Hey everyone, I know it's a been awhile since I've added anything new to this. I've heard a couple requests for a big finish, but honestly it has been crazy since my return. I actually got back to the USA on August 14. I flew into Minnisota to and spent a week adjusting and winding down with my girlfriend Kate. (hopefully those of you who haven't met her will get the chance soon as she has become a large part of my life.) Then I got back to Ta-Town on the 21st of August about 10pm. I had school and a job both starting on the 22nd at 8am. Talk about a jolt back to reality. It was much harder than I had anticipated to adjust back to regular life. I realized that we really dont do a lot of things as great as we think we do. For instance, we work the most hours per week of any country in the world. In all of Europe it is standard to give your employees 6 weeks paid vacation every year! Health care is free and available to everyone. And, just our overall attitude twards life forces us to feel busy, stressed, and overwhelmed 99% of the time because we are all so damn worried about making the almighty dollar. (Side note: the dollar isn't so Almighty anymore either, the exchange rate was basically 1 Euro for 2 Dollars....hmmmmm). Now, dont get me wrong. We do a lot of things right here too. Free toilets, water fountains everywhere, airconditioning, trash services, etc. But, just remeber that you don't always have to work so hard America, take time every so often to stop and appreciate what you have. I know I certainly do much more often.
I'm also working on making some video montages that I will post on here as they come along, because I realized you only got to see about .1% of the more than 300 pictures I took over there.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Spain is like McDonald's cause I'm lovin' it! Not like Burger King tough cause I couldn't always have it my way!...lol.
Seriously though, Spain was my favorite place next to Switzerland that I have seen in all of Europe. Switzerland because of the beauty and the company i was with at the time, and Spain because it was just the Vibe! (stolen with pride from my friend in Barcelona). I actually had to buy a new ticket back to London 3 days later than my original because I just needed more time to see all of Spain I could. So where to start? Well, my original flight was scheduled to arrive in London the same day that all the crazy terrorist shit when down. What a crazy thing to have happen. I mean it's one thing when you live in Kansas and hear about that happening and it freaks you out, but try luckly changing your flight that you had planned to fly into that actual airport on the same day. Although, it might have been some good pics if i could have seen all the police taking these guys out. I honestly still don't know the complete story becuase all the news was in Spain-ish. I say Spain-ish because it's not really spanish like in mexico. Although the best way i can describe Spain was that it was Mexico with out all the poverty and everyone spoke with a lisp. Example, Gracias (normally pronounced gra-see-ahhs) is pronounced (gra-thee-asth) a little flaming if you ask me?...just kidding.
So as soon as i got to Barcelona I asked my friend Tommy what I had to see first. He immediately started telling me about the Sagrada Familia, a church designed by Gaudi. At first i was thinking, man I've seen so many freakin' churches all over Europe and they are amazing, but after awhile they all look the same. Well not this one! This place was F-ing amazing. We are talking jaw dropping when you come out of the Metro stop and first see it. In fact, it's the only Muesem/Church that I actually bought something from the gift shop! That means it was cool, cause usually that stuff is really touristy and expensive, but if any of you ever come to me casa for an ice cold beverage you will see my solid purchase. Afterwards I decided to hit up the Aquarium and it was the first time I've ever seen a shark up close! I got an awsome photo which I'm pretty proud of cause it was hard to take photos through the glass.
The next day on a long shot e-mail i recieved a phone call from one of my good friends from the class I had taken earlier in the trip. Come to find out he was in Barcelona that day and on his way to Valencia. After lunch and some gigantic beers I decided on a whim that I was going to kick it with him and his girlfriend in Valencia with only the clothes on my back for a couple days. For those of you who dont know, Valencia is know for two things. Beaches and Naranjas (oranges). This is where the first oranges were grown and let me tell you time has only made them better. I dont know how many freakin' orange drinks i had in Valencia, but it really wasnt enough.
Tonight is my last nigh in Europe. Currently, I'm getting ready to go to bed soon so i dont miss my flight home, and i treated myself to the best Mediterainian meal I've ever had in my life tonight. Got to go cause this place is closing down, but I will see you all very soon, and dont worry too much about me cause I'm going to spend the next week with one of the most important people in my life right now. See you soon.
Joyce...Out!
Seriously though, Spain was my favorite place next to Switzerland that I have seen in all of Europe. Switzerland because of the beauty and the company i was with at the time, and Spain because it was just the Vibe! (stolen with pride from my friend in Barcelona). I actually had to buy a new ticket back to London 3 days later than my original because I just needed more time to see all of Spain I could. So where to start? Well, my original flight was scheduled to arrive in London the same day that all the crazy terrorist shit when down. What a crazy thing to have happen. I mean it's one thing when you live in Kansas and hear about that happening and it freaks you out, but try luckly changing your flight that you had planned to fly into that actual airport on the same day. Although, it might have been some good pics if i could have seen all the police taking these guys out. I honestly still don't know the complete story becuase all the news was in Spain-ish. I say Spain-ish because it's not really spanish like in mexico. Although the best way i can describe Spain was that it was Mexico with out all the poverty and everyone spoke with a lisp. Example, Gracias (normally pronounced gra-see-ahhs) is pronounced (gra-thee-asth) a little flaming if you ask me?...just kidding.
So as soon as i got to Barcelona I asked my friend Tommy what I had to see first. He immediately started telling me about the Sagrada Familia, a church designed by Gaudi. At first i was thinking, man I've seen so many freakin' churches all over Europe and they are amazing, but after awhile they all look the same. Well not this one! This place was F-ing amazing. We are talking jaw dropping when you come out of the Metro stop and first see it. In fact, it's the only Muesem/Church that I actually bought something from the gift shop! That means it was cool, cause usually that stuff is really touristy and expensive, but if any of you ever come to me casa for an ice cold beverage you will see my solid purchase. Afterwards I decided to hit up the Aquarium and it was the first time I've ever seen a shark up close! I got an awsome photo which I'm pretty proud of cause it was hard to take photos through the glass.
The next day on a long shot e-mail i recieved a phone call from one of my good friends from the class I had taken earlier in the trip. Come to find out he was in Barcelona that day and on his way to Valencia. After lunch and some gigantic beers I decided on a whim that I was going to kick it with him and his girlfriend in Valencia with only the clothes on my back for a couple days. For those of you who dont know, Valencia is know for two things. Beaches and Naranjas (oranges). This is where the first oranges were grown and let me tell you time has only made them better. I dont know how many freakin' orange drinks i had in Valencia, but it really wasnt enough.
Tonight is my last nigh in Europe. Currently, I'm getting ready to go to bed soon so i dont miss my flight home, and i treated myself to the best Mediterainian meal I've ever had in my life tonight. Got to go cause this place is closing down, but I will see you all very soon, and dont worry too much about me cause I'm going to spend the next week with one of the most important people in my life right now. See you soon.
Joyce...Out!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
ROMA!!!
Wow, Rome. I mean it was the basically the beginning of it all, and is considered to be the Capital of the World by many. I'm pretty sure all i have to say is Collesium, Pantheon, Forum, Spanish Stairs, Vatican City, Sistene Chapel, the Pope, Fountains, I mean it had everything.
Vatican City and Inside the Colessium
As of now most of what i can remember about Rome is having to watch all of the people that i had become so close with over the last month drive away on a bus to catch thier flights back to the States, and wondering where the hell i was going to live that night, because my friend that was intended to meet me in Rome was unable too. I was absolutely alone in a country where i didnt speak the language and had no idea where i was going to sleep. Looking back on it now it was actually a really great experience but i have to admit at the time i was really kinda freaking out. I ended up finding a hostel called colors that was quite nice and fairly priced. (you like the ryhme there...its tricky) I was scared at first going from such posh hotels the last months surrounded by 40 people my age that spoke my language and lived in the same country as me. Also, guided by a two people that were with us the entire time and could fix any problem you had. But, i found that the hostel life is actually quite fun and very safe. Everyone there is in the same boat as you and there is a general rule that no messes with your stuff cause they dont want you messing with theirs. I was a little unprepard though with things like laundry and towels. I guess they dont provide towels in hostels and i sure didnt find that out til i was sopping wet getting out of the shower looking for a towel. Of course i improvised because there was a blow dryer attached to the wall. (side note: it really takes a lot longer than one might think to dry your entire body with a blow dryer...lesson learned). The second day was great, i strapped on the ipod and covered Vatican City, the Sisten Chapel, the Fountain, and the Pantheon in about 5 hours. You can definately cover more ground when traveling alone, and you get to have some pretty interesiting convo's with yourself as well as stangers. That night my two roomates were going to a pub crawl and i decided that i didnt have anything better to do so i went along. It turned out to be an absolute blast and I met an Englishman, a guy from Scottland, several Aussies, and a couple fellow Americans. The cool thing is that everyone there is again in the same boat as you and just want to meet people so it makes it really easy to make friends fast. All around it was great and i made it to the airport no problem the next day to fly back to London where i have been for several days, with a 4 day side trip to Newquay...Ill tell you about that next time though.
My new mates and I on the pub crawl:
I almost forgot too, on our last evening/night in Rome myself and everyone else in our group decided that we were going out with a bang in Rome so we sported Toga's to the Colessium, Dinner, and eventually the roof top bar of out hotel. It was night to be remembered and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to spend the last month in Europe with.
Sportin' the Togas:
PS - If you ever doubted the fact that you can buy a beer at McDonald's I have the truth and the answer is YES!!! No idea the brand but this is definately a McChicken, McFry, and an not so cold (of course we are in Europe where nothing is cold) McBeer!
Wow, Rome. I mean it was the basically the beginning of it all, and is considered to be the Capital of the World by many. I'm pretty sure all i have to say is Collesium, Pantheon, Forum, Spanish Stairs, Vatican City, Sistene Chapel, the Pope, Fountains, I mean it had everything.
Vatican City and Inside the Colessium
As of now most of what i can remember about Rome is having to watch all of the people that i had become so close with over the last month drive away on a bus to catch thier flights back to the States, and wondering where the hell i was going to live that night, because my friend that was intended to meet me in Rome was unable too. I was absolutely alone in a country where i didnt speak the language and had no idea where i was going to sleep. Looking back on it now it was actually a really great experience but i have to admit at the time i was really kinda freaking out. I ended up finding a hostel called colors that was quite nice and fairly priced. (you like the ryhme there...its tricky) I was scared at first going from such posh hotels the last months surrounded by 40 people my age that spoke my language and lived in the same country as me. Also, guided by a two people that were with us the entire time and could fix any problem you had. But, i found that the hostel life is actually quite fun and very safe. Everyone there is in the same boat as you and there is a general rule that no messes with your stuff cause they dont want you messing with theirs. I was a little unprepard though with things like laundry and towels. I guess they dont provide towels in hostels and i sure didnt find that out til i was sopping wet getting out of the shower looking for a towel. Of course i improvised because there was a blow dryer attached to the wall. (side note: it really takes a lot longer than one might think to dry your entire body with a blow dryer...lesson learned). The second day was great, i strapped on the ipod and covered Vatican City, the Sisten Chapel, the Fountain, and the Pantheon in about 5 hours. You can definately cover more ground when traveling alone, and you get to have some pretty interesiting convo's with yourself as well as stangers. That night my two roomates were going to a pub crawl and i decided that i didnt have anything better to do so i went along. It turned out to be an absolute blast and I met an Englishman, a guy from Scottland, several Aussies, and a couple fellow Americans. The cool thing is that everyone there is again in the same boat as you and just want to meet people so it makes it really easy to make friends fast. All around it was great and i made it to the airport no problem the next day to fly back to London where i have been for several days, with a 4 day side trip to Newquay...Ill tell you about that next time though.
My new mates and I on the pub crawl:
I almost forgot too, on our last evening/night in Rome myself and everyone else in our group decided that we were going out with a bang in Rome so we sported Toga's to the Colessium, Dinner, and eventually the roof top bar of out hotel. It was night to be remembered and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to spend the last month in Europe with.
Sportin' the Togas:
PS - If you ever doubted the fact that you can buy a beer at McDonald's I have the truth and the answer is YES!!! No idea the brand but this is definately a McChicken, McFry, and an not so cold (of course we are in Europe where nothing is cold) McBeer!
Wow, so I just read my blog and realized that a lot has happened since the last update. I really tried to keep this up to date, but once i got deeper into Italy i had quite a struggle with the computers all being in Italian and not uploading photos correctly. I guess I'll try and start from where i left off. I believe it was somwhere around the Feast of the Redeemer in Venice (man that seems like a long time ago).
Anyway, the Feast of the Redeemer was absolutely out of control! It was the most people ive ever seen in one place at one time.
This is how packed it was and my flash only went so far but it was like this for a solid square mile if not more!!!
The firework show was amazing and being that we were all deprived of our Fourth of July this year we were a little over excited. Excited to the point that we started singing a little remix to the song Proud to be an American and i dont really think the Venecians around us liked that very much. I guess i gathered this because some guy came up to me and started yelling at me in Italian (i think) and i was of course standing up for myself when all the sudden at third guy (we call him the squirrel master - from the movie Half Baked) came out of left field and cleaned this guy out. It was kinda scary cause one second this guy is there and then in a flash was gone. The Venice police even showed up and arrested one of them. Anyway, definately woke up the next morning and my roomate said it best. Feast of the Redeamer 1, Dustin and Johnny 0.
Ok, on to Florence. By this time in the trip all the cities and churches we had visited were starting to blur together. I call it power traveling now because we covered so much ground in such little time. The first few nights in Florence I honestly didnt travel to far from our hotel in fear of getting lost because every street in Florence looks exactly the same. Until you find the Duomo which is what pretty much every thing is based off of. If you dont know the Duomo is the 4th largest church in the world and is absolutely overwhelming the first time you see it. On the Third day though the fun really kicked into overdrive because my good friend Tay and I decided to rent scooter and see the rest of the city. I have to say that the 25 Euro we spent was definately on of our top 4 best purchases of the trip. The other three are as follows. 1) The Pontoon Boat in Lucerne (that will never be topped), 2) The Vinyard we visited in Tuscany (but ill get there later), 3) the dinner in Paris next to the Notre Dame Cathedral and 4) these freakin' awesome 50cc scooters that we took on the highway on accident in Florence.
You better get out the way when you see me on the highway
It was by far the most dangerous thing we did on the whole tripp and thats why only Tay and I participated cause we both had previous riding experience. Nothing compared to this though. In Florence, well Italy in genral people drive like freaking cRaZy! there are traffic lights and the lanes are marked but no one seems to pay attention to them. Tay almost got taken out about three times from a Truck, a Bus, and a Minin that pulled out infront of us. Whew, we made it all right though. Eventually, we found this road that took us up to the top of a smaller sized mountain just on the other side of the river from Florence. The view from the tope was amazing and you could really appreciate the size of the Duomo from there.
The View
Also, we found this little cafe' up there where we both grabbed a noon'er and talked about how the only thing that would makes this better would be to have our two amazing g-friends on the back of out scooters. Then, the craziest thing happend. Because I girl friends couldnt be there i started singing "You cant always get what you want" by the rolling stones. there had been no musice for a good half hour when all the sudden out of this cafe' about 15 min. after i was singing it the same song started Blarring!!! It was more than weird so we both decided to bounce. The scooters though definately gave me a new appreciation for Florence and I would recommend anyone who goest there to try it out. Plus, I have video of me ramping off a road block as well if anyone wants to see it...lol.
Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that by this time in the tripp my beard had gotten pretty burly and I was dared to do somthing with it. So of course in true Kansas style I decided to go with a handle bar mustache which was a huge hit, except our tour guide Marc couldn't even look at me with out laughing.
Thats right mom and dad this is what you son looks like with a handle bar stache (Dont worry I dont think it will ever happend again :)
PS - No i did not start smoking on this trip, but it does complete the look i was going for :)
Anyway, the Feast of the Redeemer was absolutely out of control! It was the most people ive ever seen in one place at one time.
This is how packed it was and my flash only went so far but it was like this for a solid square mile if not more!!!
The firework show was amazing and being that we were all deprived of our Fourth of July this year we were a little over excited. Excited to the point that we started singing a little remix to the song Proud to be an American and i dont really think the Venecians around us liked that very much. I guess i gathered this because some guy came up to me and started yelling at me in Italian (i think) and i was of course standing up for myself when all the sudden at third guy (we call him the squirrel master - from the movie Half Baked) came out of left field and cleaned this guy out. It was kinda scary cause one second this guy is there and then in a flash was gone. The Venice police even showed up and arrested one of them. Anyway, definately woke up the next morning and my roomate said it best. Feast of the Redeamer 1, Dustin and Johnny 0.
Ok, on to Florence. By this time in the trip all the cities and churches we had visited were starting to blur together. I call it power traveling now because we covered so much ground in such little time. The first few nights in Florence I honestly didnt travel to far from our hotel in fear of getting lost because every street in Florence looks exactly the same. Until you find the Duomo which is what pretty much every thing is based off of. If you dont know the Duomo is the 4th largest church in the world and is absolutely overwhelming the first time you see it. On the Third day though the fun really kicked into overdrive because my good friend Tay and I decided to rent scooter and see the rest of the city. I have to say that the 25 Euro we spent was definately on of our top 4 best purchases of the trip. The other three are as follows. 1) The Pontoon Boat in Lucerne (that will never be topped), 2) The Vinyard we visited in Tuscany (but ill get there later), 3) the dinner in Paris next to the Notre Dame Cathedral and 4) these freakin' awesome 50cc scooters that we took on the highway on accident in Florence.
You better get out the way when you see me on the highway
It was by far the most dangerous thing we did on the whole tripp and thats why only Tay and I participated cause we both had previous riding experience. Nothing compared to this though. In Florence, well Italy in genral people drive like freaking cRaZy! there are traffic lights and the lanes are marked but no one seems to pay attention to them. Tay almost got taken out about three times from a Truck, a Bus, and a Minin that pulled out infront of us. Whew, we made it all right though. Eventually, we found this road that took us up to the top of a smaller sized mountain just on the other side of the river from Florence. The view from the tope was amazing and you could really appreciate the size of the Duomo from there.
The View
Also, we found this little cafe' up there where we both grabbed a noon'er and talked about how the only thing that would makes this better would be to have our two amazing g-friends on the back of out scooters. Then, the craziest thing happend. Because I girl friends couldnt be there i started singing "You cant always get what you want" by the rolling stones. there had been no musice for a good half hour when all the sudden out of this cafe' about 15 min. after i was singing it the same song started Blarring!!! It was more than weird so we both decided to bounce. The scooters though definately gave me a new appreciation for Florence and I would recommend anyone who goest there to try it out. Plus, I have video of me ramping off a road block as well if anyone wants to see it...lol.
Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that by this time in the tripp my beard had gotten pretty burly and I was dared to do somthing with it. So of course in true Kansas style I decided to go with a handle bar mustache which was a huge hit, except our tour guide Marc couldn't even look at me with out laughing.
Thats right mom and dad this is what you son looks like with a handle bar stache (Dont worry I dont think it will ever happend again :)
PS - No i did not start smoking on this trip, but it does complete the look i was going for :)
Friday, July 21, 2006
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Chiao From Venice!!!
Sorry about the lack of pics in the last two posts, as the trip is progressing its getting harder to sit down and update everything. So where to start? How bout with how difficult it is to operate a computer when everything is in italian and you have a keyboard with buttons that can do this è § à ° ò ç é £! Crazy foriegners what will they think of next, definately not ice, airconditioning, or free public restrooms. On a serious note though i just left Lucerne a couple of days ago and i have honestly never seen a more beautiful place on this planet. I really wish i could put pics up for ya and i will eventually but not on this post. So close your eyes and picture a beautiful blue lake that you can see 20 feet deep because there is no polution. Now surround your self with flowers up and down the boardwalks with beautiful swiss architecture all around in the most quaint city youve ever seen...wait for it...wait for it! now put the most gorgeous snow caped mountains youve seen in the background and youve got your self a little place called Lucerne. Oh yeah, now picture me with 5 of my best friends on this trip in a pontoon boat swimming and drinking and rockin out to paul simon acapella provided by yours truly...thats right "you can call me al"
So Switzerland, good stuff. Now im sitting in Venice, the one place that i have wanted to see all my life since i first heard of it. Unfortuanetly i think everyone else in the world had the same idea because this is by far the most touristy place ive been so far. the city has a pop. of 64,000 and they get 17 MILLION, THATS RIGHT 17 MILLION tourists a year. So other than the fact that is so crowded it is quite a sight. there are no cars and more bridges than there are in Madison county (i dont even know if there are a lot of bridges there but i figure theres at least a few since they made that movie :) Yesterday was another rough one though. we had to go to this place called the lido which is this amazing beach on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, i know sounds rough. Oh by the way i havent mentioned it but there is some actuall class going on from time and i got a B on my first test!!! SLAM PIG! ok, back to the sea. This thing was awsome it was salty you almost didnt have to swim you could just lift you feet and you would float from all the salt. Tonight should be a kicker though because tonight is the once a year festival in Venice where everyone dresses up in masks and body paint parks all there boats in the Grand Canale and tie them together and have a massive fireworks show, oh yeah, and its actually required that you have a bottle of wine in your hand. I really am serious! our teacher told us today that its considered very bad manners to not bring wine and that even if you dont drink it you should have one in your hand! What a crazy world we live in, again, crazy ass foriegners.
Well, i gots to go get ready for the party now so ill leave you with this: America = Colder, Fresher, Faster, and Less Expensive. Cherish every aminity you have back in the states including organized trash systems to keep your city clean, free restrooms, people that where gloves when they prepare your food, water fountains next to every restroom in America, and most importantly the people you care about. As amazing as this trip is Ive discovered its not really where you are that matters at all, its the people that you surround yourself with and a truly love all of you that are reading this.
LIFES A GARDEN ... DIG IT!!!
Sorry about the lack of pics in the last two posts, as the trip is progressing its getting harder to sit down and update everything. So where to start? How bout with how difficult it is to operate a computer when everything is in italian and you have a keyboard with buttons that can do this è § à ° ò ç é £! Crazy foriegners what will they think of next, definately not ice, airconditioning, or free public restrooms. On a serious note though i just left Lucerne a couple of days ago and i have honestly never seen a more beautiful place on this planet. I really wish i could put pics up for ya and i will eventually but not on this post. So close your eyes and picture a beautiful blue lake that you can see 20 feet deep because there is no polution. Now surround your self with flowers up and down the boardwalks with beautiful swiss architecture all around in the most quaint city youve ever seen...wait for it...wait for it! now put the most gorgeous snow caped mountains youve seen in the background and youve got your self a little place called Lucerne. Oh yeah, now picture me with 5 of my best friends on this trip in a pontoon boat swimming and drinking and rockin out to paul simon acapella provided by yours truly...thats right "you can call me al"
So Switzerland, good stuff. Now im sitting in Venice, the one place that i have wanted to see all my life since i first heard of it. Unfortuanetly i think everyone else in the world had the same idea because this is by far the most touristy place ive been so far. the city has a pop. of 64,000 and they get 17 MILLION, THATS RIGHT 17 MILLION tourists a year. So other than the fact that is so crowded it is quite a sight. there are no cars and more bridges than there are in Madison county (i dont even know if there are a lot of bridges there but i figure theres at least a few since they made that movie :) Yesterday was another rough one though. we had to go to this place called the lido which is this amazing beach on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, i know sounds rough. Oh by the way i havent mentioned it but there is some actuall class going on from time and i got a B on my first test!!! SLAM PIG! ok, back to the sea. This thing was awsome it was salty you almost didnt have to swim you could just lift you feet and you would float from all the salt. Tonight should be a kicker though because tonight is the once a year festival in Venice where everyone dresses up in masks and body paint parks all there boats in the Grand Canale and tie them together and have a massive fireworks show, oh yeah, and its actually required that you have a bottle of wine in your hand. I really am serious! our teacher told us today that its considered very bad manners to not bring wine and that even if you dont drink it you should have one in your hand! What a crazy world we live in, again, crazy ass foriegners.
Well, i gots to go get ready for the party now so ill leave you with this: America = Colder, Fresher, Faster, and Less Expensive. Cherish every aminity you have back in the states including organized trash systems to keep your city clean, free restrooms, people that where gloves when they prepare your food, water fountains next to every restroom in America, and most importantly the people you care about. As amazing as this trip is Ive discovered its not really where you are that matters at all, its the people that you surround yourself with and a truly love all of you that are reading this.
LIFES A GARDEN ... DIG IT!!!
Monday, July 10, 2006
Bonjior from Paris!!!
So i've now been in Paris for the last 5 days and leave tomorrow morning for Lucerne, Switzerland. I cant wait for that cause i heard there is lake there surrounded by mountains where you can rent a paddle boat with a water slide on the back. I'm kinda feinding for some swimming action since it's summer and all. Oh yeah, and it's hot as hell here and i've lost about 5 lbs. from all the walking so far (my pants are starting not to fit) Anyway, Paris, what a place! Wine is cheaper than water, the people smell horrid, and i cant tell what they are saying cause i've never taken a french lesson in my life. My roomate and I have figured out the solution though. We can it the French Sandwich because all we do is sandwich our english language with the words Bonjior at the beginning and Merci at the end. It seems to work fairly well most of the time. Except for the shower curtain incident! LOL. Now i have to tell it right. Ok, so a couple days ago I slept in til' 2pm (whoops, the night before was a little out of control) and so the cleaning crew didn't clean the room. So, later i'm just sitting in ther room whatching a little Wimbeldon action when all the sudden some guy that appeared to work for the hotel came in and i though he was there to clean. So he mummbles a bunch of stuff in french to me and I'm like yeah Bonjior...yeah do what ever you need to do...Merci (you see how the sandwich works:) and so he goes into the bathroom unhooks the shower curtain and leaves with it. I'm like hmmm. that was kinda wierd (I mean I'm not that smart, but am well educated) that's a quote stolen from my roomate, but it seemed strange. Anyway, the curtain has never returned and we think it was officially stolen from under my nose now. (good story huh?)
Ok, other than that i can see the Eifel tower out my window which is another good story in it's self. I went to the tower alone from the rest of the group cause i had slept in that day (this is the same day as the shower curtain day) and i decided to go check out the tower cause i couldn't wait for the rest of the group. When i get there i'm pretty proud cause i figured the train system out all alone and i took a ton of great photos. Then, when i get the entrances, there is one on each foot, i see a line of people that looked like it would take about 3 hours to get through at two of the feet. The other two feet look like about a 15-20min. wait. Of course all the signs are in French so i cant figure out why these lines are so short, but i figure Hey, what the hell i'll just jump in the short line. Well, some of you are probably already laughing cause you figured out that the reason those lines are short is because those are the lines for the freakin' stairs! So I walk my ass up i dont know how many flights of stairs, but it took me a good 45 min. of straight stair climbing to get up there. We are talking people stopping all over to catch there breath, kids crying cause they dont want to go any farther, and then me trying to convince myself that i'm 22 and in good enough shape to make it with out stopping. Of course i did cause im competive like that, but was sweating like a pimp with one hooker when i got to the top. The view was amazing though and worth all the effort when i got there.
Here is the pic of me when i got to the top and did a little cool down:
Last night was definately and experience too, cause it was World Cup Final game between Italy and France!!! If you dont know soccer is called futbol here and it is taken like a religeon. Even the police cars yesterday were flying flags and yelling crazy french talk over there loudspeakers. So we spent all day at the Palace of Versi and the Church in Chartes pronounced (Shart)yeah that's right shart! Those of you that have seen Along Came Polly know I had a lot of fun with that one yesterday. Oh, and speaking of Sharting when we were in the church on our tour some smell crept in from hell in the form of a liquid that seriously had people dry heaving and gagging and running for the door. Normally, i would think that's funny but it was so bad that i couldn't even laugh at the Shart jokes cause i was concentrating on not puking. Beautiful church though, I've never seen anything like it in my life, kinda overwhelming at first (even without the smell). So back to the game, we got back to Paris about an hour before the game. (to be cont.) i have to go to dinner righ now!
So i've now been in Paris for the last 5 days and leave tomorrow morning for Lucerne, Switzerland. I cant wait for that cause i heard there is lake there surrounded by mountains where you can rent a paddle boat with a water slide on the back. I'm kinda feinding for some swimming action since it's summer and all. Oh yeah, and it's hot as hell here and i've lost about 5 lbs. from all the walking so far (my pants are starting not to fit) Anyway, Paris, what a place! Wine is cheaper than water, the people smell horrid, and i cant tell what they are saying cause i've never taken a french lesson in my life. My roomate and I have figured out the solution though. We can it the French Sandwich because all we do is sandwich our english language with the words Bonjior at the beginning and Merci at the end. It seems to work fairly well most of the time. Except for the shower curtain incident! LOL. Now i have to tell it right. Ok, so a couple days ago I slept in til' 2pm (whoops, the night before was a little out of control) and so the cleaning crew didn't clean the room. So, later i'm just sitting in ther room whatching a little Wimbeldon action when all the sudden some guy that appeared to work for the hotel came in and i though he was there to clean. So he mummbles a bunch of stuff in french to me and I'm like yeah Bonjior...yeah do what ever you need to do...Merci (you see how the sandwich works:) and so he goes into the bathroom unhooks the shower curtain and leaves with it. I'm like hmmm. that was kinda wierd (I mean I'm not that smart, but am well educated) that's a quote stolen from my roomate, but it seemed strange. Anyway, the curtain has never returned and we think it was officially stolen from under my nose now. (good story huh?)
Ok, other than that i can see the Eifel tower out my window which is another good story in it's self. I went to the tower alone from the rest of the group cause i had slept in that day (this is the same day as the shower curtain day) and i decided to go check out the tower cause i couldn't wait for the rest of the group. When i get there i'm pretty proud cause i figured the train system out all alone and i took a ton of great photos. Then, when i get the entrances, there is one on each foot, i see a line of people that looked like it would take about 3 hours to get through at two of the feet. The other two feet look like about a 15-20min. wait. Of course all the signs are in French so i cant figure out why these lines are so short, but i figure Hey, what the hell i'll just jump in the short line. Well, some of you are probably already laughing cause you figured out that the reason those lines are short is because those are the lines for the freakin' stairs! So I walk my ass up i dont know how many flights of stairs, but it took me a good 45 min. of straight stair climbing to get up there. We are talking people stopping all over to catch there breath, kids crying cause they dont want to go any farther, and then me trying to convince myself that i'm 22 and in good enough shape to make it with out stopping. Of course i did cause im competive like that, but was sweating like a pimp with one hooker when i got to the top. The view was amazing though and worth all the effort when i got there.
Here is the pic of me when i got to the top and did a little cool down:
Last night was definately and experience too, cause it was World Cup Final game between Italy and France!!! If you dont know soccer is called futbol here and it is taken like a religeon. Even the police cars yesterday were flying flags and yelling crazy french talk over there loudspeakers. So we spent all day at the Palace of Versi and the Church in Chartes pronounced (Shart)yeah that's right shart! Those of you that have seen Along Came Polly know I had a lot of fun with that one yesterday. Oh, and speaking of Sharting when we were in the church on our tour some smell crept in from hell in the form of a liquid that seriously had people dry heaving and gagging and running for the door. Normally, i would think that's funny but it was so bad that i couldn't even laugh at the Shart jokes cause i was concentrating on not puking. Beautiful church though, I've never seen anything like it in my life, kinda overwhelming at first (even without the smell). So back to the game, we got back to Paris about an hour before the game. (to be cont.) i have to go to dinner righ now!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Amsterdam...I think?
Wow, what can i say about Amsterdam. Well, first off it's one of the most lawless and craziest place I've ever been. Experience wise it rates up there pretty high (get it high). No I'm just kidding, obviously everyone automatically thinks Drugs, Sex, and Hookers when they hear Amsterdam, but it's actually got a lot more. The whole city is shaped like a cresent and is designed with 3 main canals that pretty much keep the city in motion at all times.
Also, it contains the Anne Frank Huis (that's Dutch for House), and the RijkMuseum. I have to say that the red light district is one of the creapiest places i've ever been and probably wont ever go back. Plus, being one of the only guys in our group it was more than a giant task to protect and hear a group of 10 girls through there, but at least i can say i was there.
Probably my favorite part of Amsterdam though was the bikes! They basically have three major ways of transportation and the bikes are actually so dominant they have there own bike street and stop lights separate from cars or trams. So basically Jordan, Draiper, and I decide we want to rent some bikes and take a nice leasurely strole around Amsterdam. No, wasn't like that at all. This bike ride was intense!!!
First off we didn't know all the rules, for instance, our bikes had bells on them which we though was cool and fun to ring and wave at people. In reality your bell is a serious deal that you use like a horn on a car to tell people they are idots and should get out of your way...Whoops! Also a lot of the paths are one way and we sure didnt realize that til' it was too late. Oh yeah, and we never ride bikes so a two a hour speeding death trap race around Amsterdam kinda took it out of us.
Wow, what can i say about Amsterdam. Well, first off it's one of the most lawless and craziest place I've ever been. Experience wise it rates up there pretty high (get it high). No I'm just kidding, obviously everyone automatically thinks Drugs, Sex, and Hookers when they hear Amsterdam, but it's actually got a lot more. The whole city is shaped like a cresent and is designed with 3 main canals that pretty much keep the city in motion at all times.
Also, it contains the Anne Frank Huis (that's Dutch for House), and the RijkMuseum. I have to say that the red light district is one of the creapiest places i've ever been and probably wont ever go back. Plus, being one of the only guys in our group it was more than a giant task to protect and hear a group of 10 girls through there, but at least i can say i was there.
Probably my favorite part of Amsterdam though was the bikes! They basically have three major ways of transportation and the bikes are actually so dominant they have there own bike street and stop lights separate from cars or trams. So basically Jordan, Draiper, and I decide we want to rent some bikes and take a nice leasurely strole around Amsterdam. No, wasn't like that at all. This bike ride was intense!!!
First off we didn't know all the rules, for instance, our bikes had bells on them which we though was cool and fun to ring and wave at people. In reality your bell is a serious deal that you use like a horn on a car to tell people they are idots and should get out of your way...Whoops! Also a lot of the paths are one way and we sure didnt realize that til' it was too late. Oh yeah, and we never ride bikes so a two a hour speeding death trap race around Amsterdam kinda took it out of us.
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