Craig's Travel Log

2006-10-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

LONDON- My last full day of the trip was spent in London before my flight. I was able to see "Antony and Cleopatra" at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and also "Les Miserables" at the Queens Theatre at London's West End. Both were amazing shows, but I enjoyed Les Mis more. The next day was about 32 hours long, with over 12 hours of flying time and the 8 hour time change, but my journey finally came to an end as my parents picked me up at LAX and took me home to sleep in my bed in Tustin. It was September 29th, 2006, making the total duration of my trip 12 weeks long.

2006-10-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

SCOTLAND- Sorry for not posting this sooner, but I got home and crashed and kind of forgot to finish it. Scotland was amazing. I decided to try and see some of the highlands, and so I took a flight to Inverness. From there I took a bus past Loch Ness (no, I didn't see Nessie), and met up with Matt in a bunk house in Sligachan. The next day we headed to Portree and explored the Isle of Skye, seeing some beautiful scenery and the castle of the McLeod clan. The next day we took a fairy to Mallaig and then took a steam train (the one seen on the Harry Potter movies) to Fort William. Matt stayed there while I went to Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is a beautiful hilly city with gorgeous castles and a beautiful Royal Mile of shops restaurants and bars. I visited the main castle and also St Giles cathedral. I then took a trip out to St. Andrews. I saw the remains of an old cathedral there as well as an old castle. But the main show is the Old Course. It was a beautiful course and it is right on near the ocean. I headed back to Edinburgh to check out and take a night bus to London.

2006-09-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

GALWAY, THE CLIFFS OF MOHER, AND THE ROCK OF CASHEL- The next day I took off for Galway, a charming little town on the middle of the west coast of Ireland. I tried to find a place to wathc some Rydre Cup action but was relegated to just grabbing a bite to eat and making my way to the Cliffs of Moher, which were probably the coolest thing that I saw while in Ireland. They are a set of towering sea cliffs which drop off straight down to the ocean at their outermost edge.

I spent the night in Killarney before heading off to the Rock of Cashel. It is an old ruin of a castle and cathedral that sits high upon a hill overlooking a valley. It is also rumored to be where St. Patrick explained the Trinity using an Irish clover. After the Rock I had to return my car to Dublin and then take a bus to Belfast in order to catch my flight to Scotland the next day.

2006-09-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

NORTHWEST IRELAND & BUNDORAN- We got up early and I gave him a ride to the docks for his ferry to Scotland. I went back to the hostel and met a nice Scottish-Canadian man named John who needed a ride to Donegal, since that is where I was heading I obliged and we agreed to split the cost to get there. There were some amazing coastal views all the way there which ended in the Slieve League cliffs, the highest sea cliffs in all of Europe. They were cool and even though the clouds were covering half of them you could still feel the sheer monstrosity that they held. After dropping John off at Donegal I reached Bonduran.

Bundoran is right on the coast, so as soon as I got up I raced down to the local surf shop and rented a board and wetsuit. I charged the waves, catching a few and realizing how out of shape I was, for it has been quite a while since I last paddled out. I hung out in town all day before taking in a pint with some nice fellows from Brighton that I met at the hostel.

2006-09-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

DUBLIN, BELFAST & THE GIANTS CAUSEWAY- I arrived on a flight from Dublin, and made my way to a wonderful tour of the Guiness Brewery where I enjoyed a complimentary pint while I took in views of the city from the 7th story sky bar. I walked around town a little bit to get the feel for the city, but I am tired of cities, and ready to see some lovely Irish countryside.

The next day I rented a car and headed north for the Giants Causeway. It is a one on a kind set of rock formations that are made up of thousands of prism shaped basalt columns surrounded by majestic cliffs. Then I headed down to Belfast where I met up with Matt again. We shared stories of our past travels and then hit the hay.

2006-09-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

OKTOBERFEST- I figured if I was anywhere in Europe near September 16, I had to try and make it to Oktoberfest. It was a crazy festival. It was contained in a giant fairgrounds area with everything an amusement park/ fair would have, including rollercoaster rides and all kinds of foods. The difference here was about the beer. There where probably anywhere from 10-20 beer tents on the premises as well. Only these tents were as big as a high school gymnasium, and they were overflowing with not only Germans in Leiderhosen but people from all over. I walked into a few of the tents but was unableto find a seat. I finally found one on a table just outside the tent and had a merry old time with the new friends I met. I ended up hanging out with them the rest of the night and we even all went to dinner. It was a great time and I am glad I stayed around for it.

The next day i took a train to Frankfurt and after that I am flying to Ireland!

2006-09-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

SALZBURG- Coming to Salzburg I really didn't know what I wanted to see. I ended up cruising around the old town area and ran into some city founder's celebration parade. I also tried to see a few of the places made popular by the Sound of Music. When I got back to the hostel that night, they were just starting the Sound of Music, so I stayed and watched. It was cool to see some of the places I had just been at in the movie. Salzburg is a beautiful city, and I'm glad I went there.

2006-09-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

THE VIENNA OPERA HOUSE- On my way back from Krakow I stopped in Vienna for the night because I wanted to see an opera. The Opera House was gorgeous, but the opera itself wasn't that great. Beautiful music and singing, just a bad story. It was still a great experience.

2006-09-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

KRAKOW- I wasn't sure what to expect when heading to Krakow. I ended up meeting some really cool travelers there, and hanging out with them, playing basketball, making dinner. It was a really fun and friendly environment at my hostel. Krakow is also really cheap, so I was able to do more things. The city itself is cool how it is set up. I has on of the biggest squares in all of Europe. The castle is pretty cool there too. The first morning I went to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site of the biggest Nazi death camp, where 1.5 million people were killed. It was unreal to actually be on those grounds, and a chilling experience I will never forget. I also went to Schindler's factory. I really liked Krakow and wished I could have stayed even longer than 3 nights.

2006-09-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

VENICE- The guys that I traveled with earlier decided that they didn´t want to go to Venice because they weren´t traveling with their girlfriend. Although it would have been optimal to be with your lady Venice, I still did not want to miss out one of the most unique cities in the world. It was truly remarkable to walk down the tiny streets and over the many canals. I had to take a waterbus every time I went to the hostel! St. Mark´s square is also a beautiful place. The next time I come, I´ll make sure to bring my wife, but for now, it was a worthwhile trip and I am sad to be having my last bit of Italian food and Gelato.

2006-09-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

LEICHTENSTEIN- The fourth smallest country in the world, I decided to visit Leichtenstein because I had some time to kill before my night train to Venice and no good reason not to go. I went to the country´s capitol, Vaduz. They have a castle where the King lives and beautiful mountains surrounding the whole country. I just walked around the town for a little while and then headed back towards Zurich. Now I can say I´ve been to Liechtenstein!

2006-09-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

THE MATTERHORN- I figured if I had time, there was no way that I could go to Switzerland and not see the Matterhorn. Once you see it, you are drawn to it and can't help stare at it from wherever you are. Part of my fascination probably comes from growing up and seeing it when I went to Disneyland, or any time I drove north on the 5 Freeway. Zermatt is the little town underneath it that I stayed in. The second day I was there I did a beautiful hike up near the base of it, and had amazing views of not only the Matterhorn, but also the little town of Zermatt as well as the surrounding mountains, most of which had snow on them. I had a some good pizza the second night where I had a nice chat with the South African expats who owned it. Switerland is so amazing, and I am sad that I have to leave.

2006-09-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

GIMMELWALD- Switzerland is amazing. Earlier, when we were in Interlaken, it was overcast and rainy nearly the whole time, so we missed some of the beauty and the grandeur of the Alps. So I decided I would go back, hopefully with some good weather. Dan Combs, who went to Europe 2 summers ago, told me when I was in Switzerland I had to go to a little town on the edge of a mountain called Gimmelwald, and so I did. Thanks Dan. The town is about 2000 or so meters high, and you have to take a gondola to get their. It's really tiny and it gives you a front row seat of some of the most amazing snow covered mountains you've ever seen. The hostel there is extremely fun as well. The second day I was their I went on a hike to a few gorgeous waterfalls, and got up real close to some glaciers as well. The picture above is taken from just next to the hostel and it pretty much just speaks for itself.

2006-09-03T11:34:00.001-07:00

THE BODENSEE- Lake Konstanz is a beautiful lake that is situated at where Switzerland, Austria, and Germany collide. Stephanie Philp lives and works at a torchbearers Bible School called Bodenseehof that is located on the German shore of The Bodensee (What Germans call Lake Konstanz). I stayed at the Bible school with her and it was an awesome time to relax and not have to do much sightseeing for a bit. I turned 24 while i was there which was exciting but kind of strange to have your birthday in a different country. It is also strange to be in my mid 20s. Thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday through email or blog comments or whatever. On the third day there I went and saw the Neuschwanstein Castle, which is the one that Walt Disney modeled the Disneyland castle after. It was reall cool but it took too long to get there and back. I was bummed cause I didn't get to watch the SC football game but excited when I heard that they won. Next I am going back to Switzerland for a few days.

2006-08-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

THE RHINE & ROTHENBURG- After arriving in Cologne we took a train down to Koblenz and hopped on a ferry there to cruise down the Rhine River. IT was beautiful, with castles and small towns dotting the hills on either side of the river. We got off at Bacharach and took the train into Mainz, where I bid farewell to Brett and Scotty and embarked on my solo mission for the next month, eventually to arrive at home on September 29th. In Mainz it rained the rest of the day so I just stayed at my hostel. The next day as i was leaving for Rothenburg, I noticed a frisbee golf course and played a quick game before heading to the train station.

Rothenburg is a medieval city, complete with a wall all completely encircling it. Although pretty much everybody there is a tourist, it is beautiful and gives you real sense of what those old towns looked like. The wall had a little area on it where you could walk, so I walked around the whole town. I had a pretty good lachmajun (turkish pizza) for dinner and then hung out in the hostel because it was raining again. The next day I headed for Lake Konstanz to meet up with Stephanie Philp.

2006-08-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

DENMARK & SWEDEN- We arrived in Denmark in the late afternoon. Brett and scotty took a night train to Stockholm, but I stayed in Copenhagen overnight. I went to a summer fair/ Knott's Berry Farm sort of thing, which was pretty fun. After that I walked around town a bit and then headed off to bed. The next day I was going to try and see Jonathan Winder and Pepperdine play some volleyball in Odense, but it ended up not working out. I left for Stockholm and met up with the guys there as well as Matt again. The next morning, we gave ourselves a walking tour of the town before ending up in Sweden's version of the old Williamsburg town, except this one had a zoo and a smalltime production of Swedish Idol going on. It was a surprisingly cool place. We watched some Sweden league soccer before heading back to our hotel room to watch tv and go to bed. The next day Matt headed north for the Arctic circle, and we went to Copenhagen and then took a night train to Cologne, Germany.

2006-08-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

BERLIN- I wasn't sure what to expect heading into Berlin. We stayed three nights there. The second day we took a bike tour and that gave us a good feel for the city. most of the stuff there had all been rebuilt from WWII. The Berlin wall and Checkpoint Charlie were probably some of the highlights because that was something that was happening in my own lifetime! The Reichstag (parliament) building was cool because it has this sweet glass dome that you can go up into and get great views of the city. We stayed in what was part of East Berlin. To eat we had mostly Kebabs, and I also had some Turkish pizza, which is basically the same as Armenian pizza. It was a fun city, but it is so huge it's hard to feel like you've seen it. We also saw where Hitler's bunker was, and also a really cool Holocaust memorial.

2006-08-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

AMSTERDAM- We arrived and Amsterdam near noontime and bumped into Wes and Ryan at a restaurant. We said our goodbyes and then Wes headed back to London, and soon, home. Matt had decided to go to the Rhine Valley instead and I fear we may not see him until his trip is over. After we checked in we headed for the Heineken Brewery. It was cool to be doing the same very thing that my Dad did over 30 years ago. We had dinner at a British sports pub of some sort, where we watched some English Football and a Red Sox-Yankees game. That night Brett, Scotty, and I headed to the Red Light district and straight back home to bed.

The next day was Sunday, and seeing how I hadn't been to a church service yet on this trip, I decided to get up early and go to Church. It was a Reformed church in English with a Scottish Pastor. After church, I met up with Ryan at the Anne frank Museum. It was a chilling but good exhibit. On our walk back we stopped for some Dutch pancakes. It had been raining pretty hard the whole morning, so after being repeatedly soaked we decided to just stay in the hostel for a while and watch tv. We did this until dinner, got food, and then came back and did it again until we went to bed.

The next morning we saw Ryan off and then I took a short train to Haarlem to see the "The Hiding Place". Of course it ended up being closed but I still had fun walking around the city. We had more rain, so we didn't do much the rest of the day. Brett had been sick during most of this time as well. The next day we took the train to Berlin.

2006-08-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

PRAGUE- When you go into something that has been overhyped, it is often bound to let you down. Prague had been hyped up by so many people that when I got there I felt somewhat unimpressed. I had heard it was beautiful because it didn't really get touched by WWI & II, but every other city that did get bombed had been rebuilt to look like it was before. Instead of griping about it, I decided to remove all expectation and re-enter the city with a clean slate.

I took the bus from Vienna and arrived at night. I found the hostel, Brett, and Scotty, and headed to bed. The other guys were enjoying their last night in Prague and then headed for Berlin. Scotty and Brett were extremely tired from their excursion in Poland and decided that we should sleep in. With out a second thought, I complied. After waking up late, we ate at some local Czech fast food place where we pointed at what looked good. I had something like a schnitzel with potato salad. We then decided to take a stroll around town to no particular place at all. We covered most of the old town area on the east side of the river and then stopped for a beer at a lovely place with a commanding view of the famous Charles Bridge. We figured we'd sampled enough of the local cuisine at lunch and decided on Italian for dinner. We ended up having this great meal for only like 5 bucks. If you avoid the touristy places, Prague can be very cheap. There are MANY tourists however, and therefore many touristy places. Following dinner, we eventually made our way back to the hostel and then off to bed.

The hostel that we stayed in, Sir Toby's, has a German history professor who stays in the dorms there all summer and then gives tours of Prague during the day. He is very much the definition of an oddly humorous, eccentric professor. We decided to take his tour and ended up enjoying it very much. We learned a lot of history that we didn't know, and were able to sneak by most of the herds of touristsas we went. That night we tried to go out and experience Prague's nightlife, but ended up running into long lines, expensive covers, and disagreements about where we should go, and so ended up walking home earlier than we expected.

After checking out we left our bags at the hostel to go explore the castle as well as the cathedral inside its walls. The cathedral was huge and had a big tower that we climbed for great views of the city. The tower climb however was one of the worst experiences on the trip. It was a very narrow, circular staircase with hundreds of stairs to the top, with both the line going up and down at the same time. Needless to say it was a very hot and claustrophobic experience. After the descent, we decided we had seen enough of the city and went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean at the local theatre. It was in English of course, with Czech subtitles. It was a very nice theatre and a good way to get lost in something "American" for a little while. After the movie we grabbed our bags and headed for the station for a night train to Amsterdam.

2006-08-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

VIENNA- I went to Vienna alone but luckily met some nice Aussie girls who I ended up hanging out with that night as well as the next morning. We saw a lot of the famous buildings there, including Mozart's apartment and the Opera House, had a good meal of wiener schnitzel, and ended up going salsa dancing at night. The next day I went to the Schonnbrum Palace, which is their version of Versailles, and it was really beautiful. I really enjoyed Vienna more than I thought it would, and now am off on a bus to Prague to meet up with the other guys.

2006-08-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

BUDAPEST- We had to take an all day train to Budapest because the night train we wanted was sold out. It was a long ride especially with the teenagers who were smoking and drinking in the aisleways. As we were getting there we discovered there was a huge music festival going on, and I ended up going (by myself, cause no one else wanted to) on the second night and seeing Radiohead for like 30 bucks, which was amazing! We did a lot of sightseeing also our second day. Brett and Scotty left for Krakow and the other three went on to Prague. I stayed an extra night to try and see more of the city. I went to a hungarian bath, which was a beautiful place, but an interesting experience as well.

2006-08-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

MÜNICH- We got into munich in the early afternoon and decided to take a Mike's Bike Tour. It was a pretty sweet tour and we learned a lot about the city. The only bad thing is that it was raining half the time. Some highlights are a stop at a beer garden, and also at a standing wave at the river that runs through town. Later on that night, we went to the Hofbrauhaus. The next day we went to Dachau, the Nazi labor camp. IT was a pretty chilling experience seeing some of the things that those people went through, and even standing in the gas chambers. We got some authentic Bavarian food that night as well. The next day, Matt, Scotty and Brett went to see Neuschwanstein (the disneyland castle), while Wes, Ryan and I slept in and walked around town a bit, before being rained out of the Third Reich Tour that we wanted to attend. We played it cool that night in order to prepare for our early train to Budapest.

2006-08-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND- It was a long but amazing train ride into switzerland. The Alps are truly beautiful. The only bummer was that it was cloudy and rainy the whole time. We stayed in Balmer´s hostel which was a fun one. On the second day we rented scooters and little cars and drove around to a few more towns near Interlaken. The 3rd day we were supposed to go canyoning but it rained too much so it got canceled.

INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA- After Interlaken we headed to Innsbruck in search of better weather. It was a little better but still rainy with the clouds covering up part of the view of the Alps. We went to the Olympic ski jump and got some great views of the city. Besides that, we just ate Bratwurst and hung out.

2006-08-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

THERE AND BACK AGAIN- After Cinque Terre the guys headed to FLorence and I went back to Rome to hang with Joe for another night, and also to check out a free concert. It was Bryan Adams (Summer of 69) and Billy Joel. They played a free concert right in front of the Coliseum! It was a pretty awesome experience and we were there with 10s of thousands of others too.

I went back to Florence again for a few days to actually do some sightseeing. We saw the famous David statue among other things. Next stop: Switzerland.

2006-07-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

CINQUE TERRE- I met up with Ryan, Matt and Wes again in Cinque Terre, which is a series of 5 little towns on the Italian Riviera. We stayed in the southernmost town, Riomaggiore, and on the first day, did 5 mile hike to all the towns. It was a beautiful hike with some amazing views, but also very hot and tiring. The next day we did some snorkeling and I was the only one who managed not to get stung by a jellyfish. The water is a clear bright blue and really warm. At night we would just hang out in the town and listen to a live band that was playing for some kind of town anniversary festival. It actually wasn't that hot there and it was nice to have a couple of days to relax and not sightsee.

2006-07-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

ROME- We arrived in Rome and met back up with the other 4 and headed off to St. Peter's Basilica. It was gigantic, with lots of paintings and sculptures, including Michaelangelo's "La Pieta". Since I tend to go at a slower pace, I got separated from the guys and ended up not being able to find them after searching for quite a while. I then tried to go see the Sistine Chapel but it was closed. It was kind of a bummer because I was staying at a place by myself (their places were booked up) and wasn't sure when I was going to meet up with them again. I decided to make the best of it so later on that day I went and saw Circus Maximus, the Mouth of Truth (by accident), and then ate at a little ristorante where I had some great penne pasta. By this time it was dark so I went on a night walk through the city where I saw a few interesting things. I saw some old temple ruins where Julius Caesar as supposedly killed, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish steps before heading home.

The next day I headed straight for the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. After wandering my way through all the different courtyards and mini-museums, I finally reached the chapel. After so much buildup, it truly was amazing. The colors were vivid and the figures almost leapt out towards you. After that I just hung out for a while until I randomly saw Ryan and Wes across the subway tracks and then ended up meeting back up with the guys for dinner.

Matt, Wes, and Ryan left in the morning for Florence, and Brett and Scotty headed to Cinque Terre, while I stayed back to see a few more sites and meet up with Joe finally. We were supposed to meet up in Cinque Terre on the 24th, but I was still sick and wanted to just chill out for a few days, and by the time we contacted each other, today ended up being the soonest we could meet up. I went to the Catacombs in the morning. It was a little ways outside of the city, but well worth it. The tour took us down underground to see where the early Christians were buried starting at the end of the 2nd Century. After that, I headed back and went to the Colosseum. It was awesome. I can't even describe how cool it was and I probably took about a hundred pictures when I was there. It made me want to see the movie Gladiator. Next was the Roman Forum, and it was cool to see all the ruins but it was nothing next to the Colosseum. After the Forum I finally met up with Joe. It was great to see him and get to share stories of our adventures so far. We had dinner and walked around a little bit (also with his brother and sister-in-law and sister) and eventually headed back. I am leaving for Cinque Terre tomorrow for 2 days and then I will get to meet up with him again later.

2006-07-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

FLORENCE- After my nap in the Florence train station, we headed to a park where waited for Matt's friend Jenny to meet us. WHile we waited, I tried to find a Doctor, because I was still feeling sick. After walking halfway across town and trying the ER, I was directed to a little clinic, where after my best efforts of hand motions and the little broken English that she did speak, I was able to get some good medicine and hopefully get off to a full recovery. We finally met up with Jenny and got to relax at her and her cousin Melissa's apartment for a little while. In the evening they made us dinner (which was amazing) and I felt much better.

The next two days we didn't do much besides sleep in and walk around town and hang out in the girls' apartment. It rained both days and the weather ended up being a little cooler than I thought. The second day I decided to cut my hair. I was tired of taking care of it, with it making me hotter and taking longer to dry and just being downright annoying. I didn't want to pay a lot for an expensive haircut so I just had Matt and Jenny do it. It was a learning experience for all of us, and it pretty much looks like a buzz cut that's grown out a little (the difficulty was that we didn't have clippers so we had to use a pair of cheap household scissors). The next two nights were filled with good food and great gelato as we would walk through the town past all the vendors and street performers. On the 26 we finally left for Rome after a wonderful and relaxing 3 nights in Florence.

2006-07-25T05:25:00.000-07:00

Nice- We (Matt and I) got to Nice in the morning after a night train. We got tickets for 2 nights later for a train to FLorence. We found a hostel and checked in. I was still feeling pretty horrible, but as soon as we checked in we had to leave because the hostel closes from 11-3. I decided it was time to get some medicine for whatever my sickness was so I went down to a pharmacy (they're everywhere) and tried to esplain to the lady what was wrong with me and why I was sick. I got the medicine, took it, and went down to the beach with Matt. Not a fan of the stone-covered beaches. The water was really warm though, and it made me feel so much better. we chilled there for a while and headed back to our hostel. I was hungry, and after spotting a McDonald's, I decided it sounded good and went for it. A big mac, fries, and a coke. It may not have been the best decision, but it made me feel bettter for the moment. After getting back to our hotel I took a long nap. I awoke, showered and headed downstairs to find Matt jawwing with some other travelers. I hung out with them for a while as well, and then tried to go out with them. After about 20 minutes of walking, I was feeling bad again so I went home and to bed.

The next daywe checked out of our hotel and then headed to Monte Carlo. It was cool to see some of the nice yachts in the harbor and cool cars on the road. We also got to see the famous Monte Carlo Casino. I still wan't feeling that well so I went back to the train station and waited while Matt and our Danish friend Matias went and explored a bit more of the Island. After heading back to Nice we went back to our hostel where our bags were and hung out until we had to leave. We grabbed dinner and got on our train to Florence. The train left Nice a little after 9 and got to Pisa at 3:30am, where we had to transfer and then go the rest of the way to Florence, arriving some time after 6. Needless to say it was a long train ride as we had seats in a cabin. Matt was able to sleep because there was no one sitting in from of me but I wasn't so lucky and didn't manage much sleep at all. We finally cruised into Florence where I proceeded to sleep in the train station for about 3 hours.

2006-07-23T02:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a long week We left San Sebastian with hopes of the road less traveled and better weather. We started off by heading to Pamplona, which is, of course, the site of the famous running of the bulls. Because of our travel choices we missed the festival and bull running but decided to check it out anyway. It was cool to walk down the path of the bulls and see the how the town looked empty, but someday it would be fun to go back for the festival. We wanted to camp in the foothills of the Pyrenees somewhere, so we took a bus to a town called Javier, where we saw a sweet castle and then walked 5km to the next town and then 2 or 3 more to try and find a campsite by a beautiful lake. Just as we were taking a dip, we heard thunder and lightning and decided we better get back indoors (as we have no tents, just a sleeping bag). We then powerwalked the 2 or 3 km back to Yesa and found a nice little hostel where we had a good and dry night's rest.

Since we weren't too fond of camping in the rain, we decided to head for Barcelona. We had to catch a bus in Yesa to a bigger mountain town called Jaca, where it started pouring about 5 minutes after we got there, and then waited in the train station for 2.5 hours to take a train to a tiny city called Tardientas. There, we had to wait another hour or so and then take another train to Barcelona, which was a long train that got delayed, with us ending up arriving in Barcelona at 1245am. We then took a cab from the station to the hostel that we had booked earlier on the phone. It was a crazy day. What was crazier, was that I started feeling sick that morning, with a fever and a swollen throat.

After spending the night in a super hot hostel room, we packed up and went back to the train station to reserve a ticket on a train to Nice. Matt wanted to go out and explore Barcelona, but I was feeling horrible, so we locked our valuables away and I just sat in the train station from 12 to 8, when our train left. When I got up to leave, I noticed by handbag was missing, which means someone had stolen it when I was sitting there, half dead, trying to sleep or pass the time or something. This of course did not make me happy, and I couldn't even try to search for it or look in lost and found because our train was leaving in 5 minutes. Luckily I didn't have my camera or passport or railpass or wallet in there. What I did get stolen was a few maps and postcards, my sunglasses and my Journal, which was the thing I was most upset about. There was nothing I could do now, so I had to move on and be even more careful with all of my belongings. Tonight, I'm off to Nice.

2006-07-21T03:07:00.000-07:00

San Sebastian, Spain We arrived in San Sebastian at about 830 in the morning. As we did not have a place to stay, we headed toward the tourist office but found it closed. Just then an old man walking his dog asked us if we need a place to stay and we ended up staying in a pension right in the heart of town. It worked out great and the old man and woman who ran it were very nice. We met an Aussie there and he hung out with us the rest of the time in San Sebastian (seem to run into a lot of traveling Aussies). It was really hot the whole time we were there so we just tried to stay cool by being in the shade or in the water, which was the perfect temperature (much warmer than California). We were gonna try and surf but there were really no waves. When trying to book a train for Barcelona we found out the one we wanted was full. We ended up deciding to split up with Matt and I taking the slow route through the Pyrenees and Wes, Ryan, Scotty and Brett staying an extra night in San Sebastian and then taking the day train to Barcelona. Matt and I are off to Pamplona and we will catch up with those guys in Italy.

2006-07-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

Paris- We decided to leave Paris a day earlier than planned, and so we took the chunnel train and got into Paris at 1115 at night- which was a problem because we did not have a place to stay. After being kicked out for trying to sleep in the train station, we tried to find a park near the hostel where we were staying the next few nights. It ended up being closed so we thought, if we´re in Paris we might as well sleep by the Eiffel Tower, right? Little did we know what kind of hike we were getting ourselves into. After walking for about 2.5 hours with our full packs on, we finally arrived at the foot of the tower. We found a place in the park and tried to sleep for a couple of hours.

Da 4 - We took the metro over and waited to get into our hostel. We finally got in, slept a few hours, had dinner, and then went to the Eiffel Tower lit up, which was an amazing sight.

Day 5 - Went sightseeing. Saw the Louvre, Notre Dame, and climbed the Eiffel Tower (3rd time we saw it in three days). At night we took it easy.

Day 6 - Took a daytrip to Reims (Champagne region) and took a champagne tour. At night we went up to the hill in Montmartre (Paris) and then up by this cool church too watch the city at night and some fireworks in the distance.

Day 7 - Bastille Day (France Independence day). We walked down Champs Elysees and saw the Arc d' Triomph. WE then got good seats for the Bastille day Fireworks at the Eiffel tower. We had to wait there for like three or four hours, but it was worth it. It was the most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen. It was choreographed with music and it lasted likme 35-40 minutes. Truly Amazing. Afterwards it was pandemonium in that probably 2-300,000 people or more who were watching the shoe all tried to get on the metro at the same time. Needless to say, it took us about 2 hours to get home, when it would have taken 15-20 miniutes normally.

Day 8 - We slept in did some Laundry and then went to Versailles. THe lines were too long and for us to go in but we did walk around the amazing gardens for a while. they were huge! Got our stuff and took the night train to San Sebastian.

2006-07-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

London- After a long day of traveling, we finally arrived in London. The first day, we visited Kensington Gardens and Picadilly Circus before meeting up with the other guys at Big Ben. For dinner we had our "local meal" of fish and chips and a brew. Everything after that consisted of me trying to stay awake in order to beat jet lag. It was tough considering I woke up at 430am pacific time, got maybe an hour of sleep on the flight to Montreal, 3 or 4 hours over to London, arriving in London at 645am London time, and not napping during the whole day. Needless to say, it could have been the longest day of my life. But I don't care, because it's London!

Our second day in London we tried to find Knights Templar (some Da Vinci Code place), saw the London Bridge, Tower of London, Tower Bridge (WAY better than the London Bridge, which was just a plain bridge), the outside of Westminster Abbey (it was closed, on the account of it being Sunday) and then chilled and played Frisbee at Speakers corner of Hyde Park. At night we watched the soccer game from Soho. We tried to see it at a pub or something, but it was so packed everywhere, we ended up in a Chinese restaurant. After the game, the little Italy section of Soho started going insane, people jumping up and down and yelling and waving the flag. We soon realized that not only was that area crazy, but pretty much that whole part of London was going nuts (especially Picadilly Circus). It was easily the craziest sports celebration I have ever witnessed.

Third day in London we saw the inside of Westminster Abbey, and then I went and saw the Globe theatre and the outside of St. Paul's Cathedral and the Old Bailey's before returning to the hotel to get my bag and head to the train station. Now we are off to Paris!

2006-07-07T00:53:00.000-07:00

It's late, but I am finally packed and soon will be asleep. My flight leaves LAX at 8:20 tomorrow which means I'm going to get about 3 hours of sleep tonight. That's okay because I'm usually good about sleeping anywhere. I have no idea what the next few months will bring but I am super excited for whatever it may be. I still can't belive that I'm actually doing it.