Day 379: In Search of Gordon Ramsey – London
Ok, the truth is, I am not into reality TV shows. Most of them are crazy and I avoid watching them. Master Chef and Hell’s Kitchen, however, are two I can honestly say I enjoy at times. I’m not sure why exactly. I don’t particularly enjoy the bickering, fighting, and swearing…but I do love learning about food and there’s no denying that Chef Gordon Ramsay knows his way around a kitchen! Just take a glance at his profile and you’ll know what I mean. Plus, there’s just something genuine and kindhearted about the Chef… Read More
Day 376: Discovering Jerash, Jordan
I have to confess, I knew NOTHING about the city of Jerash, not one, single, solitary thing. I had never even heard of it! Our discovery happened because we chose the only available nonstop flight between Istanbul and Amman, Jordan leaving at 1am in the morning from Istanbul. We had initially planned to fly out the day after, but choosing this late night route allowed us to maximize our short time in Jordan. Making this decision ended up being very fortuitous, because just 9 hours after we departed, there was a country wide blackout, a suspected act… Read More
Day 370: In Search of Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail – Petra
Many of us remember the famous scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where Harrison Ford and Sean Connery race through a steep, narrow canyon on horses, and burst through a sudden opening, discovering the hidden city. I’ll never forget their first glimpse of Petra, the stone city carved deeply into the side of the red cliff. At the time, I thought it was just make believe, a brilliant part of the cinematography used to create the movie, but I was wrong. When I realized that this unusual destination, Petra, the Capital of the Nabataean… Read More
Day 367: Floating in the Dead Sea
After leaving exotic Istanbul, we headed to Jordan! One of our top priorities here was to take a dip in the Dead Sea. We wanted to see if all of the hype was really true. Could we, indeed, float on the surface of the Dead Sea without any floatation devices? While we believed this might be true, we had yet to verify this claim. We were extremely curious to discover the truth as well as experience this strange phenomenon for ourselves. Can you guess what our conclusion was? Here’s a photo that may… Read More
Day 366: Time Flies…One Year Already!
Unbelievable! Today, June 16th, marks our Round the World one year anniversary! It’s difficult to believe a whole year has passed, and yet here we are in Vienna, Austria, making plans for our return. Over the last few days, I’ve been putting together a “Year in Review” with photos and commentary, but as I progressed, I realized it would take much longer than I anticipated. Perhaps I will save that for our return. In the meantime, as I was reflecting on the past year, I was reminded of God’s goodness to us in… Read More
Turkey and Kebab Delight ~ by Ryan
Istanbul was one of my favorite places to visit. Why? Because there were an endless amount of shops selling Turkish Delight, Baklava, and Doner Meat Kebabs. Istanbul is another place that is filled with history, like Rome, or Greece. It was not always called Istanbul. Before the Turks conquered it, it was called Constantinople. Named after the first Christian Roman Emperor, it was the capital city of Rome. Then, the Ottoman Turks conquered it, and it became Istanbul, a place of delicious dessert and very nice meat kebabs. But the Hagia Sophia, one… Read More
Day 362: Exotic Spices and Turkish Delights – Istanbul
As mentioned in the previous post, Istanbul and the Famed Hagia Sophia, my children may not always enjoy history, but they certainly do enjoy trying new foods and sweet treats. That’s what makes Istanbul an ideal place to visit, at least for our family. It is a melting pot of different cultures and you can most readily see that in its dining choices. Yes, there are also a ton of wonderful historical places to visit throughout Istanbul. If you Google “Istanbul”, you’ll quickly be provided with a huge list, including places like… Read More
Day 360: Istanbul and the Famed Hagia Sophia
Istanbul! What can I say? It’s always held a special draw for me. I can’t exactly explain why, but I’ve always perceived it as mysterious, beautiful, and exotic. We decided to take the kids and visit Istanbul for just under a week before going to Jordan and Israel. I’m so glad we made this decision. Of all the destinations we visited, Istanbul is definitely one of our favorites. The people are friendly and the city is so unique. Below is our new best friend. I don’t remember his name, but he was… Read More
Ryan on Safari
Our first safari was in South Africa, at a place called Bush Lodge. We arrived at night, so we didn’t see as much, but our spotter/tracker Dollen spotted a GREEN chameleon in a bunch of GREEN leaves with a flashlight in the dark. (He had a good eye). Our second safari, which required us to get up at 5:30 AM so we could leave at 6 AM, (after coffee, of course) was pretty awesome. We even spotted a leopard, which is pretty rare to see, because they are so good at camouflage. We… Read More
Day 353: Zambia and Hunting Rhinos
Hunting Rhinos to shoot, with our cameras of course. In addition to Victoria Falls, this was one of the other highlights we experienced in Zambia. We set out in our safari jeep, excited and hopeful but a little apprehensive, as we knew we would hunting the Rhinos on foot. Of course, we could only do this with several heavily armed guards, but if a Rhino chose to charge us, I’m not so sure how safe we’d be, regardless of the guards’ presence. Plus the thought of being the cause for a guard to… Read More
Danny
Deena Gainor
Kathryn
Ryan Gainor
Ryan Thomas
Mikayla
Six Hearts One Journey 
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