The Story Of Us

We had about half a day left in Istanbul before our flight.. and we had some visitors. We were staying at the Hotel Armada in the Sultanahmet area.. it was the perfect choice. Everyone was so nice.. you can always tell by the way they treat your child. The rooms, the ambiance.. everything just right. But the best part of it all.. the breakfast. Delectable. Squeeze your own orange juice. and the view of the Bosphorous and before I forget.. our not so surprise visitors. The Honeymooners! no I am not the weird sister in law who crashes her brothers honeymoon. The couple was so tired after planning the wedding that they came to me to plan the honeymoon.. I was already going to Turkey so my brother jumped on the Turkey bandwagon except his trip included Cappadocia and Antalya while we had to go home :(   oh and did i mention the other stunning view from our hotel.. The Blue Mosque The hotel also featured turtles Vintage wooden bird cages A...

In September I took a travelling hiatus , on the way to our destination we had a nine hour layover in the wonderfully charming Amsterdam. This was not our first time visiting but it was D's. then  now We had a good six hours to spend in the city, so we took the train to the central station and then walked and reminisced. We had lunch at the Nieuwe Kafe in Dam Square and it was delicious. And then D discovered pigeons. and then we were on our way to Egypt. Get my post directly in you inbox with  Bloglovin I am now also offering ad space.  See  Sponsors  for more information .  Let's Stay Connected, Shall We?

We woke up in Richmond (this was almost a month ago, I can hardly believe it) we packed our bags for the fourth time while D chatted on the phone :)  Drove right across the street to Cracker Barrel and had a very good breakfast.. we were so hungry that I forgot to take pictures.. after our tummies were full we drove on over to Maymont Gardens. These gardens are so extensive that you need to drive to get to other parts of it. There was a little train for kids, plenty of place for picnics and play, a Japanese garden, Italian garden and much more. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to explore. Our main purpose for the stop was to take D to his first petting zoo.  The boy was afraid of just about everything there.. he didn't want to be put down, the goats were a bit too excited and hungry for his liking.. and then we found a sheep. The sheep was as mellow as a sheep can  possibly be.. D slowly approached him as he saw M petting h...

Towards the end of May we took a Tayeb Family Road Trip, we try to take one every year to different cities and towns each time.. we want to share our love for travel with D and hope he too grows a passion for it. If you take a look at the upper right side of the blog you will see a few of the places we have been to. Yes, just a few of the many places because I didn't start blogging about them back then. I had the blog but I wanted to keep my personal life separate and in doing that not only was no one interested in reading the blog but I also missed the opportunity to share my experience and now the details are all fuzzy. Never again. Coming back to the road trip, first stop Baltimore or the so called charm city.. which if I must be honest I found lacking. Our day and a half spent there was and is forgettable. There was only one shinning moment and I'll have to save that for the end. We started with lunch at the supposedly awesome Chap's Beef Pit just outside ...

I know this post is about a month overdue but I've had my hands full. But better late than never right? We had a fabulous week of warmth and sunshine.. just a tad rain and the waters could have been warmer but it felt good to shed our coats and sweaters and bring our flip flops out of hiding. We spent time splashing in the pool, M had missed out on all of D's swim classes and the only splashing he had seen was in the bath so it was great to see father and son get in some pool time. But D loved the sand so much more.. he was fascinated by the grain and texture, the way it fell from his fingers.. and the ebb and flow of the waves.. giving me a lot of time of just laying on beach chairs and enjoying him at play and reading.. We rented a car and toured the island which is not very big and covered with cacti.. millions and billions of cacti.. a light house, a few gold mine ruins, several beaches as well as dessert like terrain. We took a semi...