Europe Chapter 8: My Pork Seasoning Has Been To More Countries Than Most People!

"The river runs deep through the canyon hinting at its age, yet the jagged peaks of the mountain prove otherwise. A new mountain has appeared. Its back is that of a zebras, white stripes of melting snow contrasted with the dark stripes of earth beneath. Waterfalls drop steeply from the sky disappearing behind trees and reappearing further downward. The train weaves around mountainsides popping in and out of many tunnels. I like when we go around a corner sharp enough to see the engine ahead pulling us along. Spring-green leaves and yellow flowers dot the forest of coniferous trees and meadows of grass. Despite being isolated in the cabin of a train, I easily imagine the taste and smell of the freshness outside. The highway below is congested with traffic. It looks as though they are not going anywhere fast. I wonder if they care or if they are taking the time to see what I see. Often, the world passes us by so quickly and we are so concerned with our destination that we forget to take in the journey. For now, I am enjoying the journey well enough to not be concerned with its purpose or final destination."

Journal entry; Journey by train to Locarno, Switzerland. May 13, 2006 11:40am

Switzerland was bliss.

After being on the road nonstop for the last few months and especially city-bound, it was great to relax in small towns and get outdoors in nature again. From May 7^th -12^th, I visited a good friend in Lyss, a small town between the capital city of Bern and the Swiss-German-French border town of Basel. For those 5 days, I basically vegged. I slept in, read, surfed the net, caught up on emails and cooked. My favorite part of Lyss (besides hanging out with Brett of course) was having a full kitchen again! It probably doesn't seem like it, but traveling is physically and emotionally tiring. Whether it be bed, waking, or eating times, physical activity, food, place of sleep, transportation modes, or currency, everyday is different. Nothing is routine and it takes its toll. Sometimes, I forget what country or city I am in and have to pause to remember. Needless to say, staying with a friend and having their apartment completely to myself during the day for 5 days was paradise.

On May 13^th, I took a train to southern Switzerland to meet up with Stacey and her mom, Lynn, for the Goldeneye Bungy on the dam, Diga Verzasca. At 722 feet, it is the tallest bungy site in the world. It takes its name from the James Bond movie, 007 Goldeneye. Bond jumps off the same dam. Having jumped the Nevis in NZ, I was more nervous this time around than scared. I forced myself to look down while I stood with my toes hanging over the jump platform. Surprisingly, that only reasserted my excitement. I launched off gaining a lot of parallel distance before free falling. I remember focusing on Stacey and Lynn who were positioned directly in front of the jump platform until I fell below their gaze, then watching the scenery below get bigger and thus closer. I don't remember making any noise, but Stacey said I growled as I fell. (Jumping the Nevis, I said the choice phrase of holly s*it which is very clear in the video. I was very conscious to not make the same mistake!) What a rush! Of course, I immediately wanted to do it again, but my dwindling bank account thought better of it.

After the jump, Stacey and Lynn headed north to Lucerne while I stayed on the Swiss-Italian border town of Locarno to do some hiking. The small tourist town sits on a beautiful lake surrounded by forest-covered mountains. The night I arrived, I experienced one of the best thunder and rain storms. Out of nowhere, it started POURING fatty rain drops and within minutes, the ground was covered with puddles of water. Soon after, lightning began followed immediately by loud cracks of thunder. It lasted throughout the evening and of course, I got lost walking to and from dinner and was thoroughly drenched by the time I made it back to the hostel. I was convinced my planned hike for the next day would be hindered either by rain or muddy trails. I awoke the next morning to clear skies and had an awesome hike with a fellow American, Travis, to the top of Monte San Salvatore. We both felt the pains of that hike for the next few days. It literally kicked our butts!

On Tuesday, May 16^th, I took a train south to Rome to meet one of my best friends, Kristi. We also met up with Stacey and Lynn and Kristi's friend, Vu. The 5 of us relentlessly toured Rome seeing everything we possibly could in our 4 days. We planned to go out and experience the night life on a few occasions, but we were so beat from walking around all day that we never made it! We trekked around touring the Colosseum, Palatine, Circus Maximus, Il Vittorino, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Vatican City (St. Peters Basilica and Square, Vatican Museums, and Sistine Chapel) the Tiber River, Pantheon, and many more churches, fountains, and monuments. We experienced a strike of Rome's public transport system which is critical for tourism. It seemed to affect tourists more than anyone else. The locals couldn't have cared less, probably because they are so used to it!

(Pope Benedict XVI; General Audience at St. Peter's Square)

Our last day in Rome was on of my favorites. Vu, Kristi and I walked to a park above the city called Villa Borghese. The views were stunning. From the park, we could see the Tiber winding its way through Rome passing by Vatican City, Il Vittorino, and the Colosseum. The three of us rented a pedal cart, bought a round of beers and spent the afternoon riding around the park. Later that evening, we saw The Da Vinci Code which was a perfect ending to the day and our trip to Rome.

On the night of May 20th, I said a teary goodbye to Stacey, my travel buddy of 130 days straight, 24/7. Despite a few rough moments, we managed to not kill each other and are definitely better friends than before our trip began. We pushed each other's limits and in the process, learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I'm extremely lucky to have had both Stacey and Ken by my side throughout Europe. Thanks guys! I can not imagine having done this trip without you both!

On Sunday, May 21, Vu, Kristi, and I flew out of Rome to our current location of Malta. Malta, an independent country, is a small group of islands in the Mediterranean. It lies between northern Africa and Sicily, Italy. Im spending a month living with Kristi and about 50 other law students from different parts of the US while they do a study-abroad program here in Malta. We've now been here 2 out of 4 weeks and I'm convinced one of the requirements for getting into law school is to drink and party beyond the capacity of most normal 20-something year olds. I just cant keep up, nor do I have the money, ability, or notion to do so! But that is another update in itself!

Explanation of title: Ken bought pork seasoning in Rome when he first arrived in Europe in December. (I know that sounds gross, but its actually an herbal seasoning that tastes a lot like lemon-pepper seasoning and is very good on veggies!) He traveled with it to Ireland before meeting up with Stacey and I in London. Over 4 months, the pork seasoning traveled with us through the UK, France, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Turkey (where no pork seasoning has gone before!), Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, and Switzerland. It almost made a full circle back to Rome, but I left it in Lyss, Switzerland with Brett. Brett, I hope the well traveled seasoning is getting put to good use!

Europe Chapter 7: The Diversity of Toilets

Who knew there were so many different kinds of toilets, functionalities of toilets and ways to flush toilets. Let me begin with leaving Turkey since that is where my last update left off.

It's good to be back in cultures of sit toilets and where toilet paper can be safely disposed of by means of flushing. One may ask, "What other types of toilets are there and how else would you get rid of used toilet paper?" A simple enough question but with a plethora of answers. For now, I can only answer for the countries I have traveled within. However, given the amount of nations that exist, I have no doubt there are more answers than the two case in points I will provide.

In Turkey and many parts of Greece, toilet paper cannot be flushed down the toilet.
The explanation I was told is that their older plumbing is not able to deal with wads of toilet paper. True that may be except for the fact that even recently developed areas also use this same system of disposing used toilet paper in a provided waste bin next to the toilet. I think it's a cultural thing, which is fine by me. After all, "When in Rome, do as the Romans."

Often times, toilet paper is not provided at all. This occurs commonly in squat toilets, which are just as they sound. There's a hole in the ground and you squat over it to relieve yourself. Apparently, this is anatomically the easiest way to use the bathroom. For cleansing, there is either a hose and/or a small bucket of water. The idea is to splash water on yourself and/or use your left hand. Once in awhile, the hose is accompanied by toilet paper. In this situation, it's not an option of which method do you prefer. The toilet paper is there for drying and is still meant to be disposed in the allocated bin. (That's why the 'water closets' aka WC aka toilets aren't smelly with used toilet paper sitting in waste bins. The toilet paper was merely used for drying, not wiping.) Also, a small hose with projecting nozzle can often be found at the top of the bowl on sit toilets. This has the same purpose as a bidet except the washing is incorporated into the toilet bowl rather than as a separate structure.

As I said before, I'm glad to be back to sit toilets with flushable toilet paper, but am happy to have experienced something different. You know you're travelling a lot when every few days, you have to relearn how to flush the toilet. I've come across flush pedals, sensors, pull chains with raised water tanks, levers on the side of the water tank, push buttons on top of the water tank, pull buttons on top of the water tank, 2 different buttons (one for #1 and the other for #2), big hand buttons on the wall behind the toilet, little finger buttons on the wall behind the toilet, start and stop buttons (starts the water flushing, but you have to push the stop button or it will continue running), pump flushes, and of course ones that I never quite figured out. In those situations, you just scratch your head and hope there's no one waiting for the toilet after you so you can make a clean exit without anyone finding out.

After Turkey, Stacey and I intended to fly to Croatia before meeting my friend, Brett, in Prague. It didn't take us long to realize we would have as much difficulty finding transportation out of Turkey as we did finding a way in. Keep in mind neither of these feats are impossible, just difficult when you are on a time and cash budget. When we arrived to Istanbul, we went to a travel agent and basically asked where can we fly to in central or eastern Europe cheaply. Less than a week later, we were in Budapest, Hungary.

Budapest was a nice surprise. Buda and Pest are actually two cities separated by the Danube river. There were plenty of natural and architectural sights to see as well as history to learn. We made good friends with others staying at our hostel and spent a few evenings out with them. Stace and I also saw the ballet "Spartacus" at the Opera House. For 400 Hungarian Forint (less than $2) we had balcony seats!!! Another cheap item in Budapest was beer. You can get a half liter bottle from the grocery store for $0.25! My only complaint price-wise in Budapest was a $20 cab ride to go less than 10 minutes down the street. Unfortunately, the driver had me in a tight spot. I was lost, late and it was pouring rain!

There are also interesting toilets in Hungary. (You didn't think I could move onto the next country without mentioning a toilet, did you!?) At first glance, they seem normal. However, instead of the bowl being hollow with a few inches of water (as at home), the bottom of the bowl is raised to just a few inches below the seat with no water. (I think it was engineered for water conservation) So, when you "go," whatever you just "did" sits in that raised portion (without water) until you flush. When you flush, a jet of water pushes "it" horizontally forward until "it" and the water cascade into a small hole at the bottom of the bowl. However, this is not always a success. Email me if you want a slightly gross but funny story or use your imagination. I'll spare the rest of you for now. :o)

Our next stop was Vienna, Austria. Stacey and I were lucky enough to catch a ride with a fellow travelling American we met in Budapest. We hung out with Andy for the 4 days while in Vienna. It poured half the time we were there, so we found a really cool museum to pass the time. The Hausdermusik is an interactive museum dedicated to the past, present, and future of sound, music composition, and composers. We spent at least 7 hours goofing around and learning and easily could have put in a couple more. One of my favorite parts was the virtual conductor where one can conduct the Vienna Philharmonic with a computerized baton. The faster one waves the baton, the faster the orchestra plays. If one conducts to the left side, the left side gets louder, etc. If one does not have a proper rhythm going, the musicians become angry, stop playing and start yelling at you. Check out their website (link posted above) for online fun.

Unfortunately for me, Austria is heavy on meat and gravy cuisine. The only thing Austrian that I tried came out of a konditerei (bakery..mmm). Oddly enough, we feasted on Indian, Chinese and Thai food while we were there. We actually became regulars at the Indian and Chinese restaurant. The Indian restaurant had an especially interesting toilet. When I opened the door to the stall, the light automatically came on and the toilet seat started rotating. A spray of disinfectant sanitized the seat while it rotated 360 degrees.

Prague was the last stop for Stacey and I together *sniff sniff.*We took a bus from Vienna to Prague to meet up with a Canadian friend I shared a room with in NZ, Brett. We mostly did the touristy stuff; walked around, saw the sights, got lost and went out in the evenings. We manage to escape most of the tourists for a day when we took the train into a small town callled Kutna Hora to see its ossuary, a church decorated with the bones of 40,000 people! It was a bit eerie to say the least, but also very interesting. Legend has it that dirt from the site of the Crucifiction was sprinkled on the land. They ran out of room because there were so many people that wanted to be buried at this cemetary for this reason. So the family that owned the land at the time, Swarzenberg's, hired a woodcarver to arrange the bones into chandeliers, vases, and whatever else he could think up. Crazy!
After Prague, Stace took a train back to Italy to meet up with her mom for the last two weeks of her trip. I flew to Switzerland with Brett where he now resides to visit and relax for a week.

Europe Chapter 6: Part II Wait. Am I in Turkey or Australia?

We were in Istanbul for four days. In Sultanahmet, where the hostels are centralized near the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya, the Aussies outnumbered any other nationality, even the Turks!!! The drinking started around 2pm and lasted into the wee hours of the morning. The whole process was repeated the following day, around 2pm when everyone woke from their slumber.

You are probably wondering why the Aussies were drinking in Turkey as if it was the last place on earth to buy beer. Unless you are Australian, Kiwi, Turkish, or a world history buff, you probably have no idea what ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) day is. Get ready for the history lesson...

It's basically the anniversary of Australia and New Zealand's first major military action. During WWI, the allies feared Turkey would join Germany's side. Because Turkey controlled the Dardanelles Straight, the sea connection to then ally Russia, it was decided the allies would attack Turkey to gain control of Constantinople, now Istanbul. This is significant for the Aussies and Kiwis because although this attempt failed, it showed their bravery and tenacity; The stalemate lasted almost 1 year! It also helped form their identity.

Over 11,000 Aussies and Kiwis died at Gallipoli, as well as over 100,000 British, French, and Turkish troops. A lot of Aussies and Kiwis make the pilgrimage to Turkey in April to commemorate the ANZAC troops. (See, you learn something new everyday!)

Ok, on to less serious matters! I know I've already said it, but Turkey is AWESOME. In the 2.5 short weeks we were there, we experienced many different landscapes such as calm beaches, lush forests, snowcapped mountains, deep valleys and canyons, cities, small towns, and almost everything in between. We sailed the Mediterranean blue on a Turkish gullet passing over ancient sunken cities, waded through white cliffside mineral hot springs, walked amongst ancient Roman and Greek ruins, sweated on hot marble slabs in a traditional Turkish bath, slept in bungalows on stilts, drank far too many apple teas (often more than half a dozen per day!), dodged more overly flirtatious Turkish boys than carpet salesmen (sometimes one in the same!), and explored underground cities and hand dug cave dwellings. We met some of the friendliest people on Earth who were genuinely interested in our experiences and thoughts. We exchanged languages and cultures, and they patiently taught us how to play Okey and Tawula (Turkish Rummikub and Backgammon, respectively). I knew within the first 24 hours of our arrival that I would have to return to Turkey. Each day thereafter, these plans were reinforced!

We took the cheapest flight we could find out of Istanbul which brought us to Budapest, Hungary where I sit happily reminiscing the good times in Turkey. Below are a few more pictures to wet your taste buds!

Celsus Library at Ephesus.

Jumping off Turkish gullet into Mediterranean.

Aya Sofya.

Inside the Blue Mosque.

Yoros Castle, Byzantine fortress just outside small fishing village of Anadolu Kavagi between Istanbul and mouth of Black Sea, and two friends I met and napped in the grass with during my visit.

Blue Mosque at night.

Europe Chapter 6: Part I WHY YOU SHOULD COME TO TURKEY!

There are no words to properly describe Turkey. Pictures and descriptions do no justice to this amazing country. All I can say is you must see it for yourself. Below is an excerpt from my journal. Following that are a few facts about the country as well as a short lesson in the Turkish language. Enjoy!

"I am on a 10 hour overnight bus from Antalya on the southern coast of Turkey to Goreme, Cappadocia, the heart of this beautiful country. My ipod is treating me to a private session with James Taylor as the world passes by. He calmly sings and strums his guitar while I lean back in my chair to stare out into the darkness and distant lights of cities and stars. The waning moon low on the horizon dances on the treetops, sometimes dipping below them in a game of peek-a-boo as the bus proceeds north. Stacey taps me on the shoulder to point out a mosque. Spotlights shine perfectly to illuminate and display its grandeur, yet makes me wonder what colorful tile mosaics are hidden in its shadows.

"Each morning at daybreak, calls to prayer are broadcasted from thousands of mosques around this Muslim nation. In my deep sleep, they are a rude awakening reminding me I am a world away from family, friends and the comforts of home. But tonight, the mosque, moon and even my cramped legs and sore butt have made me feel more privileged than I have felt in a very long time. This moment of contentment and peacefulness is one I cannot explain. It just is, and for that I am grateful."

Facts:

Population - 68 million

Size - 770,760 sq km (a bit bigger than Texas)

Countries that border Turkey - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, and Syria (They claim not to get along with any of them!)

October 29 is Turkey's Independence day! (along with *someone's* birthday...)

97% the country is in Asia, 3% in Europe (Russia is the only other country to be in two continents)

Religion - 99.8% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 0.2% Christian and Jewish

Language Lesson:

Hello - Merhaba (mare-ha-ba)

Goodbye - Gule Gule (goo-lay goo-lay)

Thank you - Tesekkur ederim (tay-shoe-car-ah-dare-em)

1 - bir (beer)

2 - iki (ee-chee)

3 - uc (oosch)

4 - dort (dirt)

5 - bes (besh)

6 - alti (alta)

7 - yedi (yedi)

The first five pictures were taken in the Cappadocia region.

Inside the cave dwellings of above picture.

Morning breakfast of Menemen and backgammon.

Calcium deposits and mineral pools of Pamukkale.

Europe Chapter 5: Which one of these does not belong?

I decided to put together a list of items and prices to give you an idea of what a typical day might cost (in euros):

• accommodation 15

• shared daily car rental 20 (10 per person)

• petrol 2.50 (per liter)

• takeaway dinner 4 (gyro or spinach pie)

• chocolate milk 1.5

• breakfast 2 (yogurt from grocery store mueseli)

• ferry ticket 20

• pint of murphy's irish beer 7

You should be doing a double take with that pint of beer! That's about $8.50 for A BEER!!! Read on to find out more.

After overloading our brains with the archaeological history of Athens, we decided we could use a little relaxation. So on the evening of March 26, Ken, Stacey and I hopped an overnight ferry to the island of Crete. We boarded the ferry an hour before scheduled departure and were surprised when the ship started leaving 15 minutes later, 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Needless to say, we were glad we showed up early.

We arrived in Iraklio, Crete at 6am with no accommodation reservations and ended up having to wake up a woman who ran a hostel. For being woke at 6am, she was far more pleasant than I would have been! We told her about the ferry leaving early and she was baffled. She said she usually shows up at the time of scheduled departure and that the ferry never leaves on time. We didn't find out until a few days later that the day we left Athens was daylight savings. We were lucky we didn't miss our ferry! A lot more things made sense after that (ie hy all the clocks we had seen the last few days were an hour off, why the museum closed an hour early and why our ferry left an hour early!)

Although we were on a break from ruins, we were told we couldn't go to Crete without seeing the ancient city of Knossos. So on our last day with Ken, we checked it out. It was interesting and set in a stunning valley, but there's only so many toppled ancient cities one can take in a certain time period before everything starts to look the same! That evening, Stacey and I said a teary goodbye to Ken (who is now in the comforts of home!) and went out with 3 Canadian boys we met earlier in the day for dinner and drinks. Sorry to disappoint, but I have no juicy stories to report. We all got along well and had a late night playing UNO with a few rounds of beer. We realized we had similar travel plans and met up with them again for a few days to island hop to Santorini.

Before leaving Crete, Stacey and I rented a car and spent 2 days exploring the island and town of Rethmyno. Santorini was gorgeous and my favorite of the islands we visited. That's probably because it was a postcard perfect picture of how I imagine the Greek islands; cliffside towns with whitewashed buildings and blue roofs, stunning natural beauty, long beaches with turquoise waters, colorful sunsets and warm weather!

We again rented a car and spent most of the day napping on a deserted black sand beach...soooo nice! It was the first time since last summer my legs have felt the warmth of actual sunlight! I am happy to report my tan lines are back but unhappy to say we had to invest 15 euros on sunblock.

After watching a gorgeous sunset in the small Santorini town of Oia, (where apparently everyone goes because I think the entire tourist population of Santorini was there!) we returned to our hotel and met up with the Canadian boys for a night on the town. We had heard good things about a local Irish pub which wasn't so Irish and charged the ridiculous amount of 7 flipping euros for a beer. I'm still fuming over that, especially since the store down the street was selling Heineken's for 1 euro each! The bartender made it up to us by offering us free shots throughout the night. Lucky for him, I really liked my beer. I can't say much for the shots.

The morning of our departure from Santorini to Naxos, we took a schooner across to the volcanic island of Nea Kameni (Google it. It's one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth's history.) where we hiked around for awhile and visited some luke warm springs. They were supposed to be hot but were barely bath temperature. They also failed to tell us that we had to jump from the boat into the Mediterranean and swim 50m to the springs. That doesn't sound bad, but the water temperature this time of year is barely warm enough to get your feet wet!

Naxos was equal in beauty, but its sunset was probably one of the prettiest I've seen yet.Stacey and I were feeling a bit more adventurous and rented a scooter for the day to tour the island. Again, we spent most of our time napping on a beach. The ferry ride from Naxos to Rhodes was llllooooonnnnngggg (14 hours) and filled with loud Greek students on spring break. Unfortunately, Greece has the highest smoking population in Europe and the ferries are NOT smoke free. We tried to upgrade to a cabin room, but the ferry was completely full. We spent the night in seats that barely reclined with bodies laying around us. As if the smell and clouds of cigarette smoke weren't bad enough, everyone had their shoes off and there was a strong odor of feet in the air. Lovely...

Rhodes was a little cooler than the other islands but the scenery was more unique. Rhodes has been ruled by several empires throughout history. It has been occupied by the Greeks, Romans, British and Ottoman, among others. When the Order of St. John's took over the island around 1200AD, they built a fortress and enclosed the main town with walls for protection against the Turks which still stand today. We mostly explored the medieval city in our 4 days. It attracts a good deal of tourists, especially from cruise ships. There are a lot of street vendors and shops, but it was more fun to walk through the deserted backstreets and moat.

On Friday, April 7, Stacey and I caught a ferry to Turkey, our 6th country, where we are now. We were both a little apprehensive about coming here although neither of us admitted it. Any fears or doubts I had about travelling in Turkey have been completely erased. The country is nothing like I expected and far better than I could have imagined. The people are incredibly friendly. They are genuinely interested in other cultures and go out of their way to learn more. I have had more earnest conversations with the locals in Turkey than in all of the other countries I've been to on this trip combined. And of course the natural beauty of the country is breathtaking. I've only been here three days and I'm already wondering when I'll be able to return!

Europe Chapter 4: Part II Does my travel insurance cover this?

"Ken, how sure are you that we have a reservation at our hostel?" Stacey yelled as she walked out of the Amalfi train station. I was down at the end of the pier guarding our 4 bottles of wine we had been lugging around since Florence a week prior and taking pictures of the full moon's reflection off of the Mediterranean sea.

"Pretty sure. I got an email confirmation." Ken replied.

"Because some Scottish guy just told me they were closed for renovations." Said Stacey.

It would be a fitting end to the day we had just experienced. In the morning, we'd spent hours in the Italian version of mail boxes etc., Ki Point, communicating with the store clerks through Google Translate. We wanted to mail home our 4 bottles of wine and some winter clothes we no longer needed, but the clerks spoke minimal English and we only spoke traveler's survival Italian. So, we'd ask a question by typing it onto the computer and clicking 'translate.' Google Translate would spit out the rough Italian translation. The store clerks would reply by doing the same except from Italian to English. Half the time, we'd have to guess at the answer because the translator would only give exact text book translations which often made no sense at all. We finally figured out that it was illegal to mail wine to the US, but from what we could get out of google translator, the clerks wanted us to mail it anyway and not declare it. We passed on that option. Stacey and I didn't think we'd ever see the box again if we did. Some US customs personnel probably would have had a wine and cheese party at our expense. More time was spent at Ki Point looking at transportation options for the day and later to Athens, Greece.

I walked back to the group after taking my picture just as two guys approached and greeted us. "Oh geez. Here they come. Just ignore them, maybe they'll go away." Stacey whispered.

"No need to be frightened, we're not in Naples anymore." Said one guy. Naples is from where we had just come. It doesn't have a very good reputation with travelers and was definitely not one of my favorites in Italy. It was congested, polluted and there was construction occurring everywhere. We had just spent 4 hours on several buses trying to escape the industrial city. We hadn't made it more than 30 minutes out of town when our bus broke down in Pompeii. That of course made us late for the rest of our connections to Amalfi and we had arrived barely in time to catch our last connection on to Positano where we had booked 3 beds in a hostel.

"My name is Willy and this is me brother Chris. We were talking to your friend in the train station and she said you guys think you have a reservation at Brikette in Positano. Well I drove by there today on my way to Sorrento and it looked like it was closed for renovations. You can borrow my phone if you like and give them a ring or you can stay with my brother and I at our hostel just up the hill for 15 euro each."

Stacey, Ken and I exchanged worried glances. Ken said, "I got an email from them confirming our dates, but I believe you." We decided to take them up on the offer to use their phone. Stacey dialed and sure enough, no answer with a machine saying they were closed.

"You guys are more than welcome to stay with us, or you can take your chances and take the bus to Positano, but like I said, they were doing work on it when I drove by this morning. If you plan on staying for a bit, we're opening our pub in time for St. Patrick's Day on Friday. Chris, give them a card."

Eventually, after a group huddle, we decided to stay with Willy and Chris. They seemed like sincere guys, and our only other option was taking the last bus to Positano to see if Brikette was actually open. If it was closed, we'd have to take a taxi all the way back to Amalfi or to Sorrento and it was already 8pm.

Willy had room to take one person up to the hostel on his moped while the other two would have to take the bus. I was feeling adventurous and decided to have a go at being a moped passenger. As I handed over my belongings to Stacey and Ken, I second guessed my decision. Willy was not a small man and his moped (as all mopeds are) was quite small. There barely seemed to be room for him alone. I wondered out loud, "Does my travel insurance cover this?" and laughed a nervous laugh. I strapped on the helmet, climbed on to the back edge of the moped's seat, and wrapped my arms as far around Willy's belly as I could. "See you guys at the top." Ken and Stacey walked to the bus stop and I waited for Willy while he chased after another backpacker in front of the bus station. I guess that's their main method of getting business, stalking.

It was a cool night and the breeze against my face felt chilling but nice as we wound our way up the hill. Picture Highway 1 along the California coast on a full moon evening. Now imagine it is a one way road switchbacking up a Sierra Nevada cliff. That was the road up to Willy's hostel. I pretended I was in no danger and chatted (well, yelled...the moped was loud) as I took in the sights up the cliff. Turns out he and his brother were both from England and the house that they ran the hostel out of was left to them by their now deceased grandmother. Oh, and they didn't have a hostel license, so the whole operation was illegal. I could only think to myself, "Too late to turn back now!"

Willy and I met Ken and Stacey at the bus stop closest to Willy's hostel. I grabbed my roughly 30 pound pack (It's winter ok. I have a lot of layers and a heavy coat!) and Willy led us to the base of some stairs. "Pace yourself" he said, "There are a lot of steps." I thought he was joking. He wasn't. I was too busy concentrating on lifting my leg to the next step to count, but the next day, I counted just under 300 steps from the bottom of the road to Willy's front door. Sure enough, there were A LOT of steps.

After we caught our breath and settled into our very humble accommodations, Willy, as promised, took us out to a cheap meal. We walked back down the ~300 steps and to the bus stop and waited for awhile for the bus that would take us to the neighboring town of Pogerola. We waited...and waited...and waited some more. The bus never came, but Willy flagged down someone I assumed to be a friend and we hitched a ride to Pogerola. Now would be a good time to describe to you how Italians learn to drive. They don't. I mean, they drive, but there are no rules or laws governing the way in which they drive. In fact, there's not even painted lines separating one side of the road from the other and for good reason: because there really isn't two sides of the road. And if there's a speed limit, they don't abide by it. They barely even pay attention to traffic lights or stop signs or pedestrians!!! Getting into the car with Willy's friend was the first time any of us had actually been in a car with an Italian driver. We knew Italian drivers are crazy, but it's a whole other story when you're actually in the car with them! Anyway, as you can tell, we made it to Pogerola alive, otherwise I wouldn't be sharing this story with you and would most likely instead be in a car somewhere at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea or if we were lucky, trapped on the hillside below.

Dinner was excellent. Quite possibly the best we had had in Italy. It helped that Willy spoke fluent Italian. He ended up ordering for all of us and we shared a few plates of antipasti (artichoke hearts, grilled peppers, olives, etc) and bread, as well as a massive pizza. After dinner, we headed next door to a bar where Chris (Willy's brother) and another American girl, Allegra, who was also staying at Willy's, met us. We spent the rest of the night with a few rounds of beer and red wine and singing really bad karaoke with the bartender. Needless to say, it was a crazy night. It felt like a dream. Nothing seemed real or possible. When the bartender had had enough of us, he drove us home. Yes, the bartender drove us home.

The next few days in Amalfi were pretty normal. We went to Positano the next day (Thursday) to walk around a bit and have lunch.

While waiting for the bus back to Amalfi, we decided on a whim to hop on the bus going the opposite direction to check out Sorrento. Nothing spectacular to report there, except that the place is a rip off. I spent 8 euro on a small dessert and hot chocolate which should have cost me no more than 4.

On Friday, St. Patrick's Day, we walked the "Path of the Gods" which linked Amalfi and Positano together via the top of the mountain. We had a gorgeous day of few clouds and bright blue skies to match the Mediterranean blue.

On Saturday, we left Amalfi to go to a small town called Sora which was our last stop in Italy. We spent 3 nights and 2 days on a farmstay in the small town learning how pecorino cheese is traditionally made (from sheep's milk), horseback riding, walking, and relaxing. I ended up getting sick one of the days we were there and stayed in bed.

We flew out to Athens, Greece on Tuesday, March 21 and spent a few days seeing the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus, and the Archaeological museum. We are now on the island of Crete. It is Ken's last day with us. He's off to London for a few days, then home by April 1. Until my next update, I hope spring is treating you all well!

Europe Chapter 4: Part I Snow in Venice!

I think in my last update, we were leaving Torino and on our way to Florence for a few days. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Stacey raved about Florence since she had lived there for a few months while in school and Ken enjoyed it while he was visiting with Kat. Walking around, I could tell why Florence is so charming. It's different from other Italian cities that we had been to. It's considered large, but it's not industrial and everything is centralized making it seem like a small town.

Florence is art central. I spent my first few days in the Galleria del' Academia (where the statue, David, is housed among other sculptures and works of art), Uffizi (lots of Madonna paintings as well as a few famous Raphael's, Da Vinci's, and Botticelli's such as the Birth of Venus), climbed the steps of the dome in the Duomo (aka cathedral), visited a museum dedicated to the inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci, browsed the street and leather markets and walked around town.
Ken, Stacey and I booked a bicycle wine tour through the Chianti region of Tuscany, just outside of Florence. Unfortunately, Ken came down with a bacterial infection that kept him from doing the bike tour and much of anything while in Florence. So, what was to be a short stay became a week. Stacey and I felt really bad for Ken, but we enjoyed the downtime. We made friends with Martine, the 4th person in our 4 bedroom dorm, who replaced Ken on the bike tour. I hate to say it, but Ken missed out on one of my favorite days. The bike tour was just what I needed; A leisurely pedal through the green rolling hills of Tuscany. Well, most of it was leisurely. At one point, 60 year old men were passing us up a hill while Stacey was getting pushed up by our bike guide. (Shh!!! Don't tell her I told you that!) We only went to 1 winery, but it was formerly the home of Machiavelli post "The Prince." We also stopped to pet and feed fresh grass to a few ponies on the side of the road, one of which demanded our attention over the other ponies and nipped me in the arse! I always secretly knew ponies were evil!

While Ken was recovering, Martine (who is from the french speaking part of Canada), Stacey, and I took a day trip to Sienna. Of course, they were doing work on the local cathedral (Stacey and I have found that every town we visit, the cathedral is covered in scaffolding...Milan, Florence, Siena...it's our running joke at the moment), but we did manage to see the preserved head and thumb of St. Catherine. Ooooooo, aaaahhhh! If anyone knows why her head and thumb are in Sienna while the rest of her body is in Rome, please do share!!

When we weren't out and about being busy American tourists, we were in the common room of our hostel playing cards, writing in our journals or watching movies. This is where we met another friend, Shawn who hung out with us for awhile. The four of us (Stacey, me, Martine and Shawn) decided to take a train to Venice where Shawn, me, and Martine spent a weekend and Stacey a day exploring the man-made islands.

I've heard a lot of bad things about Venice, but I'm glad I decided to form my own opinion on it because it was beautiful!!! We stepped off of the train to warm weather and bright sunshine and managed to snag a great deal on a good hotel. The four of us spent the afternoon in t-shirts getting lost on the winding streets and canal-lined pathways and stuffing our faces with gelato. I couldn't believe our stroke of luck with the weather. Maybe it was the sunshine, but I was giddy. We unknowingly wound our way to San Marcos square in front of St. Mark's Basilica and proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes entertaining ourselves with pigeons. You kind of have to be there to understand. They're just EVERYWHERE and they're not scared of people. In fact, they will stop and poop on you as if you were a tree if you have food. Shawn and I laughed at Stacey and Martine. They're not bird people and would scream or duck (no pun intended) whenever one or a dozen came too close.

The next morning, I awoke to white stuff fluttering through the Venice sky. Snow was not on my mind, especially since I had spent the previous afternoon walking around in a short sleeved shirt. It took me a more than a few glances to convince myself it was actually snow! Yes, in Venice of all places! The hills of central Italy were white with snow on the extremely long train ride from Venice to Naples, where I reunited with Stacey and Ken. Even the Italians seemed a bit shocked. Me, Stacey and the rejuvinated Ken spent the next few days day tripping from Naples to the Island of Capri, where we hiked, and Pompeii, to tour the ruined aftermath of the infamous Vesuvias erruption.
Naples was mostly uneventful except for the archeological museum and a prank Stacey and Ken pulled on me. They checked into the hostel before I arrived and when asked where the third member of our party was (because we reserved a room for 3 and I was still in Venice), Ken told the staff member that I ran off to Venice with a boy for the weekend (which is less than HALF true because it was with Shawn AND Martine and the way he said it implied that the boy and I were romantically involved). The next morning, the ENTIRE hostel staff knew about me and made comments such as, "Love is in the air." Yeah right! For our remaining time there, one of the staff members kept trying to play matchmaker with me and all of the eligible bachelors staying at the hostel. I'm still plotting to get even with Ken.

Europe Chapter 3: XX Olympic Winter Games

The last few weeks have absolutely flown by. On one hand, it's hard to believe I've been away for almost 6 weeks now. On the other hand, I feel like I've seen and done so much that I must have been here longer. I miss friends and family, Comet, my own bed, my guitars and a wide selection of clothing...I think I'm rocking the same pair of jeans and black sweater combo for like the past 10 out of 14 days! Yeah baby!

The Olympics and Torino have been amazing. I feared the worst the first day we arrived and spent the day on a wild goose chase for the proper bus station. You have to realize that an incredible amount of time traveling is wasted on taking the 'scenic route' and waiting for transportation. We spent an entire day in Genoa, Italy walking around the city with packs full of dirty laundry looking for a laundromat. Not to mention how expensive laundry is here (about $10 to do one load wash and dry). I will never take a washer and dryer or clean clothes for granted again!

Anyway, back to the Olympics. We've managed to see 3 events while here; Men's Ice Hockey (US vs Slovakia), Men's Curling (US vs Canada, NZ vs Germany, and Italy vs Switzerland), and Men's Snowboarding PGS Finals.

Ice hockey has probably been the most exciting. The US was always a step behind the Slovakians, but that just kept us on the edge of our seats. Stacey and I stayed until the last second of the game while Ken left early to get a head start on the last bus back to Monta. As we ran out of the stadium, we realized there were about 30 other people running down the street with us. It was quite a sight to see. Stacey and I looked at each other and laughed. I couldn't help running and asking why everyone else was runnnig. It turns out everyone was catching a last train, bus, etc. But no one wanted to leave early because it was such a close game (the US was favored to win).

Getting snowboarding tickets was a stroke of luck. On Sunday and Tuesday, we got up at 6am to stand in line for free tickets to the Medal's Plaza for those nights. The Medal's Plaza is where the day's medals ceremony takes place followed by fireworks and a concert.

On Sunday and Tuesday, Whitney Houston and Avril Lavigne performed, respectively. Of course, both times, we were just a few dozen people short of getting tickets. However, on Tuesday, another American was trying to get rid of his snowboarding tix as he had to meet family in Spain. We got €90 tix for less than €40! So the next day, we took the train to Bardonecchia in the Italian Alps where the snowboarding competitions are held. It had been cold the last few days, so we all packed on the layers only to have it be a very warm day in the mountains.

Ken, Stacey and I are convinced we've brought nothing but bad luck to team USA as everything we've seen, the US has lost. Nevertheless, we've gone all out with signs, flags, cowbells, and face paint. The Olympics are all about country pride.

Even the smallest countries have large and loud cheering sections! I'm really excited about Vancouver 2010 when I'm hoping many of you will join me in a roadtrip north. We have also been able to see a lot of the Olympics at our flat on tv, but the events broadcasted are mostly geared towards competitions with Italians involved.

The weather has been pretty good. We've gotten a few days of rain, one of which turned into snow. I thought you guys might be interested in what a typical day in Torino is like, so I logged one day:

6.15 Wake up.

6.40 Walk to bus stop.

7.00 Decide we either missed bus by a minute or it isn't coming.

7.05 Back in bed for 45 min until next bus comes.

7.50 Catch bus from Monta to Torino.

9.00 Arrive in Torino and stand in line for free tix for evening's medal's ceremony.

10.00 Tix are handed out. We're about 10 people short of getting tix.

10.15 I part from trio to check out the Egyptian Museum for the day.

10.30 Decide to see what's at Olympic superstore which is incredibly chaotic.

10.35 Leave Olympic superstore as quickly as possible.

10.45 Lunch at a kebab takeaway. Mmm...falafel!!!

11.00 Stumble on Swiss house and eat my kebab there.

11.30 After standing in line for Museo Egizio for 20min, I begin exploring museum.

14.00 Meet up with Ken & Stacey to queue for last attempt at scoring tix to medal's ceremony.

14.30 Rain turns to sleet.

15.30 We give up on standing in line and walk across town to pick up Curling tix. We're all very cold & wet at this point.

16.00 Catch bus to cinema to warm up and watch a movie (with several bus changes to recorrect wrong buses & stops).

16.30 Missed only movies in English or with subtitles and decide to go home.

17.00 Get on bus to go home to Monta. Snowing heavily now.

18.20 Bus ride is very slow going. Flash lights up the sky. My first snow/thunderstorm combo.

18.30 Bus driver probably was supposed to get off of work at 18.00. Decides he's had enough of the traffic and begins playing chicken with oncoming traffic.

18.35 Bus passes snowplow. Not sure how it works in Italy, but where I come from, you usually want to stay behind the plow where the roads are clear.

18.40 Snow is so heavy, you can no longer see roadsigns. Bus driver still driving like it's a bright sunny day.

19.00 An hour overdue, we finally arrive in Monta. We step off the bus into snow 6-8 inches deep where there was no snow that morning.

19.05 I initiate a snowball fight in the piazza where we were dropped off.

19.10 Lights in piazza and town flicker off. We begin walking down the empty and dark snow-filled streets back to our flat.

19.11 Large flash of light and clasp of thunder. We begin running down street back to flat.

Rest of night electricity goes on and off a few dozen times throughout evening. We eat broccoli for dinner and play cards.

The snow part is not typical, but the standing in line, missing buses, etc. is typical. Incidently, the woman that manages our flat said that it hadn't snowed like that in 20 years. She was worried and upset for us, but didn't realize that we loved it. Last Saturday, the night before closing ceremonies, Torino hosted 'Notte Bianca' aka White Night. Everything in the city center stayed open until 5am including bars, restaurants, shops, clubs, and museums and street performers and acts played in the streets and piazzas. The Saturday before, Torino hosted another Notte Bianca. It was so successful (600,000 crowded the city center) that the city decided to do it again. Apparently, this White Night was even more successful. I'm not sure how many people came out, but the streets were packed solid. It took me about an hour to walk a few city blocks. Unfortunately for us, our last bus to Monta left at 22.40 that night and didn't leave again until 7.05 the next morning.

We got back to the flat as people were going to church around 8.00 and immediately crashed. Yesterday, we took a train to a small town north of Torino called Ivrea. Every year during Carnivale, the town takes part in a massive orange fight. iI's hard to comprehend the extent of this orange battle unless you are there. There are 5 piazzas where the orange battles take place and 9 foot teams that throw oranges at 30 horse-drawn carts filled with men that circle the town and through the piazzas. Each cart is armed with oranges and each piazza has about 20 - 5'x5'x10' crates filled with oranges. We thought that was a lot for the 4 day battle, but it turns out they go through those every day!!!

Stacey and I had fun dodging the oranges while Ken played it safe behind a net. I ended up getting pegged in the leg by one (it's all fun and games til somebody get's hurt!) and now have a nice battle wound in the form of a large welt/bruise. Let me just tell you that it HURT!!! It almost brought me to tears and I was a good distance away from where the battles were taking place. I can't imagine how the people on foot take the hits at point blank!!! A lot of people had ice packs out, a few people appeared to have concussions (vomiting and passing out) and there was definitely blood. So why do they do this again? Tradition I guess. Go here for the story: http://www.carnevalediivrea.it/english/battaglia.asp

I'm really excited about March. I'm looking forward to the spring weather and trying some new food in Greece which is our next country destination. I used to love pizza, but I think I could go without it for a long time. I've tried most every possible vegetarian topping including cheese, asparagus, mushroom, olive, artichoke, egg, eggplant, zucchini, and tomato. I've yet to have the french fries topping, but I'm saving that for when I'm really desperate! Until next time...

Europe Chapter 2: Nowhere before noon & oh how we love to shop!

It has been impossible to accomplish anything before noon since we began traveling. It doesn't matter how early we get up, something will happen to prevent us from getting a single thing done before noon.

I blame most of it on the Lonely Planet city maps and the lack of proper street signs. For example, pretend you need to get to a highway from the center of town. You first need to confirm which street you are on so you can refer to your map. Sounds easy enough to accomplish except the street names are on the sides of buildings and never in the same position on the buildings. So as you're driving by a corner at 30 mph, you must locate where the street name is posted, then read the name which is mostly a blur at that speed. Forget it if it is dark. The names are not reflective nor are they lit up. Once you've established where you are on the map (and hopefully it's not a Lonely Planet map!) you can get yourself out of the city center where you then must rely on street signs to lead you to the highway. The problem with that is there are no heads up when you are approaching a turn. If you come to a sign telling you to turn for your destination, it means turn that very instant! And that's IF you understood the sign in the first place. They're basically little diagrams of the roundabout itself with little arms branching off the circle representing the exits/streets. The branches point to the names of the places/highways which sometimes mesh together making an already bad situation worse! If you miss that turn, you'll most likely end up circling the roundabout a few times while you argue with your passengers which exit along the roundabout is the proper direction! Oh, and if you weren't in the proper turn lane when you saw the sign, you will also end up circling the roundabout in an unintended car carousel. Once you've made that turn, there are no highway markers reassuring you are headed in the right direction. In fact, you are unlikely to see another sign at all until another turn approaches (if another turn approaches!) and if you miss that, you're S.O.L.!

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED on how outrageously insane British drivers are. I was driving 95 mph on the interstate with people on my ass flashing their high beams at me! Before you reprimand me for driving at that speed, there were no posted speed limits and I was going the speed of traffic if not slower! We usually spend a good hour circling the cities and towns before we find the right highway towards our next destination. Nevermind the fact that we also usually spend the night before circling the town trying to find our hostel! Oh well. We see a lot of the city we normally wouldn't have that way, usually cobbled dark alleys which are better left traveling via car rather than foot anyway! Don't worry mom and dad, we keep the car doors locked! hehe.

After the Lake District, we made our way into Scotland with our first destination being Edinburgh. This is where the 'oh how we love to shop' comes in. For the life of us, we can't seem to get in and out of a grocery store in decent time. I don't know what it is about us. A lot of it has to do with searching the aisles for each other, trying to satisfy the taste buds of three different people, and drooling at all the food we really can't afford. Cheese and baguette anyone? This shopping adventure usually continues in the parking lot where we proceed to spend the next 20 minutes eating in our car. I feel really sorry for the person who has to clean the rental which we've aptly named, Fuchus as it is a crappy Ford Focus. The next day, Sunday 1/29, was more foot tours of the city. Stacey and I committed our first born child to get into the Edinburgh Castle where we learned a lot of Scotish history.

I won't bore you with any of that since the history lesson was in the last update. We strolled down the Royal Mile looking for some grub and decided on an all you can eat Chinese buffet.

We had a late start and a small scare on our way to Inverness later that evening which would be our northern most destination in the UK. About an hour into our journey, we found we were running low on gas. Fuchus has a cool little gauge that actually counts down the miles to empty. We started searching for gas around 60 miles to empty and panicked when we realized we were in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday evening. The first gas station we found was closed. It was 6:30 by this point. We flagged down a little old lady for directions to the nearest open petrol station and she proceeded to babble on with horrible directions! She would tell us to start going one direction, then pause to think outloud to herself, change her mind and give us complete opposite directions! Meanwhile, we're idling and the 'til empty' gauge is counting down the miles like a ticking time bomb. At one point, she said, 'No, that's not right. I'm talking crrrrap (roll that r) again.' We had to laugh. You just didn't expect that word to come out of her mouth and she had the cutest accent! We finally found the station she was describing just 10 minutes after the automatic pumps shut off. Damn! Fortunately, not too far up the road was another station that was actually open and $90 later, we had a full tank of gas. That's right kiddies! You think we have it bad paying a little more than 2 bucks a gallon, try having to shell out nearly 100 dollars for a tank of gas!!!

We didn't tour Inverness other than the local grocery store and headed south towards the west coast along the infamous Loch Ness. No, we didn't see Lochy, but we can see why she's made her home there. Scotland's lakes are beautiful!!! With no particular destination in mind, we made a last minute decision at a fork in the road to head to the Isle of Skye. This is where we've had one of the most interesting experiences yet.

On our way to Skye, we saw a hand painted sign on the road that advertised beds at 7.50 quid, a bargain compared to the 12 we'd been paying since leaving London. After a quick visit to the island, we turned back to take advantage of the deal. We turned onto this little one lane road and after about a mile, saw another sign saying the hostel was 11km further!!! Yikes! It was sort of too late to turn back. Skye was already a good 20 minutes behind us. So, we continued down the road. It wound along a mountainside through golden and frost bitten hills. There was a stream connecting several small lakes which were perfect and plenty for a fisherman's holiday.

We finally came to the house which held the reception. Stacey and I sent Ken to knock on the door. We could tell from the expressions on his face our 11k trek may have been in vain. We were given an ultimatum which turned in our favor. The hostel was closed for decorations, but for a quid more, we could share a guesthouse with one other person. Needless to say, it wasn't a difficult decision. Compared to where he had been sleeping, the guest house was a story for 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.' It had two bedrooms, a full bathroom (including bath tub!), a proper kitchen and living room with several movie selections and a loft complete with table tennis and billiards. As if it couldn't get any better, the views were astounding and we were given a dozen fresh eggs for dinner and breakfast.

We spent the evening lounging on couches and playing fluxx (a hard to find card game I learned how to play in college) and watching 'Big Trouble in Little China.' I knew there was a reason I hadn't seen that movie before!!! We awoke to a valley of white the next morning. It looked like a dusting of light snow, but it was only frost. According to the owner of the guesthouse, Willie, the side of the valley we were on never gets out of shadow between November and the end of January because the sun never peaks higher than the hill. Brrr!!! It had reached -10C that night. Something else caught my eye as i peered out of our window. Something about the tilt of Fuchus seemed unnatural. A flat tire! Eek!

That explained the hissing noise ken heard the day before while he was sorting out our accommodation! We would have been better off with a bum engine. At least then, it would have been taken care of for free by Hertz.

Ken and I spent a good hour trying to take off the bloody wheel in the freezing cold alternating turns running inside to warm our hands. We had the car jacked and the lug nuts off, but the tire wouldn't budge! We thought maybe it was frozen, so we poured warm water on it with no luck. We finally decided it would be best to call Hertz. Willie insisted he would have a go at it before making the call. He probably thought we had no idea what we were doing when we explained the tire wouldn't pull off. The tire took a toll on him and we could tell he was frustrated and determined to get it off himself. He broke out an iron hammer, chisel, and wedge thingamajiggy and started pounding and prodding away at the thing. Ken and I exchanged worried glances before Willie said he'd try phoning the local (as in 40 minutes away!) garage for advice. There was a brief sigh of relief until he came back saying the garage instructed him to take a fence post to the tire. None of us were assertive enough to convince him we should just phone Hertz and we reluctantly let him bang away with the fence post. Who would have guessed a fence post would aid in the removal of a flat. Turns out Ford uses aluminum for their tire frames and steel for the brakes. Common sense is that the two will fuse together with a little heat, once again proving Ford has little or no insight!

With donut successfully on, we crawled into town and paid the ridiculously outrageous price of 15 quid/$30 to have a flat repaired!!! Yeah, I know. Any tire place in the states would have done it for free or would have sold us a brand new tire for the same price. Oh well, it made for a good laugh and new memory.

With little time to spare, we drove off to Glasgow only making one stop for the potty and a fill up stop with only 3 miles left til empty! Glasgow is where I currently sit rehashing all of this for you, that is if you're still with me! We fly out to France tomorrow where we plan to spend a few days before taking a train into northern Italy for the Winter Olympics! Hooray!

Europe Chapter 1: Part II How old is this? A history lesson...

We left London on Tuesday 1/24 on our way to Bath (called Aquae Sulis after the celtic goddess when it was established in AD 44!) stopping in Windsor and at Stonehenge just in time to see the sunset over the hills. We woke up Wednesday morning to tour the roman baths which were actually very interesting and more elaborate than I imagined them to be.

On our way up to Birmingham to stay and visit with a few mates I met while living in NZ, we sidetripped to Avebury where more unexplained rock formations similar to Stonehenge exist. They are a bunch of boulders standing upright and forming an outer circle and several inner circles that date back almost 5000 years! We also got lost in Oxford looking for a payphone and a net cafe. We didn't do the historic college town much justice navigating its busy streets by foot and car for only a few hours.

After a good evening catching up with my mates in Birmingham, we drove northeast to Nottingham/Sherwood Forest where we saw 'Major Oak,' an 800 year old oak tree where legend says Robin Hood hid and his Merry Men would meet. The oak was beautiful but looked very tired. Its branches were supported with many metal beams and trees and other plants were cleared away from it so that it doesn't have to compete for nutrients. It kind of reminded me of a lonely old man.

We spent the night in York and explored the medieval city via foot the next day. On our own walking tour, we gaped at the Yorkminster which is the biggest gothic cathedral in northern Europe (circa 1220, but a church has been there since 627). I don't know much about architecture, but anything over a few hundred years old with such elaborately detailed structures inside and out baffles me. Someone with an incredible imagination designed and built a masterpiece that has withstood wars, natural disasters, etc. and it's not just the cathedral...

On Saturday 1/28, we saw Hadrian's wall which was built by the Romans 2000 years ago. Ok, so that's not a masterpiece in an artsy sense, but it was a big feat; 74 miles long and much of it still stands today.

I was a little surprised to read that some of it was actually taken down to build roads within the last century! After York, we headed to England's nature capital, the Lake District where we did a bit of hiking around Lake Windermere and its surrounding rolling hills and pasturelands. We had a gorgeous day, blue skies and sheep grazing green grass in every direction. It's no wonder all of the Brits spend their summer holidays there.