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It's been awhile! It's been a very busy few weeks with some great trips! Instead of talking about it, we're just going to upload as many pictures as will fit... you'll see the story progress through those.

Mexico City with a side trip to the Pyramids of Teotihuacan
And Mom came along! (After a very dramatic almost missed the flight for a number of reasons commute)

















Pyramid of the Moon

















Pyramid of the Sun

















Me atop the Pyramid of the Sun.. though barely visible..

















Temple of Queztalcoatl (Teotihuacan god, that's a relief of him on the right)

















Pulque! Fermented juice... it was different.


And on to Santiago, Chile!
All-nighter flight both ways was a bit tough, but worth it.

















A very interesting fort/museum/chapel located in the middle of the city. We never did find out exactly what it was...











But it offered a fantastic view!



















La Virgen













Huge statue sitting atop a smaller mountain, you can see her from most anywhere in the city below.









The ride down the mountain













Then a quick trip to Springfield, MA which very luckily is close enough to Worcester for Jon to come rescue me from the hotel!










Springfield's City Hall Bell Tower
















Dinner at The Student Prince German Restaurant: Schnitzel and sausage. Could it get any better?









Atlanta!

















Dinner with Baron at Tamarind Seed.. and then Gladys Knight Chicken & Waffles.. and then diet for a week.. :) So worth it! But really, why do anything that isn't worth doing?









Happy Birthday! Love you long time!











And back in Birmingham for another birthday fiesta









Martín, silly-stringed at midnight by only the best. And then cake.. that might have tasted like silly string.. but still better than the pulque.

Welcome to Miami

Miami! So, no it doesn't look like it does on the screens of CSI: Miami, but it was still great fun! South Beach/Miami Beach is quite glamorous still. And, of course, I loved the Spanish there. Another flight attendant and I took the bus over to Miami Beach for the afternoon. It felt like a tropical New York almost! Small nook-stores, street vendors, eclectic restaurants, street food vendors, Spanish. Just.. with palm trees!


















Lincoln Rd, the main drag of Miami Beach

















The beach!







Chips & salsa, fish tacos, and horchata (a rice-based nut and cinnamon drink) for lunch!
























Strawberry tart for dessert at Paul (a French patisserie only in Miami and DC in the States!)








Crazy busy downtown Miami-Dade

Continent Hopping

After sitting standby specifically for the Africa trips for over a year, I finally finally nabbed it. And one of the last trips going, too! Sweet fulfillment, at last. Thanks, scheduling.

Dakar, Senegal
Very third-world-feeling, but insanely expensive!

















Ngor Island off the coast of Dakar. It was supposed to be the surfing hotspot... hm.

















Gorée Island. This is the portal of basically all the West African slave trade.










The 'Door of no Return'











If a slave was unacceptable/unsellable, they were pushed out of this door into the ocean. Otherwise, this is where the ships docked to load the slaves on. Either way, you weren't coming back. Intense.

















The magnitude of human trafficking.

















Local cuisine, of course. Some Yassa chicken: marinated in lemon juice, cooked in an onion mushroom concoction.


Capetown, South Africa
This has now topped my list as my favorite destination. And, being on reserve and not packed for this trip, this was an exciting transition. Dakar was 90 degrees...Capetown 50. First stop was Woolworth's department store for jeans, shirts, and a jacket. It felt like a gameshow! Bargain hunting for things I like in strange sizes with a 30-min timer before leaving for dinner with the crew. I won!
Dinner at Karibu South African Restaurant at The Wharf

















Ostrich Carpaccio! Absolutely fantastic!

















Left: Waterblommetjie (lamb stew with waterblommetjie , an aquatic plant that tastes like artichokes) Right: Chakalaka! (tastes like spicy baked beans)

















Table Mountain in the center of Capetown. Huge plateau. Huge.

A group of us rented cars and drove down (about 2 hours) to Cape Point and The Cape of Good Hope.









The Cape of Good Hope (from standing on Cape Point where the lighthouse is)
















Midway climbing up the Cape (with Cape Point in the background)

















Top of the Cape of Good Hope

















Because the last picture doesn't convey the altitude

















Wild Ostriches! Makes me hungry...

















And wild Baboons!

How do you sum up 10 days in Africa? So many thoughts, emotions, ideas, desires, plans and retrospects come from this trip. At least, too many for this space! What an experience.

Some notes for the future:
>If you fall asleep under a palm tree for an hour, the equatorial sun moves a little faster than we're used to.. when you wake up you will no longer be in the soothing shade. And you will be burned.
>Bug spray that is 30% Deet will eat through your clothes. It might just be worth it.
>The spots where Deet was sprayed on are burned the worst. I don't know if that was worth it.
>Flies on the islands love Fanta. I mean, love it like they'll never get to buzz around again. Just avoid it next time.
>Africans don't burn, so you can forget about finding some Aloe at the local pharmacy. Now you're burned and peeling. But with no mosquito bites!

Finally back in the States after a week and a half. And Jeanne Danielle calls, she has a trip to Moscow the next day, and it's her birthday! Now what kind of adventure-seeking traveler would I be if I spent my days off at home!? So, after not even 24 hrs at home, I headed to Moscow!











Red Square and the Kremlin Palace





















St Basil's at the Kremlin!










We shopped the markets for souvenir nesting dolls, faux-fur hats, and of course gas masks (?). Followed by a delicious dinner of Goulash soup, spinach casserole, deer burger, and apple strudel, but we were too famished to take a photo before we demolished it...







Cupcakes for dessert! Happy Birthday Jeanne! Though it got a bit roughed up on its travels from Alabama...








I have now been to North/Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. 6/7. Antarctica... maybe we'll get there one day.

Archways

And on to St Louis for a great long layover! Another crewmember, Brian and I went out about town to see the sites!










Our hotel












It used to be a huge warehouse that they converted. The decor was all painted. Very cool.


















Beautiful city hall. I loved the architecture around St Louis! Everything had a special detail that distinguished it.

And of course, the St Louis Arch! "Gateway to the West"









So much more impressive than expected.


























View from the top! Busch Stadium of the St Louis Cardinals to the left; State Capital to the right.










St Louis specialty!
Fried ravioli!











Brian got many more great pictures, coming soon to Facebook!

90 MPH

Work for 3 days. Clean, paint, pack, move for 3 days. Work for 3 days. Get rerouted during trip. Home to a new house! Dinner with friends in town! Unpack. Cold shower (yipes! but not so bad once your nerves are numb..). Organize! Decorate! It's been 90 mph this week and I'm loving it!

A layover in Seattle where we flew over Mount Ranier, just southwest of Seattle.










View from the porthole (better than any view on the ground!)









Followed by a layover in Raleigh where I went out to a wonderful Indian lunch, followed by Baklava dessert at a Turkish teahouse with Karl.


















And the new house!























My room!

Falling

Well, it's back to work after the flu and with a running start! 10 days in a row, exhausting, though fun.

First a stop in Rochester, NY























Church front downtown. The back was all eroded brickwork, very picturesque.

Then back to Atlanta for a dinner with Baron at OK Café! Great and much needed fun times.







Even the chicken pot pie was festive!













Then I got another Rochester trip, but it was a much longer layover so I drove over to Niagara Falls for the day! I have to admit the drive was just as much fun as the sightseeing because my rental car was a brand new 2010 Mustang with a V6 engine and iPod connection. It went fast. And had that great all-American roar to it.

















The first rule is never to name something.. so, I called her Sally appropriately (though maybe not too creatively). It was fun for the day!

















Onto the Falls!, I crossed into the Canadian side to get a better view..













American Falls















Canadian or 'Horseshoe' Falls

I think that approaching the Falls was more powerful than actually seeing it. The thundering but unseen presence is more exciting than standing before it somehow. Though, watching something so incredibly powerful is quite breath-taking!




And on a completely different subject.. Someone once asked me how I wanted to be proposed to and I spontaneously answered at the airport. Yeah, not so much. But I do wish someone would meet me at the airport one day. With flowers would be nice. It seems I delve into the attitude of whatever style of book I'm reading.. maybe I need to not read English Romanticism next.

In other news, I all out chef-ed tonight. I made a ratatouille dish, baked potatoes, black-eyed peas with greens, and biscuits with sweet tea for dinner. It was way too much and it was wonderful. I can't wait to start cooking big meals for people again! Hopefully that will be soon as I'm moving into a house with friends next week! Woo hoo!

On the mend

Emily is still sick. It's been 10 days of not-too-productive yet restful recovery, but I'm still symptomatic.. So I called out sick for yet another trip! My manager suggested I file a short-term disability claim as well. So, I'm now officially short-term disabled! Depending on what is approved, I might even get paid for the trips I missed! Here's to hopin'!

The past month has just been a roller coaster it seems. I was sitting pretty sturdily mentally/emotionally but apparently it was a small ledge, because I was kicked off without much effort. And it's all been so empty lately! And I lost interest in things around me, which in turn just made me sad that I wasn't excited about anything or anyone! I started the challenging climb back up, then, the oh-so-ominous swine flu! And it made me miss multiple engagements. (Baron, we will be going to a Beyoncé concert somewhere, sometime!) My week(s) of recovery have served me well though, because I am getting back up there! I'm so excited about getting out of the house and going on some newly planned vacation-trips that I'm feeling much more upbeat!

Another sign I'm feeling better, I'm back in the kitchen! Steak and eggs for lunch. And I made a simple yet delicious chicken casarecci pasta for the fam for dinner. I missed having all my kitchen items and spices out. :)

Whoa. I just saw an ad for Hawaiian pineapple upside-down pancakes at IHOP. Yes, please.