2022 Travels

 

We live in Algeria now and Google Maps doesn't fully work here. This yearly recap comes from my Google Maps timeline, which relies on the tracking function to make the dots. Unfortunately the tracking function stops soon after arriving at the airport, so all I'll ever see is a dot at the airport and nothing else in this country. It does show that we traveled around the DC area and that we visited Rome and Cairo from Algeria, so that's what's on the map.

Rome Italy

 

Rome is a 2 hour direct flight from Algiers, so it's a good place to get away for a week or a weekend. Here's a belated blog post full of photos from a couple of weeks ago.

2021 Travels

 

I forgot to make an end of the year recap of our 2021 travels. We lived in Latvia, vacationed in Iceland, spent home leave in Texas for 2 months, and then moved to DC for my language training right before New Year's Day. That must be why I forgot.

Iceland - 2 Weeks of Fire & Ice

We're vaccinated! This means travel is more of an option. We're still cautious and mindful of the pandemic, so our first travel choice had that consideration. Iceland is on everyone's good list for COVID-19, so it was a win-win scenario for us wanting to travel and them wanting tourists.

2020 Travels

 

2020 is finally done. It hasn't been one of the world's best years in my lifetime, even though it's been relatively good for us. I'll continue my travel blog tradition of looking back on last year's travels. I tried packing some week long trips into the winter to get away from the dark and cold. We made 2 of the 3 planned trips out of Latvia before the year took an unexpected turn.

Paphos Cyprus

We continued the European winter escape plan to Paphos (Pafos) Cyprus. Many Europeans and some Americans like to vacation in one big 3-4 week break if they have that kind of vacation time available. I prefer taking a week here and there over a season or throughout the year. Summers in Latvia are the best time to be here so winter is the better time to plan vacations.

February is the off-season in Cyprus with some resorts and restaurants closed for the season and some places under renovation. Our hotel was mostly full of other northern Europeans seeking some sun so even the off-season is somewhat busy. Some parts of town felt closed, but overall it was bustling enough. It felt comfortable instead of crowded which is what I imagine the summer season is there.

Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace UAE

Qasr Al Watan is the Presidential Palace in the United Arab Emirates. The palace was first opened to the public on 11 Mar 2019, so our visit was within their first year of public viewing. They were well organized for tourists with buses shuttling people from the visitor center to the palace.

It's a beautiful building still used for official purposes but you can peek in on some of these official rooms, such as the particularly impressive "Spirit of Collaboration" meeting room. Standing under the main dome is an awesome sight to see like many other domed capitals of the world.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi is a new art and civilization museum with more museums planned for the area so this will be an even better destination for museum lovers in the future. The building is amazing with a cool interlaced dome floating over it all and water around the buildings underneath. I took many pics of the building and some of the main exhibits showcasing art over time and around the world. It's an interesting concept and journey through the museum.

Al Ein UAE

The 5-day pass for Big Bus includes an all day bus tour to Al Ain near the Oman border. This day trip to the ‘Oasis City’ of Al Ain includes eight key landmarks such as Al Qattara, Al Hili Fort, Al Hili Tomb, Qasr Al Muwaiji, National Museum, Al Ain Palace and Al Jahili Fort. It was an interesting day exploring the earlier history of the emirates and how things were not that long ago before they became a rich oil country.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

This is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It's the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and fairly new with a completion in 2007. It's open to tourists and is one of the stops on the Big Bus tour. The mosque is a magnificent structure and well worth a visit since it's open to all visitors. If you don't have the right attire then you're loaned something to put over your clothes, so don't worry too much about being properly dressed for the visit.

Dubai - Burj Khalifa

We took a day trip to Dubai to see Burj Khalifa. We had high tea in the highest lounge at the top of the highest building in the world. It was impressive. We had a great mediterranean buffet dinner at the Armani hotel at the bottom of the tower. We were on the terrace overlooking the water fountains show which danced around to different songs every half hour.

Abu Dhabi

We had a great week away for the winter in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The whole week had highs in the low 70s F and wonderful sunny skies. The sun rose and set at normal times. I doubt I'd want to be there in the summer, but the winter weather makes it a great tourist destination if you're living somewhere towards the northern extreme. There's also plenty to see and do for a week if you want to do more than lounge in the sun.

2019 Travels

Paris 2019

We arrived in Paris at the beginning of the largest national strike in decades. We left a week later with no end in sight for the strike. It was still a great week of vacation for us since we saw most of what we planned despite the issues. It just required a lot more walking and adding a few taxis into the mix.

Austin Texas

I've been a Texan since I was 12 but I finally visited the Texas Capitol Building during an R&R from Latvia. Austin has a slogan of "Keep Austin Weird" but it really isn't any weirder than any other city I've seen. We looked for the weird and didn't find very much of it except on souvenirs in the shops. I did see one red hat for sale saying "Make Austin Weird Again" which would be more appropriate now. Here's some pics around town and the Capitol.

Malta Gozo Bus Tour

The island of Gozo is a smaller island in the Maltese archipelago accessible by a vehicle and people ferry on the northside of Malta. It has its own hop-on hop-off buses to get around for a day trip if you like that option. We do and so we did it. This one felt a bit rushed at times because the next bus was 45 minutes and we were fighting a clock for getting back to the ferry for our arranged transportation. It was still a good trip with the oldest megalithic temples at Ġgantija and the former Azure Window at Dwejra Bay.

Malta South Bus Tour

The south bus tour compares well with the north tour. This included the Tarxien Temples, the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, and the Blue Grotto. Be sure to book well in advance for the Hypogeum near the Tarxien Temples if you're interested in ancient temples. It looked like it'd be really neat but we couldn't get in because we didn't book it several weeks or months in advance.

Malta North Bus Tour

The north bus tour of Malta has some interesting stops. I don't know how to choose between north or south if you only have time for one since they have different strengths. We visited San Anton Garden, the walled city of Mdina, and the Roman Villa in Mdina. I didn't think the Roman Villa was worthwhile for the cost so I'm not going to bother posting the few pics I took there. Mdina is the star of the north tour.

Valletta Malta

Malta is a Mediterranean island nation with medieval walled cities, Knights of Malta, megalithic temples, and warmer February temperatures than Latvia. What's not to love? They were under the rule of various empires including the British, so that's why they drive on the left and English is an official language alongside Maltese. It's an easy vacation spot for English language and getting around.

2018 Travels

2018 Travels