Europe

It felt good to be back in France, a little warmer, and ever so slightly less expensive than Switzerland. I picked up my bag and was happy to see Magali …

  Geneva, home to luxury watch companies, the Red Cross, and the headquarters of the United Nations in Europe. I chose the latter two for exploration my first afternoon. A …

To break up the train rides, I made a pitstop in Montreux, a town on Lake Geneva in the region dubbed the Swiss Riviera. Vineyards are tucked into the hillsides, …

I checked out of Balmer’s after two nights, resupplied myself with a new bag of assorted chocolate truffles, and checked my e-mail at a posh McDonald’s before going back to …

The train ride to Interlaken allowed me to see my first views of the Swiss countryside, and there was plenty of snow cover, but clouds and fog conspired to hide …

  I used my second full day in Bern to check out the Einstein Museum in the southern part of town. Along the way, I climbed up the cathedral spire …

Laura’s Dad stopped by her apartment as planned, and after talking for a bit, he offered to walk me to the Gare de Lyon where I would catch my high …

On the last day of 2008, I slept late before heading off for a quick visit to the Paris’ modern art museum, the Pompidou. In 1998, it had been closed …

  My first and second visits to Paris were during the summer of 1998.  I saw a lot back then, and was excited to revisit familiar places and new sights …

Gela greeted me bright and early in the morning. Breakfast was white bread topped with chocolate sprinkles, an unheard of combination in the USA, yet apparently the second most popular …

I was tired, but had to be out of my room by 10am. I hung out with Tyler and Dan in the lounge and did some writing before taking the …

The prior morning, Steve had been ejected from his bed and room at 10am, for housecleaning, so I got myself into gear thinking the same policy would be in place …

The Van Gogh hostel is about 15-20 minutes from the city center, but I took my time walking there. Lots of people were out and about, shopping for last minute …

At the Cairo airport, I learned Jetairways was a Belgian discount airline. The 737 was fully booked with Europeans returning home for the holidays. I was completely surrounded by children …

Happy 2009! Thanks to everyone who voted in my poll about where I should go in South America as it’ll be my last opportunity to spend a few weeks in …

Monday, August 31, 1998 Bill and I got up and out at 7 AM, got to the T9 terminal at 8 AM. We found out our tickets were worthless by …

Sunday, August 30, 1998 I woke up ready to go. Unfortunately, I drank some coffee and hot chocolate. Instantly, I felt bowel problems. And since I haven’t learned to go …

Saturday, August 29, 1998 Leaving Canterbury for Dover, England I woke up this morning after some really cool dreams. One involved me and several beautiful women; another was about how …

Thursday, August 27, 1998 I woke up and got to the bus stop in time to choose between the Dublin bus and the Galway bus. I chose to go to …

Wednesday, August 26, 1998 I woke up and headed down to the ferry dock. The sky had cleared overnight, and it was only partly cloudy now. But, the sun was …