Time Abroad

I have been slacking on the blog posts lately, haven't I?! In fairness, I was on "holiday" in the States for part of that time, where I did have intentions to blog but ended up relaxing and spending time with family...the best kind of vacation. But now Erik and I have both returned to Melbourne after our respective trips and life is back to "normal".

Erik's trip overseas was arguably a lot more exciting than mine. He flew to London, presented for a research group at a university there, then flew to Ireland to visit our friend Eoin and do a bit of touristy stuff before eventually landing in Barcelona, where he was presenting at a conference. I would have LOVED to hang out with E in Spain, however, last August I had booked a plane ticket to head to Vegas for my own professional conference, which happened to be taking place on the same exact dates as his conference. So, unfortunately, we took separate long trips across the world.

Here is Erik in Ireland...

Erik and the Cliffs of Moher

Ring of Kerry

And here are some shots from his time in Barcelona...

View of Barcelona from the castle at Montjuic.

BIG city!!!

Barcelona Cathedral

A nice day on the water in "Barca"

Street views

Erik's apartment building for the week.

I spent 5 days in Vegas learning and also soaking up some much-needed sun at Mandalay Bay, where the conference was held. It was also an opportunity to catch up with friends and to do a little networking for my current position in Melbourne.

View of "The Strip" from the plane

Blue skies, sunshine, and palm trees.

The Mix Lounge on the 64th floor of Mandalay Bay provides some sweet views of the strip!

A trip to Vegas is not complete without the Bellagio fountain show, even from a distance.

'Merica

Wave pool and convention center at Mandalay Bay.

After Vegas, I headed back to Baltimore to spend time with my sister, mom, and dad, along with friends in the area. The highlight of my trip was spending a few days in Ocean City, MD with my family. We had absolutely perfect weather and it was just like the "old days", since neither of our husbands could make the trip.

The hubby sent me flowers since we could not be together...I am a lucky gal!!

Trying on the Super Bowl ring for size (MASSIVE), thanks to my friend Kevin who is an athletic trainer for the team!

Crabs, beer, and family on the 4th of July.

Hello, friend!

Cheese plate appetizer at our belated Mother's Day lunch.

Seacrets. There is no other place in the world like it.

Late day on the beach in OCMD.

International terminal at LAX...the long journey home.

Early morning views from my seat on the "Spirit of Australia".

Now its is back to winter, work, and footy. Yesterday's footy game was played in awful conditions...freezing cold and raining, so I thought I'd share a picture of Erik after the game.

Yes, that is the field behind him. Horrible!

During winter it seems we do get quite a bit of rain, but often there is the reward of seeing a rainbow afterwards. Twice this week we saw full rainbows after storms! My iPhone is not good enough to capture the full rainbow from after footy yesterday, but if you piece the two photos below together you get the idea.

Rainbow over the footy field.

Left half of rainbow...

...and the right half of the rainbow!

Today it is sunny and a bit warmer as we celebrate 6 years of marriage, Australian time anyway!

At the wedding "after party" with our two Aussie guests!!