine. Don't ask me, I'm just doing what I'm told."
4) Act out Madonna videos in the aisles.
Any other suggestions?

We're Leaving On A Jet Plane...

The spare bedroom has officially turned into the 'packing room' which means we are close to getting on that plane and getting out of here. The timing couldn't come at a more ideal time, especially for me. As of July 15th, I will have handed in the last of my logged hours for my practicum completion which means that... (cue drum roll)... I am officially done my Master's degree. WOO HOO! Ryan is just devastated that I will be earning a decent living in the next month or so, and that I won't have to fork over all of my cash to UBC for tuition, but I'm sure he'll get over it soon. :)

So, after traveling to Italy last year, we have learned a few things when it comes to packing. First things first... THIS is never happening again:
It didn't take long for either of us to realize on our trip to Italy last summer that we over packed... and by over packed I mean '14 pairs of shoes' over-packed. It was ridiculous. Two overweight suitcases, two travel bags, and 2 carry-on/murses. We thought we were doing O.k. until we were waiting for a train from Monterroso to Venice. Understanding Italian for 'the train to Venice will be boarding from the exact opposite end of the station' would have come in handy that day... and it would have been great if everything we owned had fit into one bag. Truth be told, it could have... call us disgusting, we each wore the same pair of shorts the entire trip... so this year, it's all about copious amounts of underwear and socks, and finding laundromats on route if need be.

So, as of right now (Wednesday evening), we both have 1 work day left. We're officially on hourly countdown. Can't wait!

Argentina: Our favorite trip ever.

Jess and I have now slipped back into our regular routines and are looking forward to our next big trip in July/August for 3 weeks visiting Istanbul, Budapest, Krakow and Berlin. Until then we will be working our butts off.

This trip to Argentina has been our favorite trip so far....why did we love it so much?

*There is such a variety of sites to see.

*The remote Perito Mereno glacier was stunning and unlike anything we had seen before.

*The jungle around Iguazu and the falls were amazing, hot and humid with the strangest animals, bugs, lizards and birds.

*The wines of Mendoza were delicious. There is something special about sampling the wines of the vineyard as the Andes mountains tower of in the distance.

*The people are all so super friendly and really seem to appreciate the business tourists bring.

*Prices are super reasonable, a very nice dinner with the best wine might set you back $90. Many items are 1/3 the price we would pay back at home in Canada. A private car and driver in Mendoza for only $100 for a full 10 hour day of wine tasting.

*They love their meat and wine....a perfect diet as far as I'm concerned.

*The hotels in Buenos Aires and Mendoza were absolutely stunning and by far the best we have ever stayed at. They really know how to pamper you.

We would love to return some day but before then we have a long list of places we want to visit.
So that's it for the blog for now. If you loved Jess' humor and wit be sure to check out his blog "Inarticulate Fumblings"

We are home...finally

So our flight was delayed two hours in Toronto and then it took two more hours waiting in line to de-ice the plane before the 5 hour flight back to Vancouver. All total it was 26.5 hours from the time we boarded in Buenos Aires to the time we arrived back in Vancouver. Luckily we had the brand new 777 for the last leg which also had the new Pod configuration so it was not so bad. We will post a wrap up post next but for now we need a little sleep in our own bed.

Happy as two peas in a Pod

We are currently hanging our in the Toronto Air Canada lounge waiting for our flight back to Vancouver which has been delayed 2 hours by yet another snowstorm here. You can almost see the aircrafts at their gates in these whiteout conditions. Hard to believe 24 hours ago we were walking the streets of Buenos Aires sweating and cursing the 35C heat and super high humidity. We spent our last day wondering around and then went back to our favorite hotel in Buenos Aires (and I think our favorite in the world, so far), the Four Seasons, to have one more glamour lunch before our driver came to bring us to the airport. All the way to the airport Jess and I had on our headphone and blasted "Don't Cry for me Argentina" as we watched the city speed by us for the last time. I did want to cry for Argentina, truly. It is never easy coming home and reality.

We were on pins and needles, hoping to get the sleeper pods on the plane and we got them. Pretty amazing, I've got to say. I could hardly even look people in the eye as they walked past us into the economy section mumbling curse words under their breath. To make matters worse, they gave everyone in the business class section a glass of champagne before the rest of the plane boarded. Geez... here we all are with pillows behind our heads, feet up on the foot rest, glass of champagne in hand, and a magazine in the other. As passengers were settling they were playing "Cafe del Mar" lounge music. It was wonderful but I felt so guilty... until of course, they all left. Then it was bliss. Here are some pictures:






We pretty much slept the entire way. I watched 1/2 a movie, ate dinner, and then konked out until we were 1/2 an hour from Toronto (its an 11 hour flight and it felt like nothing, bliss!). (The preceding message also brought to you by the good people who make Halcion) With seats like that, it's not difficult to get a good night sleep. One more 5 hour flight and we're home. Hopefully the snow lets up a bit. Right now it's not looking very good.

Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!