The Final Post...

As I woke up this morning, I realized two things. First, trying to run at 6:30am is an extremely difficult thing and second, I am quite "blogged" out as I'm sure anyone else who still reads this is too. However, here is a quick note to sum it all up.

It has been the best trip of my life spanning exactly 3 months, 2 continents, and 15 countries. As I've already told some of you, Cape Town, South Africa, still remains the best city I visited. However, of continental Europe, Munich is my favorite. If anyone ever goes, I highly recommend doing a number of things there but most importantly, go to the Hofbrau House. Best beer I've ever had! I have seen so much culture, met a lot of really cool people, and have spent some really quality time with each of my family members here. But, like all good things, this trip has come to an end. Now, as I prepare for a 10.5 hour flight back home, I can honestly say it was totally worth it. That is all.

Fun With Shaving

So my beard was out of control. the hairs from my moustache were growing over my lips and making it difficult to eat and drink beer. Here are a few pictures of the progression of my shaving. enjoy.

http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=538938021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

5 Nights in Eire

The Emerald Isle was one of the cooler places I have been. My grandmother and I flew into Galway and began driving north to our cousins who live about an hour away in a province called Connemara. It took longer than that as we were "admiring" the scenery but eventually we got there. The O'Dwyers welcomed us with lots of food and alcohol. Seeing as they are Irish, they can really put it away. We must have gone through 10 bottles of wine between 4 people...plus a few beers on my part. They even prepared wild irish salmon that had been caught the day before. probably the best salmon i've ever eaten and of course, we ate it with potatoes. the following day, we drove north and west of them and saw the west coast, ate fresh crab claws in a little sea village and had a guinness. That evening, Simon (my cousin) taught me to play the didgeridoo and the Irish horn. While I can't circular breathe with makes a continuous sound, I can now play these 2 instruments pretty well. The next 3 days, my grandmother and I spent driving around the 3 southwestern peninsulas including, the Dingle, the Ring of Kerry, and the Beara. probably the famous Ring of Kerry was the best but only the southern part. Eventually, we met up with her step-cousin who she hadn't seen in 50 years. He and his wife live on a farm just outside Kilbritain, which is just outside Kinsale, which is just outside Cork. Confusing? I know. He was a sailor so we saw his boat, and his wife is a Connemara Pony breeder so we saw her horses. check out the photos, really cool horses. Other than that, just a lot of driving on my part (1100 kilometers or just under 700 miles) and Guinness. Funnily enough, Murphy's, another Irish stout is almost better than Guinness, or so I think. But both were really freaking good. it just sucks that they both taste like ass anywhere else. oh well...check the pictures. today I'm going to the English Championship Rugby math with my cousin, Rob. This week, I'll try and see more family but no set plans. Next weekend (Friday-Sunday), I'm going back up to Birmingham to spend a few days with my cousin, Michelle and my other cousin, Andrew, is coming up as well. then, next monday (May 25th) I end my 3 month adventure and return back to good ole' texas.

Pictures (Ireland): http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=538776021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/
Funny Pictures. Check these out: http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=538775021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

before Ireland

just a quick note about what I've done since in England. I arrived back here from Poland and didn't realize how tired I was. I had been going to bed in the "wee" hours of the morning and waking up at 6:30am every day for the past 2 weeks. The partying didn't help. I was ready for bed around 10pm the past few nights. Thursday I just chilled and went to the gym. I am pretty disappointed in myself though just for how out of shape I am. running is now a chore rather than a pleasure. Lifting was almost the same but once i get back to dallas, i'll get my fat ass back in the gym and get hardcore again. I also registered for my classes. First semester, I am taking Anatomy and a Spanish course which hopefully I can place out of. Otherwise it's an easy A. Friday, my cousin, Rob, and I went into london and got "on the piss" with his friends. it was a fun night but much tamer than what I was doing in continental Europe. Yesterday, we all went up north to watch my little cousin, Andrew, play a cricket match. we then had a curry and of course, I ordered a vindaloo. I must be quite honest, as much as I enjoy the pain, i think i'm vindaloo'ed out. it is sometimes too much of an effort to eat when it's that spicy. today, my grandmother, Jill, and I are off to Ireland for 5 days and will be back on Friday evening. will post then.

Budapest, Slovakia, Krakow, and Warsaw

Budapest was one of the best places we went. It's a really cool city seeing as there are actually 3 parts to it: Buda, Pest, and Obuda. Together, they comprise the city of Budapest. We arrived late afternoon and had a rest. That evening, we went for a tour on the bus with a guide and then we were all dropped off at the river for a riverboat cruise, dinner and loads of wine. The dinner was surprisingly good with Hungarian dishes such as stuffed cabage and Goulash soup. We each had 2 bottles of wine per table. Each table held 4 people and seeing as a lot of the people didn't drink very much on the trip, it actually turned into quite a party on the boat for me and my friends. I landed up having a few bottles to myself and talking with a girl from Birmingham, England. She had so much, she landed up puking on the bus all over my roommate (he was sitting next to her) so she missed the club. After the riverboat, the bus took us to the largest open-air club in Europe...supposedly. It was really cool but like everywhere in eastern europe, they try to rip tourists off. We had to be extremely vigilant about the costs of drinks. Overall, it was probably the best night of the trip. The following day, we went for a walk around Pest and saw the famous hand of King Stephen who was canonized and is now a saint. His hand is mumified in his cathedral. Now when I say he...I mean me because naturally, I am perfect and thus a Saint...soon to be Doctor Saint. wow, how full of $%"& am I?! haha. anyway, later that day, one of the australian guys (dave) and I went to one of 2 Hungarian bathhouses/spas where the water is naturally heated. they had indoor pools but we went outdoors and there were hundreds of people there. We played chess, admired the women and were baffled at how such awful looking men could land such talent. Even had a swim race, USA vs. Australia. Of course, USA won.
Pictures:http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=477483021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Slovakia was just a lunch stop but still worth noting because whenever I thought of Slovakia, I thought os Bratislava, the capital, and the movie Eurotrip where it shows Slovakia being a complete dump. The city we went to, Banska Bystrica, was actually extremely nice and cheap too. Slovakia is on the Euro which means it's actually more advanced than it's former partner the Czech Republic. I had another schnitzel (i think my spelling might be off) and then left.
Pictures:http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=479361021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Krakow was one of the better places we went. We arrived in the evening, ate dinner, and then went to an undergound club. When I say underground, I literally mean it was under the ground in like caves. it was really cool and the beer was 7 szloty (about $1.60US) for .5L. Once again, I thought I was actually earning money so had a lot of Polish beer. that was another fun night. The following day, we went on a city tour, then ate Pierogis (dumplings filled with cheese and potatoes). very Polish and had more beer. That afternoon, we went to the famous salt mines that were about 100metres below the surface. very cool but not as cool as the underground caves I've been to in Texas and Curacao. After that, we went back to the hotel and got to bed at a reasonable hour because we were going to Auschwitz-Birkenau the following morning early. I took just a couple pictures to show you guys but honestly, i don't really want to go back there again. Auschwitz was actually 3 camps in 1. they called the first one Auschwitz and that was a concentration camp. Birkenau (Auschwitz 2) was where 1.1-1.5 million people were killed. And Auschwitz 3 was a work camp where they worked you day and night until you died. One of my friends told me that around one of the gas chambers there was a sign showing where the ashes of the people still lay. he said you could see the ground was a different color. Luckily I didn't see that as I would not have wanted to. that's all I'll say about that. onto Warsaw which was a lot happier.
Pictures:http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=479363021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Warsaw was our last stop on the trip. we arrived in the evening, ate dinner at the hotel and then went to a sky bar at the top of the Marriot hotel. Very swanky and the drinks were a lot more expensive. Now when I say expensive, this is compared to what we were paying earlier in the trip. At this bar, a mixed drink like a vodka orange (screwdriver) was about $4US. for the type of bar it was, this was ridiculously cheap by American standards. Anyway, we had fun and laughed at all the middle-aged single women who were sitting by themselves. There were about 6 of them all in different locations...if you hadn't guessed by now, they were female escorts, at least they looked female but who knows nowadays with these crazy europeans. The following day, we did a city tour, had more Pierogis in a beer hall, went into the hot tub at the hotel and then went back out. We started the evening at 4pm with a private concert of Chopin. I have played some of the pieces the pianist played and although she was excellent, I preferred my interpretation to the playing. I asked and apparently, she plays with a very Polish attitude which means very aggressive and rough. After that, we had a farewell dinner at a restaurant, then went to another swanky bar and then a club after that. The club was a lot of fun. At 2 points in the night, there appeared this polish guy with long blonde hair trying to be like Fabio. All of a sudden, the music went slow, like Bryan Adams crap, and he started doing a strip tease. He always got down to his thong and then walked off right as he showed his ass. of course, the girls loved it and the guys were laughing their asses off. The following morning, we said goodbye to eachother and that was the trip.
Pictures:http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=479366021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

I am now back in England staying at my grandmother's place. We are going to Ireland together to see some family and the country. We start in Galway, then work our way down the west/southwest coast until we fly out of Cork in the South. Should be a good trip. We leave on Sunday and come back Friday so I'll post again then.

Contiki, Berlin, Prague and Vienna

I just finished my Contiki tour and arrived back in England yesterday. The twelve day tour was awesome! there were 36 of us with ages ranging from 19-38 but the majority of people were around 25. Me and about 10 people became good friends with some coming from australia, america, canada and south africa. There is so much i could say but it would take me hours to write it all out so I'll just stick with the highlights.

Berlin: I arrived here from Dresden on Saturday (april 25th) and went to the hotel. It was very nice and located in southwest berlin. to give you an idea, all the crazy german clubs and culture are closer to north east berlin. Anyway, that evening, we all met eachother, had dinner (a schnitzel) and then went out. The following day, we did a walking tour of the city, walked around for a bit and then went out to dinner as a group to a place where they served liters of Lowenbrau beer. Once again, I had several of these before becoming quite "sloshed" as my parents would say. The next day, we stopped in Dresden for lunch (i had already been here a few days earlier) on our way to Prague.
Pictures:http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=477480021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk


Prague was great and I could talk about the history but that would be pretty boring. Instead I'll talk about Absinthe and "Night" Clubs. But before these, we all went out the first night to a club where the tables each had 4 taps of Pilsner Urquell Czech beer. They were damn cheap. .5L for just about 1.25 US Dollars. Obviously, I felt as though I was earning money, rather than spending it, so I indulged one again in the "piss" as my english cousins call it. The following day, I bought a bottle of Absinthe. It was green but I wasn't expecting great things seeing as I have already had it several times in the past. Sure enough, I was right. It tasted like Sadam Hussein's butthole, dingleberries and all! (sorry to be so graphic). me and a few of the guys each had a shot and said that was enough. so we stopped at a KFC to have some of the Colonel's delicious Czech Chicken before going to the best "Night" club in all of Prague. Now when I say Night club, I mean a club where ladies dance for men...get the picture? I swear, I have never seen such beautiful girls in a club like that ever. What was even better was that there were 53 of them. they easily outnumbered the men 3:1. Cover was only 200 crowns which is about $8US. Beers were about $4US and "services" were a bit more. I laughed my ass of because there were actually 2 types of girls in there. Strict dancers and girls for company. There was even a menu on the tables for what you wanted to order, whether it be a lap dance, massage, _____ (fill in the blank), or a "lesbi show!" I was very content on just admiring the girls and drinking. However, some people sitting at the table in front of us ordered a lesbi show. to say the least and to maintain decorum, it was very interesting. me and one of the australian guys went "walkabout" to see if the other clubs were better but we came back to the first one as it was the best. And that was prague. Cheap beer and beautiful women...if you want to pay for it.
Pictures:http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=477481021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk


The Vienna stop was only for 1 day so we saw the sites and St. Stephen's Cathedral. Yes, I am a Saint in Austria and a King in Hungary (i'll explain about that later). The main highlight was watching the Arsenal vs. Manchester United Champions League semi finals the first night and the following day, having a schnitzel that was bigger than my plate. Jamie had recommended i go there so i took a few friends to the restaurant called Figelmueller. Best schnitzel i've had yet. We also went into the royal residences but not much time in vienna so not much to say.
Pictures:http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=477482021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk


I'll write up about the second half of the trip later. Oh and i fixed the links to the last group of pictures

Pictures - Got them up

Italy after Easter:
http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=396468021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Luzern:
http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=392230021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Innsruck:
http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=396469021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Salzburg:
http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=396470021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Munich:
http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=396641021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Dresden:
http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=396642021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk

Munich

Munich far surpassed any of my expectations. Jamie, you were right, the Hofbrau Biergarten was awesome. So I shall start from the beginning. I arrived around noon and went to the main square (Marien Platz) for a free 3 hour walking tour of the city. Our guide was from Munich but lived in Canada and just got back to Munich. She was cool but I met 2 other canadians on the tour who were just a little off. I'm not sure what it is about canadians but they can be really freaking weird! anyway, I learned a whole bunch about Munich and how Hitler started all his stuff there. On the tour, I met a woman from just outside Cape Town (near the Robertson Vineyard) and we landed up walking around more of Munich for another 4 hours. We then decided to go back to the our respective hostels before meeting up again to go to the Hofbrau House. Whilst in my 40 bed dorm room, I met 2 girls who were american and invited them to come along with us. The four of us had great beer. I also ordered a sausage which I didn't know what it was because the entire menu was in german. Turns out, it was a white sausage that came in a pot of hot water with a pretzel on top and served with sweet mustard. Kinda strange but good. We met this big german who was wearing the traditional clothing. He loved Obama and told me I was most welcome in Bavaria. He was very touchy but the reason was because he had drank 15 liters of beer! I have great pictures of this but I won't be able to post them until May. The next day, I went to Dachau concentration camp and did a tour there. It was an excellent tour and I learned a lot but it was also very heavy. Probably the toughest part was when I walked into the gas chamber. It felt really creepy so I walked out pretty quick. They claim that it was never used. Dachau was a concentration (work) camp whereas Auschwitz, where I am going in just over a week, was an extermination camp. After the tour, the 2 american girls, and this Aussie guy I met in salzburg and I went to the Augustiner-Keller BierGarten. It was ok but nothing like the Hofbrau so we went back there. We started drinking around 4 and didn't stop until midnight. I drank I think around 5 or 6 liters. I also took a Liter Glass which I probably shouldn't have but it's a good souvenir. Around 10pm, 2 more americans sat down at our table. They were older than us and were there for work. They live in LA and work in the movie business. We all got drunk and then when it came time for us to pay, one of them picked up the entire tab. We all offered him money but he was a really nice guy so I got completely hammered for free. Like I mentioned in Seville, I HIGHLY recommend this form of travel! Today I took a train to visit a friend in Dresden, Germany. It is the city that got completely destroyed by the Allies during WW2. He's going to take me around the city and then I m off to Berlin tomorrow to start the 11 day Contiki tour where I go to Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow and Warsaw. I do have some great pictures but I won' be able to post them until may 6th when I get back to england. Sorry but such is the case. Keep it real homies.

Luzern, Innsbruck, and Salzburg

I took the train from florence to Luzern. Honestly, there isn´t much to do there. It was nice and there is a famous statue of a lion for the fallen swiss soldiers in some french war but other than that, just the alps. the only other guy in my room was chinese and although he was nice, he also explained to me how easterners are "grander" than westerners. He also had the stereotypical attire and a really big camera on which he took a whole bunch of random photos that "easterners" tend to do.

Innsbruck was fun. It´s such a small town but nice. However, once again, not much to do there. I went into a big church (Dom St. Jakob), saw the golden roof which jamie can tell you about if you care to know more, and went hiking, which was the best part. I think I walked up in total about 1000 meters to this little cafe on the hill. Going up and down took me just about 3 hours and it was nice. I think Innsbruck is a great place for winter sports and summer sports but not much in the way of spring and autumn.

Salzburg has been the best. I first arrived and went to the Residence of Mozart. They also had a special exhibition on how he and Joseph Hayden (another famous composer older than Mozart) were friends/colleagues. After that, I walked around the "Alstadt" (Old Town) and then went up to the fortress on the hill overlooking the city. Instead of going in, I decided to keep on walking and did another hike there. I landed up sitting on a bench looking at the alps in the distance and another part of Salzburg in the foreground. Very nice views. That evening, I met an Argentinian girl and a guy from New Zealand (a Kiwi). We went to a classical concert put on by the college students of music here. It was good...I´m better. Then we went to the Augustiner Bier Garden. We each had 2 liters of beer, a bratwurst, mustard and a roll. Yesterday, I got up and watched a little of the Sound of Music then went walking around. I went to Berchtesgaden (across the German border) to see Hitler´s Eagle´s nest. Unfortunately, it was closed until the summer so I walked around the town for a bit and went back to Salzburg. I walked around a bit more then met a few of my roommates: a guy from England, a guy from Australia, and a guy from New York who lived in Australia until he was 5, then moved to England. He was a mix of all 3 of us. We then proceeded to drink a lot at the Hostel and the Augustiner. Honestly, I can´t remember when I´ve laughed that much. The whole night was hilarious. Now I´m off to Munich. Will post again on Friday

Italy - Finito

I have now passed about the halfway point in my trip. Everything has been great so far. I've really enjoyed every city but my favorite is still Cape Town. This past weekend, I surprised my english family and showed up for Easter with my Italian family. We arrived in the wee hours of the morning on saturday and just went to bed. Saturday, we woke up and watched some rugby. Then my uncle, 3 cousins and myself went to a pub to have a few beers, biltong (like jerkey) and watch the liverpool vs. blackburn soccer match. liverpool won 2-0 and my english family was happy. Personally, I don't really care who wins but it's fun to watch the games. That evening, I cooked fajitas for the entire family and it was a really chill dinner. I spent the night at my grandmother's place and the following day, we returned to my aunt and uncle's house. I honestly can't remember what we did on sunday afternoon, I think probably just watched more rugby and cricket. However, that evening, we all went out for Indian food. I, of course, ordered a lamb vindaloo as I had been craving a good one ever since Birmingham with my cousin, michelle. I tasted a little bite and decided it was not spicy enough. So I called the waiter over and asked for them to kick it up a level. They most certainly did! I was perspiring and tearing quite a bit and my family was thouroughly enjoying watching me suffer. Much to their surprise however, I was also really enjoying myself. It was spicy as all hell but so damn good at the same time. The only problem was the following day, it put me intheloo with a little ring of fire going on...plus, everything tasted so bland. That night, all the cousins went out for a drink at a pub and then we went to bed. We celebrated Easter on monday with a bar-b-q consisting of 3 legs of lab (2 normal and 1 curry flavor), 2 types of potatoes and a myriad of vegetables. The weather was great too. In Dallas, the sun is not a rare occurance, but in England, they were acting like God himself was smiling down on everyone. We all went outside, threw the rugby ball around and talked about a bunch of stuff including the meaning of the words: clever, smart and intelligent. I said smart and intelligent are innate and clever is when you do something intelligent. They disagreed so I said America perfected the english language and we're the best. Now I'm back in Florence until Friday and then I leave for central europe for the next 3 weeks. I start in Lucerne (Switzerland) then to Innsbruck and Salzburg (Austria) then Munich, Dresden and Berlin (Germany). From Berlin, I take a 12 day guided tour which I will talk about closer to the date.

P.S. Pictures are up (see below)

Pictures

Here's the next group of photos:

France and Belgium: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=323094021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Holland: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=323095021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Italy: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=323096021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
England (Easter weekend): http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=323097021/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Earthquakes and Beyond!

Apparently, a few people have been asking if I am ok seeing as there was an earthquake in central Italy. Everything is cool in Florence. We did feel the tremors but nothing major. It happened near a town 60 miles north of Rome called L'Aquila (The Eagle). I think there are over 220 confirmed fatalities so it's a pretty bad situation. On a lighter note, the races on sunday were awesome. I've decided that I want an orange Porsche GT3 RSR. Unfortunately, my cousin tells me they are not street legal. So I guess I'll have to settle for a GT3 RS. Here's a picture of what it looks like: http://www.autoweek.com/files/specials/2006_paris/porsche/gt3/images/01.jpg.

Last night, we went to a vegetarian restaurant where I ate a purley vegan dish. It tasted exactly as one would imagine: like balls (so i've been told by my brother, Jamie). It actually was ok but really, I do prefer a Texas steak to that vegan crap. Today, Irene and I went to L'Academia (The Academy) and saw Michelangelo's David. It is enormous but Irene made a comment that I rather agree with. The statue itself is massive. However, David's dingus is minute in comparison. Maybe sex was not on his mind but I like to think the Europeans had and continue to have small weeners. Any thoughts/comments? Tonight, we are going to watch Tommaso play in his biggest soccer match of the year. Should be fun.

Since I got here, I have been taking Italian lessons. Many people told me that I would have no problem seeing as it is so similar to Spanish. While the structure and forms are the same, most of the words are very different and if they're not different, they're so similar it's difficult to remember which one goes with the correct language. In spite of this, I am progressing well. I can understand quite a bit now and can speak slowly...very slowly but it's mostly all correct. If I had another month or two, I think I'd be able to converse with semi-ease. That's it for now.

P.S. Jordan, thanks for your concern, you sissy!

Florence - Week 1

I landed in Florence this past Monday and have had a great time thus far. My cousin, Irene, took me to a piano recital given by one of her friends who appears to even be better than me! On Tuesday, I pretty much relaxed and regained my energy from Amsterdam. Andi, I finished that book you gave me about Spain. It was very good and almost better to read it after I had visited all those places previously. I went to the Bargello museum which is known for it's multitude of statues and the following day, I went to the Uffizi museum which was also good. Last night we went to another piano concert but with professionals this time. It was 2 pianists playing 2 pianos and occasionally, 1 piano. So I have to talk about the food. I honestly can't remember when I have eaten this much. Everything is local because the people in Florence don't really import anything. I've had pizza, pasta, gelato (pistacchio, hazelnut, vanilla cream, vanilla with bits of real chocolate, and tiramisu to start off my time here), and many other italian foods including ''Stacacca'' bread which is not actually called that but it's what Jamie and I came up with last time we were here because it sounds better. Luckily, there's a gym across the road from my family's place so I'm not turning into a complete fatass. Today, Irene and her boyfriend, Lorenzo, are taking me to Siena for a few hours and then coming back to Florence for an ''authentic and rustic'' florentine dinner. Tomorrow, I'm going to watch Porsches race around an F1 track. I've tried getting the pictures to work but the computers here don't seem to allow it. Thus I will put them up whenever I can.

France, Brussels and Amsterdam

I failed to mention in my previous post about a key happening on the journey from Barcelona to Chateauroux. There was a french guy sitting directly behind me who was the loudest breather I have ever heard in my life! On top of that, he breathed through his nose and to add more insult and thus maximum amplification of sound, he had a nose the size of an small-medium apricott. I almost lost it. Not even my iPod could fully block out the sound of his breathing. Luckily that was only a 4.5 hour journey.

In Chateauroux, Audrey and I drank a lot of French wine. There was one local wine called Touraine which I really enjoyed. In addition, I ate so much French cheese and fresh baguette to last me until my next time in France. I never knew cheese could be so good. Anyway, I went to her school and met some of her students and teachers. Then, for about 25 minutes, I played piano for the music teacher who is a blind french man. He played for me as well. What I found most shocking and impressive was that he played classical music. I feel that Jazz is easier to play when blind because one can just improvise (i.e. Stevie Wonder\Ray Charles). Whereas, with classical, one has to read the music and all the corresponding details that accompany the notes. He played the 1st movement of the moonlight sonata and just missed 1 note. Other than that and the cheese and wine, we went to a nice dinner where I had a french steak or ''boeuf'' as they call is.

Brussels was good. We went to the Grand Place and has mussels and frittes (freedom fries with mayonaise). We then proceeded to walk around and view the entire city while eating Belgian waffles. We decided not to do any museums as they take time and since we were only in Brussels for the day, I wanted to see the city. We also saw the Mannekan Piss, which is the little statue of the boy peeing.

Amsterdam was ___________ (fill in the blank). But in addition, there were 16,000 crazy Scotts because of a soccer match between Scotland and Holland. As you can imagine, tons of Kilts, drinking, and singing. I learned a few Scottish soccer songs but mainly, they just sing whatever comes to mind.

Pictures: coming...

Pictures

I haven't figured out how to share multiple albums. I followed the Snapfish instructions but it's not working. if anyone has any advice, please let me know. Here is a link to each of the albums...the best i can do for now.

Seville - http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=255709894/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Cordoba - http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=255709895/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Granada - http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=255709896/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Madrid - http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=255709897/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Barcelona - http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=255709898/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Spain - Barcelona

Barcelona was different from every other city I have been to in Spain. It doesn't have all the touristy museums and palaces like all the other 5 cities. Instead, it has areas to see like the Barri Gotic (Gothic Neighborhood) and a famous street called La Rambla which has lots of stores and a market. Gaudi is the famous architect here who designed their cathedral in the Barri Gotic and the Sagrada Familia which is still being built. They expect this cathedral to be finished in 2026 but we'll see. It is ridiculous. So bizzare with lots of colors and latin words like "Sanctus" everywhere. Eventually, there will be 12 towers for the 12 apostales. I arrived on Sunday and because it was the Semana Santa (holy week) end and a sunday, everything was closed. I walked around the Barri Gotic and found the ancient sinagogue my aunt, Andi, had told me to visit. It was tiny but very freaking old! they gave a little tour of it and they told us there were only 5,000 Jews in Barcelona. however, not all of those are practicing. he said there still is a lot of anti-semitism and the media is very anti-israel/america: classic europeans. I walked around a bit more and got solicited for sex by a pretty attractive woman. She said, "let's F@#$!" to which I responded with a unbelievable look on my face. She then said, "habla espanol" (speak spanish?) so I said yes. then she said, "bueno, vamos a follar" which is the spanish version of the above. I told her I had to meet my friends so she said "so let's do it before you meet them." I said no thanks and she said you're welcome and I walked off. Very funny and first time that's happened to me. I heard Amsterdam is even worse so i guess it was just a warmup? then went back to my hostel where I met 4 girls who were from UNC in North Carolina doing a semester abroad in Madrid. they gave me some advice. then I met 2 more girls from Notre Dame. we went out for dinner and a drink after. The next day, I went to another free walking tour of the main areas. I learned a lot. For instance, a little plaza i wandered into looked like nothing so i left. the next day on the tour, i learned that in that same plaza, Gaudi's chapel that he liked to attend every sunday was there. In addition, Franco told Mussolini to bomb a school opposite the Chapel to get at the parents fighting against him in Barcelona. Finally, on the wall connecting the two, there were bullet holes from the firing sqauds during the Spanish Civil War. I then met up with the girls and a friend I ran into from Madrid and we went to see the Sagrada Familia. Afterwards, we went for a light dinner and had another drink and walked around. After seeing all the cities in Spain, I have to say that Madrid is my favorite, followed closely by Seville and then Granada. I liked them all but if i had to choose, that would be it. Now, after 5 trains and 13+ hours on them, I made it to Audrey in Chateauroux, a small town 2 hours south of Paris.

Spain - Madrid

I arrived in Madrid on thursday evening and was very excited...simply because I was spending more than one night in a place. Luckily, I was spending 3 nights in a great hostel with some cool people. I met a guy who´s my age. he lives in dallas, went to st. marks, my rival high school, and is starting his first year at UT San Antonio med school in the fall so we might even be classmates. friday morning, I went on a free walking tour of madrid. it lasted 3 hours and was great. however, about 5 tour guides who claim to have a certification were heckling us and telling our guide, who didn´t have a certification, that we were "ignorante" and he was a "guia falsa" (false guide) among other stuff. they were very loud and the one woman wanted to fight some people. funny stuff. eventually, they left and the tour got better. that afternoon, me and a guy i met from new jersey went to the Palacio Real and the Plaza Mayor. Both were really cool and it would be kinda nice to live in a palace as ornate as that one. We went into the Real Farmacia (Royal Pharmacy) and I saw the grossest medication I have ever seen...Esperma de Ballena - Whale Sperm. I don´t know what they used that for, where they would apply it, etc, all i know is it freaking gross. after that, we sat at a bar and had sweet vermouth. pretty good but not my favorite. that evening, we got a few beers at "alimentaciones" (little store) which were 500mL for 1 euro. We then went for a Tapas tour in which we went to 3 different bars, ordered a drink (beer then wine then sangria), and got a tapa (small portion of local food) with our drink. Overall, a good time. The next day, we went to the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia Museum and the Parque del Buen Retiro (Park of good Rest). All were really good but as far as the museums go, I prefer the Prado. It has more classic and religious artwork where as the Reina Sofia is all modern art ranging from Picasso to Miro. That night, we had more beers from alimentaciones, then had a 10 euro dinner which included a beer, loaf of bread, a starter, a bowl of paella, a steak salad and fries, and a desert. I was stuffed and it wasn´t a great meal but we were hungry and it did the job. Then we played drinking games at the hostel with sangria and I went to bed around midnight as I had to get up in a few hours for an early train to Barcelona. I am now in Barcelona and am leaving tomorrow morning for France so I´ll post my time here in a few days. peace ya´ll

Spain - Cordoba and Granada

In Cordoba, I decided to only spend the day there and get an evening train to Granada. I took the bus to a local square and walked down to the famous Mezquita (mosque). That was really cool seeing as it has a built in cathedral right in the center. Check out the pictures when I get a chance to post them. It was cool because I was there during a church service so I sat in the pews and prayed to Jesus...not really but it was an experience. I even thought about taking communion and then I decided that some lines are better un-crossed...don´t want to go to hell if it in fact exists. I then went to the Alcazar where Ferdinand and Isabel said goodbye and wished Columbus good luck on his journeys. The gardens were also nice. In the Juderia (Jewish quarter), I went to an old sinagogue, apparently on 1 of 3 left in Spain, looked at some shops and markets and went into a torture museum of the methods of the Inquisition. For lunch, I bought a roll, some cheese and sat in a park and read my book for about 3 hours. Then I went back to the gardens in the Alcazar and read for another hour just relaxing. I finally went to another touristy tower called La Calahorra which was lame but gave a great view. Then I took a train to Granada at 7:09pm

Granada - Last night, I was on the bus going towards my hostel that I hadn´t booked yet when I saw an American girl. We started talking and realized that we were both going to the same place. However, she told me that the place had moved and sure enough, she was right. So she saved my ass. We got a room and went to a bar and had a beer and tapas. The next morning, went to the Alhambra Palace together. It was enormous and we spend about 3 hours there. Then we went to the Albaicin (Moorish quarter) which was up on a hill. It was quite a hike to get there but we got to the top. Great view of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada mountains covered in snow behind. Then I went back and chilled for a bit before getting on a 6pm train to Madrid. I am now at my hostel in Madrid and it´s really nice. I´ll spend 3 nights here and then off to Barcelona.

I´ll post the pictures of everything when I get to Audrey´s place in France

Spain - Malaga and Seville

I´ve been in Spain since Monday and originally I was supposed to fly into Seville. Unfortunately, I booked my ticket through American Airlines who booked a ticket through Iberia who bought 40 seats on the flight which is run by Click Air. Long story short, Iberia somehow cancelled my reservation even though there were seats available on the plane and I was holding my paper ticket in my hand. So instead I took a later flight to Malaga which is about a 3.5 hour bus ride from Seville. So here´s what I´ve been up to.

Monday (16th) Night - Malaga - I arrived and took the bus to the main road. I found a really shady hostel...one that looked like I might be taken away in the middle of the night to some warehouse and never seen again. Luckily that didn´t happen. Instead, I landed up walking around the main square, had a beer at an outdoor bar, and met 3 arabs who were atheists. We were chatting in Spanish for about an hour and then they wanted me to come with them to a club about 15 minutes away. Seeing as it was midnight and I had to get up at 6am, I told them I would meet them there (they really wanted me to go), and intead I went to bed. The next morning I took a 7am bus to Seville

Tuesday (17th) - Seville - Got to my hostel and it was really nice. They had computers to use and the rooms were great. I had a room with 3 other people but since I arrived in the middle of the day, they weren´t there. So I went off on my own to all the sites. I walked to the big Cathedral which was massive! It has 44 chapels and was made to be so incredibly ridiculous and ostentatious for a reason. That reason was to make future generations think the original builders were in fact crazy. I bought a big loaf of bread for .35 € and had that for an early lunch. Whilst I was in the cathedral, I somehow met 2 Americans: about a 45-year-old mother and her 20-year-old daughter who was studying abroad there for the semester. We landed up walking through the rest of the cathedral together and then had lunch. Had tapas and paella and sangria, and the mother paid for it. Then I had a tiramisu ice cream which she also paid for. I highly recommend this type of travel seeing as it is the cheapest. We then went to the Alcazar (Royal Palace) which was nice. I picked an orange from the myriad of orange trees there and when I ate it several hours later, it was incredible. Anyway, at the palace, the girl asked how big my memory card in my camera was. I took it out to check and then I tried to look at my pictures, they were gone, erased, borados. I made a quick run through the palace again and re-took all my pictures there but lost the ones from the Cathedral. It´s not really a big deal seeing as I wasn´t in most of them and you can see them all in a book. I went to a flamenco show that evening which was cool. Before the show, there was a guy playing classical guitar and singing with a pianist playing and a poet reciting his own verses. Very relaxing and cool. When I got back, I met my roommates who were already in bed. The one was a Korean guy and the other 2 were a couple from Canada. Long story short, they said "ey" and "aboot" so many times I almost lost it. The next day I took a train to Cordoba.

England - Part 1

So I arrived in London around 6:00am last Friday from Johannesburg. Unfortunately, there were no other seats available for me other than a middle seat. So I decided to take a page out of my older brother's book and buy an African sleeping pill. I slept for about 7 hours of the 11 hour journey. I spent the late morning and early afternoon with my English aunts and their friend, then I met up with my cousin Robert in London and we went to a pub. We had a few drinks before meeting up with his friends in a place just outside London called Clapham. I learned very quickly that English beer is much heavier and stronger than American light beers but overall it was a good night. The next day, I went to watch Rob play rugby, then he and I went to his old boarding school, Oundle, which is about 2 hours away from London. We met up with my other cousin, Andrew, and my aunt and uncle, Tess and Don, at a pub for dinner where I proceeded to eat the largest meat pie I have ever seen. The next day, we went back to Oundle to watch Andrew play a field hockey match and Rob play another rugby match. Then we went back to Harpenden where they live and had some really good Indian food. On Tuesday, I went to Birmingham to visit my other cousin Michelle. She showed me the university and we went to workout for a few hours as well. Then we went for a "curry" (more Indian) where I ordered a Lamb Vindaloo. It was incredibly spicy but I loved every mouthful. I am now obsessed with Indian and am very excited for tomorrow night as I will be ordering another Vindaloo. Yesterday, I left Harpenden for London to see my other aunt, Frances, and my cousins, Olivia and Timmy. Last night, we went to watch Olivia play a concert with her orchetsra. They were very good and it was nice to finally see Olivia play as I have heard about her talents from my grandmother, Jill, and the family for pretty much my entire life. Today, Frances and I went to pick up Tim from his boarding school, Eaton, and we are going to have lunch and hang out before I go with Olivia and her boyfriend to a jazz concert in central London. Tomorrow, we are going to watch Tim play a concert with his orchestra at Eaton and Monday, I leave for Spain for 8 days, starting in Seville.

Pictures

so here is a link with some pictures that I took in Cape Town. I think you have to make an account to view them but it only requires your e-mail and password and maybe your name. These aren't all the pictures since Lauren and I usually only took 1 camera on our adventures. I'll let ya'll know what i've done this week in England before I go to Spain on the 16th.

Picture Link: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=255634659/a=159650618_159650618/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Cape Town

So I arrived in Johannesburg after 2 lengthy flights and went to the American International School in Joburg (AISJ) to meet up with my friend Lauren. We went to a dinner for all the student teachers she is with from New Jersey. Saturday, we woke up early and got on a plane to Cape Town. We arrived at the airport, got in a cab and went to our hotel called The Hyde in Sea Point. It is very new and very nice and in a good location. We put down our bags and put on our swimsuits and headed to the Clifton Beaches. We chose Beach 2 which was really nice a relaxing. That night, we went to a restaurant called La Perla where Lauren had a sole filet and i had ostrich. Sunday, we hiked up Table Mountain which took about an hour and 45 mintues. It was very hot and a lot of fun. Sunday night we went to Camps Bay and had dinner overlooking the ocean, then went for a walk on the beach as the sun went down. Monday was kind of a rainy day so we went for a run on the pier and then went to the Waterfront to the aquarium. After that, we had lunch at a place where I had more African game (Eland, Springbock, Wildebeast, and Gemsbock). Springbock was by far the best. Monday night, we went into the city to Long Street to see a friend named Russ and his band perform. He's a tall lanky white guy who plays the sax but he also raps now. His music is a mix of Jazz and Hip Hop so it was very unique and cool to listen to. Tuesday, we went to Robben Island, which was very interesting. We saw Nelson Mandela's cell and learned a lot about the island like how it used to be a leper colony before it became a prison. Our tour guide was probably the best part as he had one of the most ridiculous voices. We had a good laugh about him for the rest of the trip. After the island, we went to Camps Bay and just lay on the beach for a few hours before having dinner with one of my cousin Richard's friends. Wednesday, we rented a car and I took Lauren to the wine country. We had a really nice lunch outside on a patio with a beautiful garden and a little view of the countryside. Then we went for a cellar tour/wine tasting. Wednesday night, we went back to Camps Bay and lay on the beach while the sun went down. We then had a nice dinner in a restaurant overlooking the sea. And that was my trip to Cape Town. I must be honest, if I was not doing the whole medicine thing, I would seriously consider doing something international where I could be in Cape Town for a while. I am now in London with the family and am about to go for a short 4 mile run to watch my cousin Robert play rugby. I'll try and post more often seeing as I will have more regular access to computers from now until the end of my trip. Overall, an amazing start to the trip...

Beginning

So today I leave the states for 3 months. I start with a long journey to South Africa (Joburg and Cape Town) for just under a week. Then I'm off to England and about 10 other countries. I will try and post what I've done with a link to pictures as much I can. Feel free to make comments on my posts/send me an e-mail if you want to know more or perhaps would like something from where I am going. Here's a list of countries:

South Africa
England
Spain
France
Belgium
Holland
Italy
Switzerland
Austria
Germany
Czech Republic
Hungary
Slovakia
Poland
(Denmark and Sweden - possible)

Travel Time to South Africa: 30+ hours