goodbye Europe

Well this is it. It's midnight in London and I'm getting on a plane to head back to Chicago in about 11 hours. I'm in the internet cafe at our hostel after a good last day of Amber and I exploring yet another city.

Italy ended well, Cinque Terre was awesome. The hiking between the cities was a blast and the view from the hilltops and the cliff overhangs was quite a sight. The place is just enjoyable, with some good yet not-expensive meals even at restaurants overlooking the Ligurian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, whatever. Take your pick. The place was pretty crowded though, as we expected because of the Rick Steves' warnings. We did see several other people actually reading, proudly, their Rick Steves travel guides over the course of the two days we were there. He's really spread the word about the place, and I can see why.

So after Italy was Munich, where we got to drink some good beer at the Hofbräuhaus (among other beer gardens), eat some amazing German sausages and sauerkraut, and see a little bit of the city. We wandered around Marienplatz, took an hour bus tour of the city (which we half-way slept through actually...), and bought some stuff in the shops. We stayed away from most of the museums and otherwise 'educational' type stuff because we were relatively wiped out, honestly, after our 12 hour train ride. So we chose a little sleep and a calmer itinerary over a see everything, go crazy sort of plan.

Then we took a trip an hour south of Munich to see Lake Tegernsee and the surrounding towns by train, boat, and on foot. It was good to get back to our roots, see where dad grew up and the like. The place was beautiful! Peaceful lake towns, green grass everywhere, the classic white houses and buildings with the brown trim, uniform slate roofing, the works. It was the most peaceful and relaxing atmosphere I have seen in Europe so far. Loved it.

So that's the rest of Italy and Germany. Today was London, but this is getting long. So we saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Harrods department store (one of the largest in the world, it was ridiculous), and the British Library (the UK's national library). The library has a lot of impressive stuff in it, a couple Gutenberg Bibles, a couple copies of the Magna Carta from 1215 off in a side exhibit room, and all sorts of other important texts and manuscripts.

So it's been a busy 8 days since I left Barcelona, and a busy summer before that for that matter. I'm ready to head back to the States and get back to 'normal' life. I almost forget what that is. So, signing off from Europe, I'm out.

good question...

Who knows exactly where I am. So it's been a really long time since I posted the latest news, but I've been wrapping things up and moving around a lot, so here goes. To pick back up, the rest of Madrid was really cool. I got to dig farther into the Prado, I saw the Thyssen, lots of good art all over the place. I was in a real mood to see some real quality art and soak it in which was good, although a lot of the other people were getting a little tired of it so they kept me on schedule and moving along. I really like Madrid, the place is great.

So after that weekend I managed to make it over to Pamplona for the running of the bulls. CRAZINESS. Even crazier than you'd expect. People passed out in the middle of the square, trash everywhere, and not the greatest smells either. I starting to say that porta-potties smell like Pamplona, not the other way around. Anyway, I'll post some more pictures and details the next time I get the chance.

Right now I'm sitting in an internet cafe with Amber in Vernazza (one of the five cities of Cinque Terre) on the western coast of Italy, hence the lack of descriptiveness that I usually try to include. We just got here from two days in Rome, we've got one more day until heading to Munich by train for two more days in and just south of the city before heading to a day and a half in London. Then flying back to Chicago! I'm pretty ready to get back to the States. Europe has been great, but I'm really looking forward to a washer and dryer, my car, and my grill. I'll keep the updates going this week and then finish up the travel stories sometime next week. Ciao!

Sewage, batteries and serenades

Oh the metro. Wandering the tunnels underground several times each day is funny to me at times. The routine of the different routes that I take to get to and from the various places around the city have certain little checkpoints, you might say, that I find interesting.

Sitting in the plaza down by La Rambla, almost ready to go to work each day, I can expect to see my friend the battery salesman continuing his sales pitches trying to sell Duracell batteries to the people walking through the metro. He's right on the way to the S and the L6 and L7 lines, waiting for me, marking the first of the several routine spots that I pass each day.

In-between the green and blue lines on the way back from Plaza Catalunya there's this one stretch of not more than 20 meters that has the always welcoming smell of spilled sewage. I have no idea why, or how long it's been there or if someone's planning on fixing it at some point, but I'm always counting the steps until the spot where the smell begins. Is it weird that I keep taking a whiff of it everyday?....doesn't sound smart to me, but nevertheless, I won't lie, I give it a sniff.

I like the city, I like the routes, but being underground for so much of the day in the usually stiflingly hot metro can be somewhat of a drag. But the day just wouldn't be the same without the battery guy. Wouldn't know what to do without him.

The best of all, though, is the musicians playing down there. Some of them are a little sketch, just hoping to collect some money for being there, but for the most part there are some pretty decent performers sending their music reverberating all around the tunnel system. It's great, it helps take your mind off the profuse sweating. I think there are even a couple semi-professional legitimate musicians who just enjoy playing for the masses in the metros because they're dressed up nicely and have quality instruments and even good sound systems with them sometimes. A strong gust of wind and some violins echoing all around, can't beat it.