BootsnAll Travel Network



The Final Day!

December 19th, 2006

I told you all I would give you an account of the final day so I did not want to disappoint…Here goes nothing.

7:02 – Buzz…Buzzz…Buzz – My Alarm Clock went off

7:03 – After sitting in bed for a few minutes I remembered how one of the guys in the dorm snored so bad all night and kept me up.

7:04 – Ripped a huge Rooster Fart hoping to wake everyone up in the dorm. My last official goodbye to all the people I had to share dorm rooms with. For those of you who do not know what a rooster fart is let me explain. It is one of those farts that quickly gets brewed up upon being awake. I guess if it smells bad enough you are forced to get up and get in the shower. This particular rooster fart had more sounds than a symphony orchestra and I honestly hope it woke people up.

7:05 – For whatever reason I got this song in my head, “All my life, watching in America…All my life, theres panic in America.” Now I had not heard this song in ages and I wonder how the hell it got into my head on the day I was finnally flying back to America. There are strange things at work in my head…perhaps I should stop smoking doobies.

7:11 – Hit the shower…Holy Crap, there is hot water and water pressure. For a country that gets more rain than any place I have been in the world they are pretty frugal with the water. Most of the showers in Ireland that I used have just one button that you push and that keeps the water on for about 10 seconds and then you have to continue to push it during the shower. They also dont have controls to adjust the water temperature. If it is cold, then tough crap, you have to deal with it.

7:30 – Got out of the shower and realized it was about 7:30 and crapped myself because my bus to the airport left at 8 and I had not had all of my stuff packed up. I had to drag all of my stuff outside of the room because I was kind enough not to turn the light on. Keep in mind the sun does not come up at this time of year in Ireland until about 830 or so.

7:45 – Literally sprinting down the street to the bus station. If I missed the bus I could have caught a later one but I didn’t want to excercise that option.

7:48 – Get to the bus, buy my ticket and realize it is only 7:48, crudbugglers! I then punch myself in the face and realize that I hate buses and I hate all of you!

8:00 – Bus Departs and I give one quick check in my bag to make sure I have my wallet and my passport and I cannot find them, I left them at the hostel….Hahahah, just kidding, I didn’t.

8:01 – 9:30 – Spent the time on the bus reminiscing about the trip. Remembering all the places I had been and people I had met. I also heard that “Watching America” song again.

9:45 – Walked into the bathroom at the airport and had to brush my teeth and shave. I was supposed to do it at the hostel but because I ran out of time I got to do it in the airport. I felt like Tom Hanks character in Terminal. Shaving at the airport and brushing my teeth, what have I done with my life? I should have told people I was from Krakozia, maybe they would have understood.

10:02 – Checked in on one of the little computer screens and then handed my bag off at the desk…Woo Hoo, I dont have to carry that stupid bag anymore!

10:07 – Had a look at a few of the shops and realized yet again how ridiculously over priced Ireland and Europe is.

10:13 – Took of all my clothes and ran around the airport naked screaming: “The Apocalypse is coming…the Apocalypse is coming…Save yourselves…Save yourselves!”

10:43 – Was told by security that even after my outburst I would still be allowed to fly home, I think mostly because they didn’t want to deal with me.

11:30 – Watched the BBC news for the 15th time and could pretty much recite verbatim. Then asked myself why the hell did Aer “Cunnie” Lingus ask me to get to the airport 3.5 hours early.

12:00 – Went through security and pretty much had to get naked again to go through. They were a bit suspicious about me and gave me a cavity search, not a bady way to finish the trip I will tell you that.

12:15 – Got rid of my last few Euros at the duty free and heard the announcement that people on the Boston flight were needed to head to the immigration line.

12:16 – Filled out the wrong form and had to go back and fill out another, luckily I realized this before I got into line.

12:45 – Got to the front of the line and was called forward. Now on the form it asks you how many countries you have visited on this trip out of the United States…well it has been about 30 or so. There is not enough room on the sheet to list more than one…”All my life, retards in America….All my life, flipping burgers in America.” So the lady looked at me and asked me what countries I had been to and I told her about 30 or so. “Well we need to know which ones…well what continents?” she finnally said. I listed the continents and then got grilled about what countires in asia, and how long has it been since I’ve been there and what countries in Africa and how long as hit been since I’ve been there. Apparently carrying a U.S. passport meant nothing to these miserable losers working immigration. I know their job sucks, I would not want it but perhaps a smile and a “how are you” would make people feel a little more at ease. Now dont get me wrong I like the fact they are being safe but it seems a bit much. On the U.S. immigration sign it says, “Keep our doors open and our borders safe.” It should say, “Give us your F*cken passport and if we are in a good mood we will let you in.”

1:00 – Got my duty free items. If they are liquid they wont let you take them out of the shop and you have to get them at the gate.

1:25 – The plane finnally took off and I was on my way.

1:40 – Started chatting with the gentlemen next to me. Told him about my trip and then he proceeded to tell me no one would hire me at a job anywhere because I have been out of the country for 8 months and that they would assume I would go traveling again and therefore not waste their time. I got a little excited at this news flash and then grabbed his balls and got up in his face and said…”I am on this flight for two reasons, to chew bubble gum and kick some ass, and right now I am all out of Bubble Gum.”

1:41 – 8:00 – (Disclaimer: These time are Irish, I will switch back once I land.) During this time I read my book, watched “Talladega Nights” with Will Farrell. Got to listen to the guy next to me tell me how he just had a revelation and he was going to go and quit his job next week and go traveling…Do you see the impact I have on peoples lives? It is amazing.

3:02 – Touched down in Boston…I cannot tell you how wierd this felt. Back in the states, but it felt like it was another foreign country.

3:25 – Waited forever for my bag…dropped some tear gas to make the crowd disperse so I could make it to the front where the bags were dropping onto the thingy or whatever it is called. Then had a tear trickle down my face when I saw my bag drop.

3:26 – Gave my customs form to the guy. He gave me a look of disguist, pretty much like most girls do when I say hello, and then said, “How long have you been out of the country?” “Aaah, 8 months sir.” The he looked me up and down again and realized he did not want to search my stuff for fear that he would actually have to do something at his job and then waved me forward with the paper in his hand and said, “Bye.” Walked through and spotted my folks…Woo hoo, got a big hug from Mom and Dad. Then I dropped my things and ran around the airport terminal again yelling…”Merry Christmas…Merry Christmas you old Starbucks…Merry Christmas Burger King…” OK, that did not happen.

The rest of the night was spent at home relaxing and enjoying the nice quiet sounds of a house without strangers. I went to bed at midnight and awoke at 6:30 in the morning…I hate jet lag.

Anway, Andrew Smithers has now arrived in Boston. Me and Andy shared quite a few adventures in Asia together and are gonna take over Beantown. Perhaps there could be another blog entry because of it…Stay Tuned!

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Thanks to Everyone…See you Soon!

December 16th, 2006

I have spent the last few days enjoying the rain, wind and overcast skies of the Emerald Isle. Until today I didn’t think that the sun even made it’s way out from behind the clouds here but today, I finnally got a look at her.  I was in Killarney on Wednesday and Thursday and at no time did it stop raining.  I did not get to see the Ring of Kerry so I will have to take everyones word that it is really beautiful.  I spent most of my days in Killarney watching reading, or watching television.  I watched a fun episode of Rickey Lake where people confessed to their lovers that they were cheating on them…why I just admitted that to you I am not quite sure.  When people ask me what I liked most about Ireland it will probably not be the Rickey Lake show.

I hoped on a bus on Friday morning and headed north to Galway.  Galway is a pretty little city.  I havent had much time to look around as I headed down to the Cliffs of Moher today, very beautiful.  We got great weather and were probably very lucky to have had that.

Tomorrow I wake up early to catch my 2 hour bus ride to Shannon Airport where I will catch my flight to Boston.  After over 8 months it is finnally coming to an end.  All the places I have seen and people I have met along the way have made it such an amazing experience and have taught me so much.  I am very excited to be coming home tomorrow and to seeing everyone, hopefully you will be excited to see me, or at least pretend to be.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to the blog and to those who emailed me.  It made my journey very special to know people were following it from home.  This will not be the last official post as who knows what will happen tomorrow.  I will try to give an hour by hour account of my adventure returning home tomorrow that I will post on Monday.  I also have lots of pictures to post on my photo page and I will do that this week as well.

For those of you who may remember, Andy, the douchebag I traveled with in Asia, is coming to Boston for a few days so technically I will pretend that my trip is continuing for those few days.

Goodbye to you all and in the words of Bono from U2:

“I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

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Eye Your Land!

December 12th, 2006

When I thought of this title I felt that in some way there may be more meaning to it…who knows!

Before I get into my first few days in Ireland I want to say a few things. Have any of you ever had a moment where the light bulb just went off? You had some kind of revelation and it all just made sense? You looked up at the sky and to yourself went:

“Aaaaaaah…Now I get it!!!”

Part of the reason for my trip, or maybe most of the reason for my trip was to do a little “self discovery”, perhaps a little “soul searching”, call it “finding myself” if you will. I guess we all have questions about ourselves that we may or may not try to seek the answer to. I have questions everyday that I swear I may never be able to answer. I had tons of questions before I left on my trip and I probably answered a few but now I have tons more. However, with all that being said, it took me til my 27th, and final country for most of it to all make sense…Thank You Ireland…Now I get it!

Arriving in Ireland now and having spent a few days has helped me make sense of alot. These are my people. Never has the light bulb been so bright. I now know where the attitude, vengefulness, sarcastic witty sense of humor comes from.

My first two days were spent in Dublin…I will give all of you credit who warned me to get out! Well let it be known that I am out, I am now in Cork. Dublin is what it is, a big city. I couldn’t tell you the exact number of piles of puke I saw about on the side of the road but lets just say I stopped counting after the first few hours. I spent my first night out with my friend Kevin. Kevin is the guy who got stuck with me at his house for 2 and a half weeks in Scotland. We went out and tossed back a few guinnesses with a few other guys that he knew through his work. The Guinness really does taste better here and for €5 it better.

I am sorry to say I did not to any of the tourist attractions in Dublin. I was tempted to see the Guinness Brewery but after buying a few of them at the Pub felt like I didnt want to give them any more money to those worthless scumbags…I will remember you guinness and your outrageous prices….I will remember! Trinity College looked nice but since they wont let my brother Tom in their exchange program I hope they rot in hell…those F*cken bastards!

You see?…it is happening….I can feel the transformation…my bitterness, it is growing stronger…my ability to curse is so much more enhanced…My power to hate people or things who really have done nothing to me at all is incredible….I feel like Popeye after 10 cans of Spinach now that I am in Ireland.

Ok, I will be serious for a moment! To be completely honest Dublin is not that horrible but it is not the real Ireland, it is becoming a very international city. You see people from all walks of life calling it home. As long as the beer is still coming out of the taps and homeless drunks and are still screaming at passers by and traffic it will be an exciting place to visit. Funny story…I passed a homeless guy while walking down the street and he was yelling at this guy walking next to me who had no hair….

#Get a f*cken haircut you bastard.”

The guy either did not hear him or did not care…I laughed a little bit!

After the two days of excitement in Dublin I headed southwest to Cork. I am spending two nights here. Today I went to Kiss the Blarney stone at Blarney Castle…you gotta kiss the Blarney stone if you are in Ireland. Sadly enough it was my first kiss, not with a rock, but with anything. Even worse there was an old man holding me during my first kiss, how is that for a memory? Oh wait, i gave him a tip after as well…what is my life coming too?

Kissing the Blarney Stone is not what I expected. You climb to the top of this castle and there is a spot where this guy is sitting. He has a few pads on the ground and you go over and sit on the pads and lie back. The Old man holds on to your chest a little. You grab two bars behind your head and arch your neck all the way back so you can reach down and kiss the stone, kind of awkward.

This afternoon I returned to my hostel and had a baguette with cheese on it, tasty! The lady running the hostel was putting up a xmas tree. She is a very nice lady, probably about 40 or so. She was sitting quietly in the living room and untangling christmas lights. I sat quietly at the kitchen table a few feet away watching her mess with the lights. Pretty much on cue I heard this about every 10 seconds.

“F*ck…F*cken Lights…F*cken Hell! (Here in Ireland it sounds like this…Fook!)

Then she would look up at me and smile and say with a pretty irish accent:

“Ya didn hear dat.”

I think the F word was invented in Ireland because I have heard it more here than in any place I have ever been in my life. There is another word they say quite often as well, that word begins with a “C” and that is as far as I will go. I cringe when I hear that word, I don’t like it much at all.

Tomorrow I am off to Killarney. I am going to spend two days there before heading up to Gallway and then to Shannon Airport on Sunday for my flight home. I will update as much as possible here in Ireland. Keep up the reading, we are almost at the end!

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Ease hiS…pain!

December 8th, 2006

Hola Amigos…Como Estas? I think when I last left you all I was in the beautiful and lovely city of Paris. After Paris I returned to the land of Tapas, Paella and Flamenco dancing that is Spain and my favorite city, Barcelona. Why did I come back?…well, I simply could not get enough. Actually I came back because my flight to Dublin was out of Madrid and I basically had no choice. I booked that flight to Dublin from Madrid before I decided to go to Amsterdam, Brussels and France so it was out of the question not to return.

So I had 4 days in Barcelona to have one last look at a city that I enjoyed so much. What is hard not to like about being in sandals and a t-shirt in December? Walking down by the waterfront that is lined with palm trees watching boats sail in and out…how can you complain? Getting lost in the maze of streets and listening to people shout in spanish, at each other across balconies lined with laundry. What is not to like abuot getting asked if you want Hash about 10 times a day by the same few guys standing outside your hostel… simply magical…not quite as magical as the Hash itself but nonetheless….kidding mom!

I would have to say that the two weeks in spain dramatically improved my Spanish. The hardest thing is understanding people who speak like auctioneers. I swear sometimes they are purposely trying to speak as fast as possible. Perhaps you people remember the commerical they used to have in the states for these things called “Micro-Machines.” They were like little toy cars or something. The guy in that commerical did not speak half as fast as the people here speak. I made a huge effort to speak spanish. In Barcelona the officialy language is Catalunya, not even spanish, but luckily they all speak it (Spanish) and understand it.

I always hated it when I got the nerve to ask someone something in Spanish and then got a response back in Spanish that I didnt understand and then had to give them that hopeless look as if to say, “I tried? However what you said meant absolutley nothing to me..No Comprendo!.”

The spanish in Spain is a little different from the Spanish I learned in school…or tried to learn in school, don’t learn too much sleeping in class. Most of us learned Mexican spanish. I guess it would be like comparing American english to British English:

“I mean like…ya know…like…yeah, whatever.”

“Of course darling…don’t be absurd.”

Now in Barcelona I did have a visitor. This visitor is one that I honestly hope I never have again. The nightmares that I will have due to this visitor are gonna make for alot of sleepless nights. This unwelcomed visitor is cold, calculating and manipulating in ways that would make anyones skin crawl. They pretend they like you and use you for what they need and then have no problem jumping into bed with someone else when they are tired of you. If I never see this visitor again I will be one happy guy…no question about it. This visitor of course is…

BED BUGS….AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! (Insert sound..Da Da Daaaaah!)

I woke up at 4 in the morning and could not stop itching. I noticed a few bites the previous couple of days but went too bed too drunk to realize…I guess! When I felt the itching I turned on the lights to realize there was quite a few of these guys crawling around the bed. Because it was so late there was no one at the reception I could complain to so I had to go and sleep on a couch out in the lounge area. I guess I was the only one who got them cause no one else complained. Finnally the next morning I spoke with the guy who was running the hostel and he was very apologetic and gave me a free nights accomodation…good enough!

It will certainly not be my lasting memory of Barcelona. However, think about this for a moment. Two of my favorite places on my trip were Borneo and Barcelona. Both places I got Bed Bugs. There are alot of B’s in there for it not to be a coincidence. Now I am going home in a week to Boston…Nooooooooooo!

So after Barcelona I hoped on a bus and came to Madrid. My expectations were high as I had so much fun in Barcelona I thought things could only get better…well they didn’t. Madrid has been cold, and rainy. No palm trees, or warm ocean breezes. I felt like I had been betrayed when I arrived. Just a big city like all the rest. I guess it took me this long to realize that I have been going to all the big cities in Europe and not really enjoying myself but when I get out of them I did enjoy myself…I guess that is the best advice I can give. Everyone talks about how the big cities are great, and they are right, some of them are, but it is not until you get out of them that you truly realize what a country and it’s people are like.

I am now down to my last few hours here on mainland Europe. I will fly to Dublin in the morning where I will finish the last week of my journey, hard to believe. It seems like only a few weeks ago Jeff was dropping me off late at the Airport. Seems like only yesterday that I was saying goodbyes to people and looking forward to the amazing adventures that awaited me. In just over a week I will be saying Hello’s to all of you who I said goodbye too and I am really getting excited about it. I have had a fun time here in Europe. I guess it was not as exciting as all the other places I visited but it made me realize how great my trip really has been. I am not one to gloat or brag but there is one thing I have really enjoyed about Europe. I have met so many Americans here in Europe, mostly students who are out of the country for the first time. They love telling people about how they are studying abroad and living here or there. They really enjoy telling people how they are so cultured and know so much, and perhaps some of them do. The best is when they ask me my story and I tell them I have been around the world and been away for 8 months. The look on their faces is funny. Like, “Oh, that is better than what I am doing.” I have spent alot of time telling people about how great the places were that I visted and showing people pictures as well. I know I will be doing alot of that when I go home as well, which will be fun.

So wish me luck on my last week and I look forward to seeing you all when I return. I will do my best to make sure my last week is as exciting as possible. I am now off to sleep at the airport tonight as there is no accomodation here in Madrid because of a holiday…great planning on my part.

See you all soon,

Brian

P.S. First one who knows what I am referencing with my title wins an award…I thought it was quite a clever one!

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Viva La France!

December 1st, 2006

I am gonna come right out and say it…I really liked Paris…there…you happy now? What a beautiful city! One of the cities that truly lives up to its reputation. I was pleasantly surprised and left Paris wishing I had a few more days to explore this majestic beauty. It is such a great city to go for a stroll. Everywhere you look there is a beautiful statue, monument or fountain. Night time is the right time in Paris. I am sure partly because it is the holiday season but the lights were spectacular. The first thing I did was go for a stroll down the Champs Elysees. Getting a look at the Arc De Triumph was great, alot bigger than I expected. Next it was on to the Eifel Tower. One of the only really huge landmarks that I have seen on my trip that exceeded my expectations, what an amazing sight at night when it is all lit up. I couldnt stop snapping photos of it, it was so beaituful. There are so many things to see and do in Paris and since I only had a few days I had to pick the big ones. First things first I had to pay tribute to Jim Morrisson. Oddly enough the cemetery where he is burried was a short walk from my hotel. It is a bit hard to find exactly where he is. He has a small little stone that is surrounded by flowers and tshirts. The site was blocked off a bit and there were two guards standing in close proximity eyeballing every person going near it. It is meant to be one of the top attractions in Paris.

Now as I have told you before I am not much of a lover of Museums and art, I like them about as much as a fat kid likes salads but you cant go to Paris without going to the Louvre…it would be like going to a movie and not getting popcorn, it has to be done. I spent only about 2 hours as that was all my attention span would allow. Of course you have to go see the Mona Lisa, very beautiful. The rest of the paintings I kind of just strolled by and had quick glances at. I think I figured out why I dont like the artwork so much. It is all religious. I know that was what people were painting during that time but to me it all looks the same after a while. I ended up going to look at the Egyptian exhibit, that was nice. All the old sculptures and artifacts were great. I have always wanted to go Egypt and see the pyramids and to get a little taste of it was really enjoyable. Now even if you loved art it would probably take days to see all the Louvre has to offer. It has to be the best collection of artwork in the world and is presented in such a nice way. I was quite impressed overall and would definitely go back and have a look around.

One of the other things I enjoyed was having a look at the Notre Dame Cathedral. What a huge church. It was free to go in and have a look inside. Huge ceilings and sculptures all around, well done. On my last day I decided to climb the Eifel Tower. I walked up to the 2nd observatory, that was quite tough and then took the elevator to the top…wawaweewah! Lets just say my palms were a wee bit sweaty. It offers the best panoramic view of paris, you can see everything. I didn’t stay up there too long as I knew I would feel better on solid ground.

The rest of my time in Paris was spent walking around and taking it all in. I probably walked more in Paris then in any other city, a good 5 hours a day, easily. The people in Paris were quite friendly, not rude at all. They all spoke english and where quite helpful for the most part.

I had a bit of an adventure flying from Paris to Barcelona. I flew with Ryan Air and paid about $25 for my flight to Barcelona. The problem with Ryan Air is that they only fly out of small airports outside of the big cities. I had to get up early yesterday morning and flag down a taxi to get to the bus station by 6 A.M. From there it took 1 hour to get to Beauvais Airport. After waiting for 2 hours my flight got cancelled due to fog and I had to wait til 10 last night to catch the next one. I went into the town of Beauvais for the day and had a look around. I didnt arrive in Barcelona until almost 2 in the morning, so I am a bit tired. However I wanted to give you all an update and that is what I did. I hope you appreciate my dedication.

So now I have slightly over 2 weeks to go. I can see the light at the end of the tunnell…and through that light is my dad walking towards me and telling me my shoes dont belong in front of the door and that they need to be put away…geesh! Anyway I am excited to be coming home and seeing everyone and being unemployed.

I’ve posted more photos as well…Enjoy!

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There are no Brussel Sprouts in Brussels!

December 1st, 2006

A short 4 hour bus ride from Amsterdam and you are in Brussels. I dont really have many exciting things to say about Brussels. They have chocolate, waffles and good beer. I did meet a man who was 6 foot four and full of muscles while in Brussels, that was exciting. I spent about 2 days here. The city is really nice. There are some really beautiful buildings and one of the most beautiful squares that I have seen in Europe. I went and saw the movie Borat again…spectactular the second time around as well…Very Nice…High Five…Wawaweewah! I found a sports bar that showed some NFL games and that was a nice little treat.

The hostel in Brussels was about as nice as a Lions Den. It had a pillow that was made out of rubber or something so due to that I didnt get much sleep. I had a wierd old guy who sat on the side of his bed staring at me while I was sleeping with a wierd grin on his face as he was eating…I wonder if his name was Buffalo Bill, like in the Silence of the Lambs. As he kept staring at me I got a wee bit scared and pulled the covers over my head. All I could think of was the scene in the movie where he has the girl in the well and he screams at her:

“It puts the lotion on its skin, it does what its told.” Yeah, this guy freaked me out a bit.

That is the extent of my excitement in Brussels. I actually bought a book called “Kite Runner” and had that to entertain me while in Brussels. Never in my life had i got so into a book. I crushed this book in a matter of a day or two, it was fantastic. I highly recommend it to anyone as it is one of the best books I have read on my trip. I believe I am now into my 13th book on my trip. Here is a little book review so that I can fill up some space. I am quite proud of myself that I have read that many books in 8 months. I hadn’t read 13 books in my entire life up until this point so it really is quite an accomplishment. Without further adu here is the list in order of when I read them.

“On The Road” by Jack Kerouc. I enjoyed the book. Some of it skips around a bit and it can be hard to follow but for anyone who likes to travel or is spontaneous it is a good read.

“Whale Rider” by Witi Ihimaera. I really enjoyed this book as well. Learning about the Mauri Culture of New Zealand was quite fascinating. I would love to watch the movie as I hear that is good as well.

“Into thin Air” by John Krakauer. This was a fantastic book. I picked it up at a used bookstore and was deep into the book in no time at all. Great writing and very detailed. I give him credit for being able to write the book, don’t know if I could have.

“They Killed my Father” by Loung Ung. If this book doesnt bring you to tears then perhaps you are more manly than me. It is an account of the horrible genocide that took place in Cambodia during the late 70’s. The story is a young girls account of what happened to her and her family. It absolutely blew me away and I learned alot about something that never made it into any of my history books in school…Wow…go and read it. The author is now an advocate for helping to remove landmines in Cambodia and countries like it.
“Vietnam Now” by David Lamb. David Lamb is from Boston and during the Vietnam war was sent over as a correspondent worknig for a Washington Newspaper. He has now returned after almost 30 years to be a post war correspondent for the LA Times, I believe. He goes and reunites with people he worked with during the war and meets with war veterans both from vietnam and america and gives his perspective on how war has changed Vietnam and where it is heading. I liked the book but didnt agree with all he said. It was good to learn about the war and get a first hand account of what happened.

“Seabiscuit” by Laura Hillenbrand. I loved this book. I learned more about horse racing than I ever thought existed. I actually got a little teary eyed at the end…wow! Not sure if I want to see the movie but I probably will. I cant say enough about this book, fantastic. If i have a kid i am gonna name him seabiscuit.

“A Beautiful Mind” by Sylvia Nasar. This book was a little out of my league but I still enjoyed it. There is alot of technical science and math information and historical information about mathemeticians but once you get passed that and into the real story about John Nash it is quite remarkable. I did see the movie after I read it and was quite disappointed. It was one of the harder reads I chose but I would still recommend it.

“Veronika Decides to Die” by Paul Coelho. If you want to turn your world upside down grab any book written by this guy. I am sure most of you have read “The Alchemist,” if not, read it. I dont want to give away what happens in this book but it left me thinking and still has and I read it about 3 months ago. It was only about 200 pages but I finished it in less than a day…I loved it!

“Notes from a small Island” by Bill Bryson. If you want a good laugh Bill Bryson is always good for that. I read it before I travled to the UK and it was quite entertaining. You can never go wrong with a Bill Bryson book. Informative, opinionated, and always a few out loud laughs.

“Bio-Strike” by Tom Clancy. This is your classic world ending fiction book. I read it cause I needed something to read and it was all the book exchange at the hostel really had. It was entertaining and I cant say I didnt enjoy it but not really my cup of tea.
“Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien. I cant say I enjoyed this book that much. How someone came up with the stuff in this book is beyond me. I picked it up because everyone raves about it and thought I would give it a chance. There were some parts where I could not put it down but other parts where I was struggling. I went to the place in South Africa called Hogsback where supposedly he got the inspiration for writing the book. This place is beautful and it is what I thought of while I was reading the book. I may pick up the others eventually just to finish the story but I am not sure yet.

“Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. Like I said, this is better than good. I was a bit disappointed once I realized it is fiction, someone correct me on that if i am wrong but I dont believe it is true. Either way this guy has a gift for writing and what an amazing story he put together.

Right now I am reading, “Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown. This book has been staring me on the shelves of bookstores my whole trip and I finnally decided to buy it. You know what you are getting with Dan Brown. A very entertaining and readable story that will keep you flipping from page to page. In just one day I have read almost 200 pages so I am really enjoying it. I am hoping to pick up at least one more book and finish that before I come home…that would give me about 14 books which isn’t bad. I hope you like the recommendations and go and pick some of them up and read them if you like.

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What happens in Amsterdam…aaah…Stays in Amsterdam?

December 1st, 2006

Hello everyone! I apologize for the lack of posting in the past week. For some strange reason they like to switch the letters on the keyboard in Holland, Belgium and France…cruel Joke. The only way to type is to pretend you are a chicken and peck at the keyboard with one or two fingers…with what I have to pay for the internet…I decided against it. You have all been great as I am still getting tons of emails. I am glad that people are still reading the blog and keeping up. I only have 2 weeks to go and I will do my best to make them as exciting as possible. I am now back in the friendly confines of free internet land, Barcelona. Let me catch you up on the hap…hap…happenings of the past week and a a half.

So on tuesday the 21st I flew from Barcelona to Amsterdam. All the people you meet who have in your travels who have been to Amsterdam tell you all the stories about the red light district, the drugs etc…but you dont quite believe it until you see it… well like Davey Jones from the Monkees used to sing…”When I saw her face…Now I’m a believer.”

The face was a young lady dressed in the bare minimum standing in a window lit with red lights as I wandered down the street with a map in my hand that was held inches from my face looking for my hostel as i pretended not to notice her…Welcome to Amsterdam, i thought. As I walked further down the street I realized she was not the only one, there were lots of ladies, young, old, skinny, fat, white, black…you name it! The ultimate form of window shopping I guess.

I checked into the Hostel and had a wander. Looking around it really amazed me how everything was as people said. It is funny how you see “Coffee Shops” everywhere. If you want coffee however you go to a cafe, if you want weed or hash you go to a Coffee Shop. These places offer everything and anything under the sun except for hard drugs. You can go in and ask for a menu and they have all kinds of crazy names for the marijuana…this is all secondhand information, i dont actually know this from my own experience.

One night I was having a wander around and a young man stopped me in the street and said:

“Do you know where the Red Light District is.?”

Now keep in mind, when he asked me this the street was littered with people. I was walking through crowds of people and this guy had a radar lock on me from like 10 feet away and when he approached I hadnt the faintest clue of what he was gonna want. Now I must have gave him the impression that I am a guy who knows where to go to pay for sex, surely I hope not. He tottally caught me off guard and I think I mumbled something and pointed behind me…quite strange.

The next day me and Lee, the guy I was traveling with, ran into a Canadien guy named Alex in the lobby of our hostel. He seemed like a nice enough guy at first, that is until he started talking. Before I make fun of this guy I want to say that I am not quite sure if he was actually retarded or possibly had something wrong with him. If that is the case I apologize in advance to him but I have to make fun of him regardless.

Lee made small talk with him by asking him where he was from. This question completely baffled the guy and I swear he didnt know the answer at first.

“Aaah…Canada? Alberta?” He said with a look of confusion!

Lee, being from Australia asked him what side of Canada it was on.

“Aaaah…East Coast… yeah…East Coast?”

I knew right then and there this guy was either higher than a kite or quite possibly the stupidest person I had ever met.

We agreed, with some hesitation to go and get a beer with him. We followed him to an Irish bar that he said he know of and all three of us sat down and ordered a couple of pints of guinness. He was asking me about my travels and I had mentioned to him I had been to Africa and because of his inability to know where he was from I made a specific point of saying I was in the country of South Africa, his response:

“Oh, South Africa…you mean like Morocco, or Tangiers?” He said this with some new found geographical confidence.

“Aaah, no…” I said. “South Africa…in the south of Africa.”

“Oh…you mean like Ghana.” He said as if he was apologizing for mentioning Morocco and Tangiers, like he should have known.

Once again I informed him that he was incorrect and that he would not be a contestant on todays showcase showdown.

“South Africa is the name of a country…it is in the southern most part of the continent of Africa.”

I was making hand gestures as if that would help but pretty much knew that even if i had a map and Nelson Mandella standing next to me it would not have mattered. After I spelled it out as clearly as I could he gave me a look of disbelief and confusion, like the look he probably makes at work when someone had just told him they wanted to supersize their extra value meal. Luckily I turned away and managed to strike up a conversation with another American guy across the bar. After we finished the beer me and Lee both looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking…this guy is a wierdo. We told him we were gonna get a bite to eat and that we would meet him later at the hostel. He told us he was gonna take a walk. We ducked down a side alley and got a bite to eat. After we ate we decided not to walk up the main street by the hostel so that we didnt run into him again. Sure enough we hit the side street and who walked right by us without noticing, yup, you guessed it, Alex, the wierd Canadien guy. I guess it was kind of hard for him to notice us as he was doing a wee bit of window shopping if you know what I mean. When we went back to bed late that night he was sitting on the computer in the lobby and asked us where we went. A quick, “oh sorry we looked for you” and then we went to sleep.

The next day we managed to see him and his dad on the street but once again passed without him noticing…phew! We were on our way to the Heineken Experience. Heineken beer was started in Holland and for 10 Euros you get a nice little tour of their factory along with a few cold ones and a nice little souvenir…not quite sure what the souvenir is but someone is gonna get it as a gift.

Overall I would have to say that the Amsterdam I saw was not very appealing. I mean if you are into Sex and Drugs, then it is your place. The tacky souvenir shops selling some of the most unusual items and the coffee shops are a wee bit much after a few days. I am sure that once you get out of the touristy areas the city itself probably has tons to offer and is probably really quite beautiful, unfortunately I didnt get to see that. 3 days was enough for me and It was time to move on…next stop…Brussels!

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The rain in Spain goes mainly down the drain!

November 19th, 2006

Aye, Dios Mio. Hola, from Espana. I have now had a chance to soak in sunny and warm Barcelona for about 4 days, and I am loving it. It has been a nice chance to rest and relax. I had a feeling I would like spain and I was definitely right. From the moment I landed I felt like I should have come here along time ago. Speaking and understanding a little bit of the language definitely helps. I met up with an Aussie guy named Lee here in Barcelona. I had med him in Vienna. I have spend the past few days walking around and enjoying what is truly a magnificent city. The main area of downtown Barcelona, is called, La Rambla. It is the main street full of shops, bars, restaurants and some of the best street performers I have ever seen. People dressed up in all kinds of crazy costumes. Michael Jackson impersonators to musicians to magicians. You could really spend hours going from one crowd surrounding a performer to the next. My original plan was to spend a few weeks here in Barcelona but due to the fact I am down to my final month I have decided to move on and get as much in as I can mange. On tuesday I am flying to Amsterdam…I hear they have alot of good museums there…?

There are new photos up on the photo page…Enjoy!

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Venice the Menace!

November 19th, 2006

From Ljubljana it is about a 4 hour train ride to Venice. Once again I arrived and wandered around with my map looking for my hotel. I paid about 23 Euros for a bed that was crammed into a room with 3 others. Luckily I only had one night. Venice is definitely a beautiful city but extremely touristy. The city itself is made up of 100 or more islands with canals and waterways that weave their way in between them. It is full of beautiful buildings and churches. I spent most of my time just getting lost in the maze of streets. The peak of my excitement in Venice was going to a newspaper stand and picking up a USA today to see if there was anything relevant happening back home only to have it snatched out of my hand and then get yelled at by the guy working the stand. He yelled at me in Italian so I guess that was good. I flung my hand out from underneath my chin at him as I stared at him and I walked away.

Venice is probably one of the most expensive cities I have been too so far on this trip. 23 Euros is almost $30. You could get a massive slice of pizza for about 2 Euros, so take a guess as to what I ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Only having 1 night I probably didn’t get to see all there is to see in Venice. I probably wouldn’t even have gone to Venice had it not been for the cheap flight to Barcelona. I wish I had more to say about Venice but…it is what it is.

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Slovenia…( I can’t think of anything catchy.)

November 19th, 2006

From Zagreb I took a 3 hour train to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. I got off the train and wandered around with a map in my hands trying to find a hostel. This is pretty much what I have to do in every city in Europe which can be a huge pain in the rear end, but it has to be done. These are the things that tend to make traveling a little less glamarous than you might imagine. After several wrong turns and a couple of, I hate backpacking and I hate all of you’s, I found the hostel. The hostel I stayed at used to be a prison back in the day. I can honestly say it was the worst hostel I have ever stayed at during my trip. The place was still run like a prison. You checked in, gave them your passport, and a 10 Euro deposit for the key. They rattled off all the instructions and rules that need to be followed and then ended the conversation by slapping a pile of neatly folded and pressed sheets on the counter…oooh, how cosy. I was expecting to have to get into a fight here on my first day just to show everyone that they couldn’t mess with me, I mean isn’t that what you have to do on your first day in prison. The only thing really missing was her telling me when shower hour was and when lights out would be. After finding my way upstairs and into my room I was again disappointed to see about 15 beds…mattresses….laid across the floor in a very neat and orderly fashion. The beds themselves were about big enough for half a person. The ceiling was slanted in at all four corners so if you need to change or stand up you had to do it in the center of the room…what a bargain this place was. The first night I went and watched Borat and then went to bad rather early. The next morning I awoke to a lovely couple lying in one of these beds practically naked not too far from me. People really just have no shame. I mean, who doesn’t want to wake up to strangers making out in bed half naked?…ooh…ooh…me…I don’t.

The next day I took a bus about an hours drive north to a small city called Bled. Bled is situated right next to an alpine lake in the middle of the Julian Alps. The Julian Alps are named after who other than, Julius Caesar. It was truly picturesque. Huge castle sitting on top of a mountain that overlooked the lake. In the middle of the lake was a small island with what appeared to be a church of some sort. I spent the day walking around the lake and taking some photos. The peace, quiet and fresh air of being up near the mountains was very nice.

At the end of the day I hoped on the bus again and headed back to Ljubljana. I called it a fairly early night as I had to get up the next day fairly early and catch a train to Venice…On to Italy!

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