Way behind. Dont take home strangers

First the things i left out from the last blog. when i went to the beach i neglected (how i have no idea) that half of the women were topless. The more i think about i think this is a good strategy to try in the States. The guys are all pratically in underwear as well. Also i forgot to mention that i drove a moped. The whole time i was thinkin oh boy if i crash this will mess up my trip.

I feel like in my lfie that things just have a way of working themselves out. I probably have to much faith in that philosophy and im sure it will back fire on me during this trip at some point. As i was leaving Rome for Florence i got a email on couchsurfing to inform me that i would not have a host. When i got to Florence i looked around the train station for maybe an hour trying to figure out where to go. I then decided to go find an internet cafe. While in route i asked 2 american girls for directions(changed my entire trip to Florence). They then decided to take me to one. 15 minutes later we were all lost, they then decided that i passed the test of not being a creeper and let me use there computer. While using there computer we decided that we would all hang out that night. One of the girls friend suggested a hostel and i was able to find a place for cheap with an amazing view of the city.That night we walked around Florence which was beatiful city, we saw none other then Jersey shore taping for there show. I was watching the episodes before they aried,sweet.Later that night we made homemade pizza, which was awesome because i have not been eating a lot and it was a bunch of girls so i had a hearty meal. The next day we all got lunch and off to Pisa for me. I cant thank the girls enough, made my trip to Florence awesome.

I have to give the abbreviated trip to Pisa because my hour on this computer is running out. I had to sit around the train station beacuse Italian trians decided to strike that day. I finally got on a train to Pisa after a hour or so, could have been a lot worse. When i made it to Pisa i met two Idaho football players. Went to the tower with them which turned out to be great. Because i had no idea how hard it was to get the exact picture of pushing the tower over. My favorite part of the trip was after the guys left i asked a chinese man to take the picture and he handed me the camera and i was literally in the middle of the tower. after that i went to the airport and spent the night at the airport. I met two great american girls that passed teh time a lot faster, problem was the airport was closed from 1am to 4am, so i had to sleep outside for a bit.Well the internet cut out and i had to do this last paragraph all over. K im off, hopefully i will update my german experience, i just finished eating pizza in venice yummy.

When in Rome hang out with the Palestinians

Well a lot has happened since the last post. Unfortunately i dont have a lot of time to post so trying to recap. Ive seen a lot of historical things in Rome,such as the Colliseum, the Cathedral. the same square from the movie angels and demons. I went to the Couch Surfing meeting on Tuesday night in Rome, and was able to find a host Piettra.I met Saad and Amrite and Tom from Poland and Moriah from Chicago, meeting then changed my whole trip to Rome.Pietrra was great, and walked me to a few spots in the city.My plan was to go see a few historical sites then play basketball with Saad and Amrite. Problem was i didnt know what park, as i was done at the Colliseum i was walking to a bus(in the wrong direction)i saw Tom and Moriah. Moriah pointed me in the right direction and Tom walked with me. Moriah got a text from Saad saying which park. In Rome the buses cost money,i found out no one pays for a bus, so i did not pay at all. So that was great not paying money for that, the subway i rode for free the first two days, until we got busted at the station. Not to big of a deal, except then Saad had a huge argument with the guy.

I was hosted by two great guys in Rome, they helped me out more then anyone can imagine. Took me around the city, took me to pizza, took me to the beach. The beach was a great experience, went with my friends from the CS meeting. We went with a girl from Chicago named Moriah. Went to the beach, we ended up playing american football with 3 italians, having to explain the rules was a great time. Easy to say that i won, i could make the rules up as i went, they had no idea haha. My favorite part of Italy, had to be the FREE water everywhere. I had my canteen with me, filled up every time i saw one. I was gonna stay in a hotel one night and i guess you have to be back at a certain time and was locked out. Luckily amrite stepped up and i stayed at his old apt by myself.

While walking downtown Rome i met the Rudest 6 cofc girls ever. First while walking they pointed and said look an American, then the first question was hey can yall get us Weed. Typical CofC student,ha the guys im with said they didnt have it but couldnt get it for them. They bought food the next night and supplied the girls with what they want. I went out to eat with some people that i met the night before, thats a blog in itself. I went to eat with 3 spanish people that spoke very little english. That night was great but i got stuck till 5am at the station because certain trains don't run that late at night. Back to the CofC girls, they went to Saad and Amrite place, where Amrite paid. Enjoyed dinner and got thier weed, then gave fake fbook names because they thought they were to cool for everyone else. I didn't hang out with them that much, but from the time i saw them they WERE nothing to write home about, maybe a 5 at best. They thought they were to good and gave Saad and Amrite fake names on fbook. Id like to let them know that they are not that cool,a picture is posted of the girl on my facebook (if you go or went to CofC check that out). My last night in Rome we had a big dinner, Many different nationalities represented at the table from the Nigeria to the US. The dinner was the best, spaghetti in some kinda tomato chunks was awesome.

Travel Day..zzzzzzz

I had to be at the airport at 3am for my flight at 4 50. Luckily i waited till the last minute and was up packing because the alarm on Sams phone never went off,the alarm she set ha. I got a ride from the taxi to the airport only to find the airport was packed, i was shocked. The Tel aviv airport must be the safest in the world. They scan you and your bags at 3different times in the trip. I guess they think after your scanned the first time that someone at a restaurant will slip you something and then scan you again before the boarding area, on some flight you get scanned before you get on plane and are placed in a special waiting area. The flight itself was great, noone was in a middle row so i got to stretch across 4 seats and was out cold the entire time.I was supposed to fly into Dusseldorf Germany and have a 2 hr layover and off to Rome. Of course thats not how it worked.

When i got to Dusseldorf, im sure im spelling it wrong but i just dont care enough to get my ticket out and check. I realize that i now have an 8hr layover. I surveyed the situation and went to where i do my best thinking the bathroom. There was a lobby in bathroom and then a door you enter to actually go to the bathroom. When i was finished a man was in lobby in shocked that he had left his bag there in lobby and it was now gone. This then became a very awkward situation as i think he told me in 3 different languages that i cant believe this would happen right here. It was as if he was telling me/accusing me. So i hot to the streets to find a Hotel. Luckily there is a huge maritim here. I walked in and went straight to the business center to kill time. Then headed for the workout room. Took me two different elevators and 6 doors only to need a card swipe that i didnt have. I could have waited for someone to either enter or leave but i saw a Sheraton across the street. I headed there, walked in and straight to the workout room that did not have any key access needed. After that off to the bathroom to freshen up and change my clothes. I am disappointed i couldnt get into the Maritime, it had a pool, a Sauna and a great workout room. Im now headed back to the airport to catch my 4oclock flight. Then i will need to decided where to stay tonight :)

Whats the difference between schneitzel and scheckels

The night before my trip to Jerusalem, yes my family all has gone been paid top dollars for an armed security guard. This guy was going with himself and no map of anywhere. I learned Jerusalem is a bit of a tourist trap at least the part i was in. Walking the streets of the old city, vendors on each side and everyone looking to help out for some money. I will say a few locals offered help and i almost shut them off because i was thinking they were out for money, and some were just being considerate. Ive posted pictures of my journey, but unless your there its hard to really describe the pictures. The church of Seplcher is a place all Christians need to be. The Tomb that Jesus was buried,(the line is very long but i bypassed it by accident, i helped a guy pick up a wheelchair up steps and then followed them in. When i came out i saw the line wrapped all the way around the Tomb. Then you can go to Golgtha or the Rock of Calvary the spot where the cross was placed and also the Stone of Unction where Jesus body was laid out after he was taken down off the cross. I took the train to Jerusalem and then taxis to the Old city. Israels are the worst drivers ever, they dont care about turn signals, or pedestians in the street, they will just keep going. As for the taxi drivers they all want to get you in the car without turning the meter on so they can charge you whathever they want. I guess they see an American and assume they are going to get over on him.

Also before i go i must give shout out to Chuck and Sam for not only letting me stay in there house this year but for watching out for me this week. Sam may give me a hard time but ill let her slide. Its now 1 05 in the morning here and im in the process of packing. My taxi picks me up at 2 30, then off to Rome. When i arrive in Rome i do not know where im staying, which i think is pretty cool. Im armed with rain proof gear just in case the situation calls that i need to sleep outside. I do not know when the next time i will blog is, im going to try to keep writing notes so i dont forget anything that happens

Schneitzel is chicken and schuckles is the money. Tonight at dinner the waiter gave us on the house some Plum wine. I must say it wasnt bad. Hopefully in each city i visit i will try a different drink and report back on that. The schneitzel is breaded chicked fried,with chips and chips here means fries and i refuse to admit that.The picture of the bottle with the rest of my photos is on facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=518508693192&set=a.518494317002.2014574.93100042&type=1&theater
Sean

I got to Pet a Zebra today, what did you do with your day?

Chuck, Sam the twins and i went to the open air market the other day in Israel. It was a neat experience to say the least to see the different food,art,candy,toys and anything else you can think of at this place. Reminded me of a booths corner in pa just an outside verison. I learned an important lesson, is that Israelis have 0 concept of personal space. They will walk right into you, not say a word and keep going like its no big deal. The first few times i thought i was being pick pocketed but turns out they dont believe in personal bubbles for each person to have there space. Again at the market the theme of Chuck a star continued. People would spot him and ask for autographs, we were at a stand and the owner wanted to know why they kept takin his picture. I didn't want them to say that he was a basketball player because i thought the guy would try to drive up the price. Instead Chuck tells him he is a very famous rabbi, cracked me up, not so sure about the store owner. While they i continued with my steady diet of a pita, with a mystery meat,somewhat cooked and Hummus and pickles. So far i haven't gotten to sick from it so we shall see.

The Israeli Zoo and Safari was sweet to say the least. I was skeptical going in, boy was i wrong. To see a Rhino and a Hippo with nothing but the Nissan in between you it gives you a small rush. To reach out and pet a Zebra while its eating the watermelon and drooling on chucks jean is priceless. You dont get that at the Philly zoo thats for sure, and trust me im a big fan of the philly zoo, pops used to have the pass for FREE. The lions that we saw they did have a wire around them keeping them in a area for the most part, there was a gap or two in the wire, but last i checked lions can jump. The zoo inside was cool, but paled in comparison to Safari. It did seem a little better because we had the twins, they get excited to see any animal. We went on a Sunday which you would think would be crowded. Sundays here are like mondays in the states so we had the place to ourselves to cruise around on a golf cart. As we took the golf cart back schools started dropping kids off. As we drove through crowd it started with hey there is Chuck Eidson. Then broke out into Israeli kids running alongside golf cart singing and chanting Maccabi songs and saying Chucks name. Not gonna lie i was on the back of golf cart with Tripp, i was thinkin does he think this is normal for people to just chant his dad name and ask for autographs lol. Well off to bed i stayed up to watch game 7 which was a dud. Staying up was hard because today was first day i didnt get a nap. Then i had to retype this because i couldnt copy and paste from gmail so probably not very good overall but its done.

Chuck, please stay

Since my last blog we checked out the cliffs of the medeteriann, went to the mall, saw the kids school and the biggest thing was Chucks game on Wednesday night. Basically Chuck is a star, Chuck and i went to the game alone since the games start after the kids bedtime. My seat was probably 12 rows up not bad at all. In warm ups Chuck goes and tells a guy in a Maccabi shirt something and points at me. Next thing i know im being escorted to the baseline for floor seats. The game itself was great, it was just a domestic league game so the place was not sold out. The arena holds 12,000 i would estimate that 8,000 were still there. But the atmosphere with that many fans was still amazing. I can only imagine the place being full,felt more like a crazy soccer game then a basketball game. Chuck has a good game all around, 13pts 9 boards and 6 assist, after the game is when it got crazy. The same guy that escorted me to the floor seats then took me down by the locker room. I was watching the other league game on T.V. in the weight room of Maccabi with Chuck and 5 teammates. As the game were watching went to commercial, i looked up at the Tv and saw myself and the maccabi players. They were showing the maccabi players because they played the winner of that series and then there was this guy from philly rocking his Philadelphia phillies hat on a television in Israel ha

After that Chuck went to the locker room to shower, then it got crazier. Reporters that saw me talking to chuck started asking me how i knew Chuck? Then the question that is on everyone mind in Tel Aviv is Chuck coming back. I had one reporter say 'freind to friend you can tell me if chuck is coming back" My response was i do not know you must ask him(and boy did they ever). But i thought it was funny that this is the only thing people seem to care about here. As chuck came out there was maybe 3o ppl waiting for autographs and pictures, not gonna lie I was expecting more outside locker room. Chuck then had a few interviews, he defered to answer any questions concerning his decision for next year. Then was asked if he was concerned about the lockout looming in the NBA. Reporter wanted him to say that he hopes to go to the NBA. Instead he redirects and says I guess I will be out of a job bc the NBA guys will come over here and i'll have a long vacation next year.

Finally i think were off to eat. We go up the steps to leave the building, this is probably an hour after the game. Again another 10 people were waiting there and Chuck again signed autographs and posed for pictures. When we stepped outside the door, there was a Roar CHUCK,CHUCK,CHUCK EIDSON,CHUCK CHUCK over here, can i have an autograph, can i have a picture. Probaly 500 or so Maccabi fans lined up. Security has to escort him through the crowds as he continually stops to sign autograph after autograph. They then follow us to the car and now Chuck keeps signing by the car door as security pleads with Chuck to please leave. Finally we get in car and another guy leans in window begging for a jersey of Chucks. Chuck being nice leaves it at will see. I wanted to take the kids number and be like dude ill sell it to you haha jk. I have kept everyone of Chuck jerseys given to me for the record.

We then went and have free food and drinks at a restaurant called 206. David Blu (Southern Cal), Chuck, Richard Hendrix(Alabama) and Doron Perkins (Santa Clara). The amount of food was consumed was unreal. Steak, shrimp, Chicken, Hummus, Salad, and more shrimp was on the menu. Everyone continued to order more food at drinks at the expense of the restaurant. Sitting around getting to know the guys was awesome. Four great players from all over the United States, then this guy. Getting to sit there and talk basketball was enjoyable. We had a great game unfold before us as well. A league game against teams that had played this year. Team went up 3 with 5 seconds to go. They fouled as the team got over halfcourt 2 seconds to play.Guy makes the first, misses the 2nd gets his own rebound and scores. Fouled on the play makes another free throw with . 4 seconds. Probably one of the best finishes ive seen to a game in a long time. Ok this blog went way to long. Hopefully i will have time to write tomorrow. 1 i am writing for people to keep up with what im doing. 2 so i will have a record of this forever.

Landed

I landed in Tel Aviv today and was greeted by the twins running up to me in the airport. After a 12hr plus trip, in was 5 pm here Which meant that it was 10am back in the states. The flight last night was exhausting. I watched True Grit actually not that bad. Knight and Day with Diaz and Cruise, also an enjoyable movie and finally Due date which had some parts i was laughing so loud im sure the people around me were wondering what was wrong with me. The biggest thing is it helped past the time. I Didnt do much tonight in Tel Aviv, played with the nephew and niece. Had dinner, steak, potatoes, hummus, shrimp and chicken it was actually pretty good. After the kids went to bed me and my cousin Sam went for a walk. As we walked people would recognize her and say we love Chuck, hes our favorite. Which is cool to see that the town embraces his family in the way that they do.While walking we stopped at some different shops in the local stores.Tested different candies and got some Gatorade, They were different but the one i had was great. We walked down the the medetterian sea, the view was amazing, i look forward to ging back. After we got back to the apartment we decided to drive around Tel Aviv, this is where it got exicting. We drove around to see the herds of prostitutes. I swear to you it looked like a meat market. Maybe 20 women standing around in a big open field as men drove looking for a women that they wanted. They dont go anywhere, they get in the car and do the service right there and then the women is back in the lot working, Really a sight ive never seen before. The strangest part of it all is that its right in the middle of the town. You dont have to go far to see it. When we left there we went one block and saw restaurants and shops. Well the jet lag is killing me right now so im gonna go off to bed.
Hopefully ill post in the next few days or so.

Sean

Im Off

Im hoping to update my blog on my trip of everything that i get to see and do. Im off of my flight tonight to Israel. Ill Be in Israel for a week. From there i go to Rome,Florence and Pisa. Cant wait to get my picture with the leaning tower of Pisa. From Pisa its Hamburg to Berlin. Berlin to Milan. Milan to Paris then Normandy. Then i fly to Dublin to met with my dad for 10 days in Ireland. If your asking yourself how i'm affording this trip. Donna Corrigan of Summerville who smashed into my car back in September. Thanks to her i had the money to buy my plane tickets. Even though she tried to say it was not her fault, luckily state farm put her in place. Then while in Europe ill be using a website called Couch surfing to stay in the different cities.