Sunday, June 12, 2011

Wow its really hot on this plane, and uh is that rain

As i left venice i was flying Ryanair which is the low budget airlines of Europe. You can get flights from 20 bucks to 100 dollars to any of there destinations. Problem is that if you check a bag that charge you 15 Euros. Your carry on can only be a certain size and can only weigh 10 kg. I have watched people try to fit there bag, i have even took pictures as a guy jammed his bag into the rack to see if it would fit and 3 guys had to help him get the bag out. Well karma got the best of me, i should have know because im an advocate of My Name is Earl. Anyway so when i weighed my bag it was 15 KG. I then started to put the clothes on my body, Every jacket, shorts and long sleeve shirt i owned was then on. That alone got me down to 11Kg. I then switched my shoes, and put the basketball shoes on and my lighter Nikes into my bag. This plan actually worked, i then waddled my way to the plane and took my seat and sweated the entire trip

When i got to Paris it was almost 11 and i had nowhere to stay, so i did what anyone would do slept outside. I found a residential area and laid down behind a bush up against a gate so i was not visible from the street. It was pretty cold that night but i had a blanket from one of my flights.( the thinnest thing ever) As i was sleeping i was having a dream that i was getting rained on, i then woke up to realize it was raining. Not to bad, but i was prepared and already had my rain gear on so it was okay. I had some cover from a tree and the bushes so i went back to bed. I then had a dream that a dog was peeing on me. I woke up to find out the sprinkler went off next to me, i grabbed my stuff and took of. At 4 30 am i was now ready for the day of Paris. Thanks to the 2 football players they told me to go to Paris early i dont think they meant this early but i was off.

What a beautiful city to walk around and see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Notre Dame before anyone was even awake. While at the Louvre i found out that on Tuesday its actually closed(hmm should looked that up) I then headed back to the eiffel tower to climb to the top. It was about 8 30 and it didnt open until 9. Problem was that they do not have a bag drop and i had all of my stuff with me. I found a restaurant to store my bag and told them that i would then come back and eat there. They charged me a ton for a soda, but at least i got to the top of the Eiffel tower. The view is amazing, the way Paris is laid out is amazing to see. I will say something else that was wild to see was people fears of heights, to see them clinging to walls and not wanting to be near the edge.

Well im hoping to write another at the airport tonight, we shall see how that goes.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Milan no wait Venice

After Germany i was booked to go to Milan, on the way i decided that i no longer wanted to go there. So when i got to Milan i got on a bus for Venice. So off i went to a city i had no idea what i was gonna do when i got there. I found a camp site that for 9 euros a night i could stay. The tent is actually pretty nice, has a bunk bed and a twin bed. It was a short bus ride outside of venice. When i arrived i headed to the city and walked around, its somewhere i think everyone should visit. however if your not on a honeymoon or a trip with a special someone Venice is ahh okay. Still cool to see how people live there lives without cars everyday. The gondola rides i would say are at best a tourist thing. You see on movies how great it looks, the guy in his outfit rowing the boat and the music is playing. Well all i saw was a guy rowing but definitly wasnt playing any music, usually they were talking on a cell phone and rowing LOL.


This was the halfway point of my trip, the campground had a pool and a bit of a workout room. I took advantage and laid out by the pool and got a workout in. At night i talked through the walls to my neighbor tent and talked to a couple from canada. They had quit there jobs as engineers and were traveling for one year. They were great, and so was a American couple that i met from Vegas. That night we had dinner at the restaurant, they had drinks and cooked some sausages on the grill, really a great time. I have been very fortunate to met some great people. My luck on the trip continues to flow.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Brr- Lin

My time in berlin and were a great success thanks to the people that hosted. Couchsurfing went great, i didn't have to stay at any hostel, and had great experiences with the people. In hamburg it was very cold, i did a lot of walking. To be honest not to much to report on this city, i had a great host who made homemade pasta which was amazing. After hamburg it was off to Brr-Lin.





In Germany i was really hoping to drive on Auto-bahn, but i do not have good news to report on that. Most people dont have a car, most have bikes and travel faster then a car in the cities. When they travel they use public transportation, its more of a privilege to own a car here. The couch surfing host i stayed with in Berlin were a crew to say the least. 4 American girls and 1 guy who basically have a revolving door of people come through there house. They definitely embrace the idea of couchsurfing to the fullest. The guy andrew who lived there gave me a pass to get into almost any museum in Berlin for free, so i took advantage of that. I loved that guys were on the street selling bratwurst for 1 Euros. then at night we all went out to a bar that had Belgium music. That was something to see, that music is definitely not for me. The best part about the night was after you drank your beer you took it to the bar for a 50cent refund. Andrew and I were rounding up bottles off all the bar, most were empty, some not as much but we dumped them out. So i ended up making money that money after going to the Bar.





In Germany you can return any bottle, water, beer and get anywhere from 5cents to 25 cents back. On way home from bar Andrew and i decided that it would be best to walk for some reason. We somehow stole a shopping cart and went around collecting empty bottle we could find. The cart after the 30-45 minute walk was pretty full. Not gonna lie i was pretty proud of myself, think of the chocolate milk i was gonna buy with that money. Unfortunately certian bottles do not give you money back. So for our hours work of collecting bottles that night we each got 20cents. Whomp Whomp Whomp.The next day we took off early to a concentration camp. That was an amazing experience, people talk about Osama bin Laden but he cant hold a candle to Hitler. What he did was ruthless, is unreal and to see a taste of that first hand was something to see. Later in the day i went to a Holocaust Museum, to read the stories of the people was touching. That day i also go to see what is left of the Berlin Wall, another site to see. The artwork that is up on the wall is awesome to see. The wall being that gives you a glimpse into what life was like only 20 years ago. Right now I'm in Dublin enjoying that, hopefully another blog tomorrow to catch up.