Espana

So yesterday i was talking with the front desk staff at the hostel and they enlightened me as to what i could do to get to Barcelona, as i am still following my Aussie friends (and i just didnt want to take such a long flight). So i booked my plane ticket to Barcelona and just got in a couple hours ago.

Backtrack on that though, the plane ticket was only 40 euros, and that was with all the taxes and such, and booking it less than 24 hours in advance. I went to the train station to take me to Pisa, where the airport is (along with a faulty tower). The train ticket was 6 euros. it was just a small slip of paper, not like the large one when i took the train from Rome to Florence, so i figured it would fit in the time stamp validator. I was wrong.

The conductor lady came through to check everyones and told me that its a 40 euro fine for not having it stamped. She told me that she would let it go this time. I think it helped that my aussie friend Sarah is a hair dresser back home and i got all trimmed up the day before.

So i waited around the airport all day today for my flight, weather delays. Had myself one last Italian pizza, loaded with uzzigi (mushrooms).

And then i went to Spain. The plane landed not in Barcelona but a podunk town and hour and a half bus ride away, so i took a little nap as we went along the highway which reminded me very much of the west side of WA. Got off the plane later than i expected, i was banking on the fact that the tourist office would still be open. It was not. I went in and logged onto a computer to find out how to get to the hostel. I asked a lady waiting there, donde es aqui. which im hoping means where is here, but who knows. She got the jist anyway and said estacion Nord. North Station. so i drew a bad map and wrote the directions and made my way the half mile or so to the hostel, stopping to ask a local donde es la Arc de Triumf which was one of the landmarks on my directions. I could have found it myself but Senora Chapman would be proud of me this way.

So im booked now at this hostel for 5 nights, after which im not sure what im going to do. Berlin and Prague are out of the question now, it just didnt seem to make sense going to eastern europe for so short of time, i will save that all for next trip.

So its 11 at night here, in half hour the hostel is leaving for some clubs, dont know if im up for that yet, i kind of just want to sleep and relax, i am going to try taking a walking tour tomorrow with Sarah and Katelyn (the aussies). Then spend the rest just wandering around and relaxing. I cannot wait to go back to Brussels for my friends and the good chocolate and beer. i think im going to go to amsterdam and then to brussels or vice versa depending on what the belgians think.

i feel like the end is near, it feels grand though. i feel more whole as a person. When i tell all of you about the people i meet, they truly are as good as i tell you if not better. Backpackers especially are just good people, there are a lot of study abroad kids as well but they usually are more cliquey and come in groups and are anti-social. There are heaps of aussies over here, many canadians, and then very few proper american backpackers like myself, most are studying somewhere.

And as a travel trip for any of you kids who want to go backpacking around europe (one of many tips i can give you)

dont use a backpack. Just get a wheely suitcase. my back hurts. ¨

also, dont listen to what other people say about other countries and their people. how french are rude or whatever. think of your common day, dont you met a rude person or seven, and does that make americans rude? Just keep an open mind, whether you are in europe or Cheney. And get up and do something, not just building fence. make a trip to the cheney museum on your way to work. Check out the Art gallery in spokane. Take in a show at the Arena. DO IT.

Anyway, i can´t wait to tell you all in person the proper stories i have and to show you the pictures that i dont have the time to post.

cheers,
Jeff

A good problem to have

So, ive been trying to find a way to get to berlin then to prague. But its not so easy. So im kind of stuck in Tuscany for a while.... yeah, i got over that pretty quick. Its so awesome here, very relaxing to just sit on the terrace of the hostel and watch the sunset. Or take the day trips out of the city into the countryside.

several of the people ive been travelling with have been going out to Venice for a day or two and they say i should go, so i might do that, and a flight to Berlin will be easy to acheive if i go to Milan first. The world is my oyster it seems. I might not get a chance to go to Prague though, or if i do i might miss Brendan.

No bother no matter the case.
Im not too worried about it, im just about the hit the pool and sauna up again.

caio

wine tasting

just got back from wine tasting in Tuscany!!! Brilliant stuff. We went to two different vineyards and learned all the proper stuff about how to hold the glass and all of that, then went to a quaint little tuscan village San Gimignano. Really old city dating back over 1000 years. the weather is still beautiful over here and definitely t shirt and shorts weather.

About to jump into the pool and sauna here in a bit. Trying to find a flight to berlin or prague here in a couple days.

ciao

Firenze (extra curricular activities)

So i got into Firenze today. Randomly say almost all the people i was staying with in rome including my two favorite aussie sisters (Katelyn is the better one (and she is sitting right next to me (but not influencing me at all))).

Its a beautiful town and the hostel is by far the best ive stayed in yet. Its just about a spa weekend retreat. I did get a massage today which helped a bit, then i had the aussie walk on my back to try to get it straightened out, i need to learn to say chiriporacter in Italian, among the other words i need to learn.


Anyway, im having a grand time here at this awesome cheap hostel, dont know if im going to munich any more, i may go to prague next and stay at the same chain hostel there until Brendan can show me around and i can meet up with my awesome belgian friends.

I love my belgians so much, they showed me the best time ever and i cant wait to be able to see them again and thank them properly and tell them about my travels.

I love and miss you all. i will see you in tree weeks (tree is irish for three)

caio bella

Jeff (hat)

great friends

this past week ive met so many great people. i do apologize for all of you if it sounds like im having an obscenely awesome time, but its true.

Everyone here says i have to go to florence, there is a hostel there that has a jacuzzi, swimming pool, on staff massouse (which i need) and several other great ammenities. So Im going today. as i came down to get breakfast from the bar in the hostel, i met a kid from mercer island who as it happens is also going to florence, so pretty much when i finish this blog he and i are going to head off four blocks to Termini train station, and take the slow train to Florence, should be about 4 hour trip.

The weather is beautiful and sunny still and doesnt show signs of stopping, yesterday i just stayed around the hostel patio talking with people and having a great time resting up. im kinda sad i got to leave these people. I am meeting up with two aussie sisters in florence, i met her last week.

My tentative plan now is to go to florence, spend about 5 days there, then take a train to Munich, spend about 5 days there, then a flight to Prague to meet up with brendan, spend a few days there, then to amsterdam, then brussels. or maybe brussels then amsterdam if my belgian friends want to join me. who knows.

Its amazing how when im talking with most people im using so much irish and british slang, I absolutely love it and hope you all dont make fun of me when i came back. I even have a bit of an irish accent. Which is grand since the irish girls i met here said im an honarary irishman.

oh and i just checked my grades today, the professor updated it so now i have enough credits to be a graduate, now i just need to talk to the dean about that friggin math class.

and now im about out of time on the net, and florence awaits me.

caio bella


ps, i need to go the the embassy to figure out what i need to do to vote. I registered for absentee but dont know how i am supposed to get it over here. that and it will be fun to be on american soil for a bit.

Roma Eighth Wind

It is so amazing here. Went to the Vatican and saw the Sistine Chapel, went on a couple of walking tours and today I just got back from the Colloseum. Other than traveling around rome, the rest of the day is spent in the shade in the hostel lounge outside where there is about 8 of us or so at anyone time from all over the world telling stories about past travels and making plans for future ones. Also regailing one another with stories about home and how it is different from here.

The weather here is simply amazing. Its been very sunny and defintely shorts and tshirt weather.

So a couple bad things have happened though, nothing too major and can be expected. I went to withdraw money from an atm and got slammed with a 60 dollar charge for it. Then the other bad thing is that from carrying my bag with my tripod, camera, lens, and other junk it has wreaked havoc on my back. In a bit of pain but nothing too severe, kind of nice actually to have a bit of reality back in my extremely awesome trip.

That is another thing, every so often as i am walking around or sitting near one of romes many fountains, i get these moments of nirvana, where everything stops and starts all at the same time, its like im going deaf and hearing for the first time all in one instant. And i think, wow, this building is 2500 years old, and im on the other side of the world right now. Im where Gladiators fought lions, and giraffes (though not so much of one another, and not so many christians). It may be the lack of sleep or the general dimentia that comes with the travelling but it is an amazing high.

And these people i am travelling with are just unreal. the nicest bunch of people, here in rome its like you are never really alone, you are just making a couple hundred new friends every week.

As far as the pictures go (yeah yeah, i know), i am still waiting for a good place to upload them from, the process with take me several hours by this time and these computer systems here are not like the ones back home. And they arent free. The one that is up there is one out of 800 i was trying to upload but it was the only one that would go.

One of the travellers i met is from Cali, he is leaving tommorow to go to Germany, i think i may meet up with him there and stay with his family that he is seeing, then to Prague for a bit, then who knows where.
off to one of the many famous hills of Rome tonight for a Brazilian Festival.

cheers

When in Rome

so last blog, i was wicked tired. Seriously about 6 hours in three days of sleep. I came to rome and walked from the bus terminal (after the airport), the hostel i wanted to stay in didnt have any rooms, but the hotel across the street owned by the same people did. i met a mate from australia who also needed a room, we shared a hotel room, i slept for 8 hours midday, then woke up, had dinner, then went back to bed again. I needed the sleep. The next day during breakfast in the hostel i met some californians, went about the day with them taking a bus tour of rome and learning about the most important things, driving by the Pantheon and the Colesseum. very good stuff. tommorrow i will go to either the vatican or the colleseum.

This morning at breakfast i met some great, truly great, irish, a lass named Lee and a mate name Sam. IM going to hang with Sam the next few days as he is truly a good man. Lee just went home today to see her family.

Ive said it before and ill say it again. I think this trip is the best thing ive ever done with my life. Now that i am a graduate from uni, i dont know what to do, but i have several ideas. The best of which is coming back over here and teaching english. If not, just working in a hostel or some sort. the main thing is ive learned so so so much and i absolutely love it.

Sorry for no pictures lately, esp the ones from london, trying to get those up asap. but having too much fun living life here in Rome. Keep in mind... when in rome.

I will be here for another week, then to prague if i can find a cheap train ticket, then to brussels to finish my trip. I miss my belgian friends so much, they were probably the best part of my trip, which keep in mind, has had many many great parts. But they made me feel the most at home and most loved.

I cannot wait to come back and inform you all of the good fun, but cannot wait till i pack my bags again to come back and get a decent job over here!!

I miss and love you all.

will see you in about a month.

cheers!

Jeff

On to Rome

Third night of not sleep. at the airport going to rome in like 5 minutes.

Saw Hamlet, twice, Patrick Stuart and David Tennant were there. Hung out with the rest of the cast both nights. many great stories.

caio

big ben

good stuff, taking walking tours and taking london in. just checking in. going to see the dr who exhibit tommorow, along with the London Eye, and the Globe Theatre. Going to Straton on monday to see some shakespeare.

just got in to London

beautiful ferry ride, very plush, felt like first class.

train ride was long but met a couple interesting people. A girl named Angel who was very peculiar, absolutely obsessed with Michael Jackson and has devoted her life to him. then a cool chap who is taking his son to the Dr Who exhibit here in london this weekend. OMG, the doctor.... Words fail me. In a hostel with is about $40 a night, which is a lot, cheaper than Paris was though, and much nicer with bigger rooms. bought a tube travel pass for unlimited travel so tommorow is going to be all about exploring, the city at night is wonderful though, all the old buildings are lit up and the whole city bustling with people all dressed up for a night on the town. i need to buy some new clothes, i pretty much only have farmy type stuff and stick out like a sore thumb.

every city i go to just keeps impressing me more, there is so much diverse areas here in the world.

let me hear from you!

So new pictures are up from all over ireland.

Leaving tommorow for London.

Let me hear from all of you about what you want to hear from me (got it?)

what kinds of things do you want to see pictures of, what kinds of things do you want me to find out from the locals or of the history of the land. I don't want to come home and say to myself "I didn't think of that, i should have asked someone there!" Help me explore more of this world. I am already learning so much not just about where i am visiting but from the people from all over the world who are staying and or working at the hostels.

Been at the computer now for three hours doing research on the next few parts of my trip. right now im trying to figure out where i want to be for halloween.

I love Europe.

caio (which means hello and goodbye)

Jeff

PS. Look up the band kings of Leon and their new song Sex is On Fire. Its pretty catchy and HUGE over here at the moment.

oh yeah, for all my college friends, in the hostel yesterday i was talking with some Italians on holiday and listening to music, the second song that played on his computer was Scotty Doesn't Know from Eurotrip.. I couldnt believe it, i just started laughing like mad.

more pics on picasa site too

 
 
 
 

back in dublin

something strange it happening over here. my belt is getting bigger, my beard longer, and my shoes are wearing thin.

just a quick one (i hope). got in late last night to dublin, went to the old hostel i stayed in before. this is the first time since ive left the US that i have revisited a city. it was nice coming in and knowing where to go. I left cork, quentin drove me up to Limirick where we hoped to find a hostel (there wasnt one) so i could visit the cliffs in the morning then head either north to Galway, or east to Dublin and off from there to somewhere. Lack of hostel meant a day trip around limirick, we went to a castle there and toured it, very interesting archeaological dig was going on. learned a lot about the military side of castles. Then we went our seperate ways and i boarded the train to Dublin. So in short, missed the cliffs but had a blast hanging with quentin and seeing the countryside again, it is such a peaceful drive. along the way we say the ruins of an abbey, just chilling out there off the motorway with a few cows grazing in the ruins. pictures will follow soon, it was amazing.

again i met some amazing people, im truly amazed at how nice everyone is over here both locals and travellers. went out to the pubs in dublin with some girls from chicago, think im going to stay here for one more day and book a ferry out to scotland here tomorrow. trying to find the old myrick castle but the internet does not hold much hope for that. time is running short here and im feeling a bit pressed. i leave for Rome on the 15 (i am so excited for that), which means im going to have to cut some things short in scotland most likely, or i might skip it for now and make a trip out there later. perhaps from brussels or something with Florence (if you are a faithful reader you will remember she is Virginia's sister from belguim).

Last night as we were walking back from the pubs, i ran into some londoners on holiday here. it was so good talking to them, i love their accents and as im thinking about it now, i want to head to scotland later, go first to wales then to the big city and have some proper fish and chips. The two londoners and i talked about Dr Who and i almost died laughing when he started talking like a Dalek (most of you dont know what im talking about but Alli does and thats all that matters). savage craic.

if any of you are concerned about me not going to the countries that are close to me here and now, dont be. my plane ticket from london to rome was 30 euros, however my train ticket from Limirick to Dublin was 45 euros. it is so much cheaper to fly everywhere over here, that is also another reason why i like staying in the cities for more than just a day or two. I have definitely found my second (or third or fourth or fifth) wind and am ready to start travelling again.

London here i come.

so much for a short blog.

jeff

Cork - Blarney Castle

I did it. I kissed the Blarney stone. Quentin (the lad i climbed the mountain with in kilkenney) has been taking me around Cork and showing me the life of an Irish college student. He lives in a house with 4 other mates, all of whom are really interesting and really friendly. They come from all over ireland, which keep in mind is smaller than the state of washington, and all have different accents. im really starting to understand and differentiate between the different accents and am able to tell where people are from.

backtrack to wednesday now, i went and saw kilkenney castle, while i was waiting for the tour to start i was sitting on a bench with all my backpacks and camera. an older lady came and sat down next to me, she was american and asked me where i was from, i said seattle (this is what i tell everyone, if i say washington they think DC) she said oh really me daughter over there is from washington. She called her over and told me she was from chehalis and that i probably had never heard of it. I just started laughing. For those of you who dont know Chehalis is about 15 minutes from Rainier. The woman owns a couple of Cold Stone Creamery ice cream shops, one in centralia, and the other in lacey by hawk's prarie. we talked for a while about how small the world really is and about travelling in general. it was very good to meet someone from so close. Kilkenney castle was nice, very big and almost fully restored, but i wanted something old, something ruined. So in Cork today Quentin drove me out to Blarney, which even though he is a local has never been to. We made a stop first at the old county jail. we went through a walkman taped tour and saw what it was like for people who were there then. At the end i asked the receptionist if there was anything else to see on the grounds, she said but quentin and i decided to walk around anyway... im glad i did.

at the back of the jail there was an entrance to one of the wings that had not been taken care of for many years, along with several stone buildings which had been taken over by plants. this was the sca (irish slang for scandal) i had been looking for. we had a grand time imagining what it would have been like in the cold stone building, then made our way out and headed for Blarney.

we stopped at mcdonalds, the only place around, for a quick bite, i asked for rootbeer (they have none in ireland anywhere) then decided to go with my second choice lemonade. As i was leaving i tasted it and was confused, it was sprite. They call 7up and sprite type of stuff lemonade and lemonade they call lemon,lime juice drink or something. It was very strange. keep in mind they also call fries chips here (and yesterday i was able to go into a chipper and say fish and chips please).

At Blarney we first made our way up to the castle through a very beautiful grassy scene, then came to an underground cave that run a bit under the castle itself, it was so cool. the castle itself was smaller than i had imagines but still quite impressive, from the ground floor all the way up and the view from the top was incredible. There also is a bunch of very cool sites to see around the castle itself on the grounds. Quentin and i had a great time and it was very nice to have a friend to share the experience with. Tomorrow i think i am going to go to the cliffs of Mohir, then head to scotland in a couple days. it is tough with my backpacks to worry about and my camera especially, but i do wish that i had a car to store stuff in and to make my own time, and maybe a co-traveller. All of these things i am hoping to have on my next euro-trip. Apply within. Though i did drive Quentin's car today in the parking lot, it was quite weird having the wheel on the other side. and the streets are narrow over here and in many places, even on the main ones, there is only room for one car, so they have to pull over frequently to let the others go. This is very confusing and i dont know if i could handle city driving. Especially in France as they are not so skilled at driving.

and i did just get an e-mail from my tech professor, i passed the class, now the only thing i am needing is a way out of my math class, i have the complete 180 credits i need now to be a graduate of college.

well anyway, its a quarter past one in the morning and im ready for bed, going to the Jameson distellery tomorrow with quentin and then who knows where.

Ive still been having a blast and its so amazing seeing these different things and experiencing the life over here. most of the fun i am having is learning the culture, not neccesarily the history. I can't wait wait for Rome though, the history there.. brilliant. Well i must be off now.

I do miss you all and can't wait to fill you in on more of my adventures when i get back.

Cheers
Jeff