Blue Lagoon

Day 23:

This morning we woke up and headed to the Blue Lagoon to relax and take in all of our experiences and memories we have made on this trip. We got two different face masks and a nice cold cider beer while we soaked in the geothermal spa. This was the perfect way to end a busy and adventurous trip!
Thanks for being on this journey with us through 23 days, 14 flights, 5 different time zones and 3 different continents!

       

                     

Now it is time for us to get home! We can't wait to share more of our pictures and stories with all of you!

                                                                                                       Signing Off,
                                                                                                           Jen and Ashley

An Ancient Wonder

Day 21-22:

On Thursday we arrived in Egypt around midnight and made our way to our hotel in Giza. With very little sleep, we woke up at 7am to get ready for our tour to the Memphis, Sakkara and the pyramids! We were excited to leave the 120 degree heat in Dubai, but woke up and found out Egypt's 106 degrees with just as hot!

Our first stop was at Memphis. This was the ancient capital and an important religious center. Here we saw ruins of one of Egypt's oldest cities. Here we saw the colossal statue of King Rameses II.

The next stop was at Sakkara. Here we saw the oldest complete stone building complex known in history: The Pyramid of Djoser. It was built in the 27th century BC for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser.

                   
Lastly, we went to see the Great Pyramids of Giza (what we had been waiting for!). The Great Pyramid is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids. It is the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the only one to remain largely intact. At the pyramids we took time to walk by and up part of the Great Pyramid, go on a camel ride, and of course take lots of pictures! We are still wondering when it's actually going to hit us that we were there... It definitely is an ancient wonder! Then, we ended by seeing the Great Sphinx of Giza. It is one of the world's largest and oldest statues.

                                                   

Now we are just making our way back towards home. We flew out early and had a long layover in Frankfurt, Germany. We went into Frankfurt to walk and enjoy the views, the food, and of course a beer! Tonight we land in back in Iceland where the trip started off. We will have a few hours at the Blue Lagoon to relax before making our flight back home. For now, we are soaking in our last hours of vacation.

     

                                                                                                     Signing Off,
                                                                                                        Jen and Ashley

On Top of the World!

Day 18-20:

On Monday, we went up to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world! We had some amazing views from the 148th floor and then down on the 125th. The Burj makes all other skyscrapers seem so small.

                 
On Tuesday, we took a day trip to Abu Dhabi. We stopped at Ferrari World, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Heritage Market and the Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
The mosque was absolutely stunning! Even in the 120 degree heat...

     

On Wednesday, we spent time relaxing at the pool and went to the movie, The Hustle at the Dubai Mall. Later that night, we flew out to head to Egypt! Time to see one of the ancient wonders of the world- the pyramids!

                                                                                                        Signing Off,
                                                                                                           Jen and Ashley

Arabian Nights

Day 16-17:

On Saturday morning we arrived in Dubai and spent time relaxing by the pool and catching up on sleep. Then, we headed to the Dubai Mall and saw the fountain show.



Today, we woke up and again spent time at the pool. Mid-afternoon we got picked up for our desert tour. Once we got to the desert, we started with sand dunning in the Land Cruiser, which felt like being on a crazy roller coaster. Next, we took a stop at a camel farm and learned about the country. From here, we went to our camp site where we had the opportunity to ride a camel, go sand boarding, eat some food and watch some shows.
        

It was a great night in the desert and tomorrow we are headed to the top of the Burj!
       
                                                                                                             Signing Off,
                                                                                                                Jen and Ashley

Lions and Leopards and Rhinos, Oh My!

Day 12-15:

We are back online after being with limited Wifi during our safari. Yes!!! Finally our African safari!

On Tuesday afternoon, we arrived at Elephant Plains lodge after two flights and a 3am wake up.  We were excited to go on our first game drive early that evening after we settled into our cute room.

       

On our first drive we met our guide, Andrew, our tracker, Dion, and the rest of the group we would be with during our stay.  We met Nancy, Bill, Dick and Michelle who were all traveling together and a couple on their honeymoon, Alexandra and JP from Spain. We all hit it off right away and had many laughs and jokes together. We couldn't have asked for a better group and felt extremely lucky to be with the best ones at the lodge!


Throughout our safari we saw many different animals and were amazed by how close we could get to them. Andrew would go the extra mile to find the animals we wanted to see no matter the path we had to take. We had to have a lot of patience to give the animals time to be more active or to catch that perfect photo. Dion sacrificed himself a lot by being pushed up to trees while we could get a good view of the animals. We were lucky and got to see the Big 5 during our 3 days: rhinos, leopards, elephants, buffalo, and lions. Other animals we saw were giraffe, wild dogs, hippos, hyenas, and zebras.



When we were leaving, we were all sad to be saying goodbye as we now had new friends and many wonderful memories together! We are so lucky to have social media so we can all keep in contact with one another. This African safari was an absolutely amazing experience that we will remember forever! We wanted to cry because it's over... but we are choosing to smile because it happened! South Africa, you have a special place in our hearts!

We have now made it to Dubai and I will give another update soon!

                                                                                                             Signing Off,
                                                                                                               Jen and Ashley

Where the City Meets the Sea

Day 10 & 11:

Yesterday, we spent the day on a wine tour through Stellenbosch. We stopped at three wineries tasting different wines and cheeses. Our tour was with a small group all day and our tour guide, Ashley. When he introduced himself, Ashley laughed and didn't believe he had the same name! We also met an adventurous couple from Australia and a nice man from New York. We enjoyed sharing stories of all of our travels and getting to know one another throughout the day. And yes, I will be coming home with a bottle of wine!

                   

Today we spent our last day in Cape Town down at the V&A Waterfront. Here we spent our day shopping, eating, listening to some African music, going on the Ferris Wheel and walking along the harbor. We bought plenty of gifts and souvenirs to bring home for our families and ourselves. Now we are hoping our luggage isn't overweight!

      


Tomorrow we wake up early to catch a couple of flights to get to our safari! We will be there until Friday with possible limited service or wifi. I will update again as soon as I can!

                                                                                                             Signing Off,
                                                                                                                Jen and Ashley