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Globally Inspired Home

4/23/2014

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This spring, I'm making a few changes to my home and garden and I'd like to incorporate elements inspired by our recent trip around the world. Although I can't plant exotic tropical flowers in Boston, nor do I have the space for nest beds, I can look for a few pieces that remind me of some of my favorite places. So, in no particular order, here are a 15 things from around the world that would be fun to replicate at home. 

1. Bangkok, Thailand: Nest Beds
Nesting has taken on a whole new meaning in Bangkok. The shape of these human sized sanctuaries will make the most boring of outdoor spaces intriguing. Add a light inside and create glowing garden sculptures at night!
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Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: Chillin' Out In Bangkok

2. Hamburg, Germany: Modern Rococo
I'm typically not a fan of rococo and prefer balancing frills and flourishes with corners and crisp lines. However, I reveled in this little cafe in Hamburg, sipping my chai tea slowly while sinking into a cozy velvet couch.  I have no idea if they intentionally distressed the walls or if they just spruced up a derelict space with vintage couches from Oma and Opa's house. Whatever they did, it worked. 
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Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: Hamburg, Bremen & Bloemendaal

3. Cappadocia, Turkey: Canvas & Carpet Covered Terraces
While in Turkey, we spent two glorious mornings having breakfast here, overlooking the cave town of Goreme. I've been thinking about using canvas to provide shade on my deck during the hot summer since it's pretty easy to put up and take down. I also love the rug covered table for extra lounging.
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Photo by Eva Barbier. To learn more about Turkey, visit our Turkey Destination Page. 

4. Cambodia: Colored Wooden Blinds
These colorful blinds would add cheer to any space such as a nursery, kitchen or my home office.
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Photo by Eva Barbier from the blog post: Waterworld: The Floating Village of Kompong Phluk, Cambodia

5. Yangshuo, China: Wagon Wheel Benches
Check out these benches at our Inn in Yangshuo. They are made by attaching local wood planks to an axle and wagon wheels. This set-up is a charming alternative to a traditional picnic table. 
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Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: Days 167-170: Yangshuo, China - Hiking and Biking the Karst Mountains

6. Koh Lanta, Thailand: Bamboo Lounges & Pyramid Pillows
Koh Lanta is one of the places i miss most often because we found total relaxation here. Perhaps it's because bamboo lounges and beds are scattered along the beaches, waiting for a wanderer to plop down for a cold beer and a little shut eye. The colorful pyramid pillows are a nice touch, and help prop up one's head in order to enjoy the sea view.  I don't think bamboo would last in the harsh Boston weather, but if i ever live somewhere milder I plan on creating my own little slice of Lanta. 
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Photo of The Indian bar in Koh Lanta by Eva Barbier from Our Guide to Koh Lanta, Thailand

7. Ubud, Bali: Stone & Wood Carvings
Bali is full of insanely talented artisans and artists that have been perfecting their craft for generations. We visited gardens, homes and temples full of intricately carved statues and furniture. Two of my favorite pieces were these Balinese women who seem full of happiness and peace. Generally, this is how I feel after a really good meal. They would look lovely in my garden and remind me of the warmth and hospitality we experienced in Bali. 
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Read more about Bali here: Ubud, Bali - The Barong Dance, Stone Carving & The Awe-Inspiring Contact Lens 

8. Melbourne, Australia: Bold Tile
This tile covered the inside of a bench shelter in Melbourne. It was a pleasant surprise, since the structure was grey on the outside. I thought the pattern would make a nice outdoor table top. 
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Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: 3 Days In Melbourne

9. Kruger Park,  South Africa: Drapery Over Doors
The decor at safari camps is fantastic, but much of what you'd expect from the African bush - typical wood furniture, local animal fur rugs, and lots of neutrals.  One thing I really liked was the use of drapery, particularly over doors or entryways.  I'm not sure if this has a practical use in the summer (ie keeping bugs out of rooms) but they really made our accommodation, a tent, very homey. 
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Photo by Eva Barbier in blog post: Tanda Tula Safari Camp

10. Paris, France: Black & White Tile
Black and white tile was everywhere in Paris so it always reminds me of my favorite city.  I don't know if it's the the tile that contributes to the glamour of Paris or if it's Paris that makes the tile so chic.  Let's just say it's a symbiotic relationship. If my bathroom wasn't so tiny, I'd tile it like the picture below. 
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Photo by Eva Barbier from blog post: Our Favorite Room in Paris: Six Cent Deux 

11. Arrowtown, New Zealand: Recycled Container Garden
This is a neat idea for people who have a lot of outdoor space. Arrowtown is an old gold mining town in New Zealand. There was a lot of abandoned equipment from the mining days so local artists used them in their artwork and homes. Here is an old pipe transformed into a container garden. 
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Photo by Eva Barbier. To learn more about New Zealand visit our New Zealand Destination Page. 

12. Winelands, South Africa: Chrome+Stone+Wood
The wineries in Franschhoek, South Africa are stunning both inside and out.  I particularly enjoyed the modern decor of the tasting room at the Gran Provence. The chrome bar and fixtures gave it a sleek modern look which was nicely offset by the rest of the room, comprised of natural elements from the region - stone, clay and wood. While it's void of color inside, the view was bursting with color outside the glass doors. 
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Photo of the Gran Provence tasting room by Eva Barbier as featured in The Winelands Awards.

13. Seminyak, Bali: Colorful Shutters
These pretty shutters, spotted in Bali, would liven up a pool house or backyard shed. 
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Photo by Eva Barbier in blog post: Bali, Indonesia - Laid Back Seminyak

14. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Copper Light Fixtures
Giant copper lights were suspended from tall tree trunks in our hotel lobby in Chiang Mai.  They were especially enchanting when twinkling at night. Perhaps they could be used on a much smaller scale in an entryway, over a dining room table or kitchen island. 
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Photo of VC@Suanpaak lobby by Eva Barbier from Chiang Mai, Thailand - Hits & Misses

15. Caye Caulker, Belize: Weathered Wooden Signs
The tiny Caribbean island is comprised of small wooden structures that have been weathered by the salt and sand in the air.  Painted wooden signs were strewn about the island featuring island mantras (Go Slow) and store names. I think these would look great hanging in a bohemian urban garden. 
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Photo by Eva Barbier from Caye Caulker - You Better Belize It.

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Days 52-54: Ritz & Glitz in The French Riviera

7/6/2013

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After 3 wonderful days in Provence, we headed for the coast to check out the world famous French Riviera, or as the French say, Cote d'Azure.  We left on a Sunday, and on our way we stopped in Cassis to have lunch on the beach. It was so incredibly crowded that we left immediately. We went to nearby Ciotat beach which was also packed, but not as bad as Cassis. People literally sat inches apart on the beach. We quickly ate our lunch outside on the rocks while enjoying the cool breeze coming off the sea. 

Bastide Valmasque
Summer is high season for this area, thus it is full of people from all over the world. We were lucky to find a really cute B&B near the small town of Biot called Bastide Valmasque.  It's owned by a lovely couple named Claudia & Philipe who were both very helpful with providing information about the area. They met in India as they both worked in the textile industry, so while the B&B is a French country house, its interior has a lot of Indian influences making it very different from most of the places we had seen in France. They still have a a stake in a business in India manufacturing scarves and other textiles, and sell some of their designs at the B&B.  As a parting gift, Philipe gave us a little travel laundry bag made from one of his patterns.  We loved eating breakfast in one of their many garden nooks and we also enjoyed snacks in the evening sun on the patio. While this place isn't located right on the beach and doesn't have a pool, it's about a 5 min drive from the beach.  You'd pay significantly more money to stay right on the beach and you definitely would not get the charm that the Bastide Valmasque offers!  
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Bastide Valmasque - our "home" in Cote d'Azure!
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Our room
Dining Out vs. Picnic
We arrived in the late afternoon and after we settled we went out to dinner at a cafe in nearby Valbonne. This was a very small village, but it was completely full of people - locals and tourists alike. There were four cafes in the plaza and we went to the one that our B&B recommended, which also happened to be the one with the lowest prices and the most patrons. The food was OK - nothing special - but it was expensive.  After eating out a couple of times in Southern France we found that the food didn't justify the cost. We actually ate better when we shopped at the local markets which are filled with amazing produce, cheeses, breads and tapenades for a fraction of restaurant prices. 

Saint Paul de Vence
The morning of our first full day, we visited Saint Paul de Vence, one of the oldest medieval towns in the French Riviera. This town came highly recommended by Mom & Dad Barbier as they fell in love with it during a visit in the 90's. It did not disappoint! It is adorable, picturesque and choc full of art galleries. We really enjoyed strolling through the streets and wandering in and out of the galleries. It's definitely worth a visit if you are ever in this area.
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A typical gallery in Saint Paul de Vence
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View from Saint Paul de Vence
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My favorite house in Saint Paul de Vence
Antibes:
After visiting Saint Paul de Vence we were ready for the beach! We went to nearby Antibes which has two beaches on either side of a peninsula  We went to the first beach which is half public & half private (private means anyone can go, but you pay a fee and get a chair and umbrella in return).  While the beach was decent, it was incredibly windy.  There were several yachts anchored in the water which is typical in the French Riviera. At one point, one of the yachts came loose and started drifting towards the shore. The lifeguards sprung to action and soon a ton of emergency vehicles were at the beach. A couple of people went out to the boat but not much happened after that. The emergency crew stood by waiting for the yacht to come closer, but it never did. Tired of the wind, we left for the beach across the peninsula, which was a peaceful public beach - no wind, no waves, and no rogue yachts! 
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Rogue yacht on the windy beach in Antibes.
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Calm beach in Antibes.
The next day  we toured a couple of the ritzy towns along the Riviera - Nice, Monaco & Villefranche.  

Nice:
I had been to Nice in college and Chris wasn't that interested in visiting the museums there so we just did a drive by. Chris got to see the coastline and some of the plazas just in from the beach. Nice is a great place to stay if you are willing to spend more on a hotel room, especially if you can find one along the coastline. There is a really long stretch of beach from Antibes to Nice which is nice because you can find a little privacy with all that space. Also, if you are into art they have a wonderful Chagall and Matisse museum. I highly recommend it! 

Monaco:
We spent a half day in the principality of Monaco. It was my second time visiting and Chris' first time.  We parked the car in a garage midway up the hill and walked down to the marina to see all the giant yachts. Then we walked back by the Monte Carlo casino. The building itself  oozes opulence and everything surrounding it is waiting to pounce on the casino's patrons - the Lamborghinis parked outside, the ultra high-end jewelry stores, and even some heavily made-up young women standing around in short skirts and 5 inch heels at 11am.  Instead of bear bottles scattered in the streets, Monte Carlo has champagne corks. Seriously, we saw them everywhere.

For such a small place, there is actually a lot to do in Monaco - one could stay busy sightseeing (or shopping) here for 3-4 days.  We enjoyed our half day there and decided that we'd come back here one day if the opportunity presented itself.  However, if we do go back we'll have to pack a lot more than just a backpack! 
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Monaco! Standing by some of the smaller yachts.
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Monte Carlo Casino
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Villefranche:
This is a nice little town on the coastline that is a popular stop on cruises. We drove through town and walked around a bit. Driving here was a little complicated, as the streets are very narrow. The town was very crowded with people from the cruise ship so I don't think I'd recommend staying here if you are looking for someplace quiet. It might be worth a visit for breakfast or dinner when there are less day-trippers. The views from the top of the town are beautiful!
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Villefranche
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Villefranche
Paloma Beach
By afternoon, we were ready for another beach.  We had read good things about Paloma beach, which was not too far from the area we were exploring.  Supposedly, celebrities frequent this beach from their yachts, although we didn't spot any while we were there. It's another beach that is half private and half public. The private side was really packed - chairs just inches away from each other. We opted for the public side and had a lot of space to ourselves. The beach was very nice and the water was great for swimming!
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Paloma Beach
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Paloma Beach
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Yachts near Paloma Beach
After a day in the sun, we went back to our B&B and enjoyed a picnic on the patio. Thus ended our time in the French Riviera. Despite the crowds, we enjoyed it very much. However, I think the best way to enjoy this coastline is from a giant private yacht!! A girl can dream...
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Days 49-51: A Glance at Provence

7/3/2013

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From Barcelona, we took the train to Montpelier, France where we picked up our 2 month car rental from Citroen.  The French car manufacturers have a program where you can lease a brand new car for an extended period of time, picking it up in one European country and then returning it in another.  After familiarizing ourselves with our Citroen (it turned out to be an automatic – a rare find in Europe!), we were off to our next stop: Provence, France.

Before checking into our B&B we stopped in Avignon, a medieval French city most famous for being the home of the Papacy during the Catholic schism in the 1300's.
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Carousel in Avignon
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Lunch in front of the Avignon church where the popes lived in the middle ages.
We walked around this beautiful city and then stopped in the main square for lunch wherewe saw two fantastic musicians. The first was a solo guitarist playing everything from traditional French songs to Queen. The second was a lively threesome led by an older gentleman on the violin. He was fantastic. Check out the video:
Le Mas de Prévôts: A Country Haven
We found this little gem of a B&B on TripAdvisor. It’s located on the outskirts of Chateaurenard, just south of Avignon. It's owned by a nice couple named Julie & Jean-Pierre. They live in the main house and rent out two charming rooms above their garage. As you’ll see from the pictures below, the house is gorgeous and the view from our room was just perfect. Julie & Jean-Pierre purchased the property over 30 years ago and fixed it up little by little. They raised their children there and now that they are grandparents, their grandchildren come over to visit after school. We had the pleasure of meeting two of the little ones! Breakfast was served on the patio right off the kitchen. Julie always had an assortment of traditional French pastries, yogurt, fresh juice, fruit from the local farms and coffee.  She even wrapped up the leftovers for us to take on picnics.  They offered great advice on places to visit and we enjoyed the first day so much we decided to tack on a third night to our stay (luckily our room was available!).  We are so happy we found this place! 
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A cypress tree lined driveway welcomes you
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The beautiful home. Our room was the open window on the top floor.
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Provençal details
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We ate breakfast here every morning!
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View of the garden, pool and mountains from our room.
Luberon Region Driving Tour:
After a nice evening out in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence on our first night, we decided to take a driving tour of the small villages per Julie & Jean-Pierre’s recommendation.   Here were the places we visited:

First Stop: Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
The river Sorgue runs through this quant little town filled with over 300 different antique shops. 
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Crystal clear water of the river Sorgue
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van Gogh's ear in the Sorgue!
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A rare brightly colored house.
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Entering Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
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Boat along the Sorgue
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We stopped here for some treats!
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Yum! We purchased a great olive tapendade here.
Stop 2: Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
The Sorgue river begins at “La Source” which is located in this village. No one knows where this spring originates. In the late 1940's, Jacques Cousteau dove into the caves from which the water originates, and could not find the source.  He almost died while searching for the source, as an air compressor in one of his tanks had taken in its own exhaust. We walked from the town center about 15-20 minutes to see “La Source” pictured below.  It's a nice walk but it was packed with tourists and French schoolchildren who were there on a field trip. 
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We made it to "La Source" - surprisingly just a very calm pool of water next to a cave. No one has discovered from where it originates!
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The water is gushing down from the mysterious "La Source" into the small village.
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Clear water of the river Sorgue in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
Gordes
This is one of the prettiest villages in France, especially when you look at it from across the gorge!
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Gordes
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Walking into town
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Produce stand in Gordes
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View from other side of the valley
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Gordes in all its glory!
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Laughing over Provence:)
Roussillon
This area boasts the most important source of ochres in the world. Ochres are used as pigments in the textile industry. We enjoyed seeing the bright orange-red colors of this village which are so different than what you see in the rest of Provence. 
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Lavander
No visit to Provence would be complete without lavender fields.  While we didn't actually search for them, we were lucky to stumble upon a few!
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The second day in Provence, we visited Arles in the morning and then kayaked down the Gardon River under the Pont du Gard aqueduct.

Arles
Arles was an an ancient Roman city, complete with a large amphitheater at its center which still stands today. Roman emperors frequently used this city as a military headquarters and it's said to have been a favorite city of Emperor Constantine 1 - his son, Constantine II, was born there.

The impressionist artist, Vincent van Gogh, lived in Arles for about a year during which he produced over 300 paintings. One of the most famous is Cafe Terrace at Night. The cafe that was the subject of that painting still exists.  A lot of artist drama went down in Arles. Paul Gauguin visited van Gogh in Arles, at van Gogh's request.  Vincent's mental health was deteriorating, so Gauguin left Arles due to the eccentric behavior of his old friend. Shortly thereafter, Vincent cut off his ear and was sent to the local hospital. The Arlesians petitioned to have van Gogh committed and he eventually left the city and checked into an asylum in the nearby Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.  As you may know, van Gogh never really recovered and eventually took his own life.  While it's sad to know that Arles was the beginning of the end for van Gogh, I loved seeing the city that inspired him and appeared in so many of his paintings. 
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Arles
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Arles
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Amphitheater in Arles. From medieval times through the 1800's it contained a little city, which is why some of the archways are filled with stone.
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Cafe that van Gogh used for his painting, Cafe Terrace at Night.
Kayaking under the Pont du Gard
This was a big highlight for us! The Pont du Gard is an aqueduct built by the ancient Romans about 2,000 years ago and is still in excellent condition.  One can visit the aqueduct by car and walk across it. However, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and see it from the river. 

We rented a two person kayak from Canoe Collias. We launched our kayak upriver, kayaked downriver with the current, stopping along the way to swim/rest/eat, and then the company picked us up right after we passed under the aqueduct and brought us back to our car. They provided air-tight barrels on the kayak, so we packed a picnic in our backpack and enjoyed it mid river.  There were some mild rapids which were a lot of fun. Definitely the best way to enjoy the Pont du Gard on a hot summer day!
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Chilling the rose in the river for our picnic:)
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Approaching the aqueduct - Pont du Gard!
There were a bunch of teenage boys hanging out on the cliffs by the aqueduct as we approached. They yelled at us in French and when they realized we spoked English, they asked where we were from. I said (in terrible French) USA. They started cheering We LOVE America!! Can we come with you to America!? We love it!  A great end to a fun kayak trip.
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    Eva has been traveling for 15+ years, including an 8 month journey around the world.  

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