sarahandgareth's VirtualTourist Home Page

Us and Our History of Traveling I think it's safe to say that traveling is very important to us. Nothing says that more than the way we met.

After spending the first half of my life in New England (growing up in South Paris, ME and going to college in Middlebury, VT), I decided to try something new and move to Seattle. From there, my job led me on an adventure to Ireland.

Gareth and I met in Dublin. Although Gareth is Irish, he was only in the country briefly between a trip to Ghana and Burkina Faso and work stints in Stockholm and Berlin

Medford, MA - Home Sweet Home Since September 2002, we can be found happily dwelling in Massachusetts on the outskirts of Boston , in a quiet town called Medford. There are so many things to do in the immediate area, that we have only begun to scratch the surface (Somerville, Cambridge, etc.)! Plus, the rest of New England, most of which is within easy reach of Boston, has much to offer with mountains, coast and everything in between. We never find ourselves short of places to explore.

2008
New Zealand Rather than taking a summer holiday, we spent the summer of 2008 in our garden planning our next big trip - New Zealand! From December 2008 to January 2009, we sat on the beach in Fiji, hiked in New Zealand, and saw more than we though possible in only five weeks! It was a trip of a lifetime and we adored every minute of it!

Long Weekend Trips In addition to planning our New Zealand trip, we did manage to get away for a few long weekends. We have made it to Burlington, VT with Gareth's brother, New York City to visit some of our old haunts and to Bethlehem, NH for some hiking in the White Mountains.

2007
Germany, Belgium and London Our much anticipated trip this summer was a jaunt to Germany for a wedding in the Black Forest, followed by some beer tourism in Belgium. Then, we stopped in London for a week on our way back home. We had a wonderful trip and particularly enjoyed the variety our muptiple stops provided us.

Stockholm, Sweden I have been to Stockhom three times so far for business. I haven't had much free time to check out the sites, but what I have seen of Stockholm so far, leaves me wanting to see more!

Long Weekend Trips We took advantage of our Memorial Day long weekend, by taking a much anticipated road-trip to Western MA. We have been talking about a trip to Northampton for quite a while now and were very pleased with what we found. The following weekend, we took an extra two days off and met friends in Denver. We loved Colorado!

2006
Ravensburg, Germany I have been to Ravensburg three times so far for business. (One of the trips was during the 2006 World Cup!!) Ravensburg is a gorgeous old town with lots to see and do. I'm definitely looking forward to more trips in the future!

Las Vegas Las Vegas might very well be the convention/conference center of the world. I attended a three-day training class while Gareth explored. We then stayed through the weekend to get the maximum Vegas experience. Although we're not gamblers or even late-night partiers, we were totally amazed by all that Las Vegas had to offer.

Iceland, Austria, and Munich This summer's big trip, was a week in Iceland followed by a week in Tirol, Austria via Munich, Germany at the end of August. Who would have guessed that some of the cheapest flights to Austria include a stop over in Iceland? Since we had been considering a trip to Iceland for a while, we couldn't pass up to opportunity to combine trips!

2005
Tanzania - Adventure of a Lifetime After taking some time off from big trips (buying a house in 2004 left us pretty poor with little free time), we took the travel plunge and headed to Tanzania in August. We had an amazing time hiking Kilimanjaro, relaxing on a short safari, and soaking up the culture. It was an incredible experience and we already can't wait to go back!

Montreal Over the extended Labor Day Weekend, we traveled to Montreal for an incredible beer festival and some sight seeing.

Dublin Christmas and New Year's Eve of 2005 was spent in Dublin, Ireland visiting family and revisiting some of our favorite sites.

2004
Ireland - Family and Relaxation In 2004, we purchased our first house in Medford, MA. This left us feeling quite broke, but we still managed to arrange a trip to Ireland, where we spent time with family in Dublin and some time to ourselves in County Waterford. It wasn't our most adventurous trip ever, but we finally managed to find time for some quality relaxation...not something we get nearly enough of!

Other Other than that, we contented ourselves with weekend trips to Middlebury, VT, Keene, NH, and various other New England destinations. And of course, we continued to explore Boston and other local areas.

2003
San Francisco and Napa Valley - Honeymoon! Our biggest adventure in 2003 was getting married! After an incredible wedding near my parents' home in Maine, we hopped on a plane to California to continue celebrating. We didn't have nearly enough vacation time but spent a few days exploring San Francisco and a few days sipping wine and relaxing in Napa Valley, specifically Saint Helena and Calistoga.

Baxter State Park - Hiking in Remotest Maine We had made reservations to camp in Baxter State Park before we even began talking about weddings, so two weeks after returning from California, we got in the car for a different sort of vacation. In Baxter we spent three days getting in as much hiking as we could, including a trip to the top of Mt Katahdin, the highest point in Maine and northern terminus of the Appalachian Trial.

Louisville, KY - Family Wedding Also in 2003, we spent a long weekend in Louisville, KY. Not a place we might ever have gotten, except for a family wedding, but that doesn't mean we didn't love every minute of our stay.

2002
New York City - Living a Dream In the begining of 2002, we had tremendous good fortune and were able to move to New York City where Gareth had been offered a temporary job (including a free place to stay!). We lived in the heart of Midtown between January and August, wandering the streets, seeing the sights, and enjoying the plethora of eating options.

Exploring a new city together was an amazing treat. And now that we have moved away, returning to visit "our" places keeps the memories alive.

Seattle to Maine - Driving Cross Country After New York, our next trip was functional as much as anything. When Gareth's job in New York was finished, we had to get my things in Seattle (including my trusty car) and drive cross country to Maine.

We took our time, driving through Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Canada. It was a trip of a lifetime, although, with any luck, it won't be our last.