Sorry I haven't been sending along any info, I'm sure most of you don't care except Mom, so...sorry Mom! Internet is hella expensive in Switzerland, so this post won't be any exception. I SWEAR I'm trying to find time to send an email and put up some pictures!
We are in Lugano, Switzerland, staying with Gustavo at the moment, and this place is AWESOME! Yesterday he took us into the mountains and we hiked up and down the rivers to hidden waterfalls, crystal clear rivers, and places only he and his friends know about by searching through the mountains for years in their childhood. Right out of a commercial! More on that later.
Right now we are trying to find housing in Germany for the month of August, and maybe a job for our lazy asses. So...I should be doing that instead of this.
More to come soon, promise!
Buh bye!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Happy happz happy happz hitchhiking!!
Bizarre.
We is hitchhiking in Germany, and it is überfun. We started in Tilburg, NL yesterday, and made it "all" the way to Bonn, Germany last night at around midnight. A bit of a stretch for hitchhiking, but we didn't want to give up! But we did get a late start. So today, after a supergiant breakfast, we are off again! Where to...hmmm...Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Tübingen, Überlingen, Ulm, München, Mindelheim...wherever! I love this gig.
I get a huge rush from communicating with people, whether getting a respectful "thank you" wave and a shrug, or coaxing a smile or a laugh from drivers passing by. It is awesome and humbling how helpful people can be when you need it. Two pathetic, drenched hitchhikers need a lot of help.
Ok, enough chit-chatting, I've got to hit the road!
We is hitchhiking in Germany, and it is überfun. We started in Tilburg, NL yesterday, and made it "all" the way to Bonn, Germany last night at around midnight. A bit of a stretch for hitchhiking, but we didn't want to give up! But we did get a late start. So today, after a supergiant breakfast, we are off again! Where to...hmmm...Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Tübingen, Überlingen, Ulm, München, Mindelheim...wherever! I love this gig.
I get a huge rush from communicating with people, whether getting a respectful "thank you" wave and a shrug, or coaxing a smile or a laugh from drivers passing by. It is awesome and humbling how helpful people can be when you need it. Two pathetic, drenched hitchhikers need a lot of help.
Ok, enough chit-chatting, I've got to hit the road!
Monday, July 14, 2008
How do you strain your hamstring doing chin-ups?
I don´t know, but it happened, okay?
So apparently Spain didn´t get the memo that mullets have gone out of style. In fact, they seem to have gone out of their way and invent a new style: mullet dreadlocks. I don´t even know what to call it, other than hideous. No offense to anyone who reads this and has mullet dreadlocks. But really...go get a haircut.
We leave Barcelona today on a two day journey of crap...overnight train to Paris tonight, and an all day holiday in the airport in London tomorrow, from 10 pm to 1 pm the following day, because we´re too cheap to train into the city and find a hostel.
My arms and hands hurt like they haven´t in two months, and it feels GREAT. Yesterday I climbed like it was going out of style (much like the mullets a lot of the climbers were sporting), and managed to pull finger joints, scrape knuckles, blister my feet, wear my hands raw, and love every minute of it. I wish we had more time here to climb!
Ok we´re off to catch our train. Bye bye!
So apparently Spain didn´t get the memo that mullets have gone out of style. In fact, they seem to have gone out of their way and invent a new style: mullet dreadlocks. I don´t even know what to call it, other than hideous. No offense to anyone who reads this and has mullet dreadlocks. But really...go get a haircut.
We leave Barcelona today on a two day journey of crap...overnight train to Paris tonight, and an all day holiday in the airport in London tomorrow, from 10 pm to 1 pm the following day, because we´re too cheap to train into the city and find a hostel.
My arms and hands hurt like they haven´t in two months, and it feels GREAT. Yesterday I climbed like it was going out of style (much like the mullets a lot of the climbers were sporting), and managed to pull finger joints, scrape knuckles, blister my feet, wear my hands raw, and love every minute of it. I wish we had more time here to climb!
Ok we´re off to catch our train. Bye bye!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Jeff and Dennis Find the Magical Tunnel of Cimbing
Yeah, we actually did. It´s in a park in Barcelona, and supposedly this tunnel was taken over by climbers, so the city actually closed it down to through traffic. I was expecting some crimpy bricks to traverse on, but the climbers actually went about attaching rock fixtures all over the place...in other words, a free outdoor climbing gym! They have top roping up and over the whole tunnel, and we plan on scrapping all our sightseeing plans to climb all day! As soon as the laundry is done.
Here are a few pics of my favorite part of Barcelona:
(Coolest tunnel in Barcelona)
(Dennis questions his climbing technique)
Alright, back to the story.
Jeff and Dennis in the Bullfighting Arena
7:55 am - This moment can be summed up in three ´A´ words: Anticipation, Anxiety, and ADRENALINE. If there was an ´A´ word for having to piss your pants, that would be up there too, but I couldn´t think of one.
7:58 am - We start walking slowly down the road. The entire course is over 800 metres, and we started roughly halfway, but I had lingering doubts that I could outrun a dozen bulls even that far to get into the arena before they close the gates after the last bull. The way the run works is they release about 6 bulls, the ones about the size of steam engines, to race the course. About 30 seconds later, they release another 6 tamer bulls (as if tamer has any meaning whatsoever when referring to stampeding bulls) to make sure none of the first bulls get separated from the herd...thats when they begin to get scared and dangerous, charging people against the walls and other fun stuff. After the bulls run the course (and you with them) you all end up in the Plaza del Toros, a big bullfighting arena. The bulls are herded into a pen, and smaller bulls are let out one at a time to plow the brave bullrunners (read: stupid tourists) into the ground, to the delight of the crowd. Alright back to the story.
Plaza del Toros...maybe you can see us in there.
7:59:59 am - A distant BOOM is heard, as the first firecracker goes off. "That´s it!" our friend Matt says. The bulls are out. We break into a light jog.
8:00:30 am - Another BOOM. I start to run faster, determined to make the arena before they close the gates. Matt calls me back to the rest of the group. Oh yeah, I promised Matt´s wife to protect him from the bulls. Dammit!
8:01 am - More and more people are running past us, near sprinting down the crowded streets. Our jog is more of a quick sidestep now, our attention divided between dodging waiting runners and watching for the approach of the bulls.
8:01:27 am - The sound of women screaming breaks into the air. Oh wait, those are men. A dull noise builds up, some combination of thundering hooves, clanging cowbells, people screaming "Get out of my way!", "Go go go go go!", "Stop stop stop stop!" And so on...I´m sure you can imagine the confusion. The bulls race into sight...or more accurately, the crowds of people trying to stay out of the bulls way race into sight. I don´t really know where anyone else from my group was, but I sure as hell wasn´t sticking around. I was sprinting as fast as I could without tripping on the guy in front of me, just before he went down on top of a pile of other runners who collapsed like a pile of dominos on the first unfortunate dude who tripped. Somehow managing to sidestep them, I ran another few seconds and pressed up against the wall, or more accurately, against the people pressing up against the wall, and turned to see the first of the bulls pass by. If I were braver, stupider, or drunker, I could have reached out and touched them, they were that close. However, I wanted to keep my arm for the rest of the trip.
Ouch.
8:02:35 am - There is no break in between the last paragraph and this one, I just wanted to keep you up to date on the timing of the story. Trust me, I was checking my watch by the second. Really. So as the first set of bulls passed me, I heard Dennis (I think) screaming "Go go go go go!" so we could make it to the stadium...Matt caught up to me and he was right behind me, tapping me on the back to let me know he was there. I didn´t notice. I crammed to the left again as another bull rushed past the crowd. This was the most dangerous part of the race, because no one knew how many bulls were left behind them. This resulted in hundreds of people running full out, and looking backwards over their shoulders. Needless to say, the people who tripped on the road looked just as fearful of being trampled by people as by bulls. I managed to get by those unfortunate and hapless roadblocks without incident, and race down the final tunnel into the arena. This was do or die, since the tunnel was not wide enough to press off to the side to avoid the bulls...once you go in, you better get there before the bulls behind you do.
8:03:59 am - We break through into the arena, to a crowd of thousands of cheering spectators. Wasn´t expecting that! Given that I´ve never been in the centre of an arena before, and that my adrenaline was running higher than a kite, it felt pretty good! That feeling was cut short pretty soon.
8:05 am - They release the first bull into the arena. This is a young bull, full of energy and with it´s horns corked to ensure no one gets a horn in the butt. I don´t think the people getting hit were any better off, there were some pretty awesome hits. Of course, the crowd goes wild with every person that gets clobbered...if they´re stupid enough to be in the arena, they probably deserve it! I would say so.
(That would suck)
8:10 am - The first bull is rounded up and another fresh bull is brought out to wreak carnage on the bullrunners. We build up more courage to get closer to the bull. Dennis claims he´s going to touch one...after it tires itself out.
8:12 am - I see is some poor sap getting chased down full speed, the bull about 2 inches from plowing him up over its back. Wait a sec, that´s Dennis!! Look at him go! I have never seen him move that fast. Luckily when he turned back to see how near he was to being bullraped, he wiped out to the right and the bull kept going at some other unfortunate fool. So close to glory. Sorry Dennis, maybe some other day. ;)
8:45 am - Holy crap, have we really been running around this arena for this long?? Yup. We finally exit the arena, six bulls later, and Matt reunites with a teary-eyed Karen, who was watching nervously from the stands the whole time.
(Dennis and I lock horns because we are happy we didn't get gored by bulls...makes sense)
The adrenaline wore off on the ride home, and I passed out hardcore. Awesome festival, definitely worth doing, and if any of you are interested, I´m down for doing it again!
Alright, I´m out! Night!
Here are a few pics of my favorite part of Barcelona:
(Coolest tunnel in Barcelona)
(Dennis questions his climbing technique)Alright, back to the story.
Jeff and Dennis in the Bullfighting Arena
7:55 am - This moment can be summed up in three ´A´ words: Anticipation, Anxiety, and ADRENALINE. If there was an ´A´ word for having to piss your pants, that would be up there too, but I couldn´t think of one.
7:58 am - We start walking slowly down the road. The entire course is over 800 metres, and we started roughly halfway, but I had lingering doubts that I could outrun a dozen bulls even that far to get into the arena before they close the gates after the last bull. The way the run works is they release about 6 bulls, the ones about the size of steam engines, to race the course. About 30 seconds later, they release another 6 tamer bulls (as if tamer has any meaning whatsoever when referring to stampeding bulls) to make sure none of the first bulls get separated from the herd...thats when they begin to get scared and dangerous, charging people against the walls and other fun stuff. After the bulls run the course (and you with them) you all end up in the Plaza del Toros, a big bullfighting arena. The bulls are herded into a pen, and smaller bulls are let out one at a time to plow the brave bullrunners (read: stupid tourists) into the ground, to the delight of the crowd. Alright back to the story.
Plaza del Toros...maybe you can see us in there.7:59:59 am - A distant BOOM is heard, as the first firecracker goes off. "That´s it!" our friend Matt says. The bulls are out. We break into a light jog.
8:00:30 am - Another BOOM. I start to run faster, determined to make the arena before they close the gates. Matt calls me back to the rest of the group. Oh yeah, I promised Matt´s wife to protect him from the bulls. Dammit!
8:01 am - More and more people are running past us, near sprinting down the crowded streets. Our jog is more of a quick sidestep now, our attention divided between dodging waiting runners and watching for the approach of the bulls.
8:01:27 am - The sound of women screaming breaks into the air. Oh wait, those are men. A dull noise builds up, some combination of thundering hooves, clanging cowbells, people screaming "Get out of my way!", "Go go go go go!", "Stop stop stop stop!" And so on...I´m sure you can imagine the confusion. The bulls race into sight...or more accurately, the crowds of people trying to stay out of the bulls way race into sight. I don´t really know where anyone else from my group was, but I sure as hell wasn´t sticking around. I was sprinting as fast as I could without tripping on the guy in front of me, just before he went down on top of a pile of other runners who collapsed like a pile of dominos on the first unfortunate dude who tripped. Somehow managing to sidestep them, I ran another few seconds and pressed up against the wall, or more accurately, against the people pressing up against the wall, and turned to see the first of the bulls pass by. If I were braver, stupider, or drunker, I could have reached out and touched them, they were that close. However, I wanted to keep my arm for the rest of the trip.
Ouch.8:02:35 am - There is no break in between the last paragraph and this one, I just wanted to keep you up to date on the timing of the story. Trust me, I was checking my watch by the second. Really. So as the first set of bulls passed me, I heard Dennis (I think) screaming "Go go go go go!" so we could make it to the stadium...Matt caught up to me and he was right behind me, tapping me on the back to let me know he was there. I didn´t notice. I crammed to the left again as another bull rushed past the crowd. This was the most dangerous part of the race, because no one knew how many bulls were left behind them. This resulted in hundreds of people running full out, and looking backwards over their shoulders. Needless to say, the people who tripped on the road looked just as fearful of being trampled by people as by bulls. I managed to get by those unfortunate and hapless roadblocks without incident, and race down the final tunnel into the arena. This was do or die, since the tunnel was not wide enough to press off to the side to avoid the bulls...once you go in, you better get there before the bulls behind you do.
8:03:59 am - We break through into the arena, to a crowd of thousands of cheering spectators. Wasn´t expecting that! Given that I´ve never been in the centre of an arena before, and that my adrenaline was running higher than a kite, it felt pretty good! That feeling was cut short pretty soon.
8:05 am - They release the first bull into the arena. This is a young bull, full of energy and with it´s horns corked to ensure no one gets a horn in the butt. I don´t think the people getting hit were any better off, there were some pretty awesome hits. Of course, the crowd goes wild with every person that gets clobbered...if they´re stupid enough to be in the arena, they probably deserve it! I would say so.
(That would suck)8:10 am - The first bull is rounded up and another fresh bull is brought out to wreak carnage on the bullrunners. We build up more courage to get closer to the bull. Dennis claims he´s going to touch one...after it tires itself out.
8:12 am - I see is some poor sap getting chased down full speed, the bull about 2 inches from plowing him up over its back. Wait a sec, that´s Dennis!! Look at him go! I have never seen him move that fast. Luckily when he turned back to see how near he was to being bullraped, he wiped out to the right and the bull kept going at some other unfortunate fool. So close to glory. Sorry Dennis, maybe some other day. ;)
8:45 am - Holy crap, have we really been running around this arena for this long?? Yup. We finally exit the arena, six bulls later, and Matt reunites with a teary-eyed Karen, who was watching nervously from the stands the whole time.
(Dennis and I lock horns because we are happy we didn't get gored by bulls...makes sense)The adrenaline wore off on the ride home, and I passed out hardcore. Awesome festival, definitely worth doing, and if any of you are interested, I´m down for doing it again!
Alright, I´m out! Night!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
I´ve never had beer poured up my nose before.
It´s like getting a noseful of water, but carbonated, and you can still taste the beer. Unpleasant and not recommended.
Hanyway, back to the story...
Actually I´m a bit tired from yesterday, we hit up a pubcrawl for some reason and got about 4 hours of sleep...combined with the past three days of 4 hours sleep because of San Fermin, that equals not a lot of sleep. So maybe I´ll write it later. I hope you aren´t too disappointed.
We made it to Barcelona, drove down with our Kiwi friends Matt and Karen that we met in Greece. They rented a car and are driving all around France and Spain, so we tagged along for a bit and chipped in for gas...saved us on train tickets! We´ll meet up again with them in New Zealand, they already have plans to take us all around the South Island, have us stay with them, and maybe even lend us a car so we can drive around by ourselves for a week! Such a nice couple. They´re doing a 5 month tour de monde for their honeymoon, how cool is that?
I would upload pictures, but this internet cafe is pretty sketch, every few seconds another virus is found on this computer, so I don´t really want to do that either. So why even post this? I don´t know. I could delete it...or I could click publish.
Hanyway, back to the story...
Actually I´m a bit tired from yesterday, we hit up a pubcrawl for some reason and got about 4 hours of sleep...combined with the past three days of 4 hours sleep because of San Fermin, that equals not a lot of sleep. So maybe I´ll write it later. I hope you aren´t too disappointed.
We made it to Barcelona, drove down with our Kiwi friends Matt and Karen that we met in Greece. They rented a car and are driving all around France and Spain, so we tagged along for a bit and chipped in for gas...saved us on train tickets! We´ll meet up again with them in New Zealand, they already have plans to take us all around the South Island, have us stay with them, and maybe even lend us a car so we can drive around by ourselves for a week! Such a nice couple. They´re doing a 5 month tour de monde for their honeymoon, how cool is that?
I would upload pictures, but this internet cafe is pretty sketch, every few seconds another virus is found on this computer, so I don´t really want to do that either. So why even post this? I don´t know. I could delete it...or I could click publish.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Whoa.
Chapter 2(?): Jeff and Dennis Run with Bulls
"It was the perfect way to be totally in the moment. The past was dead, the future not yet born, there was only the now. Fail, and you die. Succeed, and you live."
Well maybe it wasn´t THAT extreme, I mean beyond being trampled or gored by raging bulls, my next main concern was making it to the arena before they closed the gates so I could...you know, run around with more enraged bulls.
Here is a short glimpse of the day:
3:50 am - Alarm goes off. I go back to sleep.
4:00 am - Alarm goes off again. I go back to sleep again.
4:10 am - I finally get up and get dressed, bringing minimal belongings, including ID to identify my body. That was a joke. But I actually did it.
4:20 am - We´re on the road to Pamplona for the Festival San Fermin, of which the main event is the 8 am Running of the Bulls. Luckily we met up with our Kiwi friends Matt and Karen again, and they rented a car so we all carpooled down, rather than having to sleep in a park overnight.
6:10 am - Arrive in Pamplona, to see roving bullrunners in the streets, most drunk from the night before. We park the car, and walk the wrong way.
6:30 am - We turn around and head back the right way. Hehe.
6:45 am - We buy our traditional white and red bull running clothes, like EVERYONE else in the town...amazing to see thousands of people in the streets, all dressed in red and white!
6:55 am - We decide to walk the 890 m course to see where we can dive under barricades, hide in doorways, avoid falling people and charging bulls. Note: 10 seconds after the bulls were released, all plans went down the toilet.
7:15 am - Cops begin to clear the course of all onlookers...INCLUDING us. Confused, and with no one speaking English to explain what was going on, we have to sprint out of the course and back around to the starting point. We are unsure if they will even let us back in at this point, and there are dozens of runners with us. I can honestly say that, although not the most climactic point of the day, I was more scared of missing the run than of running itself, and if there was any reason for the strange stains in my underpants, this was the cause.
7:25 am - Made it back into the starting square, where the gates are blocked until 5 minutes remain. The square is packed with people, shoulder to shoulder and chest to chest. The stench of urine and vomit from the previous nights´festivities mingles with the stale smell of fear sweat. Nervous jokes that are met with overloud laughter, last cigarettes are lit, and everyone is just a little too chummy, betraying their unease. Cheers and clapping erupts sporadically from the crowd: CLAPclapclapCLAPclapclapCLAPclapclap...and so on, you get the picture. The energy is palpable. Where else can you join in a festival where thousands of people put their bodies and lives on the line to run with dozens of galloping 600 kilo animals through narrow streets for nothing more than bravado? Can I use that word there? You get my point.
7:55 am -
Alright I´ll have to save the exciting conclusion of this story for next time, I´m hungry for dinner! Yeah, I just love the cliffhanger: ¨"Do Jeff and Dennis make it out of the bull pen alive?" "Does Jeff have the guts to touch a real live raging bull?" "Does Dennis get chased by an angry toro like a cartoon rabbit?" Stay tuned to find out in the next episode: Jeff and Dennis in the Bullfighting Arena.
"It was the perfect way to be totally in the moment. The past was dead, the future not yet born, there was only the now. Fail, and you die. Succeed, and you live."
Well maybe it wasn´t THAT extreme, I mean beyond being trampled or gored by raging bulls, my next main concern was making it to the arena before they closed the gates so I could...you know, run around with more enraged bulls.
Here is a short glimpse of the day:
3:50 am - Alarm goes off. I go back to sleep.
4:00 am - Alarm goes off again. I go back to sleep again.
4:10 am - I finally get up and get dressed, bringing minimal belongings, including ID to identify my body. That was a joke. But I actually did it.
4:20 am - We´re on the road to Pamplona for the Festival San Fermin, of which the main event is the 8 am Running of the Bulls. Luckily we met up with our Kiwi friends Matt and Karen again, and they rented a car so we all carpooled down, rather than having to sleep in a park overnight.
6:10 am - Arrive in Pamplona, to see roving bullrunners in the streets, most drunk from the night before. We park the car, and walk the wrong way.
6:30 am - We turn around and head back the right way. Hehe.
6:45 am - We buy our traditional white and red bull running clothes, like EVERYONE else in the town...amazing to see thousands of people in the streets, all dressed in red and white!
6:55 am - We decide to walk the 890 m course to see where we can dive under barricades, hide in doorways, avoid falling people and charging bulls. Note: 10 seconds after the bulls were released, all plans went down the toilet.
7:15 am - Cops begin to clear the course of all onlookers...INCLUDING us. Confused, and with no one speaking English to explain what was going on, we have to sprint out of the course and back around to the starting point. We are unsure if they will even let us back in at this point, and there are dozens of runners with us. I can honestly say that, although not the most climactic point of the day, I was more scared of missing the run than of running itself, and if there was any reason for the strange stains in my underpants, this was the cause.
7:25 am - Made it back into the starting square, where the gates are blocked until 5 minutes remain. The square is packed with people, shoulder to shoulder and chest to chest. The stench of urine and vomit from the previous nights´festivities mingles with the stale smell of fear sweat. Nervous jokes that are met with overloud laughter, last cigarettes are lit, and everyone is just a little too chummy, betraying their unease. Cheers and clapping erupts sporadically from the crowd: CLAPclapclapCLAPclapclapCLAPclapclap...and so on, you get the picture. The energy is palpable. Where else can you join in a festival where thousands of people put their bodies and lives on the line to run with dozens of galloping 600 kilo animals through narrow streets for nothing more than bravado? Can I use that word there? You get my point.
7:55 am -
Alright I´ll have to save the exciting conclusion of this story for next time, I´m hungry for dinner! Yeah, I just love the cliffhanger: ¨"Do Jeff and Dennis make it out of the bull pen alive?" "Does Jeff have the guts to touch a real live raging bull?" "Does Dennis get chased by an angry toro like a cartoon rabbit?" Stay tuned to find out in the next episode: Jeff and Dennis in the Bullfighting Arena.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Puuumped for some Bull Runnin´
So, sitting in the lounge of our hostel in San Sebastian, we hear more than a few stories of harrowing escapes from bull-related injuries and some good adrenaline-pumping-fear-fueled running!
The most common sentences uttered include "If you do (insert action here), you´re f***ed", "If you don´t (insert other action here) you´re f***ed", and...well, I guess that´s pretty much it. Oh yeah, and "you are guaranteed to shit your pants." Sounds like my kind of festival!!
We plan on bussing in to Pamplona at around 9 pm the night before, and partying the whole night, maybe catching a few Z´s in the park or in the car (if we end up driving there). We´re going to check out the running path, plan our escape routes which we will thoroughly ignore the next day in our adrenaline ridden state of shitting our pants, and hopefully drink enough sangria to fall asleep outdoors to rest up a bit for the run. I don´t think being tired will be an issue though, as I hear it´s quite a rush when the gun goes off!!
Can´t wait! I hope Mom doesn´t read this until I get home safe after the run. If she does...don´t worry mom, I´ll be safe! ;)
See ya later!
The most common sentences uttered include "If you do (insert action here), you´re f***ed", "If you don´t (insert other action here) you´re f***ed", and...well, I guess that´s pretty much it. Oh yeah, and "you are guaranteed to shit your pants." Sounds like my kind of festival!!
We plan on bussing in to Pamplona at around 9 pm the night before, and partying the whole night, maybe catching a few Z´s in the park or in the car (if we end up driving there). We´re going to check out the running path, plan our escape routes which we will thoroughly ignore the next day in our adrenaline ridden state of shitting our pants, and hopefully drink enough sangria to fall asleep outdoors to rest up a bit for the run. I don´t think being tired will be an issue though, as I hear it´s quite a rush when the gun goes off!!
Can´t wait! I hope Mom doesn´t read this until I get home safe after the run. If she does...don´t worry mom, I´ll be safe! ;)
See ya later!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
"I'm sorry, he's only like this when he's awake."
We have finally moved on from Paris now, with a longer stay than expected to meet up with a few friends and some errant train schedules. Errant meaning we didn't book early enough. Sounds about right! Pas de souci, although we couldn't actually get a train down to Barcelona at all...which brings us to Bordeaux. Beautiful and wine covered, but all we have seen are the streets under construction for the tram. And that is probably all we will see, given our train leaves tomorrow morning for San Sebastiàn, where we will stay while we head off to enjoy the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. Exciting! Maybe get a day of surfing in somewhere...or something.
We should probably start prepping for that, considering the most strenuous exercise I've done in the past few weeks is carrying beer home from the store. Which was actually a decent forearm workout. I think that counts as strenuous.
I will miss Flora and Axel and his roommates, even with their slightly uncouth bar habits. It is nice to be able to stay in one place every once in a while, with friendly faces you can hang around with. For the next month or so we are on a fairly strict schedule though; which sucks to book and plan and blah...but there are all these silly people who book "in advance" and spoil our spontaneity. SO after San Sebastiàn we are going to Barcelona SOMEhow (take THAT strict scheduling!) and from there we have our train BACK to Paris (this is Rome all over again!) to catch our flight to London and then to the Netherlands on July 16. Confusing? Yes. I'm trying to keep you all off our trail!
Not really.
So hopefully we can meet a few friends in the Netherlands, and from there the REAL adventure begins...no rail pass, no easy transportation...we're screwed. Anyway, as I said in the last post I'm itchin' for some hitchin', so we'll see what fate throws our way. Ummm so yeah, Switzerland, or Germany, something like that.
Later!
Alright fine, here are some pictures that I never put up before.
Partying with Cristina and Francesco and friends in Sicily.
Partying with Romain, Aurelie, Axel, Nico and friends in Lyon.
Finally getting a bit of outdoor climbing in!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Itchin' for some hitchin'
This is going to be short, because French keyboqrds qre the devil: Im not even going to orrect ,y mistqkes qnymore. This has already taken me several ,inutes to zrite:
I am back in Paris zith Axel now; and I want to hitchhike soon. Maybe to Szitwerland: We'll see. This country is LUCKY it has good wine qnd cheese and pretty girls; or I would NeVER co,e here qgqin!
Good night:
I am back in Paris zith Axel now; and I want to hitchhike soon. Maybe to Szitwerland: We'll see. This country is LUCKY it has good wine qnd cheese and pretty girls; or I would NeVER co,e here qgqin!
Good night:
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