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Rockin’ Portland

July 21st, 2006

P7160204.JPGThis weekend was spent in Portland, Oregon at the house of the infamous CrackerJillian. Party goin down to celebrate various college graduations. I used it as an excuse to get to the only west coast state I haven’t been to. Oh, and, of course, flying somewhere across country to get drunk with my other traveller friends. Again. Unfortunately, my recent string of bad luck with connecting flights continued. This one was a fucking nightmare. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in North America, Travel, United States | 1 Comment »

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Returning home, the hard way

July 20th, 2006

I knew it was too good to be true. I had never missed a flight in my life… Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Amsterdam, Canada, Detroit, Europe, Netherlands, North America, Travel, United States | No Comments »

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Kayaking Leiden

July 12th, 2006

P7020107.JPGI decided to take a trip down to Leiden, about a half hour south of Amsterdam. Cost EUR 12.10 for a roundtrip train ticket. Earlier in the week I was supposed to meet Capt Steve there, who was also in Holland for a bit and used to live there, but due to some things I had going on I couldn’t make it. But now I had nothing else to do, so I ventured there to check it out. I don’t know much about it, other than what my trusty LP told me… which is that it’s a college town, home to the oldest university in the country. It’s actually fairly nice. Very Dutch, but a more quaint feel than Amsterdam. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Europe, Netherlands, Travel | 1 Comment »

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On becoming an Amsterdammer

July 10th, 2006

I have found a room! I now officially have a residence in Amsterdam. It’s a tiny room, but in a very nice house in a great neighborhood next to Vondelpark, the Museumplein, the Concertgebouw, and the Conservatory where I’ll be studying. It’s still a very lively area, and only 10 minutes walk or 3 minutes cycle to the centre. I’m pretty excited about it. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Amsterdam, Europe, Netherlands, Travel | No Comments »

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My new Home! Amsterdam!

June 27th, 2006

Wow! So, I left a few days ago to come to Amsterdam to audition for the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. I had my audition yesterday, and I’m in! So, now I’m in the process of trying to find a place to live in the short time I’m still here, make any other arrangements needed, go back home for a few weeks, and then move my life here. It’s going to be a rough summer.

I’ll apologize now that this really isn’t so much a travel informative post as a personal, so you can stop reading now if you don’t care about my life. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Amsterdam, Europe, Music, Netherlands, Travel | 1 Comment »

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Road Trip to Chicago, BootsnAll Meetup

June 18th, 2006

So last weekend rather than flying somewhere again, I drove to Chicago. Why? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in North America, Travel, United States | 1 Comment »

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Walking San Francisco

June 13th, 2006

Back on a plane. Seems as if it wasn’t so long ago… Read the rest of this entry »

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Internet Explorer Sucks… Layouts fixed

May 21st, 2006

If you’re using IE, do yourself a favor and download Firefox. It’s just better… more secure, less popups, better layout, faster, tabbed browsing, uses less resources… trust me, go do it. Why do I bring this up? Well, apparently there were some layout issues with some of my posts when viewed with IE. I didn’t know because, well, I was using Firefox. Anyway, my aplogies to anyone that viewed before and words were missing, or photos overlapping, or it just otherwise looked shitty. Hopefully it’s all fixed now…

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Where to go next…

May 15th, 2006

So for my next travels, I’ll be back to Europe at the end of June, beginning of July. Originally I was going to be flying through Cologne, Germany.. but due to various factors, that has changed. I’m now going to fly into Amsterdam, and out of Dublin… and need to figure out what to do in the middle. I need to spend a few days at the beginning in A’dam, but it’s all pretty loose. Actually, it’s very loose… to the point that I can’t actually make any plans until they happen, as I don’t know for sure how long I’m going to need to be in A’dam. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Europe, Travel | 1 Comment »

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Perú Conclusion

May 3rd, 2006

So now it’s over. Not nearly enough time… there’s so much more in Perú we didn’t have a chance to see.. like Lake Titicaca and the Nasca Lines… not to mention the things in Cusco that got left out. Ahh, well, just another excuse to go back. It was still definitely worth it. The Inca Trail is just awesome, but surely not for everyone. We were thinking about our other friends, and could only name a couple others that we thought would actually be able to make it through. It may not be the hardest trek out there, but it’s still intense! With hiring a porter, it’s deinfitely a bit easier, and that number could be raised a bit, but even then, it’s still no joke. There’s definitely some that wouldn’t make it. I might do the trail again if I had the chance, but I would seriously question whether I’d carry my own gear again. Even knowing what I do now, there’s still a few things I could have gone without to lighten my load… but I don’t know if I’d do it again without a personal porter. Hell, I’ve already proven myself! If I do it again it’ll either be for more personal enjoyment, or because someone else wants me to go with them… in either case, I don’t need to prove shit again! But I’m glad I did the first time. And I’m VERY glad we had awesome weather while on the trek. Not too hot, not too cold, and no rain. It could have been not so pleasant a time had the weather been terrible… and would make for lousy photography.

I liked Cusco a lot, too. Sure, it’s inevitably touristy in spots, but I felt there was still a life of it’s own even without that element. You might have to look a little harder for it, but it’s there. But, such is the case with so many other great cities, too. It may be a bit dirty and grimey, and the constant barrage of people trying to sell you things or just straight begging for your money can be much, but that’s what gives it character.

And I just enjoy speaking Spanish! It makes me wish I had continued with it more in Uni. But even the quick, but intensive brushing up I did before leaving (packed 3 months of Pimsleur courses into 6 weeks!) was a huge help. I’m going to miss speaking it so often… Guess I’ll just have to hang out in Mexican Town more often. And I have a new found affinity for Latin girls… mmmmm…. 😉

Oh, and it turns out I had an ear infection. Massive fluid buildup behind the ear drum or something, hence my not being able to hear. I’m just glad it happened on the way home. Gave me a couple extra days off of work, at least…

Ahh, well…. I’ll be back. Buenos Aires is calling my name, too… I’m probably going to have to spend a few months in South America… soon…

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