NYC

We are moving to New York!

Yes that's right - on July 13th, 2010 we will officially be living in the United States again.

Brian got a job with a digital ad agency called RGA, and we couldn't be more excited to move there. Neither of us have ever lived there before - in fact, I've only been there for one day in my entire life - but it should be a pretty exciting adventure. Guess I'll have to come up with a new name for this blog!

More details to come soon.

- Krista

Ibiza!

We took a much needed vacation at the end of May to the sun and party capital of Europe - Ibiza, Spain. The island attracts people of all ages from all around Europe and the rest of the world. Young people go there to party at some of the most infamous clubs in the world, families go to enjoy the beautiful beaches and get a little Vitamin D after a long cold winter, and everyone else goes for various reasons - to enjoy their gigantic yacht, get away from it all in a villa in the mountains, or even to take an eco vacation (Ibiza was the original destination for European hippies and still has some hippy influences today).

Needless to say, we had a fantastic time.

We started out in Ibiza town, where we felt it was our duty to attend some of the most famous clubs of the island, Pacha and Space. If you're a real party-goer, the proper way to go out in Spain is to eat dinner at about 11:00 at night, go to a bar for a few hours, and then show up at the club at about 2 or 3 in the morning - then stay out until 6 am and stop at a cafe before sleeping until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Brian and I didn't exactly do that - I'm too much of a morning person to spend the day zonked out in bed - but we did stay out until 5 am two nights in a row, a big success in my mind.

Once we got the nightlife out of the way, we got to enjoy the island's amazing beaches and spent a lot of time reading, relaxing and exploring. We spent two nights on the other side of the island at a place called San Antonio (a big British hangout), which was really fun (we secretly enjoyed the touristy part of it because it meant there were more food options than the typical Spanish grub).

We even rented a boat one day while we were there which was absolutely amazing - until poor Brian stepped on a sea urchin and could barely walk because of all the thick needles stuck in his foot. He still has tons of them in his foot, poor guy!

Other than the sea urchin incident (which Brian handled pretty well, other than making me wait on him for the first few days), it was an amazing trip! We loved Ibiza and would definitely go back again.

Here are a few photos:

Brian in the ocean in San Antonio

Driving the boat

Brian enjoying the sunset on the boat

The sunsets were pretty amazing, to say the least

Paragliders in front of the famous Cafe Del Mar in San Antonio

Brian had a hard time walking the next day after the sea urchin incident

- Krista

Sunny Days at the Beach

It has finally stopped snowing in Europe and we've actually had a few nice, sunny days in Amsterdam over the last few months. One of those days was so nice we actually got to go to the nearby Dutch beach, Zandvoort:

Brian and our friend Jesse on the beach

Some friends and I decided to make a pyramid - notice the dog on top

- Krista

A Week in Ireland

I've been terrible about updating our blog lately... I guess all this traveling and not knowing where we're going to be in a few months time (more on that when we have more information...) has put me out of the mood. But I'll be better about it, I promise.

So, to get on with this particular post...

As I mentioned before, my parents came to visit us in May for a couple of weeks. They have always really wanted to go to Ireland, and I decided I might as well go with them since I barely get to see them and since I don't have a steady job (turns out I had to work a bit on the trip anyway, but at least it wasn't too bad). We went for a week, starting in Galway, then going to Dingle, Kilkenny, and finally on to Dublin.

We had a really nice time, although as always I got a little carsick from so much traveling and had to get a surprise tetanus shot in one of the towns (rusty lock on a door... how annoying). The people were incredibly friendly, the food was unexpectedly delicious, and the music was fantastic (the beer was good too of course). We all left feeling like we could definitely go back and spend some more time there.

We took a lot of great pictures, but here are a few of the highlights:

Sunset in Dublin

My parents outside of a castle in Kilkenny - Ireland is known for its bad weather, at least it didn't rain constantly

The musician made my Dad and I get up and dance - of course we had no idea what we were doing!

My dad and I at the Cliffs of Moher

- Krista

The Keukenhof Gardens

My Dad came to town soon after my Mom and I got back from Prague and we decided to check out the world famous Keukenhof Gardens for Mother's Day. None of us had ever been there before and didn't know what to expect, but it was quite the place - over 100 different tulip varieties, all hand planted, spread out over 35 hectares of beautiful land. No wonder it's the most photographed place in the world (or so they claim).

Of course, I lasted about an hour in the gardens (I've always said I have ADD...) while my Dad couldn't stop naming the different kinds of plants and walking around the colorful gardens and probably could have stayed the entire day. It was pretty, nonetheless, and we had a good time.

Here are some of the photos from the day:

My parents walking around the tulip fields

Lots and lots of tulip fields

My Dad knew the name of just about every plant there

Funny picture of the day

- Krista