90 cent wine

Yes. Lorca might not be known for much. But we ate plentiful and highly enjoyed our 90 cent glasses of wine! Ricardo had been recording a new album here in Madrid over the past few months. While in the process he got a call from a promoter announcing that his band had one a contest and out of over 400 bands they were selected to produce an album. Another album aside from the one he's currently working on. So off to Lorca we go for a quick 4 days in the studio. I decided to tag along.... work from the road.... and see what Lorca had to offer. 90 cent wine.

this was taken from a church near the studio. Lorca had a devastaring earthquake last year. There are cracks in almost every building you see.

Ricardo playing in the studio

Love Division live in Barcelona

A nice November day.... a concert in Barcelona.... and a great excuse for a day off to walk around the city.

Starting the day with a croissant de chocolate and a nice cafe con leche in the plaza

a visit to the Market La Boqueria


Paella on the beachfront with Javi and Ani (our good friends from Madrid), followed by drinks with Susana (a friend/past colleague of mine from Maersk)


Then a weekend of Rock n' Roll with the boys

a special tribute to the past- with Ricardo on drums!

Autumn Colors

Fall has come and gone, but I'm still catching up! One Saturday in October......

Captured this as Mom and I were leaving the house- a beautiful light fog on the lake
We were on our way to Addie's 8:30 soccer game- Dad is the coach and these little ones were adorable. At some point believe I even ended up on the field to get them in the right direction.
Then a nice drive to the mountains, just in time for some amazing colors.

Love this picture of the Richards while we were out skipping rocks
mom found the cheer uniform I wore when I was her age- love this and the amazing fall days!

Beautiful Bali

A few years ago I went to Bali and when I left..... I just knew I would return. This place has my heart. I love the beautiful scenery, the beaches, the rice fields, the mountains, the small villages you pass on the way to your next destination. The people are so warm and inviting, that you instantly become best friends with every taxi driver, waiter or hotel staff. Bali.... I will be back.

here is a view of our villa overlooking the rice terraces and bamboo forest, about 30 min outside of Ubud- a very relaxing and quiet spot. For sure in my top 5 favorite places i've stayed. Morning yoga was included along with local village walks and cooking classes. They grew all of their own vegetables on the local grounds.

on the way out of town, a beautiful site

after my last trip to Bali, I swore off monkeys. These were much cuter and more tame

Mom and I having dinner in Ubud

followed by a performance of the Balinese Dancers

a day of Temples

We packed it in this day! Temple after temple and amazing views along the way. The locals were preparing for a Hindu festival and bringing their offerings to prepare. Great memories.

We began at a local coffee farm near the village we were staying at.

along the way we passed a few locals preparing for the festivities


We then visited the Tirta Empul Temple just outside of Ubud. It's known for the holy waters.




and then a stop to the Elephant Cave

return to Indonesia

After a weekend in Singapore, I headed south to Jakarta for a week of work. Mom joined a few days later to enjoy the city life of Jakarta. I think her favorite part was the amazing buffett at the hotel! =)

The Indonesian cuisine is quite an art display. Many small dishes to share with the group. Mom, Anders and myself found a very traditional place to celebrate our last night.

Mom and Me

The Richards hit Singapore! Mom joined me on one of my last trips to Asia. What a great opportunity to build in a little vacation time around my work weeks. I started out in China and met Mom in Singapore for the weekend! Here's a few highlights from our trip......

Walking on the promenade and overlooking the Marina Bay Sands.

Lunch at the famous Raffles Hotel

A trip to the Singapore Botanical Gardens

Work.

Work is prevalent in life these days. I spend 70-80% of the month on the road. And while I love what I do- it has taken a toll........ Today I was asked what I love about my job. This trip to Qingdao, China, being my next trip in the blogger role, summed it up for me. The people. My colleagues have become some of my best friends (and family=) Being able to meet so many new and diverse people has changed and expanded my life beyond words. I can't imagine not having lived these experiences and I am blessed to have a job that let's me travel the world seeing amazing places and meeting such great people. With that said, next year brings a life of balance.

Catching up.

This seems like ages ago- August at the lake! We were fortunate enough to spend a nice long weekend at a dear friend's amazing lake house in Georgia. I am beyond blessed to have such amazing girls to share my time with. Even though the trips are few and far between..... they keep me going for ages!

Makeover

Wow- 3 months have gone by already! I used to be quite up to date on my travels, but my travels have gotten the best of me lately. So I've decided to continue my next batch of post starting with a site makeover. I've had a few really amazing trips lately, so I'll get caught up before the holidays takeover!

I've also cleaned up my links- so blogger friends if you decide to go back "live" again, let me know so I can re-add you. Also have a few new links that I've added from some great blogs I've been following on Travel and Fashion.

And speaking of makeovers! Check out Ricardo and I modeling at: http://www.cassandrakennedy.com/index2.php?v=v1#/home/
Cassandra did my hair and makeup for the wedding- and an Amazing job she did!

More soon.....

Greece 2011

Off we go to Greece for a cultural weekend in Athens, a getaway trip to Santorin with the Uth's and to meet up with the Italy crew in Thessaloniki for Eleftheria and Leftheris' Big Fat Greek Wedding!

Athens: a trip to the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus, and the Original Olympic Stadium

What an amazing place! Santorini (Oia is where we stayed) was EVERYTHING you can imagine. Oia is known for the best sunsets and they did not disappoint. Our resort was right on the northern tip of the island with an amazing view. We had small cave houses to hideaway in and spent the days shopping, swimming in the sea, "hiking" up and down the cliffs, sailing, massages and enjoying the most delicious mediteranean meals. What a great time we had with Shereen and Henrik!

there is a reason I love turquoise


I adore this picture of Ricardo

this was right after our "Titanic" pose moment

and after a wonderful break to the islands, we were so excited to meet up with Ele, Katia, HC, Henning, Banu and finally meet Leftheris before the big day


Ele the morning of

The Riches all dolled up! Ele and Leftheris were married at the Greek Orthodox Church behind us. A beautiful ceremony- For the ceremony, the bride and groom entered the church first, going straight into the ceremony and all the guest coming in behind. What a different experience from the Protestant and Catholic weddings we've been to. The service was mostly words that came out thru song, changing of the halo rings and circling of the pulpit. It was so interesing to see a new tradition take place.

EME reunion w/ Katia, Shereen, Henning, Fede, Banu and friend


The Newlyweds at the outdoor dinner and reception- a perfect evening and a great way to wrap up the week in Greece