Free Man Traveler

2006-08-13T19:35:00.000+01:00

Well, somehow the summer is just flying by...I´m completely loosing track of time! Another ten days, incredible.

After a quick stop at the beach in the south of Spain (near Tarifa-incredible!), I returned to Calabacino and stayed for almost a month again! I´ve been working in my garden, trying to to teach myself to build (I´m working on a small “casita”—bacically just a raised, freestanding deck with a roof), playing music, chilling out. It´s a really amazing place, and the more I stay there, the more I like the simple, tranquile style of life. But I got the “itch” again, and decided to head north to cooler weather, green scenery, and hopefully some cool farms. I´ve been really getting in to the whole farming/ self-sufficiency thing, and now want to see more of what it looks like in practice. Right now I´m in Madrid, staying with the father of my friend in Calabacino. It´s a beautiful flat, right close to the city center. I´ll be taking off tomorrow though...taking a train north, then planning to ride my bike around to different farms there...but we will see how it goes... And that´s just about all for now... hasta luego!

2006-08-03T12:05:00.000+01:00

Well... another month of blog-lapse. It's been an exciting one for me, and I'll even give you all a short synapsis of my travels...

I last left you all in Granada, when I was about to meet my friends from the states and go to the beach...well after a day of cruising around the city, we did just that, starting in the morning navigating an unexpectedly impossible series of buses and arriving at Punta Paloma in the very south of spain that evening...we found an excelente place to camp in the dunes and chilled out in the warm night under bright stars. The most incredible thing though was the view of Africa, looking close enough to swim to...its pull worked on me again, and I found myself convincing them to go to Morocco. I was successful and the next morning we boarded a "fast ferry" to Tangiers. Stepping foot in Morocco for the second time was no less surreal than the first time--it was like unexpectedly slipping back in to a dream after momentarily waking up. The sights, sounds, and people all seemed brighter, louder, and more animated than I remembered them, and strangly, I found myself amazed that all was still here, still running in the same way as I left it. We, by chance, met up with some people we met on the bus in Granada, and ended up traveling with them down to the chill tourist village of Chefchaouen. We spent only a few days there, and then I went down to Fes with the Granada people (my friends had to run back to Spain in order to catch their flight home)... We spent a couple days in Fes exploring the crazy Medina, then a few days in Azru chillin', then went down to the incredible Cascades d'Ouzoud...be sure to check out this link, even the picture is amazing. We spent a few relaxing days there, hiking around the surrounding valleys, swimming and trying to find water holes with some good cliffs to jump into. From there, after a short stay in Marrakech, I took the bus back to Spain.

To be continued...I'm out of time at the internet cafe, but I'll try to post later this week... adios!

Granada!

2006-06-30T14:55:00.000+01:00

Well I´ve moved on again... After 5 weeks in Calabacino, I´m now in Granada. A bit wierd to be around a lot of people again, but it´s a super cool city. Really old, tons of history, lots of culture... a lot going on. I´m staying in the house of a friend of a friend, and it´s absolutely amazing--totally pivate, little gardens, a small pool. Super tranquilo as they say... I´ve been riding my bike a bit, still taking it easy because my knee isn´t 100% but I think it´s getting better. I´ve still been able to get into the mountains, though, and they are absolutely incredible... some of the best riding I´ve ever done, with incredible views of granada and the mountains--truely unbeliveable.

From here, i´m meeting some friends, then going to the beach for a bit! Should be good times... stay tuned.

Pictures!

2006-06-12T20:10:00.000+01:00

Still here having a great time in the mountains... I'm starting to get itchy feet again though, so stay tuned.... For now, here's some photos of the area...

The house, viewed from the path to town

A path in Calabacino...

Alájar, from a ridge above Calabacino

Typical streets in Alájar

Also wanted to say thanks for all the comments! Always great to hear from everyone, and to know that you're enjoying the posts...

“Like a Rolling Stone”—The Best Gets Better!

2006-06-07T15:47:00.000+01:00

So I’m riding my bike in the warm Spanish sun, a soft tailwind helping me along and cooling my skin. Everything I need is with me—two bulging panniers strapped to my bike. My extra tee shirt and two extra pairs of underwear and socks are packed tightly around my various camping gear and other “essentials”. (My laptop is in there somewhere too, but to mention it would detract a bit from the romance, wouldn’t it). Anyway, got the picture? Bike, warm sun, quiet road, and good tunes drifting in from my mp3 player: heaven for me. Then I hear this coming through my headphones:

“…How does it feel?
To be on your own,
With no direction or home.
A complete unknown…
Like a rolling stone.”

Well Bob, just ‘cause you asked, it feels pretty damn good, thanks.

And like a rolling stone, I continued happily one; pedaling through the rural countryside—warm sun, bike; all the time in the world, and not one thing to worry about. I muttered Spanish phrases as I admired the views around me; my exclaims of “que bontia!” and “Ost tía, que fuerte!” being past on (I hope) by the wind.

Bob wasn’t entirely correct—I did have a direction: Alájar, a pinprick village of 500 people situated right-smack-dab in the middle of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Actually, more specifically, I was going to El Calabacino, which has, unfathomably, an even smaller population of 96—actually 97 including me. A handful more babies and they might even surpass 100 by the end of the summer. Not that it really matters; the people here (and now me) are in love with the quiet tranquility of this place. It is almost impossible to drive up to the village, access is almost exclusively by donkey trail. Running water comes from streams in the mountain above us, but if you want drinking water, you need to make a trip to the nearest fountain (underground streams filtered and channeled into spigots). Electricity is solar powered, and most people use composting toilets. Shower? As often as you like, but the water—drinking water runoff drained into small pools—is ball numbingly “refreshing”. The nearest supermarket (if you could call it that) is 40km away in Arecena—and make sure you co-ordinate with your friends so you can get a ride (the van won’t start).

I have been settling into the slow pace of the life here—there are less things to do in a day, but it takes longer to do them, as everything is done manually. That, and you have to allow time to talk to the neighbors, pet the dogs, call to the donkeys, play with the kids, and admire the scenery. Nightlife is sitting around playing music with whoever happens by, and we rarely make it to bed before 1:00. Excitement is when the donkey escapes (they are faster and more nimble than you would expect). It’s a small world here—without electricity, life wouldn’t be much different from when this house was built 150 years ago (well, ok, there may be a couple more differences, but just go with it).

I am here on my first WWOOF stop, and it couldn’t be much better. This is exactly what I wanted—a beautiful place to work, plenty to keep me busy, and plenty of time to relax and think. Oh, and good food. Lots of good food. Spanish is coming along, albeit slowly; my host (Irene) speaks almost perfect english and loves to practice it. And there’s not much more to tell…life is pleasantly plodding along here, and I’m planning to settle in and hang around for a bit. So that’s all for now…don’t think there will be many posts soon, but there will be pictures, and of course I’ll let you know when (or if!) I hit the road again.

Life is like a River...

2006-05-19T18:35:00.000+01:00

…That is my new mantra. I’ve given up trying to plan trips—now, I just research, go, and see where the trip takes me. It always goes somewhere—another thing I’ve learned is that the journey is more a part of the trip than the destination. And Morocco definitely took me on a trip.

My first stop was Fes; the first day was a blitz of a travel to get down there—three hours on the ferry, then another six on the train. I arrived at my hostel, ate my leftover bread, cheese, and chorizo and went to bed. I shared my room with an older French cyclist who made a considerable less effort to talk to me after he learned I was from USA. Whatever. Better for me as his English was non-existent, and his Spanish was terrible (even by my standards!).

The following day in Fes, I met up with a group of four from the US and England. As much as I wanted to be alone for a while, I decided to hook up with them; they were spending the day in Fes then heading for the Sahara!

Fes was a bit crazy; I was totally unprepared for the amount of tourists there, especially since it’s still the off-season. It was beautiful though, and I’m glad I went. For 3€ each we hired a guide for a few hours, just to get an idea of what to expect—we’d heard so many varied and colorful stories that we decided to play it safe. We spent most of the time in the Medina, which is Fes’s old town. It has over 1,000 streets, hiding huge mosques, a university, and who knows what else. Step inside the Medina and you are immediately plunged into another world—the Medina seemingly has a life of its own; I felt like I had stepped into a living, breathing entity. There were farmers selling fresh produce and fruit, there was fresh fish, meat, and poultry, and every kind of spice and tea imaginable—craftsmen were making (and hawking) all kinds of crafts: ornate metalwork, perfect wooden bowls, meticulous carpets, leatherwear, soaps, and on and on. The narrow streets were at times so crowded with people that I could barely move; and watch out for the donkeys—they are madder than a New York cab driver, and would be just as indifferent if you were run over! We wondered around all afternoon, the insistent hounding of the hustlers and shopkeepers being the only thing to distract us from our experience.

We took the 10hr night bus down to Rissani that evening and met up with the owner of the local hostel—he was a great guy, and took us on a fee of the dessert where he grew up (for a fee of course). We spent the night in a Berber (Moroccan nomads) village, then took off the next day for the Sahara. We drove much of the way, as we wanted to see as much as possible—and we did: we saw fossils, huge dried up rivers, oasis’s and miles and miles of the most desolate lunar landscape I’ve ever seen in my life. Maybe that last sentence didn’t do it justice, but it was breathtaking—the sheer desolateness of it was unbelievable, yet out of the horizon kept popping up these small clay Berber houses…and the freedom you feel with that much space around you is unprecedented. We were invited for tea at almost every place we stopped—we’d sit in the dark, cool, clay houses, sip tea and talk. One old woman told us (through our guide, of course) one of the rules for living in the desert: Look for water; if you find it, you smile. Look for food; if you find it, you smile. But if you don’t find water or food, you still smile, because the world is a beautiful place. This little rule could have been entirely of the guide’s creation, but for some reason I liked it, and whenever the going got rough, I’d picture that smiling old woman way out in the desert.

We continued on, and eventually nothingness gave way to rocky hills, then later, dunes. It was truly surreal to see the dunes up close—I felt like I had jumped into a National Geographic cover. We were given camels and rode further into the dunes, amazed to find that the smoothness and color was not an illusion of distance—the golden orange color was just as brilliant up close, and the sand was softer under my feet than any carpet being hawked in Fes. We climbed up to the top of a dune and watched the shadows change as the sun dropped below the horizon. We slept out under the stars that night, but the following it was back on the road again—and time to part ways with my travel mates, always a sad moment, but exciting as well, as it means the start of a new phase of the journey.

And exciting it was!

I headed north from the desert, leaving the sand for the green mountains of the Mid Atlas.

It was a long trip—2hrs in a grand taxi (which, for the record, aren’t so grand at all—grand taxis are small 1980’s Mercedes sedans that are available for hire to just about anywhere. However, prices are figured on 6 passengers—two share the front seat, and four share the back! Can make for an uncomfortable journey for sure—luckily most Moroccans are pretty skinny, and the taxi drivers drive fast!) After the taxi, it was another 6hrs by bus to Azru. I met a French guy on the bus—it was strange, he spoke only slightly more English than my four words of French, but we managed to communicate. He was super chill, helping me find a hotel in Azru, and invited me over to his fiancé’s house. It was 11:30pm but the instant I sat down, delicious Moroccan tea and a mountain of cookies appeared, along with family members, all of which were incredibly friendly and welcoming—communicating with me through gestures and Rodolphe’s English. Luckily, the hotel manager spoke English and Spanish (in addition to his native French and Arabic, both of which Roldolphe spoke) so he was able to translate a bit, and told me that Rodolphe would be back the next morning, and would take me into the mountains. What I didn’t know was that his family was planning a full-on picnic! The next day we loaded into a huge pickup and drove way up into the mountains. We pulled of the road next to a field, and out of the pickup came a table, cushions, blankets, and tons of food. We set up by the river and explored while the women prepared everything on a small butane stove (we weren’t allowed to help!). Everything was fresh—the chicken was still warm from life when it went into the pot, they had baked the bread that morning (this seems to be a custom in all of Morocco), and all the veggies were fresh from the market. We returned to a huge spread of salads, olives, and a gigantic chicken curry; we are until our stomachs almost burst, then curled up in the sun and relaxed until dusk.

The next day we headed up to Rodolphe’s fiancé’s uncle’s house. It was way out in the mountains; we had to take first a grand taxi to Fes, then a bus into the middle of nowhere, and then hike two kilometers up a donkey trail. It was worth the work though. The location was stunning—the house overlooked fields of wheat and olive trees, then to the river, far below us in the valley we had just climbed out of. We sat down to another homemade Moroccan feast, once again eating until we couldn’t fit in another bite. Then curled up for a solid night of sleep.

I spent three lazy days there— eating good food, laying in the sun, taking long walks, swimming in the river, and just enjoying the scenery. The beauty there was breathtaking—we were completely surrounded by huge green mountains, overlooking two intersecting valleys so far below it was almost dizzying to look at. All around, the mountains were dotted with small white clay houses, and I could see the thin lines of the donkey trails traversing and intersecting up and down the mountainside. I enjoyed every second of my time there—each morning I’d step outside and would have to pinch myself to make sure I was actually awake! But all good things come to an end, and I couldn’t live there forever…I have WWOOF obligations here in Spain. So after two more long days of traveling, I’m back in Spain. It’s more of a culture shock returning here than I thought. It’s strange not seeing donkeys in the streets, and an incredible luxury to have hot showers, toilets, and running water. It’s not that these don’t exist in Morocco; it’s just that it’s not always readily available. I’ve been enjoying my iPod, laptop, and fast internet access. I never thought I was attached to my western comforts, but alas, such is the case.

Now, I’m headed off to the mountains again, this time it’s the Sierra Nevada of southern Spain. I’ll be working on a farm there for at least a week, but it could be longer, who knows. I’ll try to keep y’all updated, but something tells me there’s not internet there.

Just to keep you entertained for a bit longer…here’s pictures:

Fes’s Medina

Another street in the Medina

Ornate architecture was present throughout all of the Medina.

The Dunes!!
And then there was nothing…
…Until this tree!
Berber clay house.
Camels!
The mountains were beautiful.
The meal in Azru!
More mountains
The view from the house, though no picture could ever do it justice.
Another view, this time looking up the valley.
Locals re-shoeing a donkey…

MOROCCO!

2006-05-10T15:37:00.000+01:00

I have to make this quick, but I just wanted to write to say that I am having a great time in Morocco! My budget has blown throught the roof, but it has truely been a trip of a lifetime--and its not even half over. I saw the crazyness that is the ancient city of Fes, then met up with some other travelers there and traveled south to Rissani to see the Sahara...We stayed at a hostel run by a native Berber, and he took us on a tour of his area--the most incredible expanse of desert Ive ever seen! We got to see the Beber mud houses, listen to their traditional music, and eat their food! We took camels into the dunes of the Sahara. We slept out in tents in the desert under the most amazing sky Ive seen in a long time...it was so cool we stayed up all night last night just watching shooting stars and talking. Much more to tell, and once I sort through my 400+ pictures, Ill post some on here. Now Im off to mountains for some backpacking, then up to Cefchouen, then back to Spain... Let the good times roll...

Twofer Day Part Two: Morocco

2006-05-04T20:42:00.000+01:00

“Close your eyes and think about Morocco…what do you see?”

If you’re anything like me, you’ll see guys dressed in big brown cotton capes, lots of sun, wide avenues, spectacular mosaics, white clay buildings, brilliant markets, snake charmers, fortune tellers, wide beaches, and isn’t there, like, a desert? Oh yeah and people…lots of people. And beggars, and theives, robbers, con men, and drug smugglers, dealers, producers, suppliers, and hustlers. What else do I see? Not much…wait, it’s coming…me trying to read a sign in Arabic/ Berber, me barganing for stuff, me getting ripped off or robbed. Yup I think that’s about it. Oh yeah, and flies, and hot crowded busses. Yeah that’s everything now.
I wanna go.
I think it was the fly vision that did it…or maybe the one where I get robbed—that would be a good story for the grandchildren.

Regardless of the consequences, I’m going to Morocco next week…by myself. Should be interesting for sure, we’ll see how it goes. The plan now (with an empasis on now, my plan changes minute to minute!) is to take a bus down to Algeciras (the very southern point of Spain, about as far south as you can get and still be in Europe) then take a ferry over to Ceuta, which, believe it or not LINK, is actually also part of Spain. From there the plan is to go to Fes, then possibly down to check out the Sahara, though it might be a stretch to make it down there time-wise. Either way, I also really want to go to Chechaouene—it’s supposed to be a secluded paradise in the mountains, much less touristy than other cities (ie. Marrakech, Tangiers, Casablanca). That will probably be all I have time for, but I really want to do some backpacking in the mountains. I’ve heard it’s a bit dangerous, but that’s just internet babble, and I want to talk to some travelers/ locals before I make a decision. And if I find someone along the way that wants to go with me, I’ll go for sure. If the backpacking doesn’t work, then I’ll just chill in Chechaoune. Sounds good, doesn’t it?! I’m stoked for sure, but (as usual) I have a lot to do before I leave.

It's a Twofer Day! Part One, Sevilla

2006-05-04T20:06:00.000+01:00

Wow. I just got back from a day in Sevilla, and that’s what I have to say. Wow. It was really nice. It was easily way more touristy than Edinburgh (believe it or not), but it pulls it off. Maybe it’s because it is so friggin beautiful? It has it all—a river promenade, beautiful, almost exotic parks, ancient buildings (least of which is the cathedral), small, almost closterphobic streets, fashionable shopping district…I guess I liked it so much because it’s exactly how I always pictured European cities. I hear that outside of downtown isn’t as nice, and it’s ridiculously hot in the summer, but having only spent an afternoon there, I liked what I saw.

The bus to Sevilla was only an hour, couldn’t believe it. It was so short! After a quick stop at the tourist office for my free tourist map, I headed to Parque de MariaLuisa for lunch. On the way, I stopped at the Plaza de España, which was a-mazing, but quite touristy; for a cloudy midweek afternoon in spring there was an unbelievable amount of tourists there, all taking pictures in front of the Plaza…I can only imagine what it will be like in July! The park was quiet though, and I immediately loved it—it was so tranquil; paths wound their way past fountains, small ponds, and small ornamental gardens. Around each corner there was another surprise. I ate my lunch to the soft coo-ing of pigeons that could be heard throughout the whole park. I left a bit sleepy and very relaxed.

Up next was the Cathedral. It’s described on my map as “one of the greatest gothic buildings that exits, and one of the most colossal of Christendom”. It was truly spectacular. After (partly) dodging the hefty 7,5€ entry fee with my old WCC Student card, I went in… My jaw dropped—it was huge, and everything was exquisitely ornate. I tiled my head up and started walking further. Then I tripped over myself. Ok, so walking with head up wasn’t such a good idea. I saw Christopher Columbus’s tomb, then climbed for a crazy long time up to the top of the Giralda Minaret, marveling at the spectacular views of the city and cathedral the whole way. Back in the Cathedral I explored the many small little rooms and courtyards, all unbelievably ornate. A little World Book research shows why…(for Mac OSX users, there are bubble views of Plaza de España as well as the Cathedral) I spent well over an hour there…pictures below.

After the cathedral, I just cruised around the downtown…there are so many little streets it’s really easy to get lost. I wandered around until it started getting dark, then headed home. All in all, a great trip!

Pictures, there’s a lot, so no descriptions…

A BBQ, Some Sun, Some More Sun, and More Studying…

2006-05-02T12:15:00.000+01:00

Well the days are flying here—studying, chillin’, seeing the sights. It’s a good life for sure. Last week I studied more than I have in a really really long time, and managed to cram in enough Spanish to that my head is still sore. I learned more in the last five days of classes than I ever learned in H.S. no joke. I think it’s starting to pay off, I’m getting better at talking, but I’m still not able to understand even the simplest of things people everyone say to me! Ohh well…at least I’m making progress.

In my off time, I’ve been trying to see as much of Huelva as I can. I went for a walk the other day and took pictures of Huelva’s beautiful downtown area. See below. The sun is making up for lost time, and has been out in full force the past few days—30C and sunny all weekend! Yesterday, I went with Carlos to a BBQ at a friend’s house in the country, it was really fun—we all ate way too much, talked a lot (them more then me, haha), and just had a good time. It was great for me to see a bit of the “real” Spain, and everyone there was really chill…

Tomorrow, I’m hoping to go mountain biking with Carlos; we’ll see how it goes—my knee has been giving me a lot of trouble when I ride, but I’ve taken the last week almost completely off the bike, so hopefully I’ll be alright.

Pictures to follow.....

El Primero Mensaje de España

2006-04-27T11:36:00.000+01:00

Damn, I’ve been busy! With classes, studying, hooking up the WWOOF stuff, and exploring, it’s taken me four days to write this… anyway, here you go, the first Spain post:

Well I made it to Spain! The weather is incredible now—28C (82F) and sunny with a slight sea breeze; perfect barely describes it. However, I deserve it, the beginning of the week was horrible—15C and raining; actually, pouring. Not to rub it in or anything, but I’m going to go to the beach now…be back later to finish this.

Ok, I’m back…hoooly crap the beach is gorgeous :o) Pictures below…

The trip over here was interesting for sure—probably one of the more epic rides I’ve done in a very long time.

After a big rush to get out of the house in the morning (as usual, I left everything until the last minute!), I had a smooth journey to Faro. I was expecting rain, but when I got there, it was 20’s and sunny—perfect. Built my bike out in front of the airport, and took off for the city. The hostel was nice—big, quiet, and cheap. Slept well, but woke up in the morning to downpour! However, it stopped before the end of breakfast, so I decided to ride instead of waiting for a train. I rode seven rain free kilometers to the next town (Olhão), but as soon as I passed though it, the rain hit again—hard. Not wanting to go backwards, I decided to ride the 23km to Tavira in the rain, then take the train from there. 2kms more and I could barely see the road in front of me, but I made it to Tavira, just missing the train! I waited a cold 2hrs for the next one, which took me to the Portuguese border town of Vila Real de Santo António, then took a boat across the river to Ayamonte, Spain. It was still cold and rainy in Ayamonte, but the town was beautiful enough to make up for it. I took a short cruise around the town, and then headed to the bus station…only to find I had missed the bus by mere seconds! Not wanting to re-enact my cold stay in Tavira, I took off down the road on my bike. The 55kms to Huelva were uneventful and for the most part very pretty…but also wet as well. I did make it to Huelva before dark, and after riding around in circles for hours (literally!) looking for the hostel, I found it and plopped my sore butt down in my bed for a well-deserved (if I do say so myself) night of rest.

Day two was pissing rain almost as hard as the first, so I camped out
in the hostel for as long as I could, checked out the city a bit, then made it over to the place I had arranged with Jeronimo (my Spanish teacher) and Carlos (whose house I’m staying in). Went to bed after a quick drink and dinner with them.

Class started at 8:00 the next morning, and went really, really well. I’m taking private lessons (I was offered a reduced rate as it is the low season) and it is such a luxury, let me tell you. We learned "classroom" stuff first, then went for coffee and toast talked in spanish while we ate, then went back to the classroom.

So it’s been already been great experience, and my spanish is ever so slowly improving. Jeronimo is also a great resource for information about Spain as he has been all over. Carlos is just about as fanatical about cycling as I am and knows a lot about spain as well. He’s also been a really great resource, showing me a cool bike path (see below) to the beach, and has offered to help me route planning!

Well that’s the scoop for now…I’ll try to be a bit more regular with my updates (I know, I always say that) now that I have internet, so stay tuned…

And now for pictures...

The view flying into Portugal. Worth the price of admission.

Assembling my bike at the airport—I attracted one or two stares…

My bike loaded and ready. The rack has proven to be *really* problematic for touring, it was only meant for commuting I think…think I’ll end up having to buy another one, ugh. Anyone wants a rack let me know (actually seriously, it’d be fine (even great) for around town, if you want it, leave a comment and I’ll get back to ya.)

Looking down into Huelva—the big stadium in the foreground is the Plaza de Torros (bullring).

I keep coming across cool street performers, this group was really good.

These guys were great as well.

Cool street in the city center.

The path to the beach!

The beach! It was oh my god beautiful…and it was so nice to soak up some sun. It’s been a while! Even my bike looked content…

A little restaurante on the beach. Anyone want a cold one in the sun? A tapa perhaps?

The beach went on forever…

End of Chapter One

2006-04-22T19:50:00.000+01:00

Wrote this on the bus to the airport. It's a couple days late, but what can you do… Spain post coming soon!

Well, I did it. Six months in Edinburgh—shit, I’m leaving Scotland! I’ll have to get over my horrible habit of saying cheers after every sentence, and now it won’t be completely normal to have “mates” or say “aye” or any of the other wee little words I managed to pick up. It’s flown by—I’m on the bus watching Edinburgh disolve away as I’m writing this, and I can’t believe that it’s been that long. There have been good times, bad times, and everything in between. Can’t tell ya how much I learned about people, life, and about what I want and don’t want from it. I’ve made friends that (I hope) I’ll have for the rest of my life. It’s been good… but all good things come to an end; I’m off to Spain now, bike in tow. I’m really excited now that I’m on the bus, I’ll have nothing to do but ride my bike for 3 months. I’m a lucky guy. Right, that’s all for now… next post will be from Spain!!!

Spain Training 101

2006-04-12T17:36:00.000+01:00

Well Colleen’s gone now. It was good times…really fun to show her what I’ve been up to over here, have her meet my friends, Ireland—despite travel troubles—was really really fun, and we both learned good lessons about traveling.

Now I need to focus all my efforts on Spain. I still have to figure out how I’m going to carry all my stuff around, still need to put a deposit down on the language course, still need to plan my route from Faro to Huelva, still need to book hostels, send emails, pack up my room… the list goes on. And what have I done, you ask? Nada. I’ve sent a couple emails, looked at panniers, checked the results (and read the race report) from my favorite race, Paris Roubaix. I’ll get around to it though, not ta worry.

I did, however, get out on what will probably be my one and only training ride yesterday. I took off from my flat, and after being pulled over by the police for running my first (and now only) UK red light, I cranked south of town to the Pentland hills. I wound my way through farms and valleys, then hit the dirt and climbed, scrambled, decended, and generally navigated my way east until I popped out onto the road again, just a half mile from a cool organic farm. Stopped and had a great lunch, then painfully pedaled my sore self home. Five hours later, and I was sitting on my couch tired and sore, but with the biggest smile on my face. Going out for a hard five-hour ride probably wasn’t the best thing to do training-wise, but it was good to prove to myself that I still know how to pull through a hard ride, and now I have no worries about being able to at least do the riding portion of this trip.

Back to work today for the first time in over a week. It’s a bit rough getting into the grind again, but it’s great knowing that I’m only there for another few days. It’s so weird; it really hasn’t sunk in that I am going to be leaving here for good. Really crazy. I’ll keep y’all posted on further developments, for now it’s back to work for me!

Colleen's Last Day

2006-04-11T20:30:00.000+01:00

Well we made it home to Edinburgh, but it still seemed that everything was trying to keep us from getting home…the plane was delayed an hour, the train cancelled. Unbelieveable.

Today was Colleen’s last day so we tried to make the most of it. We spent the morning (and a fair bit of the afternoon) in a clothing store called Joey D’s, with Colleen trying on just about everything in the store. We made it out with only having to pay a kinda large bill. After, we cruised up to Calton Hill, then down to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was pretty cool—really peaceful walking through the little paths and walkways. Unfortunately, we were a too late to visit the main attraction of the garden—a huge glass house separated into 10 climate zones, housing thousands of plants. Oh well…next time.

Finally, after one last travel snafu (I incorrectly thought the busses left on the half hour, so because it was 3:30am we had to wait 45 minutes until the next one), Colleen was off…I shed a silent tear on the walk home…then slept till 5pm the next day!

Ireland Reloaded

2006-04-11T10:44:00.001+01:00

We woke up early the next morning and caught a taxi to the airport. On the way we chatted a bit to the driver, telling him about our trip, comparing Ireland to the US and Scotland. He’d done some traveling himself, and told us that he still thought Ireland was one of the best places to be… He told us we should have stayed longer, and when he dropped us off he told us to come back soon. What we didn’t know was how foretelling his simple parting words would be.

We had no problem locating the checkout counter, but after waiting in line for a half hour, we were told we weren’t on the boarding list. Wait, huh? What do you mean? The exchange went something like this:
“Your name is not on my boarding list”
“Ok, so how do I get on the list?”
“You get a ticket”
“I have a ticket”
“Well it’s not for this plane”
“Well, shit”
After a brief check of my conformation email, we discovered that there had not been a mistake on the list, but instead the mistake was ours—we were at the airport a day early. We stormed out of the departure terminal, leaving a trail of chaos and destruction in our anger. After we calmed down, we assessed our situation—it really could be worse. Yeah we were tired, hungry, and were all prepared to get home, but this was Dublin! We caught a bus into town, and after a quick stop at tourist information we hit the streets, tourist map in hand.

Dublin is a crazy city. I don’t really need to say more, that’s all there is to it. It’s such a contrast to the Ireland that we saw; it felt like we were in a different world. It was like the Ireland that Ireland thinks the world wants to see. (Yes, that sentence makes sense, just read it again.) Everything was either painstakingly preserved, or newly renovated (or at least in the process of renovation). I’m not saying that is a bad thing, but it just felt a bit superficial—especially after seeing how cool the down-to-earth, small town Ireland was. There are so many signs pointing to attractions, we felt like we were in a giant tourist attraction. The prices reflected that feeling too—everything was even more expensive than the Edinburgh prices I had (painfully) grown accustomed to. We did make the most of it though. Fighting sleep and hunger, we walked all around the downtown area, lined up to take pictures with the rest of the tourists, and toured the Guinness factory. The Guinness factory was actually one of the high points of the trip (to Dublin, that is)—we were pleasantly surprised to find that besides the shameless promotion of Guinness, there was a pretty cool exhibit about beer making…a perfect way to waste an afternoon. We stayed until they kicked us out.

After that, we wondered around a bit more, trying to decide if we should book into a hostel or camp out at the airport. Our desire to sleep won out, and we took the hostel. However, once we got to our room guilt took over—here we were, Friday night in Dublin. Yeah we were tired, but what the hell…you only live once. We hit the streets once again, this time in search of a good Irish session. We searched and searched, but couldn’t find a decent one. Finally, the last pub we went to had a great band playing and we hung out for the rest of the night…good times, and another highlight of the trip.

We finally curled up in our hostel for a short night of sleep after a very long day…happy to be going home to comfy beds tomorrow.

So...Where the hell are we? (and what are we doing here?)

Random Street just outside of Dublin's fantastically tourisy Temple Bar district.

Forget what this cathedral is called...St. Patrick's I think. Pretty though.

We did actually stand in line to take this picture...it was so worth it, don't you think?

Can't be in Dublin without seeing the Molly Malone statue!

The session we went to...good times!

Last Day

2006-04-10T00:39:00.000+01:00

Well it’s our last day in Ireland, feels like we just got here, guess that’s cause we just did. I know I already said it, but book Ryan Air flights early!!! My whole body has bruises and lacerations from kickin’ myself for not doing so.

We did however, make the most of it. Getting up early, John drove us north to the Mitchelstown Caves. It was 12km off the highway down a road that can best be described as a paved path. The ticket counter was the front door of a farmhouse, and the attendant was the old woman who lives there. It is one of the largest limestone caves in Europe, and is completely privately owned and operated. It was huge inside, with gigantic stalactites and stalagmites. It was discovered in 1833 by a guy who was mining limestone, and dropped a crowbar down a hole. He widened it, and found the cave. He was the first person (actually, probably the first living thing bigger than an insect) ever down in this cave. It was truly incredible. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures, but you can go here to see it.

After the tour, we made a quick stop back in Mallow to eat (another fantastic, homemade) lunch, and collect our bags. We raced down to Cork, where we met yet another relative, Mary. She was fantastic, but we only had time for a short visit. At last we had to say goodbye and boarded our bus to Dublin; an uneventful 4hours later we arrived at the Dublin airport, but instead of having to sleep there, we gave a call to Elaine (yet another hospitable cousin!) who came and picked us up, and took us back to her flat where we very gratefully crashed for the night.
The path to the caves...if it wasn't for the sign at the entrance, I don't think anyone would find the cave.

The view from the mouth of the cave...beautiful. I love that there is a telescope there as well...as if that scene needs to be magnified to make it more beautiful.

The only picture we were allowed to take of the cave--I was all over it.

Downtown Cork...the Irish love their Guinness, that and Guinness spends loads of money on advertising.

Return to the homeland…

2006-04-08T12:49:00.000+01:00

It was really a weird feeling being in Ireland. On one hand, it was this new country that we had never been to, knew almost nothing about, and had no connection to other than a few phone numbers for “hook ups”. On the other hand, however, it just felt right. We were shown places where our greatgreat, greatgreatgreat, and greatgreatgreatgreat grandparents lived and raised the families that are truly our ancestors. We always knew that we had Irish relatives, but it always just seemed like something our grandmother told us to make us feel like we had some sort of heritage. It was this feeling of, “wow, so this is where it all began…”

Day two dawned as beautiful as day one and after a lazy morning, we dug a couple bikes out of the garage, pumped up the tires, and took off to explore the countryside. We had a lovely ride, just cruising along in the sun, soaking up as much scenery as rays. We got a little lost, but were put back on track by a friendly local who, in quintessential Irish manner, nonchalantly mentioned that there were some ancient ruins close by, even telling us what backroads to take to avoid a dangerous stretch of highway. The ruins turned out to be a 13th century priory that was spectacular. The crazy thing was it was just sitting in the middle of someone’s field, no parking lot, no swarms of tourists. ‘Suppose that was thing I liked most about Ireland—it’s so understated, and completely without trying to be so. They are currently one of the most economically successful countries in the European Union, have some of the world’s most spectacular ancient architecture, geological formations, and just plain ol’ fashioned good views, not to mention fantastic culture…and they acknowledge it all with a simple nod and a soft smile- before pointing the way to the next incredible place.

We eventually headed home, and after another fabulous home-cooked irish meal, we headed out for a whirlwind of visits to second and third cousins. Most of the time I wasn’t quite able to figure out how we were related to them, but they were all incredibly nice, very inviting, and unfailingly entertaining. On our last stop we mentioned that our travel plans for tomorrow included sleeping in the Dublin airport. They immediately mentioned that they had a daughter living in Dublin, just a few minutes from the airport. Just seconds later they were on the phone with her, and a minute after that we were told she would pick us up at our bus stop at the airport. Will make our trip easier for sure…

The day finished back in John and Margaret’s living room—we stayed up until 1am just talking, with John entertaining us with stories of farming before powered machinery--a completely different Ireland than we saw. We went to bed for another solid night of sleep.

More pictures! Again, you'll have to wait for summaries...I'm too lazy to do then right now. As always, they're nice and big, just click to enlarge...

Ireland 2006

2006-04-07T07:38:00.000+01:00

Since I didn’t get wireless in Ireland, you’re going to have to have to settle for the re-runs of the trip…I’ll give you three segments in three days, so I won’t spoil the element of surprise…it’ll just be here a couple days after it happened. You’ll get more pictures that way as well, just so you don’t feel cheated. Pictures are good. So is Ireland. Ireland pictures are better. Right. I’ll stop now…

Only hours into our trip, and it’s been an adventure already…it’s just been one thing after another.
I was copying down our flight information last night and noticed that we had two flights really close to each other, I forgot that we were booking separate flights and not connecting ones, and forgot that the ticket counters don’t stay open until the plane leaves…
Our 3:30am shuttle to the airport turned out to be £5 more than expected, leaving us scrounging in our pockets for enough spare change to make it up…we almost made it, only 62pence short, and our nice driver told us to forget about it. The bus ride was uneventful, and we had the whole bus to ourselves for the first part. Upon getting to the airport, however, we were in such a rush to get off the bus that Colleen forgot her violin…after a frantic moment of running after the bus, she retrieved it, but just the thought of loosing it made us both sick. Once we got to the ticket counter, I asked the agent about switching our flight, but found it wasn’t possible…our only option was to take a €180 flight. Needless to say, we passed up on the offer, and will now be traveling to Dublin in the middle of the night via a 6hr bus ride from Mallow. Oh well… the saga continued, however, when I went to find my wallet and discovered that it, too, had been left on the bus. I got on the phone and an airport agent was able to get in contact with the driver, who by some miracle was able to bring it back to the airport! Unbelievable…

Miraculously, the rest of the trip went smoothly, though we were unable to sleep more than a few hours during the travel. Thus we arrived in Cork (pronounced Cark)—8hrs of traveling, only 1.5 of which was actual flying (lesson learned—book your Ryan Air flights early). Our wonderful hosts John and Margaret picked us up at the airport, and whisked us away on a cross-country (ok, cross-county) trip, showing us everything thing from quaint villages (with commentary about this or that ancestor), tourist towns, spectacular mountains, lakes, waterfalls, castles, and ruins; all concluding with a trip to (our great great uncle) Dennis Murphy's favorite pub, called Dan O'Connell's. It surpasses words in terms of character and history, and you just get this overwhelming feeling that something truely great and magical happens here every weekend. The owner of the pub had played with Dennis and other great fiddlers, and told us stories of sessions then and now...a really interesting guy. Fighting drooping eyelids the whole way home, we went to bed (in our own rooms!), sleeping better than I have in a very, very, long time.

Here's pics, I'll update with summaries later...

Spain Planning...

2006-04-02T15:38:00.000+01:00

Taking a break from Scotland for a sec, I thought I'd update y'all on my my plans for spain this summer...
They've been (slowly) developing, but it looks like I will fly into Faro, Portugal around April 21, spend a day getting my bike built, equipment together, etc, then take off the following day for Huelva, Spain, which is 127km to the east. If I can, I might try to take 2 days to do it, and sleep outside somewhere for the first night. I'm going to try to get a hold of some backcountry/ trails maps so I'm not stuck on the highways and main roads the whole time. After I get to Huelva, I'm going to attend a language school for two weeks to try to get my Spanish up to an at least acceptable level. I've been living with two native Spanish speakers for 5 months and never took them up on their offer to learn Spanish... I'm kicking myself already, and I'm sure it won't be the last time! After Huelva, I'm going to work my way along the coast--hopefully first south around Cadiz, then Tarifa, then start moving up the coast. The route is dependent on where the farms are so we'll see where I actually end up going. It's a bit wierd for me to do this much planning, I'm usually more of a go with the flow traveler, but being on my bike and staying with hosts changes things a bit.

I've been really digging into the WOOF listings...some of the farms sound like paradise, and I can't believe I could be going to some of them...check it out for yourself...

I've also been having quite a time getting all my equiptment together--everything I need for my trip is at home, so my mom has been having to get it all together for me, going off of descriptions like "pedals, not the old rusty ones, the new ones, might be on the work bench or in a small zip lock bag...can you fit an 8mm allen in the back?" But thanks to the help of the crew at Kulshan Cycles, we managed to get it all (mostly) sorted, and I'm now almost completely ready to go. I'm hoping to just tow a small trailer that will hopefully weigh in around 30lbs loaded. We'll see if that actually happens though.

I'll keep ya posted as I know more, but for now here's the tentative route plan for your viewing pleasure (click to enlarge)...

Colleen is here!

2006-03-29T02:37:00.000+01:00

A bit dazed and jet lagged, but nonetheless intact Colleen arrived in rainy Edinburgh today! Can’t tell you how great it is to have her here. She also brought my bike along with her, and after managing to somehow get it on the plane for free (and I always got overcharged!), helped me carry it down main street Edinburgh in the pouring rain. We gave up half way home though, and took a taxi—best £3.52 I ever spent. She quickly got to work in the flat, impressing the flatmates with violin and dancing skills. Tomorrow looks like a day of sightseeing, shopping, and chillin’, terminating with a paella dinner, courtesy of Carmela… We’re also going to book flights for Ireland tomorrow, I can’t wait. Sounds like we’ll have an insider “in” as well, guess we have family there that I never knew existed. They are all (supposedly) really excited about our trip over, and have offered ancestor’s violins to play, pub sessions, and places to stay! Should be good times, I’ll keep y’all posted…

Settling Down and Looking Forward

2006-03-23T22:55:00.000Z

Well it’s been a long time again, and I think it’s about time I give you an up date on what I’ve been up to for the past month and a half…

I’ve been finally settling here in Edinburgh, have a small but really good group of friends, and have gotten used to my job. I’m starting to feel like I can really call this place home, and at times it’s easy to forget that I am thousands of miles from home. I’m plugging away at my job, while faithfully counting the days until I can quit! Can’t say I don’t appreciate having full time work though—every time I get down about my job I think about how great the beaches will be and how much fun I’ll have this summer. Yes, I’m coming into my last month here, and as sad as I will be to leave here, I have been looking forward to the future.

My Spanish flatmates have cunningly persuaded me to visit Spain this summer. Feed me enough good food, show me enough beautiful pictures and I’ll go anywhere to get more! I’ve hatched this plan to ride my bike along the east coast of Spain riding backroads and vias verdes (greenways), and maybe even singletrack where possible. I plan to work in organic farms along the way, something I’m hoping to set up through an organization called Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WOOF). As the name implies, the organization operates all over the world, setting up volunteers with organic farms for the purpose of providing education about agriculture, local culture, and just general sustainable living. After living in the city for 6 months, I’m ready to get my country fix, and I’m really excited to see Spain from the “backdoor”. I think I will also take a week at the end of the trip to ride el Camino de Santiago, a famous pilgrimage that looks absolutely gorgeous.

Also coming up is my sister’s visit! She’ll be here in less than a week, and I’m really (really) looking forward to it. It’s going to be great to catch up with her, and we’re also going to go on a couple trips together, one to Ireland—which I have disgracefully not visited yet—and one up north to the highlands, with a stop at my friend Charlotte’s in St. Andrews on the way home. I’ll keep you updated when I’m traveling, and hopefully post some more pictures as well! Maybe I can even persuade Colleen to make a couple guest postings…

Well that’s the latest from Scotland…hopefully I’ll be able to keep this updated more regularly now that there is internet in the house again!!

Pictures, Part Four

2006-02-01T12:44:00.000Z

Well, here we arrive at last: the final installment of the Great Polish Photo Tour. Yes, I know it’s sad…cry me a river JT. But for now, put your happy faces on…and get ready to go back to Krakow. It was a bit warmer this time around—a downright temperate 0-15F. Determined to see more than last time, we donned an extra layer and got ready for three full days of sightseeing, shopping, eating, and beautiful scenery.

One quick side note before I begin. It looks like the cold could have been much worse—weather reports this week show temperatures down into the -20’s to -40’s! Definitely glad to be in Edinburgh now…

This is Krakow’s main square, where our hostel was very conveniently located.

Again in the main square. A second before I took this picture, this kid was literally covered in pidgins.

It’s shameful, but I still don’t know whose face this is. I think it’s a cool picture though, that’s Ana and Carmela looking out his eyes by the way.

A road in the old town, just off of the main square.

Another path just outside the old town.

This road leads into the Jewish Quarter. The trams are psycho by the way.

This is the castle…we actually didn’t get to go in, as we were 1 minute (literally) too late. Ugh.

This river runs on the south side of the town. There are these crazy swans that live there year round…so many people feed them that they don’t need to leave over the winter.

This is the pub we went to on the last night…I talked about it before—it was lit entirely by candlelight with super low ceilings, brick walls, and this crazy room in the back with these weird old household items, crazy family pictures on the wall, the ancient couch we are sitting on, and a huge table down the middle. It was super cozy though, and we didn’t leave till they closed.

Ok, that concludes the Poland Episodes. It’s back to work for me; I’ll keep ya updated on the goings on in Edinburgh…

Pictures, Part Three

2006-01-30T11:00:00.000Z

Continuing the Poland Photo Tour, here’s part three. As mentioned before, it covers Lublin, Majandek, and Kazmierz Dolny—and the coldest part of the trip...

...Like in this picture. I felt like a snow prince or something, it was so cold that the snow didn’t even melt in your hair, just froze. The girls looked like they had white streaks in their hair where the snow froze together in clumps.

Lublin:

This is the main street in Lublin’s old town. We arrived at night and spent a bit of time poking about and looking for a hostel, or someone who spoke English well enough to tell us where to find one. We finally gave up and settled on a hotel, and it was quite nice, and not terribly expensive.

Another view of Lublin at night, this is the road that divided the old and new towns.

The next day we walked around the town, and explored the cool side streets and alleys there.

This is in Lublin’s old town again. There were no stairs to the right of the railing, so you could slide down the icey ramps, kinda like skiing. Actually not really, but it was fun anyway.

A gate at the edge of the old town. It was snowing sooo hard here.

A corner of the main square. It was really like stepping back in time there; this picture could have been taken anytime in the last 50 years.

The main street in the old town in daylight.

Majdanek:
It took us forever to find this camp. We only got there through the help of a Polish guy that escorted us right to the gates. Once we got there, it was getting darker, colder, and more windy…and we were the only people there.

Like all things, we were very serious about going to the concentration camp.

This thing was not screwing around though. It was so surreal to see this come out of the fog as we were driving up to it, like being in weird sci-fi thriller. It was used to store the ashes of the victims, which were thrown into a pit inside.

This is the crematorium and gas chambers. Again I can’t tell you how weird it was to see all this in real life.

These are the barracks. We couldn't go in them as the place was technically closed for the night, but we learned later that most were originally meant to store about 50 horses, and were retrofitted to house over 400 prisoners.

Ok, off down the road to happier things. After spending a night in the strangest hostel ever (it was very cheap, but huge, completely deserted, and waayyy off the beaten track.), we woke up the next morning to -13F weather and bright sunshine. We were told to go to Kazmierz by some of the people at the Krakow hostel, so we decided to check it out on the way home the next day. I have to say it was one of the highlights of the trip—it was quite small and very quaint, classic fairytale European. We walked around a bit, then found a tearoom and ducked in to get out of the cold. It was sooo cool, just like being in someone’s living room. We found a couch by the fire and relaxed for a bit. It was so nice that we didn’t want to leave. Anyway, back to photos:

Ana and Carmela heading into town…

Stairs heading up towards the town center.

The view from the church, this looked out over the north side of the village.

Another church just outside the town center.

Ok, that concludes the penultimate installment. For the last entry, we go back to Krakow…stay tuned.

P.S. You can click on any picture to see the original, large size. Just FYI...

Road Trippin'

2006-01-28T17:08:00.000Z

Welcome to part two of the Poland tour. I think I got the picture thing figured out, so we should be good to go now.

So without further ado…

This is the car we rented—we thought it would be some small crappy euro car, but they gave us this, a Ford Fusion. We didn’t complain. It was a bit underpowered, but really good in the snow. And yes, those are the keys in my hand.

As I said before, driving in Poland was nothing short of sketchy, and as demonstrated in the picture below, we took it very seriously.

The drive up to Lublin was beautiful—it snowed the night before, and the countryside was pristine. It was this section of highway that inspired the next picture…

…When Ana and Carmela (Spanish flatmates) decided that they wanted to kick a tree full of snow and see what happens!

There were crazy signs everywhere, and were quite graphic for road signs. We were admiring the attention to detail on this first one—the hood is even crumpled:

This next one we haven’t been quite able to figure out. Is that a giant lollypop in her hand? A balloon? And who decided it was necessary component of this sign? We will never know…

Getting a little ahead of myself with this one, we are now on the return journey on some deserted back road. It looks a bit like Vermont to me…

A pueblo pardido de dios. The village starts and ends on that corner.

More views from the way home. These were the pristine fields I was talking about earlier.

The sun about to set over the farmland, again on the way home.

Ok, that’s all for part two. Next time will be Lublin, Majdanek, and Kazmierz Dolny—stay tuned.

Pictures, Part One...

2006-01-27T14:47:00.000Z

Well we are back in Edinburgh now, and are enjoying the sweet spring-time weather.

I downloaded the pictures onto my computer last night, and there are over 400! I selceted the best 40 for your viewing pleasure, and I'll post them in 4 segments over the next week or so. So, without further ado...

Part One: Krakow

This is the hostel we stayed at. It was VERY nice; small, clean, well located, and cheap. Couldn't ask for anything better. The staff was amazing as well, helping us with everything from planing our trip up north, to telling us what to visit around town, to fixing up my finger...

The view out the window of our room.

This path circled the old town, it was beautiful and great for a stroll--but the best part was...

...This hill! The local kids had gone down it so much that it was just pure ice. It was (kinda sorta) on our way back to the hostel, and we'd always make a detour back there for a run. If nothing else, it gave us an excuse to go running into a cool cafe or pub, after we (invariably) got freezing cold.

This is the gates of a church in the old town, It is called St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, and was built in the 17th century.

Another view of the church, showing its famous dome and baroque style.

This is a classic street in Kakow's Kazimierz district, also known (though only among tourists, I think) as the Jewish Quarter. It's like stepping back in time, everything is sooo old.

Another street in Kazimierz...Supposedly Schindler's List was filmed somewhere in this part of Krakow.

Well, that's all for now. Looks like the pictures are turned again, you'll have to tilt your head. I'll have to figure that out for next time. Next segment will be the Road Trip!!!

Mi Nuevo Nombre es Jackie Chan

2006-01-25T11:13:00.000Z

...that means my new name is Jackie Chan in spainish. Why, you ask? Let's just say that it involves an incident with a foosball table, a win, and a victory salute that involved punching my hand through a low-hanging glass light fixture, a la Jackie Chan (that is pronounced in a spainish accent by the way). It could have been a lot worse, but I survived with only slicing into part of a finger tip. Apparently this is not the first time this has happened here, because the staff at reception calmly fixed me up with some gauze, cleaned up the glass and installed a new glass globe. Less than a half hour went by and the room was ready for another unsuspecting victim.

Last Day

Yes today is our last day here. We are a little bit sad to go home, but we will not miss the cold at all, ha. Despite the cold, being here has really convinced me to travel in eastern europe, possibly this spring. The scenery is very cool, super old and very gothic at times. We went to a pub last night (for coffee, of course :) that was ancient, lit entirely by candles, and full of Poles. This just one example, there are so many super cool shops and pubs here, and every one has such a unique character. The people here are amazing as well--for the most part they are amazingly friendly, helpful and inviting. For instance, when we were driving up north, we asked directions to a hostel that was very hidden, and ended up getting a personal escort (the friend of a gas station manager) right to the very door of the hostel--and both guys didn't speak a word of english.

Ok, time to go now... more when I'm back in Edinburgh.

2006-01-23T21:09:00.000Z

Greetings from Poland again. It is still cold here, but we are in Krakow now and it is quite a bit warmer here than in the north. Today was a balmy 0F, and it should be warming all the way up to 20F by the time we leave! I have my sunscreen and swim suit at the ready.

Los Pubelos Pardido de Dios

I have picked up a few more words of spanish from traveling with my two Spanish flatmates the whole time; most of this involves the obligitory swapping of swear words and insults, but this phrase actually had some relevence to our travels. The phrase directly translates to "the villages lost of god" and is used to describe places so small that not even god can remember them. A bit sad, I know, but we found a lot of these villages on our way home from Lublin. With the weather being so unpredictable, we decided to head back home a bit early, and taking full advantage of our car, we took back roads for most of the way so we could get off the beaten track for a bit and see more of the authentic Poland. I don't know if we succeeded, but we found some really cool places. I'm not just going to leave you hangin, there are pictures to follow of course, but it is pointless to decribe them now.

Majdanek

Backing up a bit, we did manage to make it to the concentration camp, but had an amazingly hard time trying to locate it. The horrible irony of desperately trying to find a place that others tried so hard to avoid did not escape me. However we did find it eventually, though only after following a Polish man that we met in a gas station. We arrived after it had closed, but we were able to persuade the guard to let us in. It was super intense; the desolation of this place was amplified by the dark and frigid weather, and being the only people there only added to this feeling. Not a place I want to go back to, but I'm happy we saw it.

Krakow again...

We are back in krakow now, and are trying our best to get out and see things while still ensuring that all our limbs and appengages stay attached to our bodies. Today we walked around the town and checked out some of the shops, went to a cathedral, played in the snow (my spanish friends have not seen real snow ever, so it is a favorite past time of theirs now).

Well that's all for now...it's late here now, and I'm hogging the computer again. I'll try to write more later. Goodnight!

Of Sandy Beaches and Sunshine...

2006-01-21T11:43:00.000Z

...we are dreaming. Greetings from Lubin, Poland and holy shit it is cold today! Right now it is 6F, and it should only be getting colder as the week goes on. Oi! That said we are having a great time. The drive up here was uneventful, but we learned that there are apparentaly no driving laws in this country. The biggest highway that we were on was two lanes, so when faster cars wanted to pass us (which happened alot, the speed limit is always ignored), they would just go by, reguardless of oncoming traffic. You and the oncoming traffic are expected to move right, creating a third lane in the middle. Sketchy? Yes it is. Last night it snowed a few inches and has been increasing the whole day. Luckily the car we are renting is VERY good in the snow, and came with winter tires. We are ok driving, but still makes things go bit slower.

Lublin is super cool--there is a very old city center, with classic small streets and alleys, a castle, etc. There are a lot of cool little shops and cafes, and the surrounding country is awsome as well. I have lots of pictures, but I'll have to wait until I get home to upload them.

Ok, I gotta go... Next up today is the concentration camp. Should be pretty intense. I'll let ya'll know...

Poland...sans money

2006-01-20T08:08:00.000Z

Well I'm in poland now and I have to say it is pretty friggen cool; small cobblestoned streets, cozy cafes and bars, lots to see and do, and at a small fraction of the price of what I'm used to paying in scotland. Things really are rediculously cheap--a 4 course meal for three people at a very nice restaurant cost $50! I bought a designer shirt yesterday for $6, etc.

Scotland Screwed Me

Yessery they did...I brought a bunch of money with me to exchange when I got here as my bank account back home has dwindled and is slowly dying. However, when I went to exchange my money, I was told that they would not except the scottish pounds! Arrggh. The scottish pound is not different in any way to the english pound, it just has a different design and says "Royal Bank of Scotland" on it. Yeah so now I have to rely on my friends bank accounts, then pay them back in my worthless scottish pounds... Oh well, we'll make it work.

Driving in Europe...

Oh yeah one last little thing... today will be my first euro driving experience!!! I had heard from friends at work that the best thing to do is rent a car and drive around, so I looked into prices and it was pretty cheap. We had originally wanted to drive around the whole country, but Poland is a a lot bigger than I thought, so we have limited ourselves to one small corner. Today we are heading to Lundin (one of the few Polish cities that survived WWII intact, and it has a fully presevered concentration camp...should be pretty intense), hanging there for a day, then heading south through the countryside to the mountains. Should be beautiful, as long as the weather doesn't go crazy on us--it's supposed to be -20C (that's -4F) here this week! Not excatly a beach holiday...

Okay, that's all for now...I'm hogging the one community computer at the hostel, so I gotta go.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-10T14:04:00.000Z

Ok, so I’m a little late but that always seems to happen so I won’t apologize…

All Good Things Come to an End:

A devastating thing happened this week—our free internet got disconnected! I can’t believe it, it’s been a somber time around the house. No more will we sit for hours on toilet in the downstairs bathroom typing our emails and chatting with friends. Just to give you a visual, here’s our friend matt demonstrating the proper technique:

Looks like we’ll actually have to pay for internet now, which probably won’t be so bad, especially because I have a job now!

Speaking of my job, I’ll tell you more about it: I am working as a waiter in the restaurant of a very posh department store called Harvey Nichols. You can check out the website here: http://www.harveynichols.com/output/Page126.asp to see more. There is a link to a 360 degree pan about half way down the page, it’s pretty cool. Harvey Nic’s (as they call it here) has been around since the 1800’s and sells all the latest and greatest designer brands, and has a restaurant as well. It’s been going well so far—I am actually learning a lot and there seems to be quite a bit of room to move up the ranks. We’ll see how it goes; right now I’m just happy to have money coming in. The other cool thing is it seems to be the popular choice of celebrities when they come to town—Christina Aguilera has been in a few times, and J.K. Rowling was in a couple days ago! I’ve never really been too celebrity crazy, but still it’s pretty cool.

New Year’s was pretty fun—we ended up having 11 people stay with us so it was quite crazy for a couple days, there were people everywhere. A bunch of people went to the street party, but I was able to convince a few to hike up to the top of the cliffs that overlook the town to watch the fireworks. It was really amazing—they set off fireworks from seven hills that surround the city, so we had a 360degree view of fireworks all around us. I took a couple pictures, but it doesn’t really do it justice:

Well that’s about all the news for now…Next report will be when I come back from Poland!!

NEWS FLASH!

2005-12-21T13:14:00.000Z

I got the job at Harvey Nichols!!!!! I'm super stoked! I
start working full time on Jan 2nd...YAY!

Been a long time (again)...

2005-12-20T19:26:00.001Z

Hey Y’all-

So yeah I’m pretty much the worst blogger ever… Thing is there really isn’t anything too exciting to report all the time, so I’m figure I’ll make you wait (to add suspense) then pack it all into one big entry (to make it seem like I’m doing a lot more than I really am). Actually I'm just lazy. But really, I don’t have enough money to be traveling and living the good life all the time, so I’m settling down a bit—working a crappy job, hittin’ the local pub/club scene on the weekends, trying to get some exercise once in a while and just chillin’ with my flatmates and friends the rest of the time. However, I did manage to get out a nice long entry for ya. I recommend reading it in small sessions over the next few weeks, to make my eratic posts seem less eratic...

First, my job: My bank account and I finally got sick being unemployed so I took a job through a temp agency. I don’t really know if they have these in the States, but they are actually pretty cool if you are only going to be somewhere for a couple weeks and want quick cash. Only thing is you really wouldn’t want to work for one for more than a couple weeks. They basically assign you to jobs on days that you request, and you go and work. There are all different types of agencies, but the one that I’m going through does mostly big event/ caterings through contracts that they have with local football stadiums, the parliament, and area castles. It’s really not too bad, but it’s pretty brainless—they really don’t encourage any kind of intelligent thought or problem solving, you are expected to show up and do only as you’re told. They fully expect you to slack off as much as possible—working hard only results in fewer hours, because most of the time there is only a limited amount of stuff to do. It took me a few days to figure this out, so I spent a lot of time standing around waiting to be told what to do after I finished a chore, or just being sent home early. Once I found out that I could just slack off all day it seemed pretty sweet…then I got bored. One good thing about this kind of work is I have been able to meet a lot of new people. Most are student or travelers, so it’s a pretty cool crew for the most part.
Even still, it is not a job I want to do for much longer, and luckily a company called Harvey Nichols called me last week for an interview. I went in yesterday, and it went well, so with any luck, I’ll have a real job before the New Year. It’s just restaurant work, but it is pretty posh and supposedly the busiest place in town. An added bonus is the restaurant is part of an equally posh designer clothing/ accessories/ house ware department store, so if I get a job there, I might be able to actually afford to buy some cool euroshit to bring home… So I’m keeping my fingers crossed, and hopefully it works out.

Last entry I mentioned the Faithless concert that I was going to… It was absolutely brilliant! I’ll tell you all about it once I get back from my run…It is 3:00 here and is already getting dark, it will be completely dark by 4:15. Definitely shortens the day, especially if you are a late riser.

Ok, I’m back. Yeah it’s totally dark already, I can’t believe it. It’s the one bad thing about living here, the weather is actually really nice, just cold, but it gets dark sooo friggin early. I can’t wait until spring. You just don’t feel like going out when it is dark and cold, so I end up spending most evenings indoors from 4:30 on.

So the concert: I thought it was going to be just a DJ on the decks and maybe a female back up singer, but he came out with a full band, and played everything live. Absolutely incredible. The crowd was huge, everyone was totally into it, and they played long and hard. Money definitely well spent. Here’s a picture, but you can’t really appreciate how big the crowd really was…

Next up was the Great Scottish Santa Run!! So yes, I actually dressed up as Santa and ran (actually walked, my flatmates aren’t the most athletic) around with a few thousand other santas for the better part of a half an hour. It was good fun; the best part was the looks we got on the walk home. Turns out it was for a pretty cool charity too; the organization that puts it on grants wishes to children with terminal illnesses. This year they are sending a half a dozen kids up to Lapland to visit the real santa…guess they get a real sleigh ride, etc. Here’s pictures...

This is my flatmate Steph...

This is Cazza (I can NOT get the friggin picture to rotate, so you'll just have to turn your head to look at it)...

...And Lisa showin'off her sweet jumping skills!

And here is the Sea of Santas...

Later that day we took a trip to Glasgow to see what our rival city was all about. We were actually on a mission to find a coat for one of my flatmates, which we did, but it was cool just to see the city. Glasgow is a lot more of a working class city than Edinburgh, and has a reputation of being rough, dangerous, and dirty, but it’s been cleaned up over the last decade or so and is now bustling, hip, and even posh in some parts. I guess there are still some sketchy parts and still has the highest stabbing rates in Scotland, but we found it to be really cool, and look forward to exploring it a bit more. I found waaayy too much stuff to buy, but luckily made it out with my wallet fully intact.

Well Christmas is just a few days now, and the city is starting to get crowded. There are people everywhere, and it’s only going to get worse. Not that I really mind, the atmosphere is really festive, and the city is really pretty. Our Christmas is going to be pretty mellow—I think we’re just going to make (and eat, of course!) a lot of food, exchange gifts (we’re doing a secret santa), and just chill out. My flatmate Becs found a tree for £5, and Lisa was able to get decorations super cheap from work, so we are totally hooked up and ready to rock on Christmas day.

Next up is New Year’s Eve. There are tons of people coming to our flat for new years…we haven’t dared to count, but there will be quite a few. There is the famous street party from 10-1am but all the locals say that it is worth skipping, so we are going to have a party at our flat, then head up to a hill close to our flat and watch the fireworks. Should be good times…

After the new year, we’re planning on going to Krakow, Poland (time off from work permitting). It’s kind of an unusual destination (I think), but one of my flatmates has been, and absolutely LOVED it. I’m pretty stoked. I’ve been reading a bit about it and it sounds like a cool country, with the added benefit that it is super cheap (we are hoping to do the whole 7 day trip for under $300, including transportation and accommodation). If I don’t write before then, I will definitely let you know how the trip goes, and post lots of pictures!!

Well that’s all the news from 23 E. London St… Later, Will

Parting Shot: My street. I took this when we were locked out one night, ahh (not so) good times...No, Mom I did no have to sleep on the street, we got in eventually. But yeah, anyway I thought it was cool, so here you go...

2005-11-29T11:36:00.000Z

Well. It’s been well over two weeks since my last post…time is just flying by here, I don’t know how it’s happening.

I’m settling in nicely to my new life over here, hanging out, having fun, living the good life. I’m still looking for a decent job, but in the mean time I’m just going to do some temp work. I have an interview later today, and will probably be working events and caterings. I guess there could be worse things, but I’m not looking forward to it. Still, it will be nice to have money coming in, instead of having to rely on my quickly diminishing bank account. Hopefully I’ll be able to save some money and replenish it a bit so I have money to travel more in the summer.

Christmas Time is Here…

And has been here since last week. This town goes crazy for Christmas/ New Year’s: they’ve been setting up this whole Christmas compound over the past couple weeks, and last week they opened it up. It’s actually pretty cool; lights in all the trees, a big Ferris wheel, outdoor skating rink (it was free to skate on opening day, so I taught my Aussie roommates to skate, good times), lots of great (but of course, overpriced) hot food and drink stands and a cheesy craft bazaar. They are also having a bunch of events all next month. Two weekends from now is the Great Scottish Santa Run, where participants run/walk 2k in a Santa suit…but they are also trying for the world record of most Santas in one place—last year there were 3500, but apparently that wasn’t enough, so they’re trying to get more people this year. Yes, of course we are doing it. Santa himself will be making a guest appearance, taking time out of his bust schedule to fly (yes, fly) into the town square on his sleigh, here to prove beyond a doubt that he does exist. There are loads of other events too, but those are the two I’m most excited about.

You know you’ve been in Europe too long when…

You actually start to like techno/dance music. Unfortunately it didn’t take me long, and now I not only tolerate it, but also actively seek it out and listen to it—around the house, when I’m walking/running, etc. Goes to show ya, never say never. I swore I would never like techno, but here I am. It’s gotten so bad I actually paid big money to get tickets to a concert this weekend. The group’s name is Faithless, and they are HUGE over here…it gets played it in supermarkets and restaurants, you hear it coming from cars and blasting through headphones, it’s everywhere. Anyway, this concert is supposedly the last ever in Scotland, so we had to go. It’s going to be HUGE, loud, and hopefully really good. I’ll try to take pics, and let ya’ll know.

Well, that’s all the news, the reports will probably become more infrequent now that I’m settling to a more regular life, but I’ll try to keep this updated.

P.S. A note to all who leave comments: I love comments, but if you leave a comment, please know that I don’t get your email address with it, so if you want me to reply, just send me an email. Can’t guarantee how quickly I will reply, but I will get around to it eventually. My address is: will.iamfree@gmail.com

Pictures!!

2005-11-14T11:34:00.000Z

So this is moment you all have been waiting for...pictures of Edinburgh!! They are in no sort of cronological order at all, but I'll do my best to narrrate...

This is the view from the roof outside my window--I'm so stoked to have a roof to sit out on and read, though with winter coming, I don't think it will last long...

The part of town we are in is called Old Town/ Leith Walk...it's alot more "Euro" than the south part of the town, and it has more of a community vibe to it. I love it for sure.

This is the west end of the Royal Mile, Edinburgh's oldest and historically most busy street, now it's just a tourist trap, but still beautiful.

This is one of Edinburgh's many "Closes" or small alleys that used to make up the streets of the Old City.

This is another picture of the Royal Mile, this time from mid way down the street.

This was taken from the castle that overlooks the whole town, we are looking at the south westen part of town now.

This is Edinburgh's famous Princes street, a shopping Mecca that is packed on weekends.

This is another picture from the castle, this time looking south east.

Another shot from the castle, now we are looking North towards Princes Street and our house. That is the Fith of Forth in the distance, a salt water body that helps mellow out the weather in the winter (or so I'm told).

And last but not least, pictures of the castle itself, not the greatest shots, but you get the idea.

Well, that's all for now, there's more to come later...

Home Sweet Home

2005-11-13T14:22:00.000Z

Yup that’s right, after a week of searching and I found a place to live! It’s a niiiice, very old, but recently renovated 5 bedroom flat just north of the city center. I made enough friends at the hostel that I’m able to move in with people I know, which is definitely a bonus. I’m happy for sure. Next step will be finding a job, but it’s good time of year to look, so I’m not worried.

Money, money, money…

I had to think about it all week and it was driving me crazy. It’s been quite a process to find a place. It’s my first time looking for a place of my own anyway, so doing it outside of the States made it that much more challenging. We first tried to get a flat through a letting agency, but they were going to make us pay £2100 in cash up front, and were also going to take £90 for their services (which included background checks, bank reference checks, personal references, and work references). I initially thought that we could make it work, and plunked down a £200 deposit, but quickly realized that there was no possible way to get £2100 to the UK in a couple of days. They took pity on us and gave me my £200 back, but it made for a stressful couple of days. The place we’re in now was so much easier to get in to—I explained our situation and he said we could move in the next day. We gave him a month and 2/3 up front and he gave us the keys. We breathed a sigh of relief and moved in. Simple as that.

My Roommates

I made a lot of friends at the hostel; I guess I just got lucky because the past two hostels I stayed at were not too social at all. So it looks like I will be moving in with a two Canadians, two Aussies, two Spaniards, and me. Should be good times—funny thing is after this month, I will be the only guy in the house. I’m either really lucky or doomed—guess we’ll find out! Everyone is really chill and we all get along great together, I’m looking forward to a fun 6 months.

Well that’s all the news for now—next week is Job Search Week; I’ll let you know how it goes…

The search continues...

2005-11-05T19:13:00.000Z

Looked at two more flats today, one very bad, one ok. The good news is I now have a friend from the hostel that is in the same boat as I am, so we're looking together. Makes it quite a bit more fun, let me tell ya. It also opens up our possibilities abit more as we can expand our search to include real apartments, not just rooms. It would be nice to have someone to live with that I actually like hanging out with as opposed to some random dodgy character (as they say here). So that's the latest. On the job front, I need to follow up on some of the places I applied at but I'm much less concerned about it than I am a flat.

Just checked my bank account and things are looking much less scary now that I'm out of london and in an at least semi permanent living situation. One of the best things about my hostel is they have a kitchen, so I've been able to massivly cut down on costs by using that.

Today is Guy Fawkes day, so we got a group of people together to go out and watch the fireworks. Should be fun. For those of you who don't know about Guy Fawkes, you can check it out here.

Should have posted this yesterday...

2005-11-05T19:00:00.000Z

Happy Birthday to me!

And what a great birthday it is. My friends from St. Andrews just stopped by on their way to Spain, and had lunch with me, which was super cool. I’ve made friends at the hostel, and we’re hanging out tonight for my birthday. I’m starting to feel like I’m getting to know Edinburgh better. I love this city and life is good.

I’ve been pretty busy actually. I’ve looked at a couple of flats; one was not good at all, and another was alright, except it was very far from town. So the search continues…
I went down to the main shopping district yesterday to look for jobs, and dropped off a bunch of resumes at outdoorsy type stores, most of which seemed very interested.

Speaking of jobs, I quit mine yesterday. It may seem like a bad idea I know, but let me explain. This place was a mess; he had about 20% of the tools needed to operate any sort of bike repair. The “shop” was a 20x20ft area shared with more than 50 bikes. In one corner was a stand and a very small workbench piled with tools. My boss would have work that he’d expect me to do, but would get mad if I couldn’t do it because of missing/ lost/ broken tools. He paid me today and actually tried to negotiate with me about the amount, because I didn’t get that much done. Unbelievable. I explained to him that we agreed on an hourly wage, not a per-job wage and that I needed the full amount of money. He put up a bit of a fight, but eventually I got what I earned. I was super stoked that I stood up for myself; I don’t think I would have before this trip. So there you go, my heart warming coming of age birthday story.

That’s about it. The rest of the day will be looking for flats, following up on jobs, and maybe even a nap if I’m lucky. Cheers.

Edinburgh

2005-11-01T18:51:00.000Z

Edinburgh is cool

Yeah so this town rocks. It is super laid back, has a great vibe, lots of culture, and the people are very friendly. It’s basically everything I thought London was going to be. It’s also a lot smaller than London, and infinitely easier to get around (I’ve only used my map once) as there was actual planning that went into the making of the city. Last night there was some kind of Halloween/ Fall celebration. I really couldn’t make sense of it, but there was a big performance on a stage in the middle of the town square and about 1000 people in attendance. It was pretty cool, and certainly would have been more so if I had known what was going on.

I’m Kinda Sick
Well, I’ve been fighting off the Crazy Euro Flu sense I got here, and it seems to be catching up with me now. I’m poppin’ vitamins like there’s no tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll stay healthy for a bit longer.

I’m Kinda Employed
I walked into this bike rental place and asked about a job today, and he said that he needs someone, but only for a very limited amount of hours a week. The upside is that the guy who runs it is super chill, the downside being that the shop is VERY unorganized. He has basically given me free reign over the shop though, so that is cool. He’s also going to pay me in cash so it’ll be under the table, which another plus for me. Other good news on the job front is the woman who runs the BUNAC branch up here is friends with the assistant manager at one of the bigger bike shops in town so there is a possible in there as well. We’ll see, could be good.

I Might Have a Place to Live
I’m going to check out a flat right now. It’s really cheap and has two bedrooms, so I’m kinda suspicious, but we’ll see. If I do get it, I could get a flatmate and have VERY cheap rent. Could be good.

So that’s all for now, things are looking good for Will in Edinburgh, so stay posted.

P.S. Here are some pictures from St. Andrews.

Scotland

2005-10-30T16:21:00.000Z

Lose the watch, dude…

Well an already long 12hr bus ride turned into an even longer 15hr bus ride, teaching me a very important lesson about British busses—never, ever, even for a little bit, believe the bus driver when he tells you how long your trip will take. I felt for a bit like I was in Africa or India or something…you’re going to get where you need to go eventually, but just don’t look at your watch while you’re in transit. Ok, so comparing it to India might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was frustrating for sure. The upside was I got to catch up on sleep, which was definitely good.

Good Times…

We’ve been having a lot of fun—the weather has held for the most part, with just the occasional bit of rain here and there. The people here are super cool—it’s definitely a change of pace from London. The outdoors are much more accessible here, so we’ve been exploring the town (which dates back to the 1400’s), camping on the beach (which was a bit cold, but totally worth it), and just lazing around. I’ve been catching up on some reading (Kerouac, who has proven to be a very fitting companion), and recharging my batteries for a full assault on Edinburgh. I’ve done some research on it, and it sounds like a super cool city—very artsy, and it sounds like they have a pretty close-knit community. There’s a university in the town too, so there should be plenty of people my own age. I have my hopes up for sure, so we will see how it goes.

The Pound is Killing Me…

I just took a look at my bank account and added up my expenses sense I’ve been here—it’s a bit shocking how expensive it is to travel here…I feel like I’ve been very good about my spending habits, but the pound will be my demise if I’m not careful. I will feel good when I get a job and start earning pounds, it’ll be nice to be on a bit more of a level playing field.

Well that is the lowdown for now. It’s back to hostel living for me for a bit, but hopefully I’ll like Edinburgh and be able to settle down…Wish me luck.

Goodbye London!

2005-10-30T15:23:00.000Z

Just so this is in context, I wrote this a few days ago on the bus ride from London to St. Andrews… I’ve been without wireless internet for the past couple of days, hence the delay. Wireless is proving to not be as popular as it is back home, but I did just recently find out that Seattle is one of the top three places in the US to get wireless. Regardless of the internet situation, I have still been writing, so you have some reading to keep you busy for a bit.

Well, I’m on a bus headed up to Scotland as I’m writing this…going far, far away from London.

London’s a crazy city let me tell ya. It’s ridiculously big and so expansive; it’s really quite overwhelming once you wrap your mind around it, and even that takes a couple days. It’s also impossible to get around easily if you don’t know it—the tube is expensive, but very straight forward, but hit the streets and it’s a whole ‘nother ball game. Coming from NYC, I thought I had the big city thing all wrapped up, but turns out that was just the minor leagues—London is the big time. The streets have no logical course or direction; the words “total chaos” comes to mind. It felt like I spent my whole time in London going in giant circles around where I wanted to be. Thank god for the A-Z (pronounced A to Zed), a map of London in a small book with a giant index that contains every single street, courtyard, etc…I would have been totally screwed so many times without it.

I did get to see some cool stuff in the past couple of days: Islington is super cool, it kinda flies under the radar tourist wise, so it was quiet and quirky—lots of small funky shops, etc. Camden was a BIG touristy version of Islington—hundreds of small shops, huge street markets (your #1 source for $10 Gucci sunglasses and other knockoff designer wear), and quirky restaurants. There were also quite a few record shops that were super cool. There were actually real LPs from all genres, and some cool rare mixes that were awesome.

So that was my London experience. It was not as grand as I thought it was going to be—maybe I set my expectations a bit too high, but I don’t really think so. I just never felt like I connected to it on any level—I know that takes time in any city, but I’ve been to other cities where I’ve been at least comfortable. Maybe I tried to see too much, too fast, or maybe it’s just a case of small town boy meets big city. Who knows. I’ll give it another chance, but for now, I’m going to check out other parts of Britain…

…Starting with Edinburgh, which is actually all the way up in Scotland. I have a friend going to St. Andrews, so I’ll been visiting her all weekend. Should be fun, and the weather is supposed to be good, so maybe I’ll get a taste of fresh air!

A day late, nothing short

2005-10-27T01:10:00.000+01:00

This report is from yesterday as I couldn't find reliable internet yesterday, and don't have time tonight. I'll combine today and tomorrow next time and be all caught up, don't even worry about it.

London, hell yeah!

So after the loooong trip from the plane through the airless airport and tube (subway), I walked out into the—yes hold your breath—SUNSHINE of England! Icing on the cake, I say. I said a “London, hell yeah” to myself on the street and started my day. I decided to get all of the touristy stuff out of the way today, leaving me two full days for real exploring. I first hit the V and A museum—an alarmingly vast and 99% free treasure trove of all kinds of art. From ancient glass bottles to modern architecture to delicate textiles to life size plaster replicas of Michelangelo’s “David” and on and on. Every time I got tired of being there, I’d turn to go out the door and stumble on another incredible exhibit. Did I mention it was free? Incredible. From there, I braved the fanny packs and camera phones and went to more classic London tourist stops: I walked through Hyde park to Buckingham Palace, cruised down to see Big Ben, hopped on the tube and saw London Tower and London Bridge. After that I walked into the city and saw St. John’s Cathedral. Whew. Glad it’s out of my system. I’m looking forward to seeing the “real” London tomorrow.

Hyde Park is beautiful!

Big Ben with the quintessential and ubiquidous (ha! Two big words in one sentence!) doule decker bus.

London Bridge

I ate here, it was a classic English pub.

Red Eye O' Rama

2005-10-25T20:20:00.000+01:00

Here at last!

After a long flight, I am finally here. It feels so good let me tell ya. The flight went pretty well—I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, wasn’t hassled at security, and was able to use the free airport internet to nail down some last minute things. My seatmates were “interesting”: To my right was a couple that had a series of “nothing fights” (“get your arm off the armrest” “No. I was here first, that’s the rule” “Oh stop, just take it off” “NO. I said I was here first…”). The lady was also a fabulous critic of the in flight magazine; notable quotes were “look at the smile on that lady, so fake…can you believe it? They all have such fake smiles” and, “Can you believe that sculpture, what a bloody piece of crap, must have been cheap”. The woman to my left was quiet enough, but I spent the night fighting a silent battle for armrest space. In the end, I didn’t sleep a wink, looks like I have a long day of doppios ahead of me. I really need to get my act together and figure out what I want to do today. I think I’ll spend the morning in the Kensington/ Chelsea area, take a short nap at the hostel, then head across town to The City to check out some of the super touristy stuff. Or I could just head north, and check out some of the art galleries, or check out some ideas I have for places to live and work, or spend the day strolling around the many local parks. The possibilities are endless…I have London at my fingertips…I must go. Later.

Just Chillin'

2005-10-24T04:12:00.000+01:00

So yesterday we drove north to the country to visit my uncle and his family. It’s always nice going out there—it’s super rustic; the air is clean, there is lots of wildlife, etc. My uncle just finished building his house out of materials he harvested from his 60 acres. It turned out very nice. He also is raising a flock of sheep—please see the pictures below.

Today was pretty mellow: hung out with family again, and then drove back down to my Grandma’s. Tomorrow is the Big Day!! I don’t fly out until 8pm though so I’ll have plenty of time in the morning to sleep in and get my stuff together. I’m super stoked, next post will be from London!

This was a classic New England Church we saw on the way up.

A picturesque farm we saw on the way up.

We were there for feeding time, the sheep came running from all over when the heard us with the food.

They were anxious to get to the food, I guess.

This guy was pretty friendly.

The ram was huuuge, and check out his horns!

Rollin'

2005-10-22T15:28:00.000+01:00

I did a lot of driving today, which was ok because I got to borrow my grandma's super sweet car. I Went up and visited family north of my grandma’s, then continued 2.5hrs further north and am currently staying with my Mom’s family. It’s beautiful up here. I guess the fall foliage isn’t as brilliant as it usually is, but it sure looks nice to me. Tomorrow I head further north to visit more family, so I am really making the rounds.
I’m getting more and more excited about getting over to Europe, it’s going to be good times for sure. Going to NYC by myself gave me a nice bit of confidence, and now I can see that I will be able find/ fake/ forge my way around just fine when I’m across the pond. Last night, my grandma's friend from London came over for dinner and gave me the insider scoop on where to go and what to see; and not just in London, but all of England! Needless to say I am stoked. I also have a bit more direction now, which is nice.

And now, just to drag this out a bit longer…more NYC pictures!!!

This super cool globe was outside of Trump Tower, on the south (I think) side of Columbus Circle.

And this is Columbus Circle, the picture is a bit blurry, but you get the idea.

The Café of the Day is this place. It’s cool because it’s underground.

The garden of the day is this one. Another one of those cool inner city community project deals.

I took this because I liked the way the street looked, but I think the dude pushing the cart across the street really makes it.

Chillin'

2005-10-21T02:48:00.000+01:00

Another relaxing day: I slept in a bit, played some more pool (it’s great to get some practice in before I hit the pubs of England), ran errands, helped grandma with chores. The weather is still nice, the beach is still beautiful, and I am enjoying every last ray of sunshine knowing that there will be many rainy days ahead. Tomorrow I am borrowing my grandma’s car and heading up to see more family in VT. Should be fun, and it'll be nice to see the foliage.

More Pictures…
That’s right there are more, and here you go…
New Yorkers apparently love their gardens, and as mentioned before that is fine by me. Here's a couple:

This is a cool boulevard on the Hudson that looked new. I definitely got a wierd look from the dudes in the foreground when I took the picture.

Seems to me like a New Yorker motto is, “if it doesn’t look good, hide it with plywood and ads” see below:

These I just like:

Recovery

2005-10-20T04:14:00.000+01:00

I’m Sore. And yes I mean that with a capital S. At least I got a great night of sleep last night and have had good meals all day today. Today was pretty mellow: played pool with my grandma, checked out the fall foliage, went to the beach. It was a perfect day of recuperation. I went through my bag today and tried to get rid of stuff. The best I could manage was a sweater, a tee shirt and a magazine. I’m bummed. I am going to have a smaller bag sent to me, so hopefully that will shift the load around so that is easier to carry. I’m stretching it here, I know.

Pictures!!!

Yes I downloaded pictures so you can all see what I saw, only it won’t be as cool. Sorry.

Thought this cafe looked cool.

I really like the colors of the apartments, if I didn't have to stand in the middle of the road to take the picture, it could have been better.

This dude was just chillin' in the middle of the sidewalk in the sun. People walked around him. Looked nice.

Thats all the pictures for now. I'll post more when I get them sorted.

Takin' a Bite From the Big Apple

2005-10-19T08:18:00.000+01:00

SoHo Rocks…

Took the subway south to Houston and Broadway for some exploring. First on the list was SoHo, which as mentioned before, rocks. Small cobbled streets, tall brick buildings posh shops, and quaint cafes all added to the very Euro atmosphere. I stopped in on a very cool art exhibit by the Artist-Craftsman Alliance of New York. The Alliance is essentially an artist cooperative, which I am all about. I think I was the first person to view the exhibit, even the curator said she hadn’t had a chance to look at the collections.

Tourist Trap

I was excited to see Little Italy, and, unfortunately, Little Italy was all too happy to see me. The many, many tour busses were my initial tip off, but I chugged on, hopping to see something really Italian. You know, like a Truman Capote or at least a Euro cologne shop or a pair of tight jeans, or someone speaking Italian. Instead I saw gift shops, wood fire pizza and super expensive Italian restaurants, and…tourists. I checked it off my list and continued on to Chinatown.

It's What's for Dinner...

The Chinese really do eat anything. Especially if it comes from the sea—turtles anyone? Dried squid? Fish heads? Giant snail things? You know what else is weird about Chinatowns worldwide, and I am convinced that this is a worldwide phenomenon, is they all smell the same. I can’t even place it, but if you have been to one, you know what I’m talking about. Chinatown seemed to stretch on forever, and even seemed to be engulfing Little Italy in places. There is also a very funny commentary about Chinatown here.

*Now with pictures!*

Here's some pictures to better illustrate what I'm talking about food-wise; just think about talking a biiiggg juicy bite of these things...

My Pack is too heavy.

That’s really all I have to say, I will have to work on figuring out what I don’t need. I didn’t pack a TON, but it’s just a bit heavy to be carrying around day after day. Of course the most glaring excess is my laptop, which besides adding weight to my pack adds a security liability. It is VERY convenient though, so I think I will suffer its weight in silence. The good thing about having a heavy pack in NYC is you are forced to stop once in a while. For me this meant I got to people watch at a few of the cool inner city parks, which seem to be everywhere. Definitely earns Will’s Seal of Approval.

Did someone say art?

I think the Chelsea district did. After a very cheap and very tasty lunch at the Chelsea Market (used to be the Oreos factory), I headed up to the Chelsea art district. There is a cumulative twelve blocks of art galleries. Seriously, and that is a conservative estimate. There is everything from Andy Warhol to Student exhibitions. I was impressed for sure. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and didn’t see even half of what is there.

Central Park…in the dark.
So yeah it was dark by the time I made it up to central park. So it was kinda sketchy. I pussed out and just walked along the main drag through the park. However, it was super cool to see the hundreds of dedicated cyclists and runners getting in some after work exercise. It was a really nice evening, but it still blew me away at the amount of people out there. I actually got in quite a workout of my own as I got lost and had to find my way back to the subway so I could make my train out of the city. It all worked out in the end, but I am super tired and very sore right now. Think I’ll call it a night.

Touch down...

2005-10-18T14:17:00.000+01:00

Fun With New York’s Mass Transit...

So I get off the plane and realize that I need to get out of the airport. After quickly and efficiently learning that I need to take the AirTrain to the E subway, I start following signs. But then they stop, and I’m left to spin circles on the sidewalk until I spot the terminal wayyyy over on the other side of the airport. Whatever. Getting on the subway was no problem, except that we were stopped waiting for other trains for probably 45min. That sucked. What didn’t suck was I got to my hostel no problem, and found the room to be super clean with its own bathroom.

And Rock and Roll….

What also didn’t suck was I went to a concert last night. I just walked three blocks out of my hostel and, just as I was wondering what to do with myself, I saw a sign on Madison Square Gardens for Franz Ferdinand. I haaaad to go inside and find out when it was; and, as they say, the rest is history. They rocked all night, playing songs from their first and second album, as well as a 4 or 5 song encore in which they went nuts…there were three people on drums at on point (the stage hands helped out) and they really seemed to be enjoying what they were doing.

All for now, Will

And I'm off...

2005-10-18T13:46:00.000+01:00

Well I haven’t updated this blog for a while, but now I’m off so hopefully you should be hearing more from me now.

Yes that’s right, you heard me, I’m off. You, my reader, have a front row seat as I am sipping black airline coffee while writing this from the cruising altitude of a Boeing 757 headed to JFK. I’ll have a one-week layover on the east coast to visit NYC, family, and make the 8hr time change a bit easier to handle. Then next week I will head over to London with my 6 month work permit and see if I can’t make a living for myself over there, and have a bit of fun while I’m at it.

The Bad, The Good, and the wonders of airport security….
Yeah so I got to the airport and get in line for my ticket. All is good. I then realize that the automated check-in lines are moving much faster than mine, so I move over. I proceed to get into the slowest line, only to learn that I can’t check in because I have an International flight. OK. Back over to the other line. Of course I’m standing next to the screaming baby (and complimentary screaming mother). However, the Gods of Airline Travel rewarded me for my efforts with a front exit row window seat, so it was all worth it. Proceed to “security” where my backpack and I were selected at random to be searched “extra special”. After first trying to give my bag and laptop to another traveler, they scanned my bag no less than three times, and confiscated my lighter. They then scanned me, and after checking underneath the waistband of my pants for whatever you hide under the waistband of your pants, they let me go, though it seemed to me this was only because there was a supervisor yelling at all the workers to hurry up, and keep the line moving. What a clusterfuck. Oh well, the rest of the trip to the aircraft was uneventful… More later, Will

Introduction

2005-03-09T06:12:00.000Z

So. This is my blog. The format needs some work, but it will have to do until I can figure out how to make a new one.
But on to my plans: I decided yesterday that I would leave for Europe in the fall, probably around October. I will live and work in London with a 6 month blue card that I can get through a company called BUNAC. After that, I don't know--maybe I'll stay in Europe for the Tour de France, doing a tour of ancient cities while I bide my time. Maybe I'll take the Trans Siberian/ Mongolian Railroad across Russia and Mongolia, eventually ending up in S.E. Asia. Maybe I'll come home (yeah right!). There are a lot of options, but I'll keep all-y'all up to date.
Now, more about myself: I'm good looking, intelligent, and hilariously funny ;o) Actually, I'm just a normal high school senior with big plans, no money, and an unquenchable thirst for recklessness. I am always outdoors--I love backpacking, any kind of cycling, snowboarding, the usual. I also have quite the dorky streak--I am an avid reader, wannabe poet, and I spend way too much time on the computer. I try to keep up on new music, and I like all forms; some of my favorite groups are in my profile, check it out. All for now...

2005-03-09T06:09:00.000Z