May I present...

Celtic Bart, my new blog!

To Blog or not to Blog...

Lately I've been thinking about whether it's worth continuing blogging...my trip is basically finished, and lets face it, no one's life is as interesting when they're working 9-to-5. One thing that the blog has allowed me to do over the last year is too keep in touch with lots of people, which is great. This is probably the only reason I would continue. So my thoughts are to start a new blog: commenting on life in Ireland, working in Europe, the joys of project management, vacations, etc. Readers, how does this sound? Forward any suggestions about content, format, or maybe better blog engines.

Afterword

For those of you who sit in the movie theatre waiting for hidden scenes, for those of you who listen to CD's all the way to the end in hopes of a hidden track and for those of you who give standing ovations just to hear one more song...this post is for you.

It's been just under a month since I've come home after the long trip. I've had a chance to catch up with old friends, spend plenty of time with my family and eat that amazing home-cooked food. Toronto has been cold, but I've spent most of my time indoors so it hasn't bothered me. After an initial week of settling down, I spent my days reading books, job searching, and plain old relaxing....even caught up on a few movies. Other highlights included a weekend ski trip with my parents and sister to Blue Mountain, a trip to the theatre to see a Polish play and catching a concert by my favorite blues band who just happened to stop in Toronto for this first time ever - The Eric Tessmer Band.

Now onto the exciting news: Come this May, I'll be trading in the maple leaf for a shamrock when I move to Dublin, Ireland to start my new job as a TPM for a small software company. I'm very excited, not only for the new role but also to be moving to Ireland. The time gap between then and now will be filled with a month-long trip back to Poland. So what are your plans next St. Paddy's day?

That's all Folks!

Surprise, it's been just over 10 months and I've decided to pull the plug. That is, my trip is finished and this blog posting is coming to you from the comfort of my parents home in Toronto. Im a huge fan of Seinfeld, not just the show but also the guy. One thing ive always admired about Jerry was his decision to cancel the show after years of being the top comedy on TV. I guess he sensed it was starting to slip so he ended it. "It's better to go out on top then fade away". A few days ago i made the same decision with regards to my trip. The last couple of months have been absolutely amazing: the unreal beauties of the antarctic, my most amazing trekking experiences in patagonia, livin "the life" in my favorite city in the world and finally experiencing carnival with my long time buddy. And although central america would have it's own share of highlights, I realized that this was the moment to go out on top. What is interesting is that there were two events that were the tipping points in my thought process:
1) While on top of Volcan Baru, my camera decided to call it quits.
2) Stubbed my toes, loosing a couple toe nails. There is a great and lengthy story behind how this happened but ill save it for a good travel tale over beer.
Of course this meant no hiking for the next few weeks and of course no photography. In addition, I read through Lonely Planet Central america and there absolutely nothing i was dying to see or experience...everything i had dreamed about for so long, i had already achieved. Add to this the joy of returning to family after a long time apart made this one of the simplest decisions of my life (literaly was made in 2 minutes).

I hope you've enjoyed following me around for the last little while, reading my tales and soaking up the pics. Seems strange, but today is the happiest ive ever been. Maybe it's the feeling of accomplishing a dream, or the memories of experiences or the prospect of things to come. The feeling is similar to the day you graduate university...minus all the built up stress.

Finally, let me answer the question everyone keeps asking me "What was your favorite place?". It's very complex since ones enjoyment of a particular place heavily depends on many factors: your interests, weather, what languages you speak and most importantly the people you meet. That said, below is a list of my fav places broken up by the two legs of my trip:

Europe Leg
Amsterdam (it's amsterdam!)
Prague (best over-touristed town)
Sarajevo (best non-touristed town)
Granada (ultimate Andalusian experience)
Munich (feels like an amazing city to live in)
Poland (huge bias here)
Alps - French & Swiss (best hiking)
Morocco (most interesting culture)

South America Leg
Bolivia (undiscovered natural beauty, friendliest people)
Argentina (country that captured my heart)
Buenos Aires (in Argentina, but so amazing it's worthy of another note)
Cuzco (backpacker heaven)
Patagonia (best hiking)

Of course, if you got a bit of excess cash, then the antarctic is not to be missed!


Hasta la vista!

Carnival Vets

Well it´s Carnival time in the latin world, shawn and i are on an island off the panama mainland called Bocas del Toro. Last night was the first day of carnival and the entire island (along with plenty of tourists) was celebrating. We began early at a very cool hostel which had 50c happy hour beer specials. This was followed up by a street party and then a beach club. Shawn and i now consider ourselves carnival veterans.

Coffee & Strawberries

After leaving central america´s most modern city, shawn and i headed west to the mountain town of Boquete. A beautiful place, with panama´s best coffee. After spending the day organizing our trek we set off on a three day adventure. The first day, we climbed to the top of Panama´s highest peak, Volcan Barú (3750) where we camped a couple hundred meters below the summit. The volano has another interesting characteristic that sets it apart from all other peaks that line the pacific rim: at the peak, it´s the only place in the world, where on a clear day, one can see both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. After setting up camp the first night, we watched the sunset from the peak. The second day, we climbed over and down the backside of the volcano...witnessed one of the most breathtaking rainbows either one of us has ever seen and ended up in a small town on the other side. This small town (can´t remember the name at the moment) claims to have the worlds best strawberries. I enjoyed the best strawberry milkshake ive ever had that night. The final day, we trekked back to boquete around the volcano on a path this know to be the most beautiful in panama. Basically jungle, with tropical birds (that we could hear, not see) and a lone horse who followed us for half and hour. Tonight we rest in boquete and head for the coast tomorrow.


Last shot of me before my camera went kaput<

Diablo Rojos

One last note about argentina...our final night, Igor and i saw a Tango show at a famous BA cafe. Although i have no desire to learn, i must admit that the argentinian tango is the most suductive "classic" dance that ive ever witnessed.

Now onto Central America! Im in Panama City with my buddy shawn. Yesterday was his 27th birthday, so we promply celebrated by drinking large amounts of alcohol, chillin on our hostel patio. Today we visited the famous canal where we saw some boats go through the locks. One of the most interesting things we´ve seen here are the buses. All the city buses are pimped up school buses. You know the yellow ones from back home, spray painted with various designs (jesus seems to be very popular), chrome rims, huge exhausts (18-wheeler style), tinted windows, and massive sound systems pumping the latest latin beats. The local name for this buses on steriods is Diable Rojo (red devils). More chillin this afternoon, it´s really really hot here and tonight we´re off to the western part of panama for some trekking!


Tight squeeze

Can´t believe it´s over...

Its my final day in South America and i must say ive gotten really attached to this place. So many experience and memories, i smile everytime i scroll down my blog. Ive spent 5 months here and without hesitation i could spend 5 more. Places that i didnt have a chance to visit but will be dreaming of include venesuela and columbia. By the way, if you havent seen my brazil blog (from last year) check it out! Tonight we´re throwing a little party and hitting our favorite nightclub until the wee hours of the morning. Tomorrow i start the final (boohoo) leg of my trip...central america.

Devil´s throat from both sides

Igor and I just got back from a trip to Iguazu Falls. The only waterfall that ive seen in my past that is comparable is Niagra. Definetly not as strong or powerful as niagra, but iguazu is set in a national park, surrounded by rainforest and stretches much longer than it´s canadian rival. The highlight of the day was when we reached the boardwalk that was at the rim of the biggest waterfall called Garganta del Diablo (devel´s throat). A storm was starting to come through bringing in cold winds, while the devel expelled warm mist from its base. We were soaked with both warm and cold air hitting us from various directions...heaps of fun. The following day, we crossed over the the Brazilian side to get a different perspect of the falls. Now back im back in BA enjoying my last few days of south america.


Bit of the falls

Quinta

Quick update from Buenos Aires. Not much has changed, just enjoying the everyday, doing a little sight seeing and lots of nightlife. We took a tour of Theatro Colon, which due to its excellent accoustics ranks up there with the best theaters in europe. Night life has encluded: 1) an "afterwork" disco modeled after the opera house in sydney where we partied with a few thousand people until 3am on a wednesday night 2) a normal disco that had a full-blow transvestite dance show half way through the night (ask igor for the videos) 3) a quinta (argentinian word for house party in the country) in a pimp suburb of BA. Today, we´re off on a trip to Iguazu.


Only decent photo i was allowed to take on the tour of theatro colon

The Return of the Croc

Im back in Buenos Aires! Igor, a friend of mine from seattle has joined me for two weeks here. We´ve rented a penthouse apartment in trendy palermo and i get to lead a little more of a "normal" life for a while.


Goofing around in La Boca


Sushi restaurant just outside our apt

Last night was very tripy. After eating at an all you can eating sushi restaurant (muy bien) we went out to a popular irish pub downtown (monday night, what else can you do?). We were sitting by the bar and at one point igor went to the bathroom. While he´s gone, a guy walks up to the bar stands right next to me and orders a beer. I recognize him right away but im completely shocked, so all i do is keep looking at him. Im thinking maybe i had too much to drink. He notices me looking straight at him, he looks at me and then looks away again...no expression on his face. I keep staring, he looks back again at me (probably thinging "what´s this weirdo doing?")...and again doesnt recognize. Finally a third time he looks at me, then looks behind him thinking maybe im looking at something else. Finally i say "crocodile!"...and then it hits him as well "Bart you bastard!". Chris is a guy i hung out with for 4 days in budapest...one of the english guys i beat in the cold water challenge. He´s the guy who quit his job after hearing about my future south america travel plans and booked an overland trip of the continent...and they´ve stopped in BA for a few days. Ive heard many "oh my god, you wont believe the coincidence" travel stories before, but this one takes the cake. If you remember my little blog about A Few Fun Interesting People chris and i are on there...look for us wearing red shirts.

Reading update

Couple more books that i have not been thrilled with:

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. If you have knowledge of any of the following subjects: software programming, cryptography or chemistry then this book is worth a read for a good laugh.

If you like their ice cream and interested in business then Ben and Jerry´s Double Dip is worth a read. Got bored about half way into the book...im just not in that frame of mind right now.

Doin´ the Dabooya

Wow, just back from Torres del Paine national park. Over the last 5 days, ive "done the W". The "W" is most likely south americas second most popular trek (behind the inca trail). I did a slighly extended version, roughly 80km. Everyday was filled with highlights...sunrise at the famous towers (after which the park is named), watching distant avalanches in the Valle Frances and sunset at Grey Glacier. Its not all flowers and butterfies though, patagonia makes you work for it...a couple days i had severe winds, the kind that will knock you over if you´re not careful. Very gusty (the day before i arrived, 150km/h gusts had been measured), changing directions every few seconds...sometimes i felt i was a boxer getting his fair share in the ring. But no rain and lots of sun made everything, even the wind a pleasant experience. That´s it for patagonia! So, so, sad...


Me hiking in Frances Valley


Glacier at sunset


Torres at sunrise


Resting me feet


Beautiful even on a grey day...

A little "me" time

After being cooked up on a ship with 100 other passengers, i decided i needed a little "me" time. The glacier trek in El Calafate was a nice start, but i was craving more. So after arriving to El Chaltén (also in argentina) i rented some camping gear, strapped it all to my backpack and set out for a 4 day trek in the northern part of Los Glacieres national park. Starting the trek, i remember thinking...geeze my pack is heavy...my worries were confirmed on the second day when my waist buckle snapped due to the weight. That was also the day that it rained the entire time...soaking half the things in my pack...i wasnt a happy camper :) But everything turned out for the best...beautiful weather, Mt Fitz Roy was out in all its glory, skinny dipping in glacial lakes...the usual stuff. My feet are sore, my belly is hungry, my beard is out but ive got a big smile on my face. Have a couple days of bus rides and ill be back in Torres del Paine national park for some more trekking.


Fitz


Too close! Just enjoying the sunset...


Clouds in patagonia are the coolest things you´ve ever seen

Back to old Perito

Yes im back in El Calafate, can´t seem to get enough of patagonia. This time instead of just looking at the glacier (Perito Moreno), i spent the day trekking on it. Went with a great company called Big Ice...we trekked for the whole day...and finished off the day drinking whiskey with glacier ice on the boat ride back from the glacier.


How did that get there?

Antarctica!!!

Was sad to leave south america behind but after my 10 day antarctic expedition im back to my favorite continent. Due to excellent weather the trip was brilliant. The 2.5 day voyage crossing the Drake Passage was very interesting, got sea sick on the second day but nothing major. In total we spent 4 action packed days in the Antarctic. Everyday, we made two landings with our zodiaks, did some hiking, photographed wildlife and just enjoyed our surroundings. What makes this place so special is it´s remoteness from human civilization. No towns, no cars, no people, nada...just water, iceburgs, massive glaciers and the freshest air i´d ever breathed. Penguins were the main attraction...one colony we visited had roughly 150,000 penguins! Seals were very abundant...my two favorite were the elephant seals for their shear size and leopard seals, vicious penguin eaters. Finally we saw at least a dozen humpback whales. I´d also like to mention that i swam off the boat in 0C water (salt water freezes at -1.8C)! Save the albatros!!


First one to blink loses


Embarkation day


Antartic Reflections


Penguino


Mini iceburgs in still water


Humpback

End of the World

It´s the middle of summer here in Ushuaia (no easy way to teach you how to pronounce this one), the southern most city in the world! That means it´s light outside until 11pm at night and we see temperatures peak at a sweaty 14C. Ive spent a day hiking in Tierra del Fuego national park and taken a morning boat cruise on the beagle straight. But the best thing about this place is the food! Meat lovers paradise. Patagonia has the country´s best lamb, plus you have the standard (but amazing) argentinian beef. Next comes the king crab! Fresh out of the water and cheep! Add to that a variety of fresh fish, mussles, oysters complemented with the contient´s finest wines and you get the general idea. Would have never thought the end of the world would be so tasty :) Ushuaia is also the starting point for my antarctic cruise! See you in a couple weeks...


Much busier before the boys up north built their stupid (panama) canal

Patagonia...not the company...the place

Over the last three days ive been hiking, horseback riding and having a great time in Torres del Paine national park in Chile. This is¨"the" big attraction in patagonia and its easy to see why. One of the most beautiful places on earth that ive ever been to. The first day i did the famous Towers hike. The following day, i went horseback riding...this was my third time ever...and i must say it was for real this time. The horses were magnificent...strong, fast and very responsive to every command. On several occasions we were in a full gallop. For those unaware (as i was a few days ago) there are different names for the various ways a horse runs, each one getting progresivly faster...walk, trot, canter and gallop (think horses racing on a track). Luckly i had a great teacher. Tonight im in Puerto Arenas, still on the chilean side but will be crossing back into argentina tomorrow.


buźki do słońca

New Years in Patagonia

Happy New Years everyone! Im spending it in patagonia in a town called El Calafate. Today i visited the magnificent Perito Moreno glacier. Its a piece of ice the size of Buenos Aires, need i say more?

Argentina Rocks!

The pulse of south america

Finally in the big city...Buenos Aires. Ive been hearing great things about this city for months from various travelers and finally im here to see if for myself. So far it has not disappointed...there´s a reason they call this city the paris of south america. Lots of really unique and interesting neibourhoods, great restaurants, cafés and nightlife. A danish guy i met a while back in cuzco hit it spot on..."Buenos Aires is a city with a pulse". I spend most of the day walking around this massive place, so far ive seen Recoleta a very high-end neighborhood with an interesting above ground cemetary and San Telmo, the Soho of BA.

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas everyone! Have a relaxing holiday season, eat lots, be merry and instead of making a typical new years resolution...instead imagine something that will make you unbelievably happy and make sure you do it next year!

Tonight ill be spending christmas eve with follow students from my spanish school...we´re having a BBQ outside :) Later, around 1am tonight we´re hitting the nightlife as is customary in argentia...one of the biggest party nights of the entire year. Tomorrow sleep and later i depart to the big city, Buenos Aires.

Do as the argentinians do

Yesterday i did something very risky...entrusted a south american to cut my hair. Actually it wasnt all that bad, the argentinians are by far the most stylish latios ive come across so far...i found the best salon in town, asked for a cut thats very popular in argentina right now (without cutting it too short into the mullet), 5USD later and i can say im very satisfied :) Weather is great, school is great, life is great.

A little rest

Ive decided to settle down for a week in Bariloche. This is "the" vacation town in Argentina. Im still in the lakes district, so there are plenty of them around, plus mountains in every direction. I went for a really nice hike yesterday to Ser Otto where i saw about 7 or 8 condors. Ive also enrolled in a spanish school for the week, i attend classes everyday from 9am till 1 and we usually do things together in the afternoons. We already have christmas dinner planned for later in the week. The group lessons are amazing...the four hours pass by really quickly. There are only 2 students in my class (including myself) and we usually spend at least half the time chatting about stuff in spanish. This costs 6USD per hour...money well spent. Mi escuela de Español.


Learning new languages is such a drag...
Left to right: Favia (teacher), me (on 3 hours sleep), Angelique (other student)

Done with Chile for now

Spent the weekend in Puerto Varas, another small town in the lakes district of chile. Cute town, lake, volcano...you´ve heard the story before. Last night was a long drinking night, so today i only had time for a short but very pleasant hike near Volcano Osorno. Tomorrow i depart for the land famous for its beef, wine, chocolate, nightlife, hiking and tango...

Pucon and Area

Found a cool drawing of the area on the web. The big volcano that i climbed, Villarrica is in the center, the lake to the left and the Pucon is the tiny town on the top right of the lake.

Region IX

Lots to write about! For the last few days ive been in a town called Pucon in Region IX of Chile, also known as the lakes district. FYI, chile is nicely sliced up into 12 regions, the first one being at the north and the 12th in the south. This area of the world looks like Ontario cottage country (lots of lakes and big green trees), plus some magnificent volcanos and of course the Chilean people who come here on vacation. I must admit, the locals here have been the nicest, most welcoming people in SA thus far.

The town is situated on lake Villarrica and has a very german/swiss feel to it...actually there are many german/swiss immigrants here so at times it doest feel like chile at all. The big attraction is Volcano Vallarrica...a beautifully shaped volcano, much of it covered in snow which hovers in the horizon. The weather was perfect yesterday so i took the opportunity and rented a boat to get some nice pictures of the volcano with the lake in the foreground. Today was my adventure day. The plan was to hike the volcano...but when i woke up this morning the entire sky was clouded over. I still managed to get myself up and walked over to the tour company and to my surprise the trip was still on. Fine i thought...but we´re not going to see anything. But as the bus drove up to the base of the hike, we broke through the clouds to reveal the mountain lit up by the morning sun. The hike was simply amazing, when we reached the sumit (2850m) i had my first look at lava. A whole at the bottom of the crater would every few minutes makes some gurgles, then heat up red and finally blow lava over 100 feet into the air. Even the guides were impressed since it was more active than usual. But the best was saved to the end, sliding down the entire volcano lying on my back and using my ice-axe as a brake. Great fun.


The Goal


The Lava


The Hippie

Touring the Island

So instead of going on a group tour, a couple other backpackers and i rented a car and toured the island oursleves. This gave us more time around the island yesterday (including a sunrise this morning), allowed us to find a secluded beach for our lunch stop and we didnt feel like cows being hearded from one Moai to the next. Plus i got to drive a 4x4 jeep for the day :) Yesterday was so action packed that we´ve all decided to take a day off to relax. Not too difficult in 30C weather. Other notes, ive been buying my food from the local farmers market here...fresh everything including amazing mini-bananas, pineapples and avocadoes. Yum.


Birdman competitions were held on this volcano


More Moai


Goofing around

Rapa Nui

Quick update cause internet is f&%$´n expensive on Rapa Nui, that´s Easter Island. Before flying over here, i spent a few days in Santiago...i wasnt very impressed. Usually described as a north american slash european city, i would throw in the word "average" in there as well. Although i did see a cool Andy Warhol exibit.

Back to Easter Island. Its hot and humid, kinda reminds me of maui without the vegitation. The history of this place is what drew me here (and what draws all the tourists)...its long and controversial so read up on it yourself if youre interested. Last night i watched Rapa Nui the movie (produced by Kevin Costner) which was a good hollywood into. Ive walked around a bit, seen some Moai statues and visited the museum. In the next few days i plan to take a guided tour of the island, relax, relax, and relax.


Moais from my daily sunset spot

It aint chilly in Chile

Spent my first few days in Chile but Bolivia is still on my mind. Prices are shockingly expensive (except for the wine) so im back on my tuna/tomato/bread diet with the addition of avocado (yum). San Pedro is really hot (about 30C) since its located at the edge of the Atacama desert (driest place on earth). Ive spent some time relaxing, visited places like The Valley of the Moon and The Valley of Death where i invented a new sport...sand dune jumping. Hard to explain, but ill attach a picture later.

Un-bolivia-ble!

My two weeks in this amazing country has come to a close. It seems like my south america trip is following a similar pattern to Europe. That is, once again, a place i had no prior knowledge of has surpased my wildest imaginations and engrained a strong positive impression into my mind. Yo amo Bolivia. Over the last three days, i have crossed Salar de Uyuni (the largest salt flat in the world), passed countless volanoes, visited a train cemetary, touched 1200 year old cacti, and photographed beautiful alpine lakes inhabited by flamingos. After spending 3 days driving in a 4x4 truck, i found it kind of amusing when we crossed into Chile and hit pavement. Our driver remarked "Bienvenidos a Chile" with a smile on his face. Ill let pictures tell the rest of the story...


Typical bolivian bus


Salt as far as the eye can see...french fries anyone?


...translate for yourself


Llama at sunset


Older than your grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-grand.........parents.



Nice reflection in mud


Giant snot


Rock tree


Rule 1: Never photograph into the sun


Hotspring i bathed in for a couple hours at the end of the trip...water was 26C while the surrounding lake was frozen.


Green lake

Silver anyone?

What do crackers, coca leaves and dynamite have in common? These are the gifts i purchased to give to miners on my way to the worlds most mineral-rich mine, San Miguel. The mine, is located in a volcano next to the town of Potosi. BTW, Potosi is the worlds highest city at 4010m. My guide and i ascended into the depths of one of south americas busiest mines, we got to level 6/12. It´s dark, cold at times and stuffy at times, cramped, dusty and the smell of dynamite fills the air. This is no tourist destination, this is the real deal. Currently about 6000 people work here, and as we passed various miners, we made some chit-chat and gave them a small gift. The stick of dynamite was first to go...followed by the coca and crackers. These men work hard, and i mean hard. I met a few miners as young as 12 years old running down shafts with wheelbarrows filled with rocks. Silver is the key mineral, and as you can probably guess, the spanish had a hay-day here. The mine, about 500 years old, took the lives of (an estimated) 8,000,000 indigenous people. At an early age, men were lowered into the mine destined to worked their days away, never to see the light again. Of course there were many protests and revolts... the solution? Religion of course! The clever spanish created a Devil idol within the mine and convinced the indigenous people that he would kill them unless they continued to work. Today, local people still respect the idol, lighting him a cigarette and drinking some 96% alcohol before starting to work. A really eye-opening experience.

What a World

Yesterday, Andrea, a Romanian-born Australian and I, a Polish-born Canadian shared fondue at a Swiss restaurant in Sucre, Bolivia. Thought that was kinda cool. Other than that, ive enjoyed the last 4 days chilling out in this beautiful colonial city.

11hr Hike

Yesterday was a long day...but very rewarding. There is plenty of hiking around La Paz, ranging from day hikes to multiple week expeditions. We covered around 20km, went as high as 5350m, stood on a glacier and took pictures of multiple alpine lakes. Of course as with the Inca trail, i ate Coca leaves the entire way to help deal with the elevation. Got to love Bolivia. I should have left the city this morning, but the roads are blocked due to protests so we´re flying out tomorrow.


Condor Glacier


Llamas

Got to love Bolivia

Only a few days in Bolivia so far and i must say im enjoying every minute. On the way from Puno we crossed the border and stopped for lunch on the Bolivian side at a town called Copacabana. Beautiful little place on lake Titicaca, feels almost mediteranian. Although i dont write about food most of the time, i figure id let you know what you get for 1USD at a restaurant here: big soup, fresh lake trout, rice, salad, fries, and fresh banana juice. The town also had a magnificent white church that looked very mosquish...on one side, there was a separate room with hundreds of candles and graphitied walls.




Now im in La Paz, the highest capital in the world. Spent the entire day at various markets looking for some warm clothing to buy. Bought a nice hand-knit sweater for 5 bucks...and then i found an unique store where i spotted the coolest scarf and tuque (beenie) that ive ever seen...all hand made in a small village outside La Paz...cost was about 10 times the amount youd pay for the similar stuff on the street but the quality was just so good i had to buy. Still only cost me the equivalent of $25 for the two. (will post the web address of the store later...they export).

Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is the worlds highest navigable lake (at 3800m). I took a boat trip around the lake and visited a few islands. Two of the islands were inhabited by the Uru people, who actually make their floating islands out of dried totora (bamboo-like plants that grow in the lake). These people fled to the lake during Inca times and have lived there ever since.


Very strange to look at the peruvian flag and not see a maple leaf in the middle.

Cuzco

Just thought Cuzco deserved one last post since it has been such a great city. The final night we partied until the early ours of the morning...all free. In the main square, there are people whos job it is to lure gringos into various bars. If you pressure them enough, they give you free drink tickets. Spend about 10 minutes doing this (really easy, they come to you) and you end up with more tickets than you can drink. All the bars/clubs have no cover, so you end up bar hopping all night...great mix of backpackers and locals...really a unique place. Today spent the day on a long bus ride to Puno.

Oh, i also ate Cuy (Guinea Pig) and Alpaka (small llama) in Cuzco.


Cuzco

Highs and Lows

I just came back from the four day, 43km long, Inca Trail which finishes at Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. Overall i was really happy with the experience...but the whole trek was filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. The first 2.5 days of trekking were nothing but clouds, rain and fog. It was very frustrating to come up to vistas only to see nothing but white...also, rain, rain, and more rain gets to you after a while. We passed Inca ruins everyday and my only joy was the mysticism caused by all the fog around the ruins...actually the word "mystical" was a theme word used by optimists in my trekking group quite frequently. In the afternoon of the third day, the clouds opened to reveal a beautiful valley surrounded by snow capped mountains and a rainbow to boot. Big smiles from everyone, we were optimistic about the final day. Unfortunately, the weather turned again...and as i crossed the infamous Sun Gate (located on a mountain pass), the moment ive been waiting for for so long, 4 days of hiking, all i could see was clouds, rain and a faint machu picchu. Ive thought about it a bit, and i stand by the notion that this was the most disappointing moment of my life. Not my worst moment or most difficult moment, but most disappointing. Im pretty sure if there were any people contemplating suicide then the view would have pushed them off the edge. All is not so bad...a few hours later the weather turned again for the better and i had my long awaited time with machu picchu. I hiked up Huayna Picchu, which is the mountain you see behind Machu Picchu in all the photographs. I also met a crazy mexican guy named Alexandro, who had spent the last three weeks walking around Machu Piccu in his bare feet feeling "the energy" of the place. At one point be broke out into some Tai Chi, followed by hugging the walls for energy. In the end, i wouldnt have changed the trip one bit...working hard for a goal makes it so much more enjoyable when you reach it.


"Mystical"


Another inca ruin


Finally a view


Me & MP

Almost Inca´d Out

Cuzco, what a town. The center square is beautiful and very very touristed. Luckly all of the tourists are of the backpacker type. The nightlife has been the best in all of south america thus far...most bars giving free drinks just to enter. During the days ive been visiting Inca ruins in the area, including a trip to the Sacred Valley today. Ive also purchased my first peruvian hat at the Pisac market, i need something warm for the 4 day Inca trail that starts tomorrow.


Biggest inca ruin near cuzco called Sacsayhuaman (pronounced "sexy woman")


Corn at Pisco market


Everyone loves Jesus

The Rebel Sell

Smart, witty book about countercultural rebellion. Ive lent the book to other people in my travel group and it has the topic of endless discussions. Here´s one of the many great quotes from The Rebel Sell (american version here)

Consumers are like crabs stuck in a bucket, each one trying to escape but getting pulled back in by the others. It´s not that the crabs want to stay in the bucket. It´s just that as soon as any one crab makes any progress toward the rim, the others try to crawl over it, using its progress as a way of furthering their own escape. As a result, they all wind up back where they started.

Donkey Pull

Ever tried to pull a donkey across a bridge? Spent the last three days on a trek though the Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world (generally accepted as such, although there is another canyon nearby that some claim is the deepest) at 3400m. Thats twice the depth of the Grand Canyon btw. So day 1 we decended to the bottom of the canyon, where we had to cross a bridge and thats were the donkey trouble began. We had two donkeys with us carring our camping gear and they had no intention of crossing the bridge. It took myself and three other grown men about 10 minutes per donkey to cross the 40m long bridge. Im sorry, donkeys are plain dumb...even when there was only one meter left to go, they would resist and try to walk backwards. Day 2 we hiked along the base of the canyon until we came to an oasis where we spent the rest of the day swimming, relaxing in the sun and listening to bob marley. Day 3 we woke up early in the morning and climbed out of the canyon. As a final reward after the hike, we went to a hot spring. I slept outside both nights under the stars, life is good :)


Inside the beast


Don´t play with fire

Nunery

Quickly moving through peru and im in Arequipa. Im half dead from the night bus but have managed to visit a nunery built in the 16th century when christianity was brought over. This was a nunery for the rich...each nun had her own quarters with multiple servants. Ok lets start from the beginning. Back in those days, the first born son would have to marry to carry on the family name. The second born son had a choice, join the military to become a priest. If he chose the military then the second born daughter was to be a nun. The idea was that every family needed at least one person praying for the salvation of the whole lot. The second born daughter, at the age of 12 would spend 4 years as a "Novice"...living in the nunery but speaking to no one (although family could come and visit now and again and speak to her through a gate). After 4 years, she would become a nun afterwhich she would never have contact with the outside world again. Even after a nuns death, her family members would not have the oppertunity to see the body. This all sounds horrible, but life outside the walls of the nunery was a lot worse.


Blue,red and white: the three main colors found in the nunery.

Aliens?

Today i got into a 6-seater plane and flew over the famous Nazca lines. You may be familiar with these drawings from such shows as unsolved mysteries. Basically huge drawings of animals (some of which span hundreds of meters) and straight lines that extent as far as the eye can see. There are many theories about how this figures were created...everything from maps of water sources to aliens. Personally, i think any culture with a few centuries of time to kill and nothing but desert to play with would have built it our of bordom. From the plane i could also see the worlds tallest known sand dune...over 2000m of sand. In the afternoon, i visited a Nazca cemetary...where i got to casualy hold 2000 year old human bones.


Hummingbird

Sandboarding

Great day today. Was back in the dessert...this time instead of riding camels (like in morocco), we took dune buggies which turned the huge sand dunes into an amusement park of roller coasters. Every now and then we would stop and sandboard down the dunes. Good fun. This was in the Ica dunes btw. In the afternoon we stopped in the Pisco winery, got a tour and of course tasting at the end. The most popular drink in peru is the Pisco Sour...which is just pisco liquer plus some lime, sugar and ice. Here´s a great saying that ive picked up and should be used before taking a shot:
"Por Ella, la botella, la mas bella."
(For her, the bottle, it is more beautiful)


Like a pro

Lima...boooo

Just passing through Lima...cause this town sucks from a touristic stand point. I did manage to buy an "Inca Kola" t-shirt that im very proud of. Inca Kola is the peruvian answer to Coca Cola, looks like Mountain Dew and tastes like cream soda.

Sand City

Im in Huanchaco another coastal town. Today we visited Chan Chan, a huge city built out of sand during pre-inca times by the Chimu. The coastal part of peru does not get rain...none... except during El Nino, so at its peak Chan Chan was a sand city supporting around 60,000 people. Of course we can thank our spanish amigos from destroying most of it. You still dont believe me about the rain...internet cafes here do not have proper roofs. When you ask "what do you do when it rains"...the answer you get is "it doesnt rain".


Chimu design

From Ecuador to Peru

I should mention that im traveling with a bunch of backpackers from Quito to Santiago with the help of a local guide. Ive booked a few of these, the first one being Galapagos, the current being the second, then a Patagonia trip and finally my antarctic voyage. We finally managed to leave ecuador and now im in Mancora Peru. A tiny surfing town on the coast. Its sunny and warm, i spent the day on the beach reading...went for a jog...that kind of stuff. The trip here was exciting, it included a broken mini-bus in the Andes, restaurant staff running after us through a busy square, counterfeit money, and the "interesting" ecuador/peruvian boarder which is essentially 45km of no-mans land.

Cajas National Park

Its my final full day in Ecuador...staying in the colonial city of Cuenca. Today i spent the day hiking in Cajas National Park...very high elevation with a couple hundred apline lakes. On the way back we stopped by "Che" restaurant and had some smoked pig...our cab driver was really cool and took us to the place, he even got the women to add extra meat for us because he thought our portions were too small. Tomorrow we cross the boarder to peru.


Funny lookin plant

Hikin ´in Bikin

Im in Baños. Spent the day biking down curvy roads surrounded by mountains, stopping every once in a while and hiking up to waterfalls (the most famous being El Diablo). ...great day, boring post...im sorry.

Cucarachas

I spent the last three days in the Amazon Jungle...La Selva to be exact. This is in a very remote part of ecuador...from quito it took 30 minutes on a plane to Coca then a 3 hour motorized canoe ride down a river, followed by a 1 hour hike and then another 30 minute canoe ride to reach our lodge. The lodge was very pimp by jungle standards...three course meals, hot water, etc. I had a private hut which i shared with about a dozen cockroaches (jungle sized). We did about 2 or 3 hikes each day...saw plenty of huge insects, hundreds of parrots and other exotic birds, and some caimons. I did fish for pirannahs...but unfortunately the buggers are just to fast...after lowering a piece of meat on a hook into the water within 20 seconds it would be polished off...very frustrating. Weather was perfect...rained for 15 minutes one day.


PG-13


Lake that we spotted caimon by night, fished for piranahs in the evenings and swam in during the day

Cloud Forest

Spent the entire day hiking in a sub-tropical cloud forest in north western ecuador. Highlight of the hike was seeing a tucan (like Sam, the one on the Fruit Loops box). Tomorrow i leave for three days to the jungle (eastern ecuador close to brazil) were i will have the opportunity to fish for piranahs.

Biking down Cotopaxi

Today i spent the day cycling down the worlds highest active volcano, Cotopaxi. We started with snow, then hail, some rain, and by the time we got to the bottom (4 hours of cycling) i had a big grin in my face. The company that i went with was called the Cycling Dutchman. I had a chance to meet the dutchman himself when we pulled up to his huge mansion to pick up bikes. Here´s the quick story...but its really funny to hear him tell it in a thick dutch accent.
- travelled the world for 5 years...would work summers in the netherlands painting houses and travelled the rest of the time
- when he was in vancouver, he bought a bicycle and cycled down to LA where he fell in love
- not with a girl, but with a boat. he sold his bike, and bought an old decrepid 21 foot sail boat for 400 dollars. painted rich peoples homes in LA for 8 months while restoring the boat.
- sailed by himself from LA to cabo st luca in mexico...took several months...realized half way through his trip that he didnt really know how to sail...got lost for weeks without land in sight...the only maps he had with him was a world map (just a piece of paper) and a map of india...almost got run over by a huge tanker but somehow managed to reach his destination.
- travelled south and met a girl in ecuador and fell in love
- they went back to the netherlands to paint for another year and then moved back to quito
- he bought 5 bycicles, and old pickup truck and started the first volcano cycling business in latin america. of course everyone though he was crazy taking people to the top of a volcano and cycling down...but the business grew.
- he now lives in a pimp mansion in quito with his wife and 2 children (who are fluent in spanish, english, dutch and french)...other people do most of the work and he collects money...loves ecuador (claims europe is shit).

Who´s That?

Me silly... pictures have just been posted from my adventure trip in slovenia.


yeeeeee!

Diving but no sharks

Quick Galapagos update. Ive gone scuba diving twice. The first time was not successful due to very difficult conditions (strong currents, waves, bad vis, etc) but the second time was very pleasant. I swam with a sea lion...err...actually he swam circles around me and i just stared in amazement. We saw a huge sting ray...over one meter in diameter. Ive also snorkeled with galapagos penguins...so cute and way too fast. Weather has been fantastic everyday, so ive got a tan and of course im very relaxed. One and a half days left on this trip before i fly back to Quito.


Me again

Galapagos

Hey all, i have a few moments to blog from the galapagos islands. Ive been in a boat the whole time but today we have stopped in town to pick up some more people. The boat is small, holds 14 tourists plus the crew. I have a private room and my own washroom on the second level. It gets very rocky at night when we are sailing, but i haven't experienced any sea sickness. The experience has been amazing so far...im going to try to list a the things ive seen over the last couple of days: marine iguanas, land iguanas, hybrid iguanas, sea lions (and many cute sea lion pups including a very rare albino), reef sharks, sea cucumbers, sting rays, sea turtles, giant tortoises, fish fish fish and more tropical fish, pink flamingos, blue footed boobies, and many other species of birds. The great thing is that all these animals are tame...so ive been able to get some really close up pictures just using my 50mm lens. We also did a short hike to the top of St. Bartoleme (the best island IMHO) which is the highest point in the islands giving you a nice view of the archipelago.


Land Iguana


Blue Footed Booby


Sealion pup trying to wake up


"Salty" the albino sealion pup


Giant Tortoise

Good old TV

Nothing very interesting to report...i switched from my hostel to a pimp hotel in the new town which is included with my galapagos trip. Having my own room, a nice shower and a TV is a nice change. I spent the afternoon watching random spanish shows and half of Clear and Present Danger which im dying to find out the conclusion. Tomorrow i fly to the galapagos and begin an 8 day cruise.

Flushing the toilet

Today i visited the Equator. Early last century some frenchies came down, made some measurements decided the exact spot for the equator. A monument was built, some restaurants and everyone was happy. About ten years ago, westeners came back with some better tools (GPS) and decided that the original location was about 200m off...so they built a museum that showcases the actual equator. I visited both, just in case they decide to change their mind again. One great trick they do on the actual equator (this may be a hoax...but seemed very real to me) is take a simple metal sink...fill it with water and pull the plug while it sits on the equator line...the water just flushes down without making a swirl. Then they move the same sink to either side of the equator, refill it with the same water, pull the plug and it drains swirling in different directions. Its friday, fiesta tonight!


Me and the E-dot

Oye my head

Yesterday i climbed by first volcano: Guagua Pichincha. Our guide dropped us off about 1000m below the sumit and we hiked up the rest of the way to 4800m. The weather was great the entire way up followed by a nice hail storm on the way back down. Speaking of going down...we chose a path that had very soft sand which allowed us to run down (similar to my moroccan dune experience). After a few minutes of running, i stopped for a little break and then it hit me. You know the feeling you get when you drink a slurpy too quickly...ok, multiply by 2 and have it last for 20 minutes. Lesson learned, high elevation and running dont mix too well.


Guagua...pronounced ´wawa´ and when translated means ´baby´...get it?

Oro

And lots of it...in fact 7 tons of gold was used to decorate the inside of La Compania church in old town Quito. No cameras were allowed but i did manage to get a few pictures...the moment i walked into this church the only thing i could say is Wow. Im getting antsy staying in the city knowing that all these beautiful places are around me, so ive booked a trip to climb a volcano tomorrow. Booyakasha!


La Compañia

Its Cold

Yes, i left rainy skies and mild weather in toronto...a quick stop in sunny, warm, humid miami and ended up in cold, rainy Quito (11C). What can you expect from the worlds second highest capital city (2850m)...my head is still spinning from the elevation. Hostal is great, met loads of people already...today im taking it easy...4 hours of spanish lessons is the plan.

Here we go again

Tomorrow's itinerary: Toronto -> Miami -> Quito Ecuador. Bag is repacked, some old gear, some new gear...there's more stuff (mainly rain and warmer clothing for patagonia) but i've managed to drop the weight a little. Bob Marley, Shakira and Pimsleur Spanish have been added to the ipod. I think im ready. I must say im a very anxious before this trip...just need to get started. I have no idea how frequently i will have access to the internet, presumably less than in europe, but i will do my best to update the blog when i have the opportunity. Enjoy the winter everyone! Adios amigos!

Visitors

I have site meter measuring the number of visitors i have to my blog. If you scroll to the very bottom you can get a count. Today, i was playing around with their site and found a cool feature. Below is a generated map of the places in the world where people are reading my blog from:


And although it looks like there's a huge number of people reading from greenland...no, it's just ice.

Certified

1 book, 5 assignments, 5 written tests, 5 videos, 4-hour in the swimming pool and 4 open water dives later...im now a fully certified, PADI Open Water Diver. I just got back from Tobermory where i completed the certification...yeehaw. From my limited experience, scuba diving is a very relaxing but entertaining activity...i had issues equalizing my ears all weekend mainly due to my allergies. But all is well in the end.


Campground...no, i did not scuba in this pond

Trip Rename

Well, it's come time to rename this blog. In less than two weeks i'll be flying into ecuador so the whole "European Adventure" bit goes out the window. I thought about "European, South American Adventure" but that's too long...and anything else i come up with sounds cheesy. So, lets do the easiest thing and name it after the URL..."Monsieur Bart" it is.

Now onto more exciting things...below is a map of my planned itinerary for south america. The plan is to fly into Ecuador, chill out for bit...then onto the galapagos (which are off the map) and then continue south. There is also another flight out of Santiago (marked by blue)...which also is off the map. This will be a surprise, but im sure if you looked at another map you could figure it out. Oh, and there's a little green line at the bottom...again cut off...ill be visiting the antarctic to chill (pun intended) with penguins. Finally, the trip seemingly ends in paraguay...truth is, i haven't figured out exactly what to do at that point so you'll just have to stay tuned to find out.

People

Im in Toronto taking care of a whole bunch of stuff before my next trip. Vaccinations, scuba diving certifications, dentists, etc. It's really one big headache. In my spare time ive managed to put up a few new pictures on this blog (just scroll down) and ive also created a new blog dedicated to people i met along the way.

Last post from europe

So sad. Today is my final night in amsterdam. Tomorrow morning i jump on a train to paris, party with old friends and the following day i fly out to toronto. Bu-bye europe.

Hope everyone's enjoyed reading about my europe travels...but dont worry im not done yet! Things to come: more pictures from the trip, a new blog dedicated to people (pictures and comments) i met throughout my journey, maybe a few posts from toronto, and then my south american adventure begins.

A&D

Everyone ive met who's read both Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code prefers A&D. I fall into the same boat. So if youve read Da Vinci and liked it then you owe it to yourself to read A&D. The only disappointment is how similar the stories are.

End is nearing

My european adventure is quickly coming to a close. Its a bittersweet feeling; im anxious to see my family back in toronto, im also starting to look forward to my next trip but at the same time i think ill miss europe. As much as each country in europe differs from one another, they all have that european feeling...a feeling ive gotten used to. Ive come back to Amsterdam since my first visit earlier in the trip was very brief. Gonna eat some breakfast and then off to the Van Gogh museum.

Genious

Innsbruck austria has got things figured out. Heres the deal, if you stay in the city (in a hotel or hostel) then you get a free Innsbruck card. This card entitles you to free guided hikes as long as you stay. So this morning, i arrived at a meeting point, got in a van with with driver, guide and 3 other tourists and spent the entire day hiking in the austria alps...free, paid for by the city! They also have a badging system...the more hikes you do, you get cool pins. Other than beautiful views, i also saw the worlds 2nd most poisonous mushroom and a rare alpine flower called the Edelweiß. Tomorrow morning, i get up for a sunrise hike that begins at 5am.


Look at me!


Great when fried with onions

Back to the alps baby!

Sorry for no updates in a while.

Birthday was a blast! Me, a brit and an entire italian bachelor party hit up Ljubljana saturday night. We ended up following some croatians to a killer yogoslavian night club. I think i drank every possible kind of alcohol...good times.

The last couple days, ive spent in the Julian Alps (in slovenia) on a two day adventure tour. These were 2 action-packed days filled with hiking, rafting, canyoning (jumping 9m into a pool of water and sliding down 15m natural rock slides), and bridge jumping (the final day i jumped off a 12m bridge...kawabunga dude).

Now im in the austrian alps ready to do some more hiking!


Julian Alps

Birthday in Jail

Today is my 26th birthday and i feel that the past 5 months have been a big birthday party so i dont feel a big urge to celebrate...but im sure ill end up doing something fun tonight. My hostel is a remodeled communist prison, so i can say i turned 26 sleeping in jail.

Back in the EU

After three days of utter relaxation in korcula...i decide to move on. I spent my days loungin on the beach, reading, watching sail boats float by. The hostel on the island absolutely rocked, every night kicked off with a movie (Team America the first night, and Motorcycle Diaries the second) followed by a themed party night. This was the kind of place that could suck you in for weeks. Anyway, a ferry ride to Split, then a bus ride to Zegrab, followed by two trains and im in Ljubljana, Slovenia. If you have issues pronouncing Ljubljana...try Liubliana (j`s sound like i`s in slavik languages)...oh and dont confuse slovenia with slovakia (another no-no thats sure to piss off the locals).


View from ferry on the way to split

Tattoos

Before i get on the topic of tattoos...heres a little update. I spent the last couple day on mljet...a remote island with a nice national park. I rented a scooter and drove around...found remote stretches of ultra blue water for swimming. Also went swimming though a natural cave as well as a salt water lake. Today i arrived on my next island Korcula...Korcula town is like a mini, chilled out dubrovnik.

I guess there are good and bad tattoos. Although im not a fan of them in general, i have seen some really original ones and some really really bad ones. The coolest tattoo ive seen, i actually witnessed the tattoo being made, was in istanbul. A canadian girl at the hostel had the bartender (who doubled as a tattoo artist) create a tattoo on the inside arches of her feet. So that when she placed her feet side by side it read: "All the world" "at my feet". Apparently very painful...but was a cool way of remembering her travels. The worst tattoo ive ever seen was on a guy from san diego. San diego has a big tattoo culture and this guy fit right in. His background was german/norwegian/mexican so he had one tattoo dedicated to each piece of his heritage...no problem. For his german heritage...his chose a german phrase, which i cant remember at the moment but when translated into english seemed fine. The tattoo was written in large fonts that spand the underside of both his arms. Unfortunately for our clueless californian dude (and his clueless californian tattoo artist...who probably just picked out this phrase from some tattoo book), the phrase was straight out of the anthem for nazi germany. To make things worse, it´s also written in a similar font used by the nazis. We were sitting at an outdoor cafe along with a bunch of other people including a group of germans who noticed it right away and asked him if he was a nazi. Poor guy. Apparently he walks around with is arms at his sides every time he´s in germany.


My daily chillout spot

Just chillin

Spent the day swimming in the blue waters of the adriatic. Yesterday, i sat down with a Croatia lonely planet guide book and read about all the islands in the area. Any island that had pictures of swarms of people lying on beaches was automatically thrown out. Ive chosen to visit the two most remote, natural, islands that are still accessible by ferry. Tomorrow morning, i board a catamaran and sail off to my first island, Mljet.


If i can aim the cannon just right...

Blackjack

For all you gamblers out there...You've heard the story...MIT kids make millions in vegas counting cards. Read the book, hype. Bringing Down the House

"The new greece"

After hearing marvelous stories about Croatia for the past few months i decided to come here and check it out for myself. It didnt take long to see what all the hype is all about. Set on the adriatic sea, with green mountains in the background, Dubrovnik with its 7th century defensive walls is a stunningly beautiful city that just must be seen. My plan is to spend a couple days here and then head out island hopping.


Windows

1 minute left of internet...

Im in Mostar, Bosnia...famous for a bridge built by the ottoman empire.


Jump off to impress the local ladies

Gem

I like this city so much that yesterday i went out and bought a "Sarajevo" sweater. Last night i saw an awesome Ska band at a local pub...the place was jam packed, the band was awesome...monday night. Apparently the nightlife is in full gear every night except for wednesdays...but the locals do admit that it has gone a little down hill. Apparently the nightlife was best during the four years that the city was under siege! Even the Sarajevo film festival got its start during the siege. Today i took a tour of the town, we visited the tunnel museum...a regular country home which contained the entrance to a 800m tunnel that went under the sarajevo airport. The tunnel was built by the bosnians during the war and was the only connection the city had to the outside world for nearly four years (serbian army controlled all the hills around the city).

Im frustrated with the fact that i came here with little knowledge, and incorrect stereotypes of the people and culture. After speaking to other backpackers, it seems most people feel the same way. This is a city where people of many religions have lived side by side for hundreds of years without major conflict. A city, where during the second world war, important jewish artifacts and books were stored in islamic mosques. Its the only city in the world (apart from jerusalem) where you can find a mosque, a Catholic cathedral, a jewish synagogue and an orthodox church within 150 meters of each other. And most recently its a city where people of different ethnicities and religions fought together to defend their city and home from an invading army. This has been by for the most enlightening and interesting stop on my trip. Add to this the beauty of the town and the lack of tourists, i stamp this city the "hidden gem" of europe. Try to get here before the fast food chains and tour buses start rolling in.


Parliament building

Headin west

One final word on bulgaria. The bulgarians have an interesting way of serving food at restaurants. In north america and western europe, one usually orders a whole meal and it arrives on one plate (maybe a separate salad). In may parts of eastern europe, one selects the meat, and each of the sides separately...fine. The same is done in bulgaria, the weird part is that they bring things out as soon as their ready. So one day i received a plate of hot rice, 10 minutes before i got my chicken. Or received my coffee before my cake. Or the first person at the table gets their food and can finish by the time the last person gets theirs. Takes some getting used to.

Ok, that was more than a word. Over night i traveled through serbia and now im in Bosnia. Sarajevo to be exact. I've been absolutely blown away (no pun intended) by the beauty of this city. It's nestled in the middle of beautiful green hills (which are very tempting to hike, but unfortunately are littered with mines). The old town, most of it resorted after the war, has influences from so many cultures and religions...and everything feels so authentic...the people, the shops, the buildings...not to mention that there are very few western tourists. Of course, there are still visible signs from the recent war, which makes the place even more interesting. The people are very nice and welcoming...you feel the spirit is about rebuilding and looking towards a better future. While at a border crossing, i needed to use the toilet but i didn't have any of the local currency (you gotta pay to pee)...a serbian guy who was leaving the washroom reached into his pocket and paid for me without a thought.


cemetery

Sofia

The overnight bus ride from istanbul to sofia, bulgaria was altogether fine. The border crossing took 2 hours...we were required to show our passport a total of 5 times and had to leave the bus a total of 3 times. The line was the longest ive ever seen at a border, luckily buses bypassed most of it, but im guessing the rest of the people had at minimum a 6 hour wait. I arrived to sofia early in the morning and decide to spend the day hiking. Right next to the city is Mt Vitosha (around 2200m). My hostel is very well setup and cheap...10 euros which includes free internet, breakfast and dinner. Last night i went out with a couple brits, a scottish dude and another canadian...we got bottle service at a club (since a liter bottle of vodka only cost 30 euros). Good times had by all.

Gotta get out

Over the last few days in Istanbul ive had some interesting experiences. When entering big markets ive continued the tactic that worked so well for me in morocco. Whenever a person approaches me (most of the time to sell you something or take you to their shop) the first question they always ask is 'where you from?'. Sometimes they try to guess right off the start...ive been incorrectly identified as australian and dutch. Anyway, once they figure out where you're from, they switch to that language. The response of 'Polska' followed by a few lines of polish leaves them looking confused and they just walk away. Well, i was completely shocked when yesterday, a turkish dude busted out his polish like it was nobodies business. Im not talking about simple phrases...we started having a conversion. I was so impressed that i entered his leather jacket store and gave it the once-over before i thanked him and left.

A few days ago i purchased a train ticket to bulgaria. Last night i show up at the station and ask the information desk guy where to find the train. 'No train to bulgaria tonight. Train cancelled'. No other explanation followed and he didn't seem interested talking to me any further. I took out my ticket and he told me to go to desk #4. At desk #4, i again was confronted by a man without an explanation...when i pulled out my ticket his hands reached under the little whole in the glass separating us...i slowly gave him my ticket...he quickly stamped it a few times, put it in a drawer and gave me a full refund. No trains today, no trains tomorrow. Later at my hostel i found out that there have been no trains to bulgaria for 6 months ever since some floods destroyed the tracks...but for some reason they continue to sell tickets and refund them...i guess it keeps people employed which is a good thing. Well, i got a bus ticket today and should be in bulgaria tomorrow in the AM.

Id like some cranberry sauce with my

Turkey, a quick flight from cold Berlin and im sweatin it out in Istanbul. Lots of really interesting things to do and see here...ive already visited the famous Blue Mosque followed by a huge underground Cistern and 'The Grand Bazaar' (think there's a famous Tea Party song named after it). Ive seen all sorts of buildings on my trip, but nothing prepared me for the awe i experienced seeing the blue mosque for the first time. The bazaar was a little disappointing after visiting the soques in morocco...although larger, it was more westernized and had more tourists. I've had turkish coffee, which is about as thick as tar. Oh one last cool tidbit of info: Sultan Ibrahim (lived a few hundred years ago), got bored of his harem of 280 women and decided one day to package them up in bags and threw them in the river. Times have changed, and things are a little better for women here. That reminds me, today i saw a woman wearing a Burberry headscarf.


Hagia Sofia


Blue mosque

The Zahir

Newest book by Paulo Coelho: The Zahir. Another good one, great follow up read to the Alchemist.

Großes Bier Bitte

Im back in Germany, this time in Berlin. This is a mammoth city, with a subway system that rivals london's. Generally speaking, language isnt an issue here since most things are written in both german and english...but occasionally (like when a subway line is closed and instructions are temporarily posted with detour explanations) not. Today i went on a free 3.5h walking tour of east berlin which was very informative. I had taken a similar one in munich and found this an efficient way to tour a large city (and at the same time learn some really interesting things). We must have visited at least 15 different sites...my favorite being a memorial dedicated to every kind of human suffering (slight exaggeration) that has ever existed. I havent experienced too much night life yet (for which berlin is well know for), but my german friends assure me a good time this weekend.

Finally i would like to congratulate and give props to two of my buddies:
- Igor Lovich for finding a great job in paris.
- Shawn Martelock for climbing 4392m to the summit of Mt. Rainier in Washington State.
Well done gentlemen.


Memorial to all victims of war and tyranny

The simple life

It has been a relief to be traveling again with just my backpack. For a while in poland, my sister had brought me lots of nice pants, shirts, shoes which i was very excited to be able to wear. But seeing all that stuff leave on the plane was liberating. I remember departing toronto at the beginning of my trip and remember feeling a little naked with just a backpack. Now i can fully appreciate the mobility and the simplicity of my travel. So for all those interested, here is a list of everything i carry with me (ive been asked this many times):
1 large backpack
1 day pack
3 underwear (only use 2, 1 is a spare) ***
2 pairs of hiking socks
2 hiking t-shirts
1 hiking shirt
1 hiking shorts
1 hiking pants/shorts
1 jeans
1 belt
1 going out shirt
1 pair hiking shoes
1 pair of sandals
1 flip flops
1 ultra-small towel
1 sweater
1 rain jacket
1 toque
camera gear
toiletries
medical kit
books
other small things (flashlight, sink stop, laundry detergent, etc)

*** Yes, laundry becomes part of your daily routine

The first round

Im still in Gdansk...recovering from the saturday night party in Sopot. Went with my ausi friends again, back to good old Copacabana club on the beach...i stayed and watched the sunrise over the baltic. I've been kicking myself ever since...it was the nicest sunrise i've ever witnessed and i didn't have a camera on me. At least i could enjoy the moment.

Today i went to Westerplatte...the site where the first round was fired by the Germans, which marked the beginning of the invasion of Poland and WWII.

Hello Baltic

Yesterday i arrived in Gdansk. A quick tour of the old town and i was off with a bunch of aussies and canadians to party the night away in Sopot (20 min train ride from Gdansk). I guess you can call Sopot the 'Cancun of Poland'. We spent the night at a beach club called Copacabana (very original). Today i took a day trip to Malbork, famous for its 13th century castle built by the Teutonic Order. They built many castles in the baltic region...roughly 100km apart (the distance a knight can travel in full armor in one day). The castle in Malbork was not only the biggest but also served as the capital.

Anyway, Gdansk is jam packed today...a bunch of large sail ships docked, hence attracting lots of tourists. Im gonna try to get a few pictures of the town and then back to Sopot for round two. Uwaga jest Sobota!!


'Long Street' Gdansk

Coming Home

Amanda and I have spent the last few days in my hometown, Warsaw. In addition to spending time with our cousins and family friends, we've managed to visit many of the sites: Church of the Holy Cross (which has Chopin's heart), old town, Warsaw Uprising Museum (very new, and excellent museum dedicated to the only substantial uprising during WWII (in which our grandmother took part in)), and a chopin concert in Warsaw's largest park. Tomorrow is Amanda's final full day in Poland before she flies back to Canada :(


Standing next to one of my few, polish, childhood memories


Fire dancer in Warsaw's old town

Spreading Canadian Culture

Last night at the bar, my sister and i introduced our friends to the Canadian Bar-Sport of Boat Races. Basic idea: two teams, it's like a relay race, each person has 2 beers. There were two teams: Canada/Finland (we met a couple Fins wandering the rynek last night) and USA. Team CF took the early lead, but the 'F' part lagged a bit and the American captain was strong. So here is the final scenario...USA is down to their last pint...our captain at the end accelerates and finishes, next Fin goes without a hitch, then me and finally the anchor (my sister) finishes the job. Team USA has already issued a request for a rematch.

In other news, i went to another polish cabaret and a shisha bar.

School's Out

Three weeks have come and gone and our polish school has finished. Last night was the closing ceremonies and a goodbye party at a nightclub. Most people are staying the weekend, but im sure it'll be a bittersweet mood. I'm already looking forward to my next destination.

There is a climbing wall set up in the main square, im planning on going there with a friend from class. Amanda is off on a rafting trip and will be going to Austwitz tomorrow (a place everyone should visit once in their lifetime).

Tatra Mountains

This weekend, our school organized a trip to the town of Zakopane. This is a fabulous little hiking/skiing town on the boarder with slovakia where you can find the High Tatra Mountains. I don't really like hiking with large groups...usually a group of 3 is plenty, we where a group of 33. As you can imagine, we didn't get to much hiking done, although we did go through a cave: the "largest lit cave in poland". Instead of heading back to krakow with the class, i decided to stay in the national park. I hiked some more on saturday, spent the night in a Mountain House and hiked the next day with a couple from the US and a polish gal. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the greatest...and on the way down i got rained on pretty hard. I think it was God trying to tell me that i need to take a shower.

Forgot to mention that last week Amanda and i went to a Cabaret in the jewish district of Krakow.


The clouds are comin'

Karol

School is going just fine, my sister and i are having a blast. Last night we took a break from partying and went to see a movie. Karol is the story of Pope John Paul II from the beginning of WWII all the way up until he becomes pope. Excellent, im pretty sure it'll win the Oscar for best international film. We saw a dubbed Polish version.


PJPII

Polish Class

Today was the first day of polish language classes for my sister and I. In my class, level 5, there are 10 people (2 guys, 8 girls). Teachers are cool and i think im learning a lot already...although i still think the best place to learn polish is at the pub (which we invest a lot of our time and money into).


Me and sis at the bar

Future Star

While waiting for Amanda (my sister) at the airport i noticed a group of photographers and journalists waiting by an arrival gate. A flight had just come in from London...i was expecting a spice girl or something...instead i got 16 year old Agnieszka Radwanska. She had just won the Wimbledon Juniors. I was actually holding a polish newspaper at the time when she walked out and her victory was the cover story. Of course, i managed to get a pic with her.


Agnes and I (btw, this photo was taken after a day of travel and 2 hours sleep)

Proof of victory

MS2

Thinking like a software engineer, i've reached milestone 2 of my euro trip. MS1 was the Alps, and MS2 is Poland. I arrived in Krakow after midnight and decided to go out for one beer just to relax...i stumbled home after 6am. Partied nice and proper. I love Poland. Im leaving to pick up my sis from the airport...

Underground

Yesterday i went caving under Budapest. It was a four hour guided tour through caves that have been created by thermal waters millions of years ago. In the caves, we did a little bouldering as well as squeezing through some impossibly small holes. The coolest moment was when we reached a depth of 40m and everyone turned off their lights as sat still...no light, no sound...two of your strongest senses are telling your brain `dude, there's nothing`...instead of relaxing...your brain races to figure this out `there's gotta be something´...then the tour guide flicks on his torch and life is back to normal.

So im a little sore today...going back to another thermal bath.

Taking a bath

I spent the day soaking and relaxing at a Turkish bath in Budapest. Ive been hanging out with 3 brits (one of sri lanken descent) and an american since i got here. Last night we had shisha and went out clubbing...there are plenty of large outdoor clubs here. Anyway, back at the bath we had a contest...who could stay longest in the 8C (46F) tub. The sri lanken guy dipped his foot in and decided against going in the tub at all...first man out was the american...and one by one the brits left. Gold medal goes to Polanada.


Hungarian parliament

Hardcore

Last night i talked to an Irish girl from Belfast who is by far the most hardcore traveler ive ever met. She started her trip one month ago in Warsaw and traveled south over the tatra mountains into Slovakia...on her bike covering 100km a day. I saw the bike...it's not any high tech machine either...its a standard bicycle...the kind you can pick up second hand for 80 bucks. She has a sleeping bag with her but no tent, not necessary if you dont mind getting wet once in a while. To top this off...she travels with a saxophone strapped to her back...which she uses to make some money when stopping in cities.

It's interesting how many misconceptions western media feeds us about places around the world. Coming to Bratislava i had really low expectations. Maybe it was a clip from Top Green's Eurotrip or something...but i was expecting a very bland, lifeless place. Not the case, there's a nice old town filled with cafes serving amazing food (and cafe lattes like in vienna but for one fifth of the price). There's a castle, plenty of museums, no visible mcdonalds and very few tourists. On the other side of the coin, you have dung-holes like Casablanca which attract western tourists simply because of a hollywood movie.


Frozen in time. One of the many random, but cool pieces of art in the streets of bratislava.

Classical Music

I set off on a grand tour of downtown Vienna. I didn't get very far...while walking through the Imperial Palace I came to a romanesque building shaped like a dome. Inside, i estimate the ceiling was 80m. Nothing particularly interesting inside since a street road and pedestrian sidewalk going right though the building...although the architecture on the walls and cieling is stunning. A chelo player sat against the wall playing beautiful classical music. I sat down, closed my eyes and didn't leave that spot for 2 hours. The acoustics of such a building make the music experience so much more enjoyable. I think this is the first time in my life where ive sat through a couple hours of classical music and not have been bored. While listening there were always other ambient sounds: the clapping of sandals against a person's heals as they walked by, the ticking sound a bike makes when you stop pedaling, the clicking of a dog's chain, the trotting of a horse and of course the odd car. But there was on moment, it couldn't have lasted more than 10 seconds when all distractions when silent. It felt like a staged scene...everything acting in unison. People exited on both sides of the building, no dogs, no horses, no cars. Even the man who was standing next to me received a phone call and left. And there i was, in Vienna, sitting in the Imperial Palace listening to my very own, private, classical music concert.

After this, i needed some more...so i went to see a real concert at a place called Sound of Vienna. The orchestra played mostly Strauss and Mozart pieces; there was ballet/waltz dances and singing. Since this was a spur of the moment thing...i showed up in my hiking cloths...somehow they let me in. I felt a little uncomfortable at first...but i had the last laugh. It's warm in vienna and with a sold out show...the room got hot real quick. I could see the irritated looks on people's faces...foreheads red from the heat...just trying to make it though. But they did look good in suits. I on the other hand, with my REI synthetic clothing, had no problem dispersing the head. Every now and then, i would reach down to my Sigg water bottle and take a sip of my cold water while others watched in jealousy. Fun time.

Those crazy kids...

Yesterday was my last day in the Czech Republic in a small town called Cesky Krumlov. It was listed as a ´newly discovered gem´ in lonely planet so i gave it go. It´s a relaxing place...has a nice castle, unfortunately the castle has a section where they hold 3 bears in captivity. Felt bad for them. There´s also a nice river that flows through the town...what´s strange is how many people are rafting it..there are no rapids...just a lazy river. Almost forgot to write about the crazy kids. Here´s a new way to do a tequila shot (a class of 15/16 year old czech girls where doing this at the bar):
A) Snort a line of salt
B) Shoot the tequila
C) Squeeze lemon in your eye
*** Repeat until Anosmia, Inebriation and Blindness occur.


Cesky Krumlov

Bones

No time to type...people are waiting for the internet. Another day trip today, this time to Kunta Hora. Saw a chapel that is decorated with the bones of 40,000 people and a few other churches.

Czech this out

Last night i had a shot of Absenth. The best way to describe it is: 3 parts green mouth wash, 7 parts pure alcohol and add a twist of black licorice. Makes you feel all warm and tingly inside.

I visited the Museum of Communism today...learned a lot about a subject i should probably know a lot about. I wonder if there is a similar museum anywhere in poland?

Breakin to the Beatles

Ive been to many churches over the last couple of months and after seeing churches in spain, france and italy (previous trip) i thought ive seen it all...nope. St.Nick´s church in Prague is a baroque masterpiece...the inside is what´s so impressive. The walls are painted in bright colors and gold statues everywhere.

Last night at the disco, i witnessed people break dancing to a beatles song (i think it was A Hard Days Night, unmixed)...only in europe.



Inside St. Nicholas Church

Family Jewels

Took a day trip outside of prague to a small town called Karlstejn. The only point of interest is a castle which was once a treasury for roman empire. The czech girl, giving the tour in broken english, didn't understand my humor when i asked her about The Family Jewels (with a big smile on my face of course). ´No, i cannot show you the family jewels...they´re now stored in prague.´

Czech-mate

Finally in eastern europe...although sometimes Prague doesn't feel that way with all the porsches and ferraris ive seen. Im eating out now, it´s cheap enough that ive stopped consuming my usual canned tuna dinners. Ive been making a big effort to meet non-english speakers and it seems quite a bit easier here. Last night i partied the night away with some mexicans and germans at ´central europes largest night club´. Tonight, i hope to find my way to a less touristy night spot to meet some locals. It turns out that my polish is very understandable to the czech ear (not so much from my end though).

Beer! Beer! Beer!

You guessed it...im in Munich. Huge beer halls, one liter beers, excellent food, bavarian music, beautiful women...and generally a jolly time. Also, bought myself a pair of Birkenstock sandals yesterday (yup, it´s a german company).


Drinking at the Hofbrauhaus

Last day in Switzerland

Like mick jagger says at the end of a show: `Its been sweet`. I really enjoyed my couple weeks in Switzerland, they will definitely be on the top highlights of my European adventure. Today I spent the day walking around Zürich and also hiked a small hill next to the city. The swiss meal tonight is Raclette. Booya.

Swiss Carbonara

Keeping in touch with people you meet during your travels is very important...today i met up with a swiss gal i met a year ago while hiking in the canadian rockies. Later in the day we were joined by another of her friends (which i also met in canada) and we cooked spaghetti carbonara...swiss style!! Luzern is behind me...im now in Windisch.

Swans

Im spending a few days in Luzern. It´s one of switzerland´s nicests cities...old town, clean lake (filled with swans) and mountains in the backdrop. In the meantime, i learned a few interesting facts about this country. For instance, although the swiss are known for their neutrality...they´re really prepared for war. Every male has manditory military service, just about every household has a gun and a bomb shelter, and with the touch of a button all the tunnels, bridges, highways used to enter the country can be blown up. One other intersting fact...the swiss decriminalized marajana use a few years ago after a survey by the government showed that over 30% of swiss are users. Lots of guns and lots of drugs...but still one of the safest countries in the world...interesting.

The European Tribe

Took the day off today...layed in the sun reading The European Tribe by Caryl Phillips at the hostel. I recommend this one as well. While chillin, i got to hear lots of `interesting` conversations. For instance, one gal from the mid-west who is on a EU study abroad program (the 3 week program takes students to various EU countries where they learn about EU politics, economics, etc) corrected her friend claiming that the EU is based out of Luxembourg (her friend thought it was somewhere in Austria). :P

Free fall

Interlaken is famous for its adventure sports...but have you ever heard of bunk jumping? Last night at one in the morning...the guy sleeping above me in the bunk bed rolled off the bed and slammed into to the ground. He hit so hard he put a dent into my metal water bottle. Ha.

Today another fine day of hiking in the swiss alps...i met a fox (who i think was sick ).


Foxy

Blown away

More parting, more hiking, yadda, yadda, yadda. I hiked with a group of 4 people, one guy was from florida...it was his first time seeing snow (or a mountain for that matter). When i reached the top, i swiss military helicopter had landed and was idling with its propellers spinning. At this point i should tell you that at the summit it was about 5C. Being an eager photographer...i ran over to the chopper, dropped my napsack on the ground and started taking some pics. A few moments later, the important people who where being escorted around jump on the chopper. The pilot then stuck his hand out the window and started gesturing something to me which i couldn't decipher at first. Then i realized he wanted me to grab my napsack...without much though i listened to the man in uniform and ran over to my bag and stepped on it. He then gave me the thumbs up...and proceeded to speed up the propellers. Ive never been around a helicopter before so i was taken by surprise when the wind hit me. I was about 15m from the helicopter and it almost blew me over...and man was it cold! Quite an experience.


Swiss military chopper

Balmer`s

Interlaken has been interesting to say the least. Im staying at a huge hostel called Balmer`s...rated the funnest hostel in europe. So when you read `funnest` that translates into american frat party. Id be lying if i said i had a bad time at the disco last night, but it`s not the swiss experience i was hoping for. I did meet a few interesting people, including Clinton from austin texas who i hiked with today. During the hike we stopped in a small village called Gimmelwald...i could not image a more perfectly set town. At an elevation of 1400m, nestled between snowcapped mountains, with green valleys filled with wildflowers of every color...quite spectacular. We stopped at a small B&B run by a lady named Ester who makes organic food products...ate some sausage, fresh bread and yogurt (made from milk she milked from the cows in the morning)...now that was the swiss experience ive been after.

Oh, for the last week, ive been consuming a chocolate bar everyday...im hooked.


Feel like a star

Just Passing By

Another good travel book recommendation for ya-all. It`s a collection of short stories written by a guy who traveled through third world countries for 2 years. Just Passing By by Jon Carnegie.

Is that right eh?

Just to set the scene...im in the middle of the Swiss alps, one of the most beautiful areas in the world. While strolling through the small town of Interlaken I passed by a travel tourism store and the display in the window caught my attention. The entire display was dedicated to one country...posters of beautiful mountains, rolling country sides, cutouts of friendly people, calendars of city skylines. Where could such a wonderful place exist? Oh, Kanada.


Home sweet home

What a deal

Internet is quite expensive here...5ChF for 20 minutes at an internet cafe. That works out to about 10 euros per hour. Ah, but ive been lucky to find a cool bar in town that has free internet if you order a drink. So for 5ChF i get 1/2 liter of beer, free internet for as long as i want and great bar ambiance. Score.

Today was yet another full day of hiking...everything is sore: muscles, bones, feet...you name it...but so worth it. I hiked up to the Findelgletscher. That reminds me...they have some pretty funny names here...one glacier is called Furgggletscher (not a typo...three g`s). The corresponding mountain is the Furgggrat.

Im about to finish my beer...cheers.

Matterhorn

Today i hiked to the base of the Matterhorn with a couple fellow travelers from cali. I also bought some swiss cheese...quite a disappointment when compared to French cheese. And finally i purchased a Sigg water bottle...these are the swiss equivalents of Nalgene water bottles...but made out of metal and a little cooler (IMHO).


Mr.M & I

Random observations

Zermatt is an really cool town...settled in green valley between the mountains. Only electric cars are allowed here, but most people either walk or ride their bike. The town has one main church with a cemetery outside dedicated to people who have lost their lives in the mountains. One swiss tradition that i like is that people put their family name on their home (in huge letters); i feel it makes a town more open and friendly. Another thing that i noticed that the swiss do differently is in the way they draw a 'do not do XXX' sign. It's a red circle....but no red line going through it. Kind of strange looking at it at first. Today was another extraordinary day of hiking...blah blah blah.


You must light something right away


Can`t get enough of this mountain

Netscape 4

I hate netscape 4.

Today got off to an interesting start. The french train workers are on strike so i had to hitch a ride to the swiss border and take a train from there. The ride through the mountains was breathtaking. I met a 73 year old dude on the train who worked his whole life as a ski instructor and guide here...not bad eh? I managed a short hike at the end of the day and got really nice views of the most famous mountain in the alps...the Matterhorn (btw, the old dude summited it over 100 times).


Matterhorn

Pizza & Cafe Latte in Italy

Today i took a 'once in a lifetime' trip on the world's highest gondola to an elevation of 3613m. I can't begin to describe the spectacular views from up there...but it only got better. Then i continued taking another lift over a couple gigantic glaciers and finished at a peak called Helbronner (3462m) which is in the Italian alps. There was a little cafeteria in the lodge run by some italians...i couldn't resist buying some pizza and a cafe latte...lied in the sun a bit and then returned to Chamonix. Total cost of the trip 55€ (ouch), but definitely well worth it.


Glacier on the way to italy


Not the typical tourist photo

Baaaa

I just finished another super day of hiking (im beginning to feel my posts for the next few weeks will sound repetitive). The weather was quite nicer than yesterday...amazing views of mt.blanc and friends. Whoever said hiking in europe is too crowded has been going during the wrong time. Today, i spent the entire day surrounded by green valleys, snow peaked mountains, butterflies, a mountain goat and only passed by 5 other hikers.


Mt.Blanc (the white round hump) and Chamonix

Finally some mountains

Im in Chamonix, France...the best french town to explore the alps. Nice ended in a series of great parties with people at the hostel. Other than the expensive prices, Nice has a wicked vibe and great night life...ill be sure to return one day. Anyway back to chamonix. Today i spent the day hiking (what else?) up to the Mer de Glace (sea of ice) glacier. It's the 3rd largest glacier in the alps...about 40 square kilometers. What's cool, is that they have tunneled into the glacier itself and you can go inside it.


Inside the Mer de Glace

Lo-ong day

I never really slept yesterday (as i had planned). I began the day on the beach in Nice, which is really nice (except for the lack of sand). I went on a couple long swims in the ultra blue water. I also climbed up to the top of a hill with nice views of nice and the surrounding mountains...i could just barely see the beginnings of the Alps.


Nice

In the evening, i went for a few hours to monaco. The formula 1 grand prix was just last week, so there were remanence of that all around. After getting some really nice views from up above, we walked the F1 circuit until we came to the famous Monte Carlo Casino. Now this place is pimp. Ferraris, Bentleys, and a BMW once in a while that ruins the whole line up. On of the Bentleys had a "Boy" license plate with the playboy bunny drawn next to it. Anyway, it was quite entertaining to watch 60 year old men walk into the casino with their 25 year old, swedish, model girlfriends.


Looks like someone else in Monaco has "Playboy"

octopuses? octopi? octopodes?

Im back in france once more...this time in Nice. The bus ride from valencia was a very long one, i arrived here at 3am this morning. Instead of getting a hotel, i went to the beach (with a couple Israeli girls i met on the bus) and watched the sunrise. A old french dude came out at about 6am and we watched as he successfully fished out 2 octopuses (to read up on the correct pluralization of 'octopus' read this). Im bloody tired right now, so the plan is to sleep on the beach.


Sunrise in Nice

Last moments in Españia

Today is my last day in spain, so i decided to take it easy and spend it at the beach (which is quite nice). The sport of kite surfing is growing quite quickly throughout europe...today i saw about 20 of ´em. I keep convincing myself that it´s really fun and that i should try...but every time i see people doing it...it looks more frustrating than fun.


Kite surfing in Valencia

Hiking & Hot springs

The Alps have been in my thoughts recently, and the idea of hiking inspired me to spend all of yesterday laying down my footprints in the foothills of the sierra nevadas. Amazing views of granada, which im certain everyone who visits this places should experience (although few people do). At night, I went with some fellow backpackers to a some natural hot springs...the best way to end a day of hiking. Today i took a sight-filled bus ride up the spanish coast to valencia...mountains on the left, cities & Mediterranean on the right...nice.

Alhambra

Granada, what a beautiful town set next to the Seirra Nevada mountains (no not cali, im in spain remember). Last night i went out with a few people and had my first sip of alcohol in about 2 weeks...yum. Today, i spent the morning chillin in a hammock...then ate some home-made piaia and spent the afternoon visiting granada´s premier attraction, the Alhambra. This is the last muslim stronghold in spain before they where driven back into morocco...architecture is beautiful.


One of the many buildings in the Alhambra

mmmalaga

Today i spent the day exploring Malaga...again i somehow managed to find a nice german girl who has studied and lived here and was happy to give me a tour of the town (thanks Eda). I climbed to the top of Castillo de Gibralfaro, giving me a nice view of the town, mountains and coast. I then visited the cathedral (it´s been weeks since ive been to a non-islamic institution) and the beach. Oh, also had some great tapas. Im in Granada right now, staying here for three days.

How to sneak over the boarder

First, get in line with everyone else. Then when the agent in the booth is busy, get on all fours and crawl to front of the line. Make sure to stay really low, so that the agent doesnt see you. Then wait, wait, wait, until both the agent in the booth and the ´safety´ agent are busy. Quickly standup and you´re in.

This is exactly what i witnessed today at the border crossing in spain. Needless to say, when i saw the guy on the other side he gave me a big hug.

Bye-bye Dark Continent

Today is my final day in Fez before i head back to spain. Ive had an amazing time in africa, i'll be sure to come back one day. This morning i went shopping in the old medina. I bought a Moroccan sweater (for hiking in the alps)...initial price was 650DH (65 euros)...i managed to get it down to 140DH after bargaining for 1/2 hour and walking out of the store down the street before the sales man caught up to me and made the deal. I also bought a rip-off La Coste shirt for 80DH (i suspect that if i was arabic i could get the price down to around 20DH) which looks and feels exactly like an original...just goes to show how much money these companies are sucking out of people.

Long day today

Hagi and took a day trip today and visited a few towns. First, in Volubilis we visited old roman ruins from the 2-3 century AD. I really enjoyed this place...and i actually liked the site more than the famous ruins in Rome. Although the roman structures are not as impressive, the setting is so much nicer than Rome. Picture old ruins surrounded by mountains, rolling hills, blue skies and peaceful silence.


Rome? Nope, much better.

Next we went to Meknes. The coolest adventure there was visiting a 17th century moroccan dungeon. We were the first ones to arrive and had the whole dungeon to ourselves...let me tell you this is one freaky place. It's underground, massive (held 30,000 prisoners) and dark (except for a few light holes they've created in the ceiling...for tourists so that they could see...back in the day...it was pitch black). Im not one to get scared, especially at a UNESCO site, but honestly i was frightened just being there...im quite confident that i would never go down by myself. All the walls had writings engraved...scratched on by the prisoners. I tried to imagine what it must have been like...really scary. Anyway, i felt really happy to be alive and free after i emerged. Below is a crappy picture that does not do it justice.


This picture is underexposed on purpose...this is exactly how it looks when you're down there.


Chillin' in Meknes

Japanese Girl

I get hassled once in while...ok, no problem. At the beginning of my trip in morocco, i travelled for a few days with a girl from new zealand. It was crazy, she attracted at least 10 times more attention to us. Now, im travelling with a guy from japan...again, at least 10 times more attention. I feel sorry for japanese girls. Oh, im in Fez.

Mountains! Gorges! Deserts! Oh My!

Just got back from by tour. Wow. We drove through the Atlas moutains, stopped and hiked through the Dades Gorges and the Todra Gorges and finished the trip with an overnight camel ride into the Sahara Desert near Merzouga (small town just south of Erfoud).


On the road again, can't wait to get back on the road again


Berber town

The ride into the desert was quite an experience. This part of the Sahara is famous for its massive sand dunes...a lot of hollywood movies (like The Mummy) are shot here. It's really hard to explain the experience...but the desert makes you feel really small. The whole time, i was fascinated by the dune patterns...the tops of dunes, create perfect lines that span hundreds of meters. We slept in a berber camp overnight...very cool. I must say, im very impressed with the Camel. Great animal, so much calmer than a horse. The highlight of the trip was climbing a huge sand dune (i estimate about 150m) and then running barefoot down the backside (shawn, ala mt. st. helens but much much longer) as a small avalanche of sand followed behind. Next time, im bringing my snowboard!


Must...climb...higher

Cascades

Last night was quite cool in the square. At sundown they began filming an arabic music video. Film crew, lights, big red carpet, band, 5 dancers and a beautiful moroccan girl (the singer). I had seen them filming earlier in the day at the souqs but at the time i had no idea what was going on. I actually got a picture of the girl during the day thinking she was some kind of movie star.

Today, i took an organized trip to Les Cascades d'Ouzoud, about 160km west of marrakesh. The waterfalls were some of the nicest i've ever seen, hiking was light but quite good. At the hottest point in the day, i took a dip in a natural pool (fed by the waterfall). Oh, i also ran into a group of monkeys...they were very keen on getting their pictures taken...i got some nice close-ups with my 50mm. Tomorrow im using the same tour company to cross over the Atlas mountains.


I hate when tourists ruin a nature pic.


Feed me

Dirty feet

Marrakech...my favorite place in Morocco thus far. I'm getting really good with dealing with the people here...at first it's quite hard to figure out who's a faux-guide and who's actually a nice person. After purchasing a berber tool to clean my feet with (they get dirty real easy in this hot, dusty place)...i spoke to the sales guy for a while...told him my story, he saw that i liked photography so he introduced me to his uncle who owns a big antique shop next door...he took me up to the terrace where i could take some cool pics of the city...we sat and talked for 1/2 hour and i went on my way. But the whole time, im always wondering if he's gonna try to sell me something.

Anyway, the souqs (covered marketplaces) are really an experience not to be missed. They're so colorful...filled with people selling everything from slippers, to olives, to cameleons. The main square is crazy at night...you got about 200 outdoor food stands (a typical line from a guy standing in front is "My friend, i have a reserved spot for you, air-conditioned"), about 50 orange juice stands (shawn...hand squeezed), musicians, dancers, snake charmers, and hundreds upon hundreds of people. Great place.

Smoooooth

Yesterday i went into a barber shop and had my first authentic shave. For the equivalent of 1 euro, the man spent 15 minutes attending to my face. I left the barber shop feeling like a star. Most of the day was dedicated to relaxation at the beach. Im reading "The Da Vinci Code" which is a hard book to put down, but kinda cool reading it since just a few weeks ago i was in paris.

Today is my final day in Essaouira, this evening im heading back inland. Since many people are not too familiar with the geography of Morocco, below is a map with my itinerary.


Morocco

One of those moments

That's very hard to describe, but i'll try. Last night i climbed to the roof-top patio of my hotel to watch the sunset over the city. My building is one of the tallest in the town, so i had a 360 degree view of the city, ocean and moutains. There was a layer of clouds above me, but there was also a large gap for the sun to shine through close to the horizon (perfect sunset conditions). A small sprinkle of rain created a beautiful rainbow in the distance. As i watched the sun go down, luminating a red african sky, a flock of birds took flight. The moment the sun set, all the mosques in town broadcast prayers from the towers. It was really amazing hearing chants from every direction, ending another day of sun over the dark continent. Ok, tried my best...


Mosque at sunset

Essa-what?

Essaouira. Pronounced 'Essa-wera'...that's where i am (Marjolein, thanks for the recommendation). It's morocco's most popular beach town, with a nice white media, lively fishing port and a 10km long beach. I've come here to chill out for a few days and eat some seafood. I saw my first camel today...on the beach...but i didn't want to be the typical tourist so i declined an offer for a ride. I feel if im gonna ride a camel, i better be in the desert.


Gramps


Ride Me

Casa

That's the local way of saying casablanca. Today is my last day here. Ive had a good time, met some cool people and now im heading south. Today i visited the Hassan II mosque...the 3rd largest mosque in the world. Built only a decade ago, 6 years to complete, 10,000 people working 24/7. Its quite amazing inside...and a nice change from visiting churches.

Every meal has been a pleasure...for 2 euros i eat a really large meal. Of course, i had shisha (john i have a new tip for you) and the mint tea here is to die for. The people here are so friendly, yesterday i got a lesson on pouring tea. Oh, i also had camel...yum.


Hassan II

The Alchemist

Well, im officially a spanish speaker. Ok, not exactly, but yesterday I had to act as a translator between my landlord (nice old spanish senora) and a german tourist who had just arrived. His bagages did not arrive at the airport and he needed her to call the airport and give the name and address of the hostel. Sevilla really grew on me. On the final day I felt at peace with the place. In the evening, I went to a bookstore, bought a couple english books (more on this later) and sat outside on the curb in front of a quartet playing classical music as people hurried by doing their shopping.

Today i spent the entire day on a bus-ferry-bus traveling from sevilla to Casablanca. A few interesting things to note, first the arrival in Tangier and second the volume at which Moroccans (or maybe arabic people???) listen to music or watch TV. It's about twice the normal volume of western countries...almost painful at times. The whole day on the bus, they played arabic music (gets very boring after 3 minutes) and TV at almost speaker-distorting volumes. As i wrote this blog (on paper on the bus) i was listening to my ipod at 95 percent volume (sweet home alabama) with the voice of an arabic comic piercing through. Oh, forgot about Tangier. Ive been warned by many people about this place so i was well prepared. Essentially when you exit the ferry, a swarm of people approach. Some are legitimate port workers, others are conartists, others want to sell you something, some beggars, and some people who are willing to do anything or help you with anything for a few coins. Add to this the boatload of arabic people who just come off the boat, one polish-canadian and a japanese guy and you get the picture. Like i said, i was prepared. My first line of defense was 'La shukran'...no thanks. The second line is pretending not to know english or french or spanish...polish comes in handy in all sorts of situations.

Finally (i know this is getting long), id like to tell you about a book i purchased yesterday in sevilla and read on the way to Morocco. Its called The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. 177 pages, over 27 million copies sold. Its a story of a young sheppard who gives up his stable job to pursue dreams of travel (sounds familiar?). The story begins in Andalusia...a region in southern spain (sevilla is in andalusia) and continues into tangier (must be an omen). Anyway, it's a good story about the discovery of the meaning of life,love,destiny by following one's dreams.

Shop at Amazon :)

Getting tanned

Last night was really cool. Me and the boys found an awesome bar, hidden away in a small side street (it was recommended to us by locals). They had a flamenco dancer...the place was packed with people, quite a few english speakers as well.

For the last 4 or 5 days i´ve experienced some really warm temperatures...mid 30´s. The sun is way too strong in the middle of the day, so i usually spend my lunch breaks under a tree by the river. Great place to meet people as well. Today i met a couple torontonian girls who are teaching english in sevilla...will meet up later tonight.

I like this place so much, i´ve decided to stay a few extra days :)

Ole!

Some cool things have happened in the last few days. My final day in Cordoba ended with a free Flamenco show in the city´s main square, there was about 600-800 people packed late at night watching the show.

Yesterday i arrived in Sevilla (Seville). Found a hostel no problem, met a german girl who gave me a tour of the city (she had studied/lived here a few years ago). After which, i attended a bull fight in the main stadium. It was pretty entertaining. The stadium was essentially sold out, i had a decent seat (cost 9 euros). I don´t know much about the rules of this 'sport'...but i thought the bull has some chance of winning his freedom. Like the first bull for instance, on a number of occasions his tore out the cape from the matadors hands (boos from the audience). Then it took about 5 sword stabbing attempts before the sword actually stayed in. Maybe they should change the rules...three strikes for the matador and the he´s free. Anyway, the climax of the event was when one of the matadors got completely destroyed by the bull...the next paragraph recounts the event:

We pick up the action after the bull is a little tired and has gotten a couple big stabs from the horsemen. Now it´s time for the guys with the 3-foot long sticks they try to jab into the back. Well it doesn´t go as planned. The first guy tries, and the sticks don´t stick. Then the next guy makes and attempt...gets them in, but the bull smacks straight into him, knocking him back a good 5 meters onto his ass. The bull then proceeds to smack him around, trample and all kinds of other great things for a good 10 seconds. At this point the entire crowd is on its feet, everyone is yelling and all the matadors with their tight paints and funny capes are running to the rescue. The dude, is on the floor and clearly injured, and finally another one of the guys distracts him and the bull gets out of the way. Now the guy, tries to get up...very slowly since he´s pretty beat-up...and by the time he gets to his knees the bull turns around and charges him from about 8 meters away...lifts the guy on his horns...a few bounces in the air and throws him another few meters. Needless to say, the guy was unconscious...6 people carried him off the field. At this point, i honestly thought the bull had won its freedom...nope...stupid sport. Anyway, i got great picture of the guy being impaled on the horns...will post ASAP.

Last night im met up with a friend from seattle, Fritz and his younger bro James. Today we spend the day walking around the city...more tapas and beer later tonight.


Ouch

So lucky

Yesterday evening i arrived in Cordoba, stupidly without a reservation. Most of the hostels are in the same area...so i tried literally 25 hostels...each one: "Completo". I finally found one that had one room available...only because it was in reparations throughout the day (so they couldn´t give it to anyone). Lesson learned.

This city is beautiful, white buildings with flowers. Old Moorish ruins everywhere (the biggest attraction being the Mezquita). Last night i took some great pictures of the sunset over the city.

El Greco

Yesterday i spent the day in Toledo with the two girls i met in madrid. This is the town that was designed by El Greco...very nice. We saw all the sights in the morning and spent a few hours in the afternoon lying next to the river (at the base of the town) surrounded by old ruins. It was probably the most relaxing, stress-free day of my trip so far. The temperature has been increasing everyday (it was about 26). Today we parted, they´re off to barcelona and im continuing further south to cordoba.

Esta calor

Hola everyone. Today is my second day in Madrid. I arrived in Spain yesterday morning and spent the whole day walking around and seeing the sights. I met some nice gals from boston inside the Placio real, met up with them later that night along with a couple others from mexico and serbia...we all went bar hoping, quite fun. Theres also a really nice central park in madrid, so i spend an hour each day just sleeping under a tree enjoying the nice weather and practicing my spanish (on my ipod).

Today, i visited both the Prado and Reina Sofia museums. By far, my favorite painting in the Prado was Saturn by Goya. I was a little disappointed by the Dali exhibit in the Sofia, picasso was...picasso, and some of the modern stuff was complete garbage in my professional artistic opinion. But overall, both museums were pretty cool.


Saturn

Napoleon

Instead of visiting the Louvre today (the exhibits i wanted to see were closed), i decided to visit the Musee de L'Armee (the french military museum) and the tomb of Napoleon I and his son, Napoleon II. Lots of really cool armor, guns and swords in the museum. The tomb itself is pretty cool, right in the center of the Dome des Invalides. Well that's it for Paris, i've had a great time, met lots of really nice people, ate lots of excellent food. Tonight im taking the night train to spain.

Mission Complete

The wedding is complete, igor and elodie are officially married. The wedding was a blast filled with song, dance, delicious food and plenty of alcohol. The guests stayed overnight in a chateau overlooking the french countryside. This morning we visited the house of Monet (which includes his famous garden that he painted on many occasions).


Mr & Ms Lovich

The previous night, i had the pleasure of staying at perrine's parent's place...it's a huge house built on top of the remains of a 12th century castle. A large piece of the dungeon still exists next to the house. Her father gave us a tour of their wine cellar...only about 3000 bottles...some from the 1800s valued about $4000 each.

Ok, tomorrow is my final day in paris, im going to the Louvre a second time.

Pictures & Food

Today was an exceptionably nice day in Paris. I had been waiting for the perfect weather to make another pass at all the sites and get some good pictures...got some. I also visited sacre coeur for the first time which was real cool. Inside, there was a group of nuns singing hymns.


Sacre Coeur

Yesterday, i spent most of the day eating and drinking....really. After buying some new underwear (for reasons i don't want to dive into), i came back home with a bottle of red wine, polish sausage, pickles and a whole bunch of french cheeses that perrine helped me select and i sat down and ate. A few hours later (im still at the table), dinner was served...we had guests over, about 8 of us, and then cheese after dinner again. Witold was afraid that my non-french stomach may not be able to handle the unpasturized cheese...but no problem. Oh, and after dinner last night, james and i took igor out for his bachelor party. Nothing crazy, just like igor wanted it. Tonight im heading out to the suburbs for dinner at elodie's place and the wedding is tomorrow.


Cheese please

Pictures, yay!

I've uploaded a few pictures to spice up the blog. Im staying with elodie's friends, Perrine and Witold in Paris. I have my own apartment one floor above theirs...if i had to guess, it's about 80 square feet. Very cool. Today i visited the museum d'orsay, another fantastic gallery in paris. I also found a polish deli, so my lunch consisted of a french baguette, a tomato, a banana, a couple polish pickles and a stick of kabanos. For dinner, we had a variety of french cheeses, wine and some indian food. I spent the evening writing/practicing a verse for a song that we're going to sing for Igor and Elodie's wedding.

£3 left and 1 day to go

Today was a very cheap day for me. Apple, bread, cream cheese and nutella. For dinner i cooked up some english sausage (what a treat). I spent most of the day at the national gallery, and in the afternoon taking more pictures of the city (the weather was perfect for photography, blue sky with little white clouds). Tomorrow im going to the British Museum; i've been anxiously waiting to see this place ever since i planned my trip to London...it has lots of cool things such as the Rosetta Stone.

[ this blog posting has been possible due to the generosity of one of the staff members who gave me his employee internet smart card ]


"My name's Ben, Big Ben"

Low on dough

After getting some advice from Mukkul's cousins (who live in london), we started off last night at a Polish vodka bar. What a great idea, maybe i'll open one of these some day. After the trendy vodka bar, we spent the rest of the night in Soho.

Today was t-shirt weather in london, and with the London marathon running throughout the city...it was pretty crazy. We spent the majority of the day in Greenwich (think GMT). They have a nice market, park...but the coolest thing is the observatory. Zero longitude goes right through it (i got to stand on the line). Famous people such as Haley have worked there in the past. After a a bit more sightseeing in london, we ended up in Westmister Abbey for an organ recital.

According to my budget, i have about £6 remaining for my final 2 days here, so for the next couple of days i'll be visited the National Gallery and British Museum (both free). Also, no email or blogging. Paris, round-2 will start late tuesday night.

God save the queen

First day in London has been pretty good, weather is partly cloudy (good for London). Mukkul and i visited all the major sights, had some fish'n chips & beer at lunch while watching some football on TV. The plan is to party tonight, bar hoping until 11 and then back to the hostel (we have a pretty happenin' bar that stays open until 4). Tomorrow, is the London marathon, so we may stop by to check it out and im also hoping to attend mass in westminster abbey (free when compared to the 11£ entrance fee you have to pay when you go at other times).


Waterloo

Christiania

Copenhagen got some warm spring weather on my last day. I spent the day walking around the city; this place in unbelievably clean, all the homes are painted in bright colors. Just like in Amsterdam, everyone rides bikes...While talking on their cell phones and smoking cigarettes. The highlight of my day was going to Christiania. This is a district of Copenhagen that is a lawless society (well kinda). Back in the '70, the government decided to try a social experiment...the blocked off a section of land and let people (ie hippies) live on their own without any government influence (no taxes, no roads, no health benefits, no police...you get the picture). This of course degenerated into a haven for hard drugs and in 2004 the government had enough and raided the place. Now it's a little tamer...only soft drugs. Anyway, it's like stepping into another world...very dirty, junk everywhere, all the walls are spray painted with trippy designs, dogs running around and plenty of hippies. I wasn't allowed to take pictures...but i did get a couple shots of the cool spray paint designs.


Trippy

Oh partying kinda sucks here cause the booze is so expensive (roughly 6 euros a beer). But mukkul and I wouldn't let that spoil our fun, so we bribed a 7-11 clerk to sell us a 12-pack (after the legal buying time) and we did some heavy pre-drinking before going out last night.

My final note for today, on the train to the airport I met the worlds number 2 ranked, female water ski jumper. Danish gal with a cute australian accent. She was even so nice as to offer to take me water skiing the next time im in demark. Her name's June Fladborg. Being in the presence of celebrity...i had to get a picture with her.


June & I

Vikings

Spent the day walking around copenhagen. I visited their national museum that has a large collection of viking artifacts, very cool. Last night mukkul and i hit a nightclub...got in for free cause we walked in with a group of VIPs. The drinks were crazy expensive...about 7 euros for a beer, hence we didnt drink much, hence not such a good time. We're heading out again tonight, hopefuly to a cheaper destination. Tomorrow im spending the whole day here and flying out to London in the evening.


Copenhagen

Cotton towels

After backpacking for just over a week, im beginning to really appreciate the simple things in life. Tonight im staying in a four-star hotel (thanks mukkul & MS)...really one of the nicest hotels i've ever been to...just last night i was sleeping in a hot, stinky room with 12 other drifters and tonight i had a beautiful danish hotel hostess call me 'sir'. The hotel even has their own ambient house music playing in the background...and every once in a while you hear a seductive voice in the song that says something along the lines of 'If you need any kind of assistance feel free to ask any of the hotel staff they will be happy to help you'. Anyway, back to the simple things in life...today i took a shower and used a large, white, cotton towel...felt so good. Ive been using a really little, synthetic, quick-drying towel...not the same. Oh right, i forgot to mention im in Copenhagen.

My last night in amsterdam was great. I met a super nice (not to mention gorgeous) dutch girl, Marjolein, at a coffee shop (she was the bartender). Did i mention how much i like the dutch? Anyway, we partied until 3...and i woke up for the plane at 6:30, ouch.

Guns & Roses fans...

i think i know where they came up with the lyrics to Paradise City: "Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty...". I made this connection when i heard the song on the way to amsterdam and a couple times at various cafes. Well this city has been a great experience, very chill. The weather has been sunny and warm both days so i've been walking miles and miles each day. Last night i walked through the famous red-light district...very narrow streets with ladies behind glass doors on either side. Of all things, i was very impressed with their reaction times. I'm a fairly fast walker, so when i passed by a window, i was quite amazed to find that they could sneak in a wink. I guess it's a key part of their skill-set: "Wink reaction time".

Tomorrow im altering my initial plans (ie the map at the bottom of the blog) and flying to meet up with Mukkul (friend from MS).

Amster-

-dam this place is great! I've only been in Amsterdam for a few hours and it's my favorite city thus far. The weather is warm and sunny, i just finished a heineken at an outdoor cafe. Complete stangers are very friendly when asked for directions, cafes everywhere, and beautiful girls riding bikes in every direction (my head is spinning). A dude named Bart Smith owns a whole bunch of businesses all over town: "Bart Smith Records", "Bart's Bakery", etc. Im gonna take some pics in front of the shops. Ok, next im off to find the "Stone's Cafe"...a cafe dedicated to the Rolling Stones (how cool is that?).


My Store

L'Economist s'il vous plait

All this french is getting to me, so today i went out and purchased the current issue of the economist for late night reading to keep my sanity. The weather is still pretty muggy, but im still managing a good time. This morning i attended church (of all places)...first time in a really long time, but it was nice to see a european church in action. After spending some time at a cafe i visited Brussels art museum. Although very nice, after the louvre i was not impressed. The food has been fantastic, i just can't get enough of the waffles...beer very good as well. Anyway, this french keyboard is driving me nuts...tomorrow morning i depart for amsterdam...sunshine is in the forecast :)


Brussels at night

Sticky Fingers

Damn the Belgians for making their caramel-cream waffles so sticky. You guessed it, im in Brussels. Haven't done much other than eaten my waffle in front of the grand palace. Im staying here until monday morning, so more about Belgium later.

My last day in Paris was interesting. I spent the first half of the day at the Louvre...Managed to get through an entire floor (there are 4 floors). So mostly Ancient, Greek, Roman, Italian art ...plus of couse i saw the mona lisa. Afterwards, igor and i walking around the city again, this time seeing the arc de triumph among other sites. Oh and i get shat on by a french bird. Im not sure if it was a pigeon cause its dumpster was a little too large...very green. It fell 5cm shy of my head and landed on my backpack. Thank you o lovely french bird.


Venus

Yesterday, i was in Luxembourg. Cute little town, the interesting parts can be seen in roughly 1 hour. The city is built a top of a hill with valleys all around...very impressive. Although the city was disarmed a while back, many of the fortifying walls still exist all around the city. cool.

As im typing this, the radio is playing 'snappy the crocodile'...amazonians...ask matt smith for this song...get a little taste of europe :)

Le ville d'amour

Aside from the somewhat rainy weather and jet-lag, my first day on the trip finally came to an end. My initial impression of Paris is "wow". Igor and I spent the day walking around the city, stopping in many churches, many of which where holding masses for PJPII (including Notre Dame). We also went inside the Pantheon, all though very impressive, not as cool as the one in Rome. Apart from these attractions, I also went on a personal search to find the smokiest, busiest cafe in the Latin Quarter so that i could enjoy a Cafe Latte in typical Parisian style (wasn't very hard to find). At the end of the night, we met up with Elodie and Iban, drank some French beer at a pub and then went out for some late-night fondue!

Im just about to head out to the Louvre.

Last day in North America

The adventure begins tomorrow in Paris. Since i expect this blog to grow fairly large, I'll be bolding various cities and countries whenever im currently in them just to make navigation easier...for example see the next sentance. I fly out of Toronto tonight, April 05 2005 at 8:10pm.

Im all packed...my backpack weighs in at 41.5lb. That's not too bad considering im bringing loads of camera equipment. In addition to my pack, im bringing a small suitcase with all my nice clothing for the wedding. Oh, for those who don't know, a good friend of mine from university is getting married to a Parisian belle near the end of April.

The near term plan is to spend a couple days in Paris, then onto: Luxembourg, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London and then back to Paris for the wedding. Yes, yes, the map i posted doesn't exactly reflect that...sorry things change!

Here we go!

The Plan

Ok, well here it is. I'll be beginning and ending in Paris. The trip generally follows a counter-clockwise direction. The only exception is my initial excursion to Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands (after which I'll be returning to Paris). Blue is a flight, red is some other form of transportation. And no, im not going to Italy, pasta makes me nervous.

Dreaming...

oh how i wish i could go to europe