Apoyo, Nicaragua

Ahhh... Apoyo.  My favorite part of the trip!  

Apoyo is a crater lake inside of what used to be a volcano.  After the top of the volcano blew off, it filled with water.  Now it's the cleanest lake in Central America (odd considering how filthy all the other lakes are in Nicaragua).  The water was crystal clear and the perfect temperature.  I, however—had a temperature of 101 degrees our first day there : (  Major bummer!

I felt very weak, so I went to our room and collapsed in bed.  We texted some friends and asked them to pray for me.  Just an hour later, my fever dropped down to 99 without any medicine.  By morning, I was 100% fever free.  Jesus healed me in time to enjoy what I consider to be the "Hawaii of Central America."

We celebrated Michael's 30th birthday here and even bumped into some folks from Atlanta too : )  It was the best atmosphere for a vacation.  I would love to go back!  We swam, kayaked, ate, worked on our tans, and read our books—all while chill tunes played in the background.

london

After Paris, we traveled to our final destination in Europe: the United Kingdom!  After months of foreign places, London was the next best thing to home.  The sound of people speaking English was music to my ears.  It's so comforting to know that if you get lost or need to order food --- you can communicate with others easily.  Besides all that, it's London!  Woo hoo!

We decided to give Couch Surfers a try since we'd heard great things about it.  Couch Surfers is a website promoting hospitality exchange between travelers.  It encourages cultural exchange as well.  The idea is that you don't need a lot of money or a fancy hotel to travel the world.  Through the website's network, you can find people living in the city you want to visit who are willing to let you crash on whatever is available in their house (couch, pull out bed, spare bedroom...etc) for free.  You're not allowed to charge a dime.

This idea doesn't work if everyone takes but no one gives.  When you join this website, you're expected to host - not just surf.  You have a choice as to who you host and when you host.  It's all in your control.  There's also a verification process and your profile shows references from people who have hosted you explaining whether or not you were a nice guest, respectful, and safe.  I think the process is very trustworthy.

We didn't know anyone in London before, but we have a wonderful friend there now - his name is Jade and he allowed us to stay in his spare bedroom for five days.  He was so nice... meeting us at the subway station, taking us to his house, and he had a freshly cooked meal waiting for us when we walked in the door.  It was such a treat to stay with him!  We felt so comfortable and welcome the entire time.  Plus, whenever Jade wasn't working (he's a doctor), we hung out and had a great time getting to know each other.  I'm so glad we stayed with him.  He's one of the most genuinely kind and giving people I've ever met.

Traditional English breakfast we woke up to - compliments of Jade!

 It's a lot like Harry Potter with the matching homes ;-)

 Downtown Espom.

 Getting coffee at the subway platform.

My water was "boring" because it wasn't sparkling lol.

Jade's home is located in Surrey in a town called Epsom.  It's the place to live if you're going to be in the suburbs.  It's a very traditional English town, with easy subway access to London, and it's also one of the safest places to live.  We loved it there!  Everything is within walking distance from Jade's cozy little townhouse.  Most people don't ever drive.  You can walk or take the subway pretty much anywhere.

Jade took us to a pub one night - the "cultural center" as he called it.  According to him, everything in life revolves around the pub there.  We ordered drinks and Indian food (they had a special that night called Curry Club).  It was fun to get the pub experience.



Me with Jade.

This is just the start of posts on London... but I really would urge anyone wanting to travel and meet nice people to consider Couch Surfing.  We had a wonderful experience with it and have made a great friend in the process.

gardens of versailles

Like I was saying, the Gardens of Versailles cover 800 hectares of land - which is almost 2,000 acres! I was definitely impressed with the 50 fountains, 200,000 trees, meticulously manicured lawns, and Grande Canal. What's crazy is that we are here during the slow season. If we were to come during spring, the gardens would be even more magnificent! Due to cold winter weather, all the statues in the gardens are covered and the fountains are turned off. Even then - it was gorgeous! Plus, we've been blessed with sunny weather and temperatures in the mid 50's - uncommon for November.

 Beginning of the gardens.

 The Grande Canal in the distance.

 It's a loooong walk.  Some people rented golf carts.

 I was so tempted to jump in this huge pile of leaves lol.

 Latona Fountain - or Bassin de Latone.

If we ever come back to Versailles, I'll definitely rent or bring a bike!  It would be PERFECT for a bike ride because it's nice and flat.  Plus, the walk was almost too much.  A bike ride would've been so fun. 

 I liked the frogs!

 Downtown Versailles.

Girl/boy scouts doing a creepy ceremony or some type of training.  (It looked creepy to me at least.)