Backpacking trip in Europe - Journal Log

Jan..15 – Jan.16 DC, Newark, Dublin

I don’t have long, because we can’t figure how to work Scott’s power adapter. 20 minutes and counting.

The connection flight from DC to Newark was about an hour late, and we ran to our Dublin flight with 15 minutes to spare. Talk about close. From there, it was pretty smooth sailing. The flight was easy enough.

Okay, so the he figured out the power adapter, and I’m good.

My first sight of Ireland from the airplane view consisted of three observations: the demarcation of the land is done with trees/shrubbery, I chuckled at seeing the cars driving on the opposite side of the road even though I knew this before hand, and Ireland was indeed cloudy and gray. The last two observations may seem obvious and trivial, but there’s something to be said about confirming what you’ve heard for your entire life. And no, as my guidebook hinted, I have yet to see a leprechaun or pot of gold.

Once we got to Dublin, the passport issue (6 months validity) was of little consequence, and I effortlessly got into Ireland. Well, I say effortlessly but there were only two passport lines.  It is comforting to know that their government can be just as inefficient as ours.  We took a double decker bus from the airport to downtown, and we immediately made our way down Lower O’connelly street. The first thing I noticed was the immediate presence of Subway’s, McDonald’s, and Burger King’s.  This disturbed me at first (seeing the influence of crappy American food in the more ‘elite’ Europe), but we later decided that it was only because these was easily recognizable and noticeable.  From O’connelly, we were so excited and decided to just walk around. We immediately realized that we all needed breakfast or at the very least coffee. Fine, a quick pick me up. Strangely enough, the weather was warm and we were able to walk around with no jackets on for the most part ( lugging around a 40lb bag helps work up quite a sweat). We couldn’t take carrying around our bags anymore so we decided to make the trek down to our hotel.  Grafton St. was the epitome of internationalization and globalization. Stores from all countries and people of all nations were there to engage in beautiful commercialism. Our hotel room was interesting and great for the price (65 Euro).  Vaulted ceilings with molding and a mini chandelier and three individual beds. Two oddities: you have to insert a card in a slot to turn on the lights and the hair dryer looks like a vacuum cleaner.  Once we dropped of our bags, we went to our first bar (walking through St. Stephens Park): McDaid. It was an old city morgue and a once a literary hub in the 50’s or something. It was a small place with a unique décor and what I like to call “character”. We all ordered Guiness and it was exceptional. No other words needed. We then went to a Dave Byrnes (where Ulysses was written for certain parts). This was a slightly older crowd, and wasn’t all that it was hyped to be. We then went to O’Neills at the recommendation of the Bartender at McDaids. I got fish and chips (for my first time) but it was a bit pricey for the cost (13 Euros).  Nevertheless, it was tasty.  We got into a discussion concerning American food and European food at this point.  I argued that a lot of times we go into the restaurant (or country) with a perception that the food tastes better…when in fact, the food may actually be on par or just slightly better than American food.  For instance, if the corned beef and mash that Mike had was served in an American restaurant, would we give it the same rating we would in Europe?  I tend to think we wouldn’t.

Anyway, at this point we were dreadfully full and three pints in. This equals being tired. We tried to get moving around because napping would have pushed us back in getting acclimated with this time zone.  We walked to Trinity College and checked out the campus. The Long Hall (Library) was quite impressive and we were able to see the Harp that is famously decorated on the coins and Guiness logo. Taking a look at the students, I was surprised to see how similar in dress and fashion they were with American college students. Hair cuts were definitely different. But maybe the similarity in dress is due to the winter clothing wear. There really isn’t much room for variety right? 

Anyway, from Trinity we walk down and up the Liffey just trying to pass time.  We ended up just coming back to the hotel at around 6 or so to watch tv and drink a 6 pack.  Interestingly enough, due to trying to save money, we bought 1.99 6’’ subs at Subway.  Imagine that. An American establishment offering the cheapest, healthiest, and most convenient eating option.

I’m out. Tomorrow we go to Avalon House.

Jan.17 - Dublin

Shifting my sleep pattern was more than I bargained for and I ended up having a rough sleep.  It also didn’t help that there was a raging bar scene two floors below our room in the same hotel, and needless to say, the music and people were quite loud.  Anyways, I got up at around 6 am and I goofed around until everyone else woke up at roughly 7:00.  I was trying to find a Tesco or another grocery store to simply buy some bread and cheese, but we found it difficult and gave up our search.  We ended up getting breakfast (yummy Panini with brown sauce) at Café Sol.  We all noticed that the coffee was usually quite frothy (similar to a cappuccino or hot chocolate), and wondered if they were using powdered coffee (this was not the first or last time we observed this).  We had a humorous discussion concerning the discovery of chili pepper and the likelihood that Columbus incorrectly identified pepper in America as a chili.  This led to me saying that Columbus is a humongous fraud and waste of a holiday.  Someone then tried to compare Columbus to Zap Brannegan...a character from the TV show Futurama.  This provided some good laughs.

From here, we went back to the hotel, gathered our belongings, and went to our next hostel (the Avalon House).  It had a very ‘college’ appeal and seemed very fun.  We locked our belongings and proceeded to Dublin’s visitor center and the Belfast visitor’s center.  There were organized tours from Dublin to Giants Causway costing around 69 Euro.  We felt that this was unnecessary and considered the price of simply going to Belfast one way and booking the tour from there.  Done.

From here we went to the National History Museum, but this was closed due to renovations.  Bummer.  We proceeded to the Dublinia, but on the way we stopped at Dublin Castle and Christ Church Cathedral.  Both were impressive from the outside.  Dublinia was roughly 5 Euro but worthwhile in my opinion.  It provided an interactive and fun way or presenting Dublin’s history.  It was very interesting, and I think Scott and Mike enjoyed it quite a bit.

Following Dublinia, we went to the Guiness Storehouse (Brewery) which was 11 Euro for a tour.   At this point, we were all extremely famished and skipped the self guided tour initially to go upstairs and eat.  The food was extremely tasty and we then began our tour.  First of all, it is worth mentioning that the Guiness complex is expansive in size.  It was a lot larger than I expected and was used-to in comparison with my other brewery tours. Second, they pulled out ALL the stops in setting up the tour.  It was very modern, very well put together.  They had a very good presentation of how they brewed their beer, their history, their advertising, and finally, of course, tasting.  We decided to try pouring our own beer (which was fun) and went upstairs to the Gravity Lounge. This  provided a view of Dublin like no other, and it was remarkably relaxing and refreshing to drink a Guiness in mid-day while seeing Dublin like that. We proceeded downstairs to the gift shop and bought a few things.

From here, we proceeded to the Jameson Distillery.  I started noticing that my right hamstring (right behind my knee area) was hurting slightly, and at some points really affected my gait. We pressed forward though, and we did the Jameson tour.  The process of whiskey making is eerily similar to beer.  The only exceptions that we found were the lack of hops and of course the distillation process.  The presentation was worthwhile, but not as impressive as the Guiness one.  It is worth noting that the Jameson whiskey brand was at one point even more popular than it was today, and the distillery was a lot larger than what it is today.  The American Prohibition and WWII reduced it’s capacity, and they basically had to start over from scratch.  They did retain a part of their original building, but I had the feeling that they were existing in the shadow of their glory days.  The tasting at the end was somewhat enjoyable, but it was unfortunate that only 6 individuals were able to take part in the tasting test. They were allowed to try Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels, and Jameson.  5 out of 6 voted for Jameson with one vote for Jack.  It wasn’t a blind taste test however and the contestants were somewhat urged to vote for Jameson.  Jameson holds that whiskey was first created in Ireland and then shared with the Scots.  This was not the first time they tried to distinguish their brand as superior to the others. Scotch apparently has a more smokey flavor due to their process of heating their barley with smoke.  The Jack has a much sweeter taste due to the use of corn and new barrels for maturing (Jameson uses already used barrels). 

On our way back, we stopped by the Porterhouse: a place recommended by Let’s Go and one that I had been wanting to try as a lover of stouts/porters.  It was a really fun bar with a wide selection of their own brews and others.  We were somewhat hungry and ordered a plate of cheese and bread with our beer.  Mike and I unsuccessfully high fived eachother three times and this discouraged Mike.  We decided to test our inability with me high fiving Scott.  This produced a loud and perfect five.  Mike then thought that it was a problem with him and hesitated high fiving Scott. Much to his relief, he also produced a loud high five.  I’m not sure why I’m typing this or why it was so funny, but it was, and so here it is.  Some random lady said that Mike reminded her of an Irish Mick Jagger. Weird. 

We decided to go back to the hostel to check-in and drop off our stuff.  Upon entered our 26 bed dorm room, two French girls were giggling and mentioned that it smelled like feet in the room.  We weren’t sure if they meant that we smelled or that the room smells and they were just warning us.  They were quite friendly though and well spoken, but this obviously took us aback. It’s highly possible though that we smelled because my feet were indeed very smelly.  Anyways, I had to do some research on our next day journey, and we played some ping pong downstairs. Scott beat me 2 out 3 in a close one, and he decided to play Mike.  In explaining the serving rules, Scott was saying to add the two scores and see if it was divisible by five when changing serves.  It sounded confusing the way he worded it though, and Mike was confused as well. I then said that one person serves five and then the other then the other and so on and then he understood.  It was funny at the time.

We decided to go to Stag’s Head Bar to enjoy some music (according to Let’s Go).  It just so happened that they had a great, great Irish folk, traditional music band playing. We decided to throw back a couple pints and leave early so we could get up at 6 am.  We ended up having roughly 5 pints and staying until around 1:30am.  All while making some friends (we bought them two rounds), eyeing a really hot blonde across the room, and buying a back of cigs. Johnson got really drunk by the time we were leaving, and it was quite entertaining trying to get him home.  We got to the hostel and Scott and I did our best to get Mike into bed first.  Meanwhile, a couple of young French kids offered Scott and I a shot which we of course had to take.  Bad move.  While Mike was in bed, Scott and I resolved to stay the course and wake up at 6am for Northern Ireland.  BTW, one of the Irish guys were drinking with decided to take a full cock and balls picture of himself with Scott’s camera. Scott promptly decided to delete this. Who says you don’t make good decisions when you’re drunk?

Jan. 18 – Northern Ireland/Belfast/Giants Causeway

The shriek of the alarm clock was quite unpleasant…after all, it was the first time we had to wake up like that. None of us felt good at all (Scott looked terrible), but we got up, got ready, and began our trek to the Busarus Station.  We stopped to get breakfast at a convenience store and got a really cheap sub with chicken. I really liked these for some reason and ended up eating half of Scott’s.  Anyways, regardless of how crappy we felt, we got to the station and boarded the bus (fare was about 12 Euro).  Once boarded, we all attempted to pass out.  The bus was actually very clean and very nice but not very accommodating to the hung over traveler trying to sleep.  Once we got to Belfast (Europa Station), we gathered our things and readjusted ourselves.  All of us were still not feeling very good, and Scott still looked in rough shape.  We left the terminal and met our Tour Guide (Allen Tours) and began our journey (roughly 18 pounds).

Our tour guide was a Scot named Tom. He was a very knowledgeable and funny tour guide, and I couldn’t have had it any other way.  Our tour went through the majority of the causeway (along the coast of Northern Ireland). I couldn’t’ tell you all the town names, but I’m sure they consisted of a lot of ‘kil’s’ and ‘dun’s’ and such. The countryside was so green and so unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Interestingly enough, I took a liking to the sheep spattered around the country.  It’s not everyday you see them in a flocks like that, and I found them very amusing.

We first went to Carrickfergus Castle.  I couldn’t repeat the entire history story, but it was interesting.  Haha. We then went to cushendon, kilroot, cushendall, vanishing lake, bally castle (killer waves), and ballvoy.  It was really fun to notice the waves on Irelands coast.  They were very surfer friendly, and they were very worthy in my personal opinion.  Just not something you would expect in Ireland.  Upon arriving at Giant’s Causeway, the weather was just starting to pick up and the wind gusts were extremely difficult to overpower.  It was about a km walk down to the causeway and we often felt like we would be carried off by the wind.  Mike even got caught off balance and kind of had to grab my arm to steady himself.  Upon arrival, I felt an extreme excitement over what we were doing. It was extremely windy, rainy, and cold…but this did not matter to me.  The rock formations, the waves, and the wind gusts presented natures power and it humbled me.  To see the waves crashing into the rock like that (10 ft waves probably), the winds close to blowing me on my back, and the rocks of the most curious formation…it was just mind blowing.  I’m so glad I did it.

After the Causeway, we went to Bushmill’s distillery. There wasn’t much to do here, and it isn’t worth mentioning.  We then went to Dunluce castle…by this point, I was VERY tired, cold, and wet.  Enough to make me extremely tired and I couldn’t help but doze off and fall asleep. I should mention that there was this annoying girl talking on the bus for what seemed like forever. Things about how she was her daddy’s girl and she loved her family. Yada yada yada. Boring. I feel asleep again and when I woke up hours later, she was STILL talking. Funny at the time.  I fell asleep till we got back to Belfast, and from there we went to our hostel (Paddy’s). This was after we tried Annie’s backpackers hostel…but the rooms were close to full.  Thankfully, Paddy’s had a full 6 bed room for us and we settled down and went to go find some dinner.  Dinner consisted of some odd Mediterranean food with naan and some pakora chicken (5.50 pounds). Delicious. From there we bought some beer and drank in the room.  We fell asleep shortly after and went to bed.

Nov. 18 – Belfast and Liverpool

I woke up early due to an inability to go back to sleep.  When everyone woke up, we went downstairs to get some free breakfast (toast and cereal), and we left to walk to Victoria terminal for the Norfolk Ferry (around 109 pounds).  We left an hours time to get there, and even then, we made a big mistake.  The map in my book did no correctly locate the terminal for the ferry line, and we were completely lost.  We were walking an maze of port walkways and arbitrary streets.  It was 9:30 when we completely gave up and I decided to try and call a cab. It was the first pay phone we found. Scott and mike were obviously somewhat concerned and stressed..but really, up to this point, I held a hope that something special would happen.  When I called the cab and realized that the cab wouldn’t be able to find us, it was then that I lost hope.  We were about to walk back to the main road in despair over losing all that fare money, when the cab suddenly came around the corner…glorious.  We hopped on and in a matter of about 5 minutes…we were at the port.  We made it just in time and got onto the ferry.

We unloaded our gear into the cabin, and I decided to grab two pints of Guiness.  This felt great and the ferry was still in dock at this point. It was a huge boat, and the interior was finely furnished.  Regardless, when we left the dock in a matter of a few hours, we hit very turbulent waters.  Mike and Scott were making a huge fuss over the rocking of the boat, and I immediately dismissed all claims of sea sickness. Later on, the boat REALLY started rocking hard and I felt weak and somewhat disabled. This was for a course of about 6 hours, and all we did was lay on our beds to try and gain equilibrium. Scott found that salt and vinegar crisps were the cure for his sea sickness.  I was supposed to be using this time to write and read, but hardly any of this was accomplished.

We all fell asleep and woke up at disembarking time.  There were some asshole kids who were giving Mike a hard time and I’m pretty sure one even referred to me as a ‘chinaman’.  Anyways, we got off the boat and found a taxi over to Liverpool (it was across the water). It ended up costing about 30 pounds, bit Mike and Scott thought he had said 13 pounds. Our mistake? I’m not sure. We checked into our room at the Formula 1 ( about 11 pounds each).  From here, we went looking for dinner.  We thought the docks would be best choice for food and drinks. We tried a couple of places that were apparently high end, and settled for an American-like restaurant (What’s Cooking).  We then went for a couple drinks and came back to the hotel to drink a few.  It is worth noting that the Liverpool vs. Everton game is tomorrow…and intense rivalry playing at 8pm tomorrow.  We felt the vibe in the city, and I personally felt somewhat intimidated by it.  Anyways, we’re all pretty done at this point and we’re watching MTV and writing in our journals. Talk about lame.  Tomorrow…Beatles and Liverpool/Everton. Awesome.

Jan. 19 – Liverpool

Okay, these things need to start getting shorter. I don’t have time to write novels anymore, and if I want to keep up with this thing, I’m going to reduce the time I write.

We woke up and did the Fab Four taxi tour (45 pounds). I think this was totally worth the cost.  We went in and saw Ringo Starr’s childhood home and neighborhood (a lady named Margaret lives in it now and opens up her house to guests).  We saw John Lennon’s childhood home, Paul McCartney’s, and George Harrison’s as well. We saw Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, and the church where John and Paul first met.  It was crazy to see their humble beginnings, and it really gave you a feel for where they were coming from (especially their musical inspiration for some songs).  After the tour, we ate at this Chinese buffet…and we were very satisfied.  It was pretty similar in my opinion to American-Chinese buffets.  From here, we went back to the hotel and took a brief nap, unfortunately we slept through most of the game.  I felt like I missed a golden opportunity to experience soccer fans in action (hang with the locals kind of experience), but oh well. We tried to catch the last part of the game, but instead, we decided to go to the Philharmonic Pub. This was John Lennon’s favorite pub (he was upset later on in his career that he couldn’t go in there to enjoy a beer without being surrounded with people).  We went back to the hotel after, had some more beer, and then ordered food.  It was funny because Mike and I shared a pretty darn good pizza, but Scott ordered some chicken kebabs.  They were really small and overcooked and he was so pissed-off…at the world.  Just a funny moment.

Bed time.  

Jan. 20 – Liverpool/London

We decided that there wasn’t much that Manchester could offer us, so we took the 12pm bus to London (about 24.50 pounds).  This day is easy to record because we spent about 5 ½ hours on the bus.  It was interesting seeing the scenery however (countryside is beautiful).  The roundabouts in this country really bother me though.  I’m glad they reduce the number of lights/stop-n-go action, but it is really annoying to be have to go through so many inertial shifts.  Oh yeah, and we missed the Obama inauguration. Bummer.

Upon arrival into London (Victoria terminal), we took a subway (4 pounds) to our hostel location (The Generator – 20 pounds each for three beds). The subway was ridiculously busy (around rush hour), and I was admittedly flustered (rapid change in environment and having our large packs in a crowded area).  Scott and Mike took it well, but they seemed a little taken aback by the scene as well.  We navigated the subway pretty easily though (didn’t get lost or anything), and I felt like we handled the situation pretty well.  We got to our ending station and I bought a London A to Z mini map guide.  We found our hostel and got Tandoori for dinner. Delicious. From there we had a couple drinks at the hostel bar, then we went to The Jerusalem bar (a lot of cider/fruit beers here…vintage environment), and then came back to the hostel.  I got pretty drunk that night and also ended up smoking like 5 or 6 cigarettes throughout the night.

Jan. 21 – London

I woke up hurting. Hurting bad. I got up before everyone (naturally) and recovered (breakfast, water, vitamins).  We started out getting a cab to Traflagar Square, from there we walked up to Soho and looked at Chinatown. Walked to Picadilly Square and then down to Traflagar Sq again to begin the Whitehall walk.  We took a detour (but it was a good one) through the Horse Guards area into St. James Park.  Great scenery, and it’s amazing that it looked that great in the winter… better would it have looked in the spring?  We walked down to Buckingham Palace then down Houses of Parliament (Big Ben) to Westminster Abbey. St. Margaret’s Westminster was equally impressive, and it’s amazing to me that no one mentioned it in a book.  They had a bunch of important people from long ago buried there, and the building inside was beautiful.  From there, we walked down to the Westminster Cathedral.  This was easily one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen in my life. They had mini-chapels (about 8 of them ) on the side of the church (dedicated to various saints).  We also went up the tower (2.45 pounds) and saw a great view of the city.  From here, we walked up to Traflagar Sq to meet up with Lauren.  We went to the National Portrait Gallery.  We didn’t get to see everything, but they had some good photographs (award winning) and a gallery of England’s tudors (kings, queens, important people).  The place was closing down and Lauren had to leave. We said our goodbyes and went to Chinatown for a bite to eat.  From there, we went to the French House (famous for Charlie Chaplin and Salvador Dali) for a half pint of beer. We were all feeling a little under the weather and decided to take it easy tonight.  We got back to the hostel and did some laundry, got some logistics out of the way, and we are looking forward to a big day tomorrow.  

Jan. 22 – London

National Science Museum – saw some really cool stuff on mathematics. It was interesting to note the emphasis (partially funded by energy companies) on green energy, alternative energy, and energy education overall for the younger generation. Indian buffet. National History Museum – great exhibit on dinosaurs. This is all we had time for. We meet up with Lauren and her friend Jessie. French tea and coffee. The French coffee and tea came in a large ‘bowls’ with no handle. I think it was meant to be sipped by two hands.  

Brixton market…?...karaoke night at the hostel. Scott sings Lola. Mike sang Rock and Roll by Led Zepplin. I sang Hey Jude with everyone. Fun times.   

Jan. 23 – London

London Tower – had a great time here. It was just awesome to get the tour from the Yeoman (Beefeaters). They were very entertaining and informative. Some of the buildings were build in the 10^th century (I believe) and it was exhilarating being able to see them like that. We also got to see the vault with many of the coronation crowns, staffs, orbs, etc., Tower bridge, Victoria walkway, lunch in pub (sausage), London Prison (clink) museum – this, in combination with the heard of torture at London Tower, made you really appreciate some of the steps in civility and the way we treat our fellow man. Those people were ruthless. Stop at Tate Modern for some coffee, continued to st. paul’s cathedral, went to try and smoke some shisha, didn’t work out…we got some fish and chips at a pub, then went home looking for live music at the Water Rats…instead…went to bar. Argued about free market and talking about titties at a pub close to home.

Jan. 24 – London

Abbey Rd – I took a piss in a public bush with a camera right in my face (noticed it at the last second), Pizza place with good pizza and chicken stew fried with rice, Portebello Market – great antiques, went home, guitar shops, Italian food place – great, filling meal, and then UK bluegrass (Papa Truck). Sleep. Or lack thereof (Ashlee House…16 pounds).  Subway sandwich and then Scott bought a dirty dirty porno mag. Totally worth the entertainment factor in my opinion.

Jan.25 – London/Paris

Woke up, went to St. Pancras Station to leave at 7:50. Came into Paris, but Scott and Mike were really tired and unable to function (possibly getting sick). We dropped off our bags, went to grab an expensive bite to eat (Thai food), and came back and chilled for a while.  One thing I really disliked about Paris so far is that I can’t figure out the damn phones. They suck.  We got here on a Sunday as well, and the streets seem really desolate.  Anyway, Scott and Mike passed out at the hostel (3 Ducks…roughly 21 Euro each)…I didn’t want to fall asleep due to sleep pattern/sun reasons. The hostel we were staying at is kind of sketchy and seems like it will be loud. I went ahead and reserved a room at the Montebello Hotel in anticipation of the crappiness. But I will report tomorrow.

Mike and me went out and bought some bread, brie cheese, and a bomb ass bottled of wine for 2.50 euro.  We brought it back to our place and had a great feast for the price.  Great way to save money overall. Scott isn’t in good shape at all.

Jan. 26 – Paris

The 3 Ducks hostel was terrible.  People were partying up pretty late and the door leading to the bar from the courtyard had a loud squeak to it.  In the end, none of us slept very well and this certainly didn’t help Scott regain his health.  I got up early nonetheless and had breakfast. Getting Scott and Mike going was difficult (morale at this point was quite low), but we managed to stow away our bags and set out for site seeing.  Our first stop was Ecole Militaire through the Champs de Mars to the Eiffel Tower and all it’s glory.  It was a foggy day and half of it seemed to be shut out from view…nonetheless, it was impressive and exceeded my expectations. Then we marched on to the Trocadero and the Palais de Chaillot and got some good shots of the Eiffel. We marched on towards the Arc deTriomphe.  From there, we took a subway back, grabbed our bags, and gladly checked-into the hotel.  We showered up and rested from this point.  I decided that we needed to go make reservations for our next train, but after the 30 minute Metro ride out there and the long line wait, we found out we needed all of our tickets present.  This was a huge waste of time and I guess we needed to drink our sorrows away at this point.  We went to this recommended pub called Le 10 Bar for some damn good Sangria.  We were chasing another bar,  but stumbled up a place called La Pinte.  The bartender was friendly and charming enough for us to enjoy our time there (along with a much needed pint or two).  We then went home and Mike and I (again) got some cheese, bread, and wine for the hotel. Sleep time.

Jan. 27 – Paris

We straightened out the ticket reservation and went ahead and took care of it.  Great, finally.

Mike has our itinerary written down.

Jan. 28 – Paris/Toulon

Oddly enough, none of us slept that well, but we managed to get up and made our trek to the Louvre (9 Euro).  We immediately made our trek to the Mona Lisa and we saw some great Greek sculptures.  We noticed throngs and hordes of Chinese/asian tourists along the way, and this made our time somewhat of a displeasure. Regardless, we found the Mona Lisa and we found it interesting that they allowed flash photography at this point. This led us to believe that this was in fact not the real painting? Who knows. From there, we saw some Picasso and I then made the trek to find Hammurabi’s Code.  I got a little side tracked and lost…but I found it.  I then went to the Napoleon’s Apartment for some very interesting insight into how the French aristocrats lived. One word: luxurious and awesome. We started running out of time at this point since our train was leaving at 2:00pm, so we got our bags back at the hotel and made our trip to the train station. The high speed train went well, and it was a great experience over all.  The speed at which you are going on the ground is remarkable (and a first for me), and I felt that the 4 hour trip went by rather quickly.  We were picked up at the station in Toulon by Scott’s Uncle, and he and his wife gave us a quick tour.  It was a very picturesque, small town supported (or the other way around) by a naval base.  Regardless, the town is surrounded by a mountain range and the bay area…so overall, very nice.  Kevin and Marie Noel treated us to a great, great, long dinner and we had a rather nice night. Our accommodations are great and Mike fell asleep almost instantly without even changing. We should have a great day tomorrow. Life is great at this point and our halfway point is nearing at a high note.  Viva la France.

Jan. 29 – Toulon

For the first time this trip, I woke up at around the same time as everyone else.  I just didn’t wake up as earlier than I wanted to, but I guess this is a good thing because for once I must have been relaxed and at peace.  We got up and enjoyed some good bread and croissants with coffee and juice.  From there, we went to the station to figure out our train situation to Rome. Apparently, they can’t work with the Italian rail system, so we’re just going to have to try our luck in Milan.  Anyway, we got back home and made the trek to eat some pizza at the local place.  I got the recommended pizza by Kevin, but to be  honest, it was a good, good pizza…but not the best I’ve ever had.  I liked the pizza I had in London much, much more. Anyway, from there we went to the La Californie after this for a great view of the bay.  We then went to another point that was so-so.  From there, we went back to the train station to make our final reservations.  Mike and I went with Marie Noel to bum off the McDonalds free Wi-Fi internet.  We then had a great, great dinner consisting of a salad with a bread with goat cheese on top, a kind of shrimp etouffe, and then some cheese and bread of course.  What a relaxing day.

Jan. 30 – Toulon

We went to the market place in Toulon. It was really interesting to see the mix of different nations in the market place (particularly the Northern Africa/Muslim people).  Kevin and Marie Noel expressed a displeasure with this group of people multiple times, and it rings parallel with the American sentiment towards Mexicans/other ethnic groups that are not willing to assimilate.  It was apparent they are somewhat conservative and they dislike that these groups are reaping in the socialist benefits of France.  Anyways, after the market, we went to Mont Framont and got some great views. From there, we got some good Vietnamese food. From there we went to some cliffs by Marseille…apparently they are the highest cliffs in Europe and again, we got some great views.  We got some dinner at home and then went to bed (soooo fullll). I won’t mention the part about me losing the full set of house keys and then finding it again.

Jan. 31 – Toulon/Milan/Rome

What a long ass trip. Our train was supposed to leave at around 7:42, but we ended up not leaving until about 30 minutes later. I guess what they mean by ‘inter-city train’ is that it literally stops at every podunk city there is along the coast. We made a switch at Nice, France (which we made in just the nick of time…thank Lady Luck). From there, we stopped in Genova, and then made a switch in Milan.  Milan looked like a shithole, and we were glad to get out of there.  By the way, the train reservations for Italy are substantially more expensive than other countries. (like 20 Euros). We got into Rome at around 8:30 and we tried contacting Mike’s friend.  We couldn’t get a hold of her, so we just used a hotel contact agency and found a hotel for around 80 Euro.  It was a nice hotel though.  Anyway, we ended up eating an ‘okay’ meal of dinner at a restaurant across the street and then went to bed.  Full day of traveling will do that to you.

Feb. 1 – Rome

Col, Roman Forum, etc, etc. Pizza.

Go out with martina and friends. Kebab and Super Bowl.

Feb. 2 – Rome

Vatican City, lunch, dinner, colosseum

Reflections:

                Things to remember for the next trip:

1.       Don’t bring the heavy ass laptop. A memory stick maybe?

2.       Extra socks and underwear…you don’t wash as much as you think you will.

Interesting observations:

1.       No water public water fountains (except for Rome)

2.       “Cheers” for ‘thank you’ in the UK is very real.

3.       The Irish and the Scots seriously have their whiskey stories different. 

4.       French can’t tell a difference between the English and American accents.

5.       People here love Obama

6.       Subways and McDonalds are ubiquitous in Ireland/UK..but no where to be seen in France.

7.       People say that the French can speak English but ‘choose’ not to…but I think that’s a lie spread by the French. They suck at English from what I can tell.

8.       It is a pain in the ass to use your credit card and get a receipt back from regular merchants.  Also, they hate taking larger bills (we’re talking 10’s and 20’s here) and will insist on smaller or exact change in coins.

9.       Don’t expect a large cup of to-go coffee in France (or most of Europe for that matter). It doesn’t really exist unless you can find a Starbucks.

10.   The graffiti and overall city vandalism in Paris/France/Italy is very noticeable.  Much more rampant.

11.   Italian flags are everywhere

12.   The Italians are noticeably fatter than their other European counterparts.

13.   We went to two Italian restaurants for a sit-down meal and both times we got noticeably jipped. The first time, the house wine on the menu only said 3 Euro next to it with no other indications. We ordered it and the waiter promptly brought us a liter of wine. Great. We drink this and order another thinking they are 3 Euro each.  We got our bill later and it shows 12 Euro for the wine. Apparently, the listed price is only for ½ liter. Thanks buddy for letting us know. Sure, call us naïve for thinking that much house wine would be 3 Euro…but come on, this is our first time in Italy and it’s a wine country.  And it’s shitty house wine. Whatever. The second time, we just wanted quick bite for lunch (pizza to be exact) but we didn’t really understand the menu choices. We did ask the waiter for the toppings, and he did answer them, but he seemed uninterested in really helping us out. We didn’t get our water until way later, and when I asked for the bill, he acknowledged me and simply went about his way. We must have waited for about 10 minutes waiting…and then he finally tells us that we should pay at the counter (behind us).  From there, the old lady tells us that there is a 2 Euro tip charge. Where was this written? It sure wasn’t on the menu. Whatever bitch.

Backpacking trip in Europe - Journal Log

Jan..15 – Jan.16 DC, Newark, Dublin

I don’t have long, because we can’t figure how to work Scott’s power adapter. 20 minutes and counting.

The connection flight from DC to Newark was about an hour late, and we ran to our Dublin flight with 15 minutes to spare. Talk about close. From there, it was pretty smooth sailing. The flight was easy enough.

Okay, so the he figured out the power adapter, and I’m good.

My first sight of Ireland from the airplane view consisted of three observations: the demarcation of the land is done with trees/shrubbery, I chuckled at seeing the cars driving on the opposite side of the road even though I knew this before hand, and Ireland was indeed cloudy and gray. The last two observations may seem obvious and trivial, but there’s something to be said about confirming what you’ve heard for your entire life. And no, as my guidebook hinted, I have yet to see a leprechaun or pot of gold.

Once we got to Dublin, the passport issue (6 months validity) was of little consequence, and I effortlessly got into Ireland. Well, I say effortlessly but there were only two passport lines.  It is comforting to know that their government can be just as inefficient as ours.  We took a double decker bus from the airport to downtown, and we immediately made our way down Lower O’connelly street. The first thing I noticed was the immediate presence of Subway’s, McDonald’s, and Burger King’s.  This disturbed me at first (seeing the influence of crappy American food in the more ‘elite’ Europe), but we later decided that it was only because these was easily recognizable and noticeable.  From O’connelly, we were so excited and decided to just walk around. We immediately realized that we all needed breakfast or at the very least coffee. Fine, a quick pick me up. Strangely enough, the weather was warm and we were able to walk around with no jackets on for the most part ( lugging around a 40lb bag helps work up quite a sweat). We couldn’t take carrying around our bags anymore so we decided to make the trek down to our hotel.  Grafton St. was the epitome of internationalization and globalization. Stores from all countries and people of all nations were there to engage in beautiful commercialism. Our hotel room was interesting and great for the price (65 Euro).  Vaulted ceilings with molding and a mini chandelier and three individual beds. Two oddities: you have to insert a card in a slot to turn on the lights and the hair dryer looks like a vacuum cleaner.  Once we dropped of our bags, we went to our first bar (walking through St. Stephens Park): McDaid. It was an old city morgue and a once a literary hub in the 50’s or something. It was a small place with a unique décor and what I like to call “character”. We all ordered Guiness and it was exceptional. No other words needed. We then went to a Dave Byrnes (where Ulysses was written for certain parts). This was a slightly older crowd, and wasn’t all that it was hyped to be. We then went to O’Neills at the recommendation of the Bartender at McDaids. I got fish and chips (for my first time) but it was a bit pricey for the cost (13 Euros).  Nevertheless, it was tasty.  We got into a discussion concerning American food and European food at this point.  I argued that a lot of times we go into the restaurant (or country) with a perception that the food tastes better…when in fact, the food may actually be on par or just slightly better than American food.  For instance, if the corned beef and mash that Mike had was served in an American restaurant, would we give it the same rating we would in Europe?  I tend to think we wouldn’t.

Anyway, at this point we were dreadfully full and three pints in. This equals being tired. We tried to get moving around because napping would have pushed us back in getting acclimated with this time zone.  We walked to Trinity College and checked out the campus. The Long Hall (Library) was quite impressive and we were able to see the Harp that is famously decorated on the coins and Guiness logo. Taking a look at the students, I was surprised to see how similar in dress and fashion they were with American college students. Hair cuts were definitely different. But maybe the similarity in dress is due to the winter clothing wear. There really isn’t much room for variety right? 

Anyway, from Trinity we walk down and up the Liffey just trying to pass time.  We ended up just coming back to the hotel at around 6 or so to watch tv and drink a 6 pack.  Interestingly enough, due to trying to save money, we bought 1.99 6’’ subs at Subway.  Imagine that. An American establishment offering the cheapest, healthiest, and most convenient eating option.

I’m out. Tomorrow we go to Avalon House.

Jan.17 - Dublin

Shifting my sleep pattern was more than I bargained for and I ended up having a rough sleep.  It also didn’t help that there was a raging bar scene two floors below our room in the same hotel, and needless to say, the music and people were quite loud.  Anyways, I got up at around 6 am and I goofed around until everyone else woke up at roughly 7:00.  I was trying to find a Tesco or another grocery store to simply buy some bread and cheese, but we found it difficult and gave up our search.  We ended up getting breakfast (yummy Panini with brown sauce) at Café Sol.  We all noticed that the coffee was usually quite frothy (similar to a cappuccino or hot chocolate), and wondered if they were using powdered coffee (this was not the first or last time we observed this).  We had a humorous discussion concerning the discovery of chili pepper and the likelihood that Columbus incorrectly identified pepper in America as a chili.  This led to me saying that Columbus is a humongous fraud and waste of a holiday.  Someone then tried to compare Columbus to Zap Brannegan...a character from the TV show Futurama.  This provided some good laughs.

From here, we went back to the hotel, gathered our belongings, and went to our next hostel (the Avalon House).  It had a very ‘college’ appeal and seemed very fun.  We locked our belongings and proceeded to Dublin’s visitor center and the Belfast visitor’s center.  There were organized tours from Dublin to Giants Causway costing around 69 Euro.  We felt that this was unnecessary and considered the price of simply going to Belfast one way and booking the tour from there.  Done.

From here we went to the National History Museum, but this was closed due to renovations.  Bummer.  We proceeded to the Dublinia, but on the way we stopped at Dublin Castle and Christ Church Cathedral.  Both were impressive from the outside.  Dublinia was roughly 5 Euro but worthwhile in my opinion.  It provided an interactive and fun way or presenting Dublin’s history.  It was very interesting, and I think Scott and Mike enjoyed it quite a bit.

Following Dublinia, we went to the Guiness Storehouse (Brewery) which was 11 Euro for a tour.   At this point, we were all extremely famished and skipped the self guided tour initially to go upstairs and eat.  The food was extremely tasty and we then began our tour.  First of all, it is worth mentioning that the Guiness complex is expansive in size.  It was a lot larger than I expected and was used-to in comparison with my other brewery tours. Second, they pulled out ALL the stops in setting up the tour.  It was very modern, very well put together.  They had a very good presentation of how they brewed their beer, their history, their advertising, and finally, of course, tasting.  We decided to try pouring our own beer (which was fun) and went upstairs to the Gravity Lounge. This  provided a view of Dublin like no other, and it was remarkably relaxing and refreshing to drink a Guiness in mid-day while seeing Dublin like that. We proceeded downstairs to the gift shop and bought a few things.

From here, we proceeded to the Jameson Distillery.  I started noticing that my right hamstring (right behind my knee area) was hurting slightly, and at some points really affected my gait. We pressed forward though, and we did the Jameson tour.  The process of whiskey making is eerily similar to beer.  The only exceptions that we found were the lack of hops and of course the distillation process.  The presentation was worthwhile, but not as impressive as the Guiness one.  It is worth noting that the Jameson whiskey brand was at one point even more popular than it was today, and the distillery was a lot larger than what it is today.  The American Prohibition and WWII reduced it’s capacity, and they basically had to start over from scratch.  They did retain a part of their original building, but I had the feeling that they were existing in the shadow of their glory days.  The tasting at the end was somewhat enjoyable, but it was unfortunate that only 6 individuals were able to take part in the tasting test. They were allowed to try Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels, and Jameson.  5 out of 6 voted for Jameson with one vote for Jack.  It wasn’t a blind taste test however and the contestants were somewhat urged to vote for Jameson.  Jameson holds that whiskey was first created in Ireland and then shared with the Scots.  This was not the first time they tried to distinguish their brand as superior to the others. Scotch apparently has a more smokey flavor due to their process of heating their barley with smoke.  The Jack has a much sweeter taste due to the use of corn and new barrels for maturing (Jameson uses already used barrels). 

On our way back, we stopped by the Porterhouse: a place recommended by Let’s Go and one that I had been wanting to try as a lover of stouts/porters.  It was a really fun bar with a wide selection of their own brews and others.  We were somewhat hungry and ordered a plate of cheese and bread with our beer.  Mike and I unsuccessfully high fived eachother three times and this discouraged Mike.  We decided to test our inability with me high fiving Scott.  This produced a loud and perfect five.  Mike then thought that it was a problem with him and hesitated high fiving Scott. Much to his relief, he also produced a loud high five.  I’m not sure why I’m typing this or why it was so funny, but it was, and so here it is.  Some random lady said that Mike reminded her of an Irish Mick Jagger. Weird. 

We decided to go back to the hostel to check-in and drop off our stuff.  Upon entered our 26 bed dorm room, two French girls were giggling and mentioned that it smelled like feet in the room.  We weren’t sure if they meant that we smelled or that the room smells and they were just warning us.  They were quite friendly though and well spoken, but this obviously took us aback. It’s highly possible though that we smelled because my feet were indeed very smelly.  Anyways, I had to do some research on our next day journey, and we played some ping pong downstairs. Scott beat me 2 out 3 in a close one, and he decided to play Mike.  In explaining the serving rules, Scott was saying to add the two scores and see if it was divisible by five when changing serves.  It sounded confusing the way he worded it though, and Mike was confused as well. I then said that one person serves five and then the other then the other and so on and then he understood.  It was funny at the time.

We decided to go to Stag’s Head Bar to enjoy some music (according to Let’s Go).  It just so happened that they had a great, great Irish folk, traditional music band playing. We decided to throw back a couple pints and leave early so we could get up at 6 am.  We ended up having roughly 5 pints and staying until around 1:30am.  All while making some friends (we bought them two rounds), eyeing a really hot blonde across the room, and buying a back of cigs. Johnson got really drunk by the time we were leaving, and it was quite entertaining trying to get him home.  We got to the hostel and Scott and I did our best to get Mike into bed first.  Meanwhile, a couple of young French kids offered Scott and I a shot which we of course had to take.  Bad move.  While Mike was in bed, Scott and I resolved to stay the course and wake up at 6am for Northern Ireland.  BTW, one of the Irish guys were drinking with decided to take a full cock and balls picture of himself with Scott’s camera. Scott promptly decided to delete this. Who says you don’t make good decisions when you’re drunk?

Jan. 18 – Northern Ireland/Belfast/Giants Causeway

The shriek of the alarm clock was quite unpleasant…after all, it was the first time we had to wake up like that. None of us felt good at all (Scott looked terrible), but we got up, got ready, and began our trek to the Busarus Station.  We stopped to get breakfast at a convenience store and got a really cheap sub with chicken. I really liked these for some reason and ended up eating half of Scott’s.  Anyways, regardless of how crappy we felt, we got to the station and boarded the bus (fare was about 12 Euro).  Once boarded, we all attempted to pass out.  The bus was actually very clean and very nice but not very accommodating to the hung over traveler trying to sleep.  Once we got to Belfast (Europa Station), we gathered our things and readjusted ourselves.  All of us were still not feeling very good, and Scott still looked in rough shape.  We left the terminal and met our Tour Guide (Allen Tours) and began our journey (roughly 18 pounds).

Our tour guide was a Scot named Tom. He was a very knowledgeable and funny tour guide, and I couldn’t have had it any other way.  Our tour went through the majority of the causeway (along the coast of Northern Ireland). I couldn’t’ tell you all the town names, but I’m sure they consisted of a lot of ‘kil’s’ and ‘dun’s’ and such. The countryside was so green and so unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Interestingly enough, I took a liking to the sheep spattered around the country.  It’s not everyday you see them in a flocks like that, and I found them very amusing.

We first went to Carrickfergus Castle.  I couldn’t repeat the entire history story, but it was interesting.  Haha. We then went to cushendon, kilroot, cushendall, vanishing lake, bally castle (killer waves), and ballvoy.  It was really fun to notice the waves on Irelands coast.  They were very surfer friendly, and they were very worthy in my personal opinion.  Just not something you would expect in Ireland.  Upon arriving at Giant’s Causeway, the weather was just starting to pick up and the wind gusts were extremely difficult to overpower.  It was about a km walk down to the causeway and we often felt like we would be carried off by the wind.  Mike even got caught off balance and kind of had to grab my arm to steady himself.  Upon arrival, I felt an extreme excitement over what we were doing. It was extremely windy, rainy, and cold…but this did not matter to me.  The rock formations, the waves, and the wind gusts presented natures power and it humbled me.  To see the waves crashing into the rock like that (10 ft waves probably), the winds close to blowing me on my back, and the rocks of the most curious formation…it was just mind blowing.  I’m so glad I did it.

After the Causeway, we went to Bushmill’s distillery. There wasn’t much to do here, and it isn’t worth mentioning.  We then went to Dunluce castle…by this point, I was VERY tired, cold, and wet.  Enough to make me extremely tired and I couldn’t help but doze off and fall asleep. I should mention that there was this annoying girl talking on the bus for what seemed like forever. Things about how she was her daddy’s girl and she loved her family. Yada yada yada. Boring. I feel asleep again and when I woke up hours later, she was STILL talking. Funny at the time.  I fell asleep till we got back to Belfast, and from there we went to our hostel (Paddy’s). This was after we tried Annie’s backpackers hostel…but the rooms were close to full.  Thankfully, Paddy’s had a full 6 bed room for us and we settled down and went to go find some dinner.  Dinner consisted of some odd Mediterranean food with naan and some pakora chicken (5.50 pounds). Delicious. From there we bought some beer and drank in the room.  We fell asleep shortly after and went to bed.

Nov. 18 – Belfast and Liverpool

I woke up early due to an inability to go back to sleep.  When everyone woke up, we went downstairs to get some free breakfast (toast and cereal), and we left to walk to Victoria terminal for the Norfolk Ferry (around 109 pounds).  We left an hours time to get there, and even then, we made a big mistake.  The map in my book did no correctly locate the terminal for the ferry line, and we were completely lost.  We were walking an maze of port walkways and arbitrary streets.  It was 9:30 when we completely gave up and I decided to try and call a cab. It was the first pay phone we found. Scott and mike were obviously somewhat concerned and stressed..but really, up to this point, I held a hope that something special would happen.  When I called the cab and realized that the cab wouldn’t be able to find us, it was then that I lost hope.  We were about to walk back to the main road in despair over losing all that fare money, when the cab suddenly came around the corner…glorious.  We hopped on and in a matter of about 5 minutes…we were at the port.  We made it just in time and got onto the ferry.

We unloaded our gear into the cabin, and I decided to grab two pints of Guiness.  This felt great and the ferry was still in dock at this point. It was a huge boat, and the interior was finely furnished.  Regardless, when we left the dock in a matter of a few hours, we hit very turbulent waters.  Mike and Scott were making a huge fuss over the rocking of the boat, and I immediately dismissed all claims of sea sickness. Later on, the boat REALLY started rocking hard and I felt weak and somewhat disabled. This was for a course of about 6 hours, and all we did was lay on our beds to try and gain equilibrium. Scott found that salt and vinegar crisps were the cure for his sea sickness.  I was supposed to be using this time to write and read, but hardly any of this was accomplished.

We all fell asleep and woke up at disembarking time.  There were some asshole kids who were giving Mike a hard time and I’m pretty sure one even referred to me as a ‘chinaman’.  Anyways, we got off the boat and found a taxi over to Liverpool (it was across the water). It ended up costing about 30 pounds, bit Mike and Scott thought he had said 13 pounds. Our mistake? I’m not sure. We checked into our room at the Formula 1 ( about 11 pounds each).  From here, we went looking for dinner.  We thought the docks would be best choice for food and drinks. We tried a couple of places that were apparently high end, and settled for an American-like restaurant (What’s Cooking).  We then went for a couple drinks and came back to the hotel to drink a few.  It is worth noting that the Liverpool vs. Everton game is tomorrow…and intense rivalry playing at 8pm tomorrow.  We felt the vibe in the city, and I personally felt somewhat intimidated by it.  Anyways, we’re all pretty done at this point and we’re watching MTV and writing in our journals. Talk about lame.  Tomorrow…Beatles and Liverpool/Everton. Awesome.

Jan. 19 – Liverpool

Okay, these things need to start getting shorter. I don’t have time to write novels anymore, and if I want to keep up with this thing, I’m going to reduce the time I write.

We woke up and did the Fab Four taxi tour (45 pounds). I think this was totally worth the cost.  We went in and saw Ringo Starr’s childhood home and neighborhood (a lady named Margaret lives in it now and opens up her house to guests).  We saw John Lennon’s childhood home, Paul McCartney’s, and George Harrison’s as well. We saw Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, and the church where John and Paul first met.  It was crazy to see their humble beginnings, and it really gave you a feel for where they were coming from (especially their musical inspiration for some songs).  After the tour, we ate at this Chinese buffet…and we were very satisfied.  It was pretty similar in my opinion to American-Chinese buffets.  From here, we went back to the hotel and took a brief nap, unfortunately we slept through most of the game.  I felt like I missed a golden opportunity to experience soccer fans in action (hang with the locals kind of experience), but oh well. We tried to catch the last part of the game, but instead, we decided to go to the Philharmonic Pub. This was John Lennon’s favorite pub (he was upset later on in his career that he couldn’t go in there to enjoy a beer without being surrounded with people).  We went back to the hotel after, had some more beer, and then ordered food.  It was funny because Mike and I shared a pretty darn good pizza, but Scott ordered some chicken kebabs.  They were really small and overcooked and he was so pissed-off…at the world.  Just a funny moment.

Bed time.  

Jan. 20 – Liverpool/London

We decided that there wasn’t much that Manchester could offer us, so we took the 12pm bus to London (about 24.50 pounds).  This day is easy to record because we spent about 5 ½ hours on the bus.  It was interesting seeing the scenery however (countryside is beautiful).  The roundabouts in this country really bother me though.  I’m glad they reduce the number of lights/stop-n-go action, but it is really annoying to be have to go through so many inertial shifts.  Oh yeah, and we missed the Obama inauguration. Bummer.

Upon arrival into London (Victoria terminal), we took a subway (4 pounds) to our hostel location (The Generator – 20 pounds each for three beds). The subway was ridiculously busy (around rush hour), and I was admittedly flustered (rapid change in environment and having our large packs in a crowded area).  Scott and Mike took it well, but they seemed a little taken aback by the scene as well.  We navigated the subway pretty easily though (didn’t get lost or anything), and I felt like we handled the situation pretty well.  We got to our ending station and I bought a London A to Z mini map guide.  We found our hostel and got Tandoori for dinner. Delicious. From there we had a couple drinks at the hostel bar, then we went to The Jerusalem bar (a lot of cider/fruit beers here…vintage environment), and then came back to the hostel.  I got pretty drunk that night and also ended up smoking like 5 or 6 cigarettes throughout the night.

Jan. 21 – London

I woke up hurting. Hurting bad. I got up before everyone (naturally) and recovered (breakfast, water, vitamins).  We started out getting a cab to Traflagar Square, from there we walked up to Soho and looked at Chinatown. Walked to Picadilly Square and then down to Traflagar Sq again to begin the Whitehall walk.  We took a detour (but it was a good one) through the Horse Guards area into St. James Park.  Great scenery, and it’s amazing that it looked that great in the winter… better would it have looked in the spring?  We walked down to Buckingham Palace then down Houses of Parliament (Big Ben) to Westminster Abbey. St. Margaret’s Westminster was equally impressive, and it’s amazing to me that no one mentioned it in a book.  They had a bunch of important people from long ago buried there, and the building inside was beautiful.  From there, we walked down to the Westminster Cathedral.  This was easily one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen in my life. They had mini-chapels (about 8 of them ) on the side of the church (dedicated to various saints).  We also went up the tower (2.45 pounds) and saw a great view of the city.  From here, we walked up to Traflagar Sq to meet up with Lauren.  We went to the National Portrait Gallery.  We didn’t get to see everything, but they had some good photographs (award winning) and a gallery of England’s tudors (kings, queens, important people).  The place was closing down and Lauren had to leave. We said our goodbyes and went to Chinatown for a bite to eat.  From there, we went to the French House (famous for Charlie Chaplin and Salvador Dali) for a half pint of beer. We were all feeling a little under the weather and decided to take it easy tonight.  We got back to the hostel and did some laundry, got some logistics out of the way, and we are looking forward to a big day tomorrow.  

Jan. 22 – London

National Science Museum – saw some really cool stuff on mathematics. It was interesting to note the emphasis (partially funded by energy companies) on green energy, alternative energy, and energy education overall for the younger generation. Indian buffet. National History Museum – great exhibit on dinosaurs. This is all we had time for. We meet up with Lauren and her friend Jessie. French tea and coffee. The French coffee and tea came in a large ‘bowls’ with no handle. I think it was meant to be sipped by two hands.  

Brixton market…?...karaoke night at the hostel. Scott sings Lola. Mike sang Rock and Roll by Led Zepplin. I sang Hey Jude with everyone. Fun times.   

Jan. 23 – London

London Tower – had a great time here. It was just awesome to get the tour from the Yeoman (Beefeaters). They were very entertaining and informative. Some of the buildings were build in the 10^th century (I believe) and it was exhilarating being able to see them like that. We also got to see the vault with many of the coronation crowns, staffs, orbs, etc., Tower bridge, Victoria walkway, lunch in pub (sausage), London Prison (clink) museum – this, in combination with the heard of torture at London Tower, made you really appreciate some of the steps in civility and the way we treat our fellow man. Those people were ruthless. Stop at Tate Modern for some coffee, continued to st. paul’s cathedral, went to try and smoke some shisha, didn’t work out…we got some fish and chips at a pub, then went home looking for live music at the Water Rats…instead…went to bar. Argued about free market and talking about titties at a pub close to home.

Jan. 24 – London

Abbey Rd – I took a piss in a public bush with a camera right in my face (noticed it at the last second), Pizza place with good pizza and chicken stew fried with rice, Portebello Market – great antiques, went home, guitar shops, Italian food place – great, filling meal, and then UK bluegrass (Papa Truck). Sleep. Or lack thereof (Ashlee House…16 pounds).  Subway sandwich and then Scott bought a dirty dirty porno mag. Totally worth the entertainment factor in my opinion.

Jan.25 – London/Paris

Woke up, went to St. Pancras Station to leave at 7:50. Came into Paris, but Scott and Mike were really tired and unable to function (possibly getting sick). We dropped off our bags, went to grab an expensive bite to eat (Thai food), and came back and chilled for a while.  One thing I really disliked about Paris so far is that I can’t figure out the damn phones. They suck.  We got here on a Sunday as well, and the streets seem really desolate.  Anyway, Scott and Mike passed out at the hostel (3 Ducks…roughly 21 Euro each)…I didn’t want to fall asleep due to sleep pattern/sun reasons. The hostel we were staying at is kind of sketchy and seems like it will be loud. I went ahead and reserved a room at the Montebello Hotel in anticipation of the crappiness. But I will report tomorrow.

Mike and me went out and bought some bread, brie cheese, and a bomb ass bottled of wine for 2.50 euro.  We brought it back to our place and had a great feast for the price.  Great way to save money overall. Scott isn’t in good shape at all.

Jan. 26 – Paris

The 3 Ducks hostel was terrible.  People were partying up pretty late and the door leading to the bar from the courtyard had a loud squeak to it.  In the end, none of us slept very well and this certainly didn’t help Scott regain his health.  I got up early nonetheless and had breakfast. Getting Scott and Mike going was difficult (morale at this point was quite low), but we managed to stow away our bags and set out for site seeing.  Our first stop was Ecole Militaire through the Champs de Mars to the Eiffel Tower and all it’s glory.  It was a foggy day and half of it seemed to be shut out from view…nonetheless, it was impressive and exceeded my expectations. Then we marched on to the Trocadero and the Palais de Chaillot and got some good shots of the Eiffel. We marched on towards the Arc deTriomphe.  From there, we took a subway back, grabbed our bags, and gladly checked-into the hotel.  We showered up and rested from this point.  I decided that we needed to go make reservations for our next train, but after the 30 minute Metro ride out there and the long line wait, we found out we needed all of our tickets present.  This was a huge waste of time and I guess we needed to drink our sorrows away at this point.  We went to this recommended pub called Le 10 Bar for some damn good Sangria.  We were chasing another bar,  but stumbled up a place called La Pinte.  The bartender was friendly and charming enough for us to enjoy our time there (along with a much needed pint or two).  We then went home and Mike and I (again) got some cheese, bread, and wine for the hotel. Sleep time.

Jan. 27 – Paris

We straightened out the ticket reservation and went ahead and took care of it.  Great, finally.

Mike has our itinerary written down.

Jan. 28 – Paris/Toulon

Oddly enough, none of us slept that well, but we managed to get up and made our trek to the Louvre (9 Euro).  We immediately made our trek to the Mona Lisa and we saw some great Greek sculptures.  We noticed throngs and hordes of Chinese/asian tourists along the way, and this made our time somewhat of a displeasure. Regardless, we found the Mona Lisa and we found it interesting that they allowed flash photography at this point. This led us to believe that this was in fact not the real painting? Who knows. From there, we saw some Picasso and I then made the trek to find Hammurabi’s Code.  I got a little side tracked and lost…but I found it.  I then went to the Napoleon’s Apartment for some very interesting insight into how the French aristocrats lived. One word: luxurious and awesome. We started running out of time at this point since our train was leaving at 2:00pm, so we got our bags back at the hotel and made our trip to the train station. The high speed train went well, and it was a great experience over all.  The speed at which you are going on the ground is remarkable (and a first for me), and I felt that the 4 hour trip went by rather quickly.  We were picked up at the station in Toulon by Scott’s Uncle, and he and his wife gave us a quick tour.  It was a very picturesque, small town supported (or the other way around) by a naval base.  Regardless, the town is surrounded by a mountain range and the bay area…so overall, very nice.  Kevin and Marie Noel treated us to a great, great, long dinner and we had a rather nice night. Our accommodations are great and Mike fell asleep almost instantly without even changing. We should have a great day tomorrow. Life is great at this point and our halfway point is nearing at a high note.  Viva la France.

Jan. 29 – Toulon

For the first time this trip, I woke up at around the same time as everyone else.  I just didn’t wake up as earlier than I wanted to, but I guess this is a good thing because for once I must have been relaxed and at peace.  We got up and enjoyed some good bread and croissants with coffee and juice.  From there, we went to the station to figure out our train situation to Rome. Apparently, they can’t work with the Italian rail system, so we’re just going to have to try our luck in Milan.  Anyway, we got back home and made the trek to eat some pizza at the local place.  I got the recommended pizza by Kevin, but to be  honest, it was a good, good pizza…but not the best I’ve ever had.  I liked the pizza I had in London much, much more. Anyway, from there we went to the La Californie after this for a great view of the bay.  We then went to another point that was so-so.  From there, we went back to the train station to make our final reservations.  Mike and I went with Marie Noel to bum off the McDonalds free Wi-Fi internet.  We then had a great, great dinner consisting of a salad with a bread with goat cheese on top, a kind of shrimp etouffe, and then some cheese and bread of course.  What a relaxing day.

Jan. 30 – Toulon

We went to the market place in Toulon. It was really interesting to see the mix of different nations in the market place (particularly the Northern Africa/Muslim people).  Kevin and Marie Noel expressed a displeasure with this group of people multiple times, and it rings parallel with the American sentiment towards Mexicans/other ethnic groups that are not willing to assimilate.  It was apparent they are somewhat conservative and they dislike that these groups are reaping in the socialist benefits of France.  Anyways, after the market, we went to Mont Framont and got some great views. From there, we got some good Vietnamese food. From there we went to some cliffs by Marseille…apparently they are the highest cliffs in Europe and again, we got some great views.  We got some dinner at home and then went to bed (soooo fullll). I won’t mention the part about me losing the full set of house keys and then finding it again.

Jan. 31 – Toulon/Milan/Rome

What a long ass trip. Our train was supposed to leave at around 7:42, but we ended up not leaving until about 30 minutes later. I guess what they mean by ‘inter-city train’ is that it literally stops at every podunk city there is along the coast. We made a switch at Nice, France (which we made in just the nick of time…thank Lady Luck). From there, we stopped in Genova, and then made a switch in Milan.  Milan looked like a shithole, and we were glad to get out of there.  By the way, the train reservations for Italy are substantially more expensive than other countries. (like 20 Euros). We got into Rome at around 8:30 and we tried contacting Mike’s friend.  We couldn’t get a hold of her, so we just used a hotel contact agency and found a hotel for around 80 Euro.  It was a nice hotel though.  Anyway, we ended up eating an ‘okay’ meal of dinner at a restaurant across the street and then went to bed.  Full day of traveling will do that to you.

Feb. 1 – Rome

Col, Roman Forum, etc, etc. Pizza.

Go out with martina and friends. Kebab and Super Bowl.

Feb. 2 – Rome

Vatican City, lunch, dinner, colosseum

Reflections:

                Things to remember for the next trip:

1.       Don’t bring the heavy ass laptop. A memory stick maybe?

2.       Extra socks and underwear…you don’t wash as much as you think you will.

Interesting observations:

1.       No water public water fountains (except for Rome)

2.       “Cheers” for ‘thank you’ in the UK is very real.

3.       The Irish and the Scots seriously have their whiskey stories different. 

4.       French can’t tell a difference between the English and American accents.

5.       People here love Obama

6.       Subways and McDonalds are ubiquitous in Ireland/UK..but no where to be seen in France.

7.       People say that the French can speak English but ‘choose’ not to…but I think that’s a lie spread by the French. They suck at English from what I can tell.

8.       It is a pain in the ass to use your credit card and get a receipt back from regular merchants.  Also, they hate taking larger bills (we’re talking 10’s and 20’s here) and will insist on smaller or exact change in coins.

9.       Don’t expect a large cup of to-go coffee in France (or most of Europe for that matter). It doesn’t really exist unless you can find a Starbucks.

10.   The graffiti and overall city vandalism in Paris/France/Italy is very noticeable.  Much more rampant.

11.   Italian flags are everywhere

12.   The Italians are noticeably fatter than their other European counterparts.

13.   We went to two Italian restaurants for a sit-down meal and both times we got noticeably jipped. The first time, the house wine on the menu only said 3 Euro next to it with no other indications. We ordered it and the waiter promptly brought us a liter of wine. Great. We drink this and order another thinking they are 3 Euro each.  We got our bill later and it shows 12 Euro for the wine. Apparently, the listed price is only for ½ liter. Thanks buddy for letting us know. Sure, call us naïve for thinking that much house wine would be 3 Euro…but come on, this is our first time in Italy and it’s a wine country.  And it’s shitty house wine. Whatever. The second time, we just wanted quick bite for lunch (pizza to be exact) but we didn’t really understand the menu choices. We did ask the waiter for the toppings, and he did answer them, but he seemed uninterested in really helping us out. We didn’t get our water until way later, and when I asked for the bill, he acknowledged me and simply went about his way. We must have waited for about 10 minutes waiting…and then he finally tells us that we should pay at the counter (behind us).  From there, the old lady tells us that there is a 2 Euro tip charge. Where was this written? It sure wasn’t on the menu. Whatever bitch.

What is wrong with you people?