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Off to a Foreign Land

this blog Captures the sights and stories as we
​venture off to saudi arabia

Summer 2018 - Canada, Europe, & more...

9/24/2018

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*** See captions by scrolling cursor over pics and click to enlarge ***

Hi everybody!

It has been a while since we posted, so thought we would get an update out to everyone on some recent travels and stories from the amazing summer we have had.

We spent a few weeks back in Canada seeing friends and family, and then took a 3-week vacation in August to visit 4 countries in Europe alone the French Riviera.  Literally, travelled via planes, trains, and automobiles...combined with some boating and bicycling.  Loved the new experiences!

​There are also a few random pics from fun we have had in the Middle East throughout the summer.

Enjoy the stories and pics...

Back to Canada

We went back to Canada in July.  Lisa spent a week in Ontario with her Mom, enjoying Canada Day, a Blue Jays game, and a Shania Twain concert.
Lisa then flew to Calgary and got to spend a few days in Calgary, going to the Calgary Stampede with friends before Jeff joined the party.
It was great to catch up with our great friends and to even get a visit from Jeff's dad, brother, and nephew.
Miss all these amazing people!
Lisa & her mom
Go Jays Go!
Street girl??
Lisa and Michele
Trouble in Calgary
Angry bitches
Girls Night Out
HOME
Jeff has landed
Great to catch up with these fellas
3 kisses
Lick her
Jeff and Kerri
Late night shenanigans
Gotta love Calgary
Jason & Jakobe
A true Tycholiz
Jakobe needs some clothes
Pre-gaming at Brewsters with Robert J. Hauta
Big Daver makes an appearance
Drinks at the Kilt & Caber...love it!
Avi meets us at The Berwick
Chester kissing Lisa goodbye
Canadian donuts

August vacation - Barcelona, French Riviera, Milan

Picture

Barcelona, Spain

We spent 3 days in Barcelona.  We had heard many great things about this city and it did not disappoint!
It has so many amazing places to see with great architecture and history, combined with some fantastic restaurants and bars.
Jeff loved the paella that is available at almost every restaurant!
We stayed on La Rambla street, which is busy as hell, loaded with tourists so the people watching is great and it is very central to all the sites and areas you want to visit.  We took the Hop On, Hop Off bus to visit many beautiful areas of the city.

Some of our favourite highlights include:
- Sagrada Familia basilica - part of a UNESCO world heritage site, construction started in 1882, estimated to finish in 2026
- Park Guell - a beautiful park with many mosaic artworks from Gaudi that began construction in 1900
- the Gothic area - it's Cathedral and some great bars (La Burnessa mojitos)
- MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) and the Magic Fountain
- Olympic stadium
- Barcelona beach

Istanbul beers
Hard Rock Barcelona cocktails
Barcelona water station
Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic area
la Burnessa - home of the best f'n mojito ever
Boardwalk along Barcelona beach
Christopher Columbus monument pointing to North America
Las Ramblas street - so busy!
Placa Real - loved this little square
Park Guell
Nice view of Barcelona from Park Guell
La Sagrada familia
Pre-tour beer ... not a bad location!
The grey part is finished...still lots to go!
The roof on the inside is beautiful
Casa de les Punxes
Erotic Museum Barcelona
Paella everywhere....Jeff was in heaven!
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunha
La Sagrada Familia towers over the city
Wonder what parts are touched the most??
Olympic Park
Home of the Olympic Flame
Christopher Columbus monument "Colum"
Barcelona Beach

France

Marseille

Marseille is a beautiful port city with an incredible marina surrounded by bars and restaurants.  Up on top of the hill overlooking the city and port is the incredible Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde.  We just stopped for lunch and a couple beers but definitely a place we want to visit again!

St.Tropez

After Marseille, we drove along the French Riviera coast to St.Tropez.  It is quite a place.  Like what you would expect - lots of massive yachts in the harbour and on the water, lots of expensive shops, but some beautiful scenery, amazing seafood, nice beaches, and several wineries.  We stayed at the Toison D'Or resort, which had a private beach, for a couple days.  Visited the Chateau Minuty winery for some tasty breakfast samples.
Our patio at Toison D'Or
St.Tropez beach
Beautiful girl at the beautiful St.Tropez marina
Minuty winery
No tan lines in the French Riviera

Cannes

After driving along the coast, we stopped in Cannes for lunch, beers, and some sightseeing.  We walked along the famous boardwalk called Boulevard de la Croissette and saw the hotels where all the Cannes Film Festival stars stay.  Even got some pics on the red carpet for the theatre.  Also, a classic story where Jeff was called an "asshole" by some asian tourists.  
Nice Cans!
Cannes beach
famous Carlton Hotel in Cannes
THE Red Carpet

Nice

Nice instantly became a favourite of ours.  It is a beautiful place, filled with incredible buildings with French and Italian influence.  There is a kick ass Old Town area filled with many great restaurants and bars.
We enjoyed both the Hop On, Hop Off bus and Le Petit Train, which took us to the cool tourist areas of the city, as well as neighbouring Villefranche-sur-Mer.  Jeff even got in trouble on the public beach...once he realized it wasn't a "clothing optional" beach!  Jackass!

Some highlights included:
- Castle Cremat - mountaintop winery in a church 
- Parc de la Colline du Chateau with beautiful hilltop waterfalls 
- the Acropolis statue
- Cathedrale Russe St.Nicolas - a very cool Russian cathedral in the middle of Nice
Castle Cremat winery
View of the French Riviera from our patio
On le Petit Train
View from Parc de la Colline du Chateau
Le Petit Train
Really cool night lights in Nice
Nice boardwalk - Promenade Des Anglais
Villefranche-Sur-Mer
Acropolis
Cathedrale Russe
Negresco Hotel
Beach time!
Mexican meal at La Lupita in Old Nice (Vieux Nice)

Monte-Carlo, Monaco 

Monaco is the 2nd smallest country in the world and has just under 40,000 people.  It's famous city is Monte-Carlo, home of the famous Monte-Carlo Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo Casino.  The casino was insane.  Gold all over the place!  Quite a place to see...nothing but money here!  Could not believe the yachts here - many with helicopter pads and additional speed boats on them.  Crazy!  We took a boat ride in the harbour to check it all out.
Casino Monte Carlo
Pre-boat ride wine
WTF is this????

Milan, Italy

We took the train from Monte-Carlo to Ventimiglia and up to Milan for our last couple of vacation days.

We arrived at the Milan train station (Stazione Centrale) and saw another incredible building.  Could've been a museum or cathedral with how impressive it was.  We quickly checked into our hotel and went out to check out the city.  

We took a bike tour and saw:
- Milan Cathedral - 3rd largest church in the world, took over 6 centuries to build
- Castella Sforzesco - a 15th century castle 
- Arco della Pace - the city gate to Milan
- the L.O.V.E. statue in Piazza Affari - a middle finger salute to the bankers

Finished the day in the local area called Brera with a kick ass meal (and massive calzone) at Il Kaimano. 
Stazione Centrale (Milan train station)
Milan Cathedral
Castella Sforzesco
Arco della Pace
L.O.V.E. statue in Piazza Affari
Amazing meal at Il Kaimano in Brera
Airport drinks - time to go home

Other summer stories...

We had lots of fun this summer while in the Middle East.  Some highlights include:
- a fun yacht adventure in Bahrain in early July
- 2 going away parties (Masalama) for our Aussie friends Toni & Jim who have left Saudi to go home
- many pool parties, both at our place and in Bahrain
- visits to The Hydration Station
​- we even found a way to get over to Dubai with friends for our September long weekend
Floating City in Bahrain
Amwaj Marina
Jeff C. is ready to sail
The bar is open!
Robin the wild Aussie
The hat looks good on you Tosh!
Gary the gecko in our apartment building
Gary the hunter
Seat belt convincer? Haha
Charlie is still alive
Road trip!
Bahrain beer time
Kitties at our compound
Lisa saying goodbye to Toni
Lisa, Toni, Shendy, Tracey
Watch your hand!
Cool characters
Tracey and our singing friend
Lisa & Tosh
Lisa & Tracey
and Shendy
And Luc
Big H, Wally, Jim, and Jeff
Lisa with Jim & Toni
The start of Masalama #2 with H, Sara, and Lisa
Who likes Philipino singers? This guy
Nick, Wendy, Toni, and Jeff
Jeff & H
Jeff & Sara
The after party we don't remember
Saudi National Day in Ras Tanura
Dubai - Sept long weekend
Late night drunks
Sofitel JBR pool in Dubai
Yes, they are eating up there!
Ready to party in Dubai
Luc and Tosh devouring this bottle at Lock, Stock, and Barrel

Upcoming travel

We have a few trips booked - hoping to have some friends come join us...

November 2018 - Thailand - spending a couple days in Bangkok, then on to Phuket to celebrate Lisa's birthday with friends from Canada, Anita, Nicole, and Dennis.  Should be some wild times, including some island pub crawls.

December 2018 - We are heading to Frankfurt, Germany and area for an extended long weekend at the end of December.  Very excited to do a tour to Neuschwanstein Castle near Austria.  This is the castle that inspired Disney's famous castle.  May have to break out the winter coats!


Picture
T&A 2019 - We will spend a few days in New Orleans, then visit with our T&A friends February 9-16 for the 10 year anniversary in Cancun, then off to Miami for a few days before heading back over to the Middle East.
May 2019 - Greece - booked into Santorini for a few days, then over to Crete

June 2019 - Uganda - going to do a day of gorilla trekking, a day of chimpanzee trekking, and then a carnivore trekking day.  Should be quite an adventure.

August 2019 - still finalizing plans but it's looking like Portugal, south France, and Croatia.

November/December 2019 - South Africa - wine tasting, shark cage diving, safaris, and enjoying Cape Town.

​

Thanks for checking out our summer stories and pics everyone!  Will post an update once we return from Thailand.  

Have a great US Thanksgiving everyone!!!  

​Love, J&L...
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