Birmingham, Wales, and When Travel Doesn’t Go as Planned

Our first trip this year was a weekend in the UK. We’ve gone to London several times already and love it because everything seems so familiar. It’s relaxing to be able to speak English everywhere and for some reason, the food tastes so much more “like home” to us. We decided to switch things up a bit and travel to Birmingham instead. While we were there, we were also able to meet up with some of Will’s distant relatives too.

While we were there, we visited Cadbury World and also took a drive across the border into Wales to see the ruins of Tintern Abbey. It was decommissioned in the 1500s and has remained largely undisturbed.

Although it was mostly a good trip, we did have one hiccup on the last night/day that reminds us that you must always be flexible while traveling. On our last night, I woke up sick around 3am with a mild case of food poisoning. Although I was worried that I wouldn't be able to survive the 2 hour drive to the airport, we ended up going to a local clinic (free of charge!) and getting some medicine so that I could make it. Never a dull moment!

Hello 2016!

Wow! I know I’ve said it before, but the time has really gotten away from me again. We have been so busy in 2016 that I haven’t had much time to write or go through my photos. I promise I haven't meant to neglect the blog!

As soon as we got back from our Christmas in Pittsburgh, I began a new job in a different department. My old job was through an external contractor and was only temporary, so I started looking for other positions within the company. I was so excited when I was offered a “real” position with “the company.” My new job is in the HR department and it’s in a big international team. My colleagues are from all over Europe, Asia, and Latin America. I’ve also been assigned some global projects, so I’ve been meeting and working with people all over the world. It’s definitely been very interesting and I like it so far. I’ve been so busy though, learning the ropes and keeping up with the occasional long hours, that by the time I get home and have dinner—it’s just about time to go to bed--no time for blogging. 

I have a lot to catch up on, including some really fun trips that we’ve already taken (including Prague and Morocco) and preparation for our big road trip this summer! In the meantime, here’s some recent photos:

Second annual Christmas haul

Same old Sophie

Trying to get into the Carnival spirit