Weddings, Reunions, & Birthdays!

Arriving in North America marked the end of summer and the beginning of a hectic travel schedule that lasts until the holidays.  The first stop was home, but only for 2 days to quickly get my stuff together and drive to Maine with my parents.  Next stop Canada!  I decided that a change of scenery in North America wouldn't be too bad and will be living in Summerside, Prince Edward Island until May. (See my last post if this is news.) I had about two weeks to find an apartment and get things set up in PEI and then I was off to Kathryn's wedding in Atlanta for a mini Italia reunion!  The wedding was beautiful, it was at Serenbe, an intentional, sustainable, community outside the city.  All of the weekend events took place within Serenbe, and I can't think of a single thing that could have been improved.  The food was local, organic, and delicious!  Kathryn's ceremony was outside in a small clearing among tall trees and the reception close by under a huge tent.  Luckily, most of the girls were able to make it to the rehearsal dinner too and we even had a day in downtown Atlanta to explore. While in the city we ate at The Terrace, also a farm to table establishment in the Ellis hotel.  The food there was fantastic as well, not to mention the breezy view of the neighborhood.  It's located not far from the Centennial Olympic Park.

The weekend in Atlanta ended quickly.  I'm looking forward to seeing the girls again in February, this time in Boston for Meg's wedding!  I'll be celebrating my birthday that weekend as well so it's likely to be just as hectic.  My Dad's 75th birthday is coming up soon, and I'll have a few weeks at home for the festivities.  Then I'm back in Canada for two weeks, followed by a visit to Kaohsiung for three weeks and then back to Lexington again for Thanksgiving!

Home for the Holidays

I ♥ snow

It was a busy week in Boston.  I ended up getting seven days out of my vacation (instead of six) because my flight to JFK was cancelled at the last minute.  Simple version of the story, JetBlue has some serious organizational problems but at least I got to complain about them on the 10 o'clock news :)

I decided to take the Amtrak Acela train to NYC instead of trying to get on an overbooked flight at the airport so Im officially on my way back to Taiwan. It's pretty convenient if you can get on one of the cheaper trains and they have free internet for the whole ride.  I finished watching The Stoning of Soraya M. which was a great movie, but disturbing when you think about all the women for whom this is their reality.

The week was short but I got to see lots of friends and family. The blizzard didn't stop our holiday dinner at The Independent either!  We've kept up the tradition for over 10 years now.  It seems like it's gotten even warmer in Taiwan so Im looking forward to some nice weather when I return.  I'll probably be exhausted by the time I arrive on Friday but I'll have a few hours to recover before our new year's eve party :)

The Independent, Somerville

Italia Reunion

On my last day in Asia I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei and then continued onto LA and then Denver for Christa and Sean’s wedding.  Total travel time:  24 hours. Four of us flew in to Denver and did a mini road trip down to Durango with Taylor on Friday.  We made a quick detour to the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Mosca, which was really fun.  We took a whole bunch of Abu Dhabi pictures!

Christa and Sean’s wedding was beautiful.  They had the ceremony and reception at an old Italian style villa on a farm in the countryside.  The food was fantastic (Italian of course) and they had perfect weather.  I am so grateful that I have stayed in touch with my roommates from Italy.  Sometimes I don't know what I would do without them!  We have all managed to stay very close even when we arent able to talk for long periods of time.  It has also been nice to be able to adjust to being back in the states without going straight home.  I have a few more days in Colorado where I’ll be staying with my friend Colleen that I met while volunteering in South America.  Im looking forward to being in Boston next weekend!

Check out more pictures of the wedding by clicking here.