Travel

Living overseas in the Middle East has opened many doors that were previously closed to my family and I, including frequent travel to other countries. We took advantage of our close proximity to many European and Middle Eastern nations and traveled as often as we could, making our environment over the years a melting pot of cultures.

Czech Republic
Prague
The Czech Republic was one of the first places we traveled after moving to the UAE in 2015. It was my first encounter with any European culture, and it was definitely not disappointing. Prague was an amazing city with plenty to see, and it was full of a refreshing and exciting atmosphere.

          

          

          

          

          

          

          

Austria

Vienna

We traveled to Vienna after we were done vacationing in Prague. The train ride only took a few hours, and to this day I can recall how awed I was by the scenery - the sky was clear and blue, the clouds were perfectly fluffy, and the greenery was strikingly sharp and bright.

          

          

          

          

France
Paris

In the summer of 2017, we stopped in Paris for two days on our way to London. The city was amazing, and it was almost as though it had aged like wine; the historical and warm feeling of the buildings seemed as though it became more appealing over the years. Sadly we were only able to stay for a short while, and I do hope that I may visit once again in the future.

          

          

          

          

          

          

England

London

As our short stay in Paris came to an end, we took a train to London where we would spend most of our vacation. London was similar to Paris in the sense that the visible age of the city was appealing, however the hustle and bustle of London made it obvious that it was made unique not by it's buildings alone, the energetic culture too.

          

          

          

          

          

          

          

          

          

          

Italy

Rome, Vatican City, Sorento, Florence, Pompeii

Our final destination in our 2017 summer vacation trilogy was Italy. Italy, like both countries we traveled to before it, had a charm brought about by the age of the country. It seemed as though the country had been built around the nature rather than on top of it. Vineyards and farmland separated cities, and the cities themselves were full of trees and vines and fresh air. The setting of Italy was by far the most beautiful of the three, and it was definitely a visit of a lifetime.

          

          

          

          

          

Oman

Muscat

We traveled a bit closer to home for summer vacation in 2018. It was only a few hours drive from where we lived in Abu Dhabi and it was said to have great dive sites, so one day we spontaneously packed our belongings and headed out. The scenery of Oman was beautiful - while it was still a desert like Abu Dhabi, it full of huge mountain ranges that you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere in the UAE.

          

          

          

             

Egypt

Cairo & Sharm El Sheikh

Promptly after our return from our volunteer trip in Nepal (within days, actually) our families whisked us of to Egypt. The country was old and visibly full of historic value, and the city Cairo seemed to be built around that. The pyramids were, as everyone says, architectural masterpieces and the dive locations in Sharm El Sheikh were hands down the best I have been to. Egypt has been one of my favorite vacations yet, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to travel there before I moved back to the United States.