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Category Archives: Flashback

Flashback Friday – Day Trips from Saigon

25 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in Asia, Flashback, Vietnam

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As I’ve mentioned previously, Mr. Selfish and I are currently taking it easy in Saigon. However, when we came here for our homeland honeymoon in 2009, we took a couple of day trips during our short 3-day stay in Saigon.

First, we went to the Mekong Delta, which is where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of streams. It was lovely but quite hot (as it tends to be in Saigon). We were given straw hats for the short canoe trip, which I found quaint but quickly discovered were mostly functional due to the scorching sun.

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Flashback Friday – Halong Bay in Vietnam

18 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in Asia, Flashback, Food & Drinks, Vietnam

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During our homeland honeymoon, Mr. Selfish and I stayed in the Sofitel in Hanoi, Vietnam. The hotel had a French colonial theme and was utterly charming. It is one of our favorite hotels of all time. Since our good friends (Uyen-Minh and Mike) paid for a day trip to Halong Bay as our wedding present, we decided to splurge and arranged for the trip through the Sofitel.

It was a little extravagant but we had a private driver and an English-speaking tour guide to Halong Bay, which was about 1.5 hours away. Along the way, the tour guide made some disparaging remarks about Americans to us, which is fine but we found a little odd since we had just told him that we were American.

When we arrived at Halong Bay, we discovered that we had an entire junk boat to ourselves. It was a two-story junk boat that could probably fit about 100 tourists. There was also an entire crew just for us.

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Flashback Friday – Snowing in Seattle

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in Flashback, North America

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In 2008, Mr. Selfish and I went to Seattle. I had heard many wonderful things about Seattle, so we wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, we went during the month of March. Despite the fact that Mr. Selfish told me that it never snows in Seattle, it was very cold and indeed snowing.

The snow didn’t stop us from enjoying Seattle though. We went to the Space Needle to enjoy the views. There was of course a coffee shop at the top.

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Flashback Friday – Japanese Food

04 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in Asia, Flashback, Food & Drinks, Japan

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Orlando had limited Japanese food offerings. The vast majority of it was sushi, and there was one good ramen place. So, when Mr. Selfish and I went to Japan in 2009, we sampled all sorts of Japanese food.

First, we sampled plenty of udon and ramen. Each time, the broths were so flavorful that you could tell it had been cooked for a looooong time.

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Flashback Friday – Charming Chicago

28 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Flashback, North America

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In May 2008, Mr. Selfish and I visited our good friend Becca in Chicago. Becca had been raving about Chicago, and we decided to take her up on her offer to let us crash at her apartment. This was my first trip to Chi-Town, and I found it to be quite charming.

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First, we went to Millenium Park, which actually was opened in 2004 (only four years behind schedule). I love taking pictures in front of the Cloud Gate, which is better known as the “Bean.” Also, Crown Fountain is nice because it’s fun to watch all the kids splashing around in the water and their parents trying not to get wet.

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Flashback Friday – Our Orange Tree in Florida

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Flashback, Food & Drinks, North America

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Prior to leaving on our selfish year, Mr. Selfish and I moved out of house in Winter Park, Florida and rented it for a year. We had an orange tree in the backyard that would produce dozens of oranges during November and December. We would harvest the oranges and make delicious, sweet orange juice every year.

Unfortunately, we just heard word that our orange tree has died and needs to be taken down. We loved that orange tree, and it was one of the things I really missed about having a home in Florida – fresh orange juice. This flashback post is dedicated to our orange tree.

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Flashback Friday – Plenty To Do in Prague

07 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Europe, Flashback, Food & Drinks

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In 2008, after stopping in Budapest for a couple of days, Mr. Selfish and I took a train to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Mr. Selfish had previously visited Prague and had assured me that I would love it.

I particularly enjoyed Old Town and the Charles Bridge. Old Town has the main square and the Astronomical Clock. Right next to the main square was the first time that I can remember having truly thick hot chocolate and loving it.

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Flashback Friday – Mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Flashback, North America

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In July 2011, Mr. Selfish and I took a mini-road trip to Weeki Wachee Springs. It is a little water park built on a natural spring. The main attraction is the mermaid show, which is in a theatre that is also built into the spring. Weeki Wachee Springs is old Florida at its finest. It is campy and full of family fun. We enjoyed it immensely.

We greatly enjoyed the water park itself, because you get to swim and slide into the spring. There are huge water slides and a little area around which you can tube. The water is a cool 74.2 degrees year-round.

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Flashback Friday – Inari Shrine Near Kyoto

23 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Asia, Flashback, Japan

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In 2010, Mr. Selfish and I took our first trip to Japan. We loved Kyoto. In fact, we loved it so much that we’re planning on staying there for a month during our selfish year.

One of the most memorable sites we visited was the Fushimi Inari Taisha, which is an Inari shrine a little outside of Kyoto. The Inari shrine was built to honor the Shinto god of rice and is typically represented by a fox.

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Flashback Friday – Brief Stop in Budapest

16 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Europe, Flashback

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In 2008, Mr. Selfish and I took a trip to Budapest and Prague. We started in Budapest and then took a train to Prague. Budapest was a delightful city where the currency is cheap and there aren’t many tourists.

In particular, Mr. Selfish and I loved the Hungarian baths and the Budapest opera house. No photos were allowed in the baths, but they were grand and relaxing. As for the opera house, Mr. Selfish and I purchased tickets for a private booth right next to the king’s box for very cheap. We never had such great seats for the opera, but it was too bad that the opera was in Italian and the translation was in Hungarian. I couldn’t tell what was going on most of the time!

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Flashback Friday – Miami!

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Flashback, North America

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Mr. Selfish and I lived in Florida for over eight years. We went to Miami twice during that time. During our first trip, it was August and crazy hot. As a result, our second trip was during February. Not only is the beach not crowded but I find it much more tranquil in cooler weather. I don’t have to swim in the beach to enjoy it.

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Flashback Friday – A Quick Trip to Pittsburgh

02 Friday Nov 2012

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In May 2011, Mr. Selfish and I took a quick trip to Pittsburgh for his sister’s graduation. Mr. Selfish attended Carnegie Mellon for his Master’s but he never really did the touristy things while there. We took care of that in a short weekend trip.

First, we walked around downtown and went into the Cathedral of Learning. It was built in the Late Gothic Revival style. Also, at 42 stories, it is the tallest educational building in the western hemisphere.

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Flashback Friday – Paris

26 Friday Oct 2012

Posted by in Europe, Flashback, France, Paris

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I was born in Paris, France. I lived here until I was four years-old, at which time my parents moved the family to good ol’ Hampton, Virginia. This is part of the reason why I wanted to spend six weeks in Paris during our year abroad. Plus, it has been great to be able to visit and get to know my Parisian family – my cousin, aunt, uncle, and grandmother all still live here.

I had scanned in some old photos from Paris years ago from my parents’ photo albums. I was looking through them the other day while in Paris and figured it would be fun to attempt to reenact some of the iconic ones. Here are the results. My current camera lenses and my dad’s old camera lenses are certainly different and I’m a lot bigger now, so the perspective is a little off. In any case, I hope you enjoy them!

Flashback Friday – The Tulips in Keukenhof near Amsterdam

19 Friday Oct 2012

Posted by in Europe, Flashback

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In May 2012, Mr. Selfish and I spent four days in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  I had always dreamed of visiting the tulip fields in Amsterdam, so I accordingly planned a trip to Keukenhof, which is the world’s largest garden in nearby Lisse, Netherlands.  Keukenhof is open from mid-March to mid-May each year.

Unfortunately for us, we went at mid-May, which was the end of the season for the tulips.  To my dismay, a lot of the tulips were dead by the time we arrived.  I would recommend going mid-April, which is the height of the tulip season.  It was still lovely – even if the tulips weren’t in full bloom.

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