honeymoon

as if the wedding wasn't enough... we escaped to tanzania to seal the deal.

safari day 1

this was our first campsite - not very rustic but very nice

we visited the town and met these boys who were swimming

banana saleswomen

tasting local beer made of fermented bananas

biking through a forest of banana plants

baboons!

zebras

inside a masai home. this is 1/2 of it and about 6 people sleep, cook, and eat there.

masai dance

thompson gazelles

leopard right by our car

our second campground. i was a bit sick at the beginning of the trip and here i was awakening from the dead

we didn't go in this but it was a pretty sight at the start of the morning

giraffe

ostrich

lion - seeing this was the most incredible moment of the trip

at breakfast

setting up the tent with steve and estomieh

this elephant was drinking the water from the campground's cistern - so much for hot showers that night...

the third campground was spectacular

masai trying to sell sohail some trinkets

elephant

hippo

people in arusha

view from our room in kendwa (west coast of zanzibar)

dhow sailboat

the water was incredibly blue

people rallying for the presidential elections (oct 31)

visiting a former slave trading site in stone town

a church which originally had as a goal to end the slave trade on zanzibar

ordering lunch in stone town

exploring the city - we loved it - reminded me of old jerusalem

a view of stone town's port

having a sunset aperetif at the hotel serena in stone town (our doctor's recommendation!)

breezes - the resort where we spent our last two nights

the tide on the east side of the island was extreme and at low tide we could walk out to this dock - at high tide we had to swim a fairly long way.

spending a morning in amsterdam during a long layover. the fall colors made the canals even more beautiful than ever.

love

On October 8, 2010, I married the love of my life surrounded by family and friends on what was the best day I've lived yet. Thanks to all of you who made it such a wonderful occasion. Click here for more pictures.

Bernard et Isabelle a Washington

This weekend my uncle Bernard and aunt Isabelle are visiting. It's amazing to see them on our side of the Atlantic.

We walked around the National Harbor and saw "The Awakening" statue.

Then we visited a new hotel that has a forest inside!

And we went to Cirque du Soleil - the reason for being at the National Harbor in the first place.

The show was incredible

On the way to Charleston, we took them to South of the Border for an all American experience!

And we had a picnic at a rest stop.

Brigitte et Pauline a Washington

Last weekend my aunt Brigitte and my cousin Pauline came to visit us in DC. We had a wonderful visit and it really made us realize that the wedding was actually going to happen.

On Sunday we took Brigitte and Pauline to visit Annapolis - starting with the Maryland state capitol building

The inside is beautiful

Then we walked around the harbor.

A few weeks ago Sohail and I scoped out good crab restaurants and someone recommended this one to us. There was a wait for outside seating so we waited at the bar where B & P got the all American experience - Michelob Ultra and American football on tv.

Pauline enjoying her drink.

The table we got was worth the wait.

And the seafood was delicious. Marie-Benedicte and Pierre-Yves: Next time you come we'll go to this place!

Bridal Shower

Last weekend Sohail's family threw me bridal shower which was so much fun!

There was lots of delicious food.

They organized a bunch of games. In this one the guests were split into 3 teams and each team had to dress one person as a bride using only toilet paper and a few other things. These girls look so good, I don't know why I bothered buying a dress!

And then everyone gave me wedding advice.

And Shaydah paid pin the veil on the bride.

I opened lots of presents.

And we had this cake Shahnaz's colleague made and admired the flowers Maman sent.

And hung out with good friends.

"bachelorette" weekend

The celebrate my upcoming nuptials, my college friends came up for a weekend in DC. But this year we've already had two weddings in our group which means two previous bachelorette weekends so we made this one low key and invited the guys (including one very little guy) which was the perfect way for me to celebrate with them.

Shirin, Gabriel, Kai and Sarah met me at my office after work on Friday.

The view is so much better with them there!

After a delicious Malaysian dinner, we came back to our place for a Backgammon tournament. The Persians beat the (Franco-)Americans for sure!

We did take some time away from the guys for an amazing girls' brunch at the Tabard Inn.

The weather was beautiful, the food delicious, and the friends wonderful - I couldn't have asked for more.

Then we walked around the city. Shirin knows you can never have to many friends so she made one more in Dupont Circle.

Having drinks in Chinatown with Chris and Deena.

And with Sohail.

We all spent lots of time passing Kai around who was such a good boy the whole weekend.

labor day weekend hike

Time for a blog catch up! On Labor Day weekend, Rebecca, one of her childhood friends and I went for a beautiful hike in Great Falls, Maryland, just an hour outside of DC.

Tourists visiting the area the old fashion way.

white water

The hike is called the billy goat trail for a good reason - it's very rocky.

another great day with Rebecca