Europe Trip Wrap Up

Well, I've let life get in the way a little bit over the last few weeks and haven't had the chance to type a final wrap up to my trip. So here it goes...

We changed our plans over the last few days of our trip because it became extremely hot and both Chris and I were beached out by that point. Mykonos was an interesting city. Very charming, but extremely expensive. There were a lot of shops and bars, but the island itself definitely wasn't our favorite. Supposedly the port city in Mykonos was designed so if pirates ever invaded, they would be confused by the layout and get lost inside the city. Therefore making it difficult to pillage. Well, as you can imagine, this city is very difficult for the average person to navigate also. There are no street signs and it's just a never ending rat maze of high white walls. Given the extreme heat, this got pretty annoying after about 10 minutes on the island.

The best memory I have of Mykonos was walking around at night. Down by the dock we came across a greek band with greek dancers dancing around to the music. We sat and watched the show (which was very exciting) and after a while a woman starting handing out cups of wine for no charge. It was just another one of those moments where I felt we were really submersing ourselves in the greek culture.

After two days on Mykonos we were tired of the heat so instead of taking a flight from Mykonos to Corfu, we changed our trip and went back to Athens. There we stayed with friends for a couple days and helped them paint a boxcar that they had converted to a little bedroom for visitors to sleep in. Don't ask me how a boxcar came to reside on their property because I haven't the slightest idea. That's just one of those charming cultural things that transcends countries. Pretty much every country in the world has some people who will keep really weird shit on their lawn.

Anyways, that was our last few days on the trip. The only other drama happened with our transportation on the way back to the States. I had no issues with my flight, but my friend Chris bought his ticket through Orbitz and somehow they ended up dropping his connecting flight from Athens to Frankfurt. Therefore, there was no way he could have made all of his other connecting flights. Fortunately, the U.S. Airways rep was willing to work with him a bit and actually let him try to get on standby on my flight to Philadelphia. Then from there he could get on standby on a flight to Dallas. Then from Dallas he could get on standby on a flight to Austin Texas (where he lives). It was a pretty ridiculous way to get home, but remarkably he was able to get on every single flight. Unfortunately, his checked luggage wasn't quite so lucky. Sadly, it didn't make it past Philadelphia and he had to wait a few days for them to deliver it to his place in Austin. But after around four weeks of traveling, I think we were both just happy to be back home. Personally, I came back with a new appreciation for the people in my life and the opportunities I've been given thus far in my short two and a half decades on this earth.

In closing, this trip was truly a trip of a lifetime for me. I have so many great memories of the places I saw and great people I met. It was an exciting adventure for me and I have no regrets. I only hope that those reading this blog will take that leap and travel someplace that will get you outside of your comfort zone and change your perspective on the world.

As I type type this blog entry, a great Mark Twain quote popped into my head that I feel really does a great job summing up my thoughts about traveling... he said: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

We owe it to ourselves as human beings to see all that this great world has to offer. This was hopefully one of many trips to come for me down the road. Over the next couple years I'm going to do my best to throw off those bowlines and challenge myself to continue exploring different countries and cultures. I believe that everyone needs to make the time for exploration and discovery because it's the only way we will ever truly understand who we are and who we are meant to become.

Traveler Log: The Magical Wormholes of Crete

Yesterday, Chris and I rented mopeds early in the day and rode around the the central part of Crete for most of the morning. It was quite an adventure to say the least. We started off going down and around the beautiful wine country along the coast of central Crete which was amazing. However, as the morning progressed, more traffic came on the road and it ended up being more difficult to stick together. At one point we somehow ended up on the expressway zooming along on our little mopeds at about 80 km/h. It was borderline insane to say the least and we are probably lucky to be alive considering that was the first time either of us had ever drove a moped. At about 12:30 we made it back to the hotel and at that point we had rode our mopeds for about 4 hours straight including about a half an hour to forty five minutes on the highway (which is much more stressful).

During the afternoon, Chris and I split up for a while and I wandered around the neighborhood near our hotel. One thing that we consistently laughed about was how profoundly impossible it was to navigate Heraklion (central Crete) using a map. Their roads seem to go in every direction and randomly change names at the most inopportune times. Another thing that was also frustrating was that all their street signs are written in greek letters and all the maps they printed have roman letters, so they frequently don't even come close to matching.

However, remarkably, after walking for a bit, you always seem to end up where you wanted to go. This is most likely because it's not that big of a city, but we have the running joke that it's because of magical Cretan wormholes. A day ago we walked around the city looking for a particular fountain that had five lion heads on it. After walking for about a half an hour we managed to come across it. However, when we wandered about yesterday we found that same fountain in the same public square was only two blocks from our hotel. In all the cities on all the islands we have visited so far, navigation hasn't been a problem at all. But in Crete it seems like you can walk down one road at different times of the day and end up in a different place each time. It's almost comical.

So our new slogan for Crete is.... "Come to the island of Crete... where you'll always get where you're going".

One thing that we really loved about this stop was it's authenticity. Where we were staying on this island wasn't as touristy as other islands. You rarely heard people speaking anything but Greek and the atmosphere really made it seem like a small grecian city instead of a tourist destination.

All in all it was a fun day but I learned a few things about myself and the island of Crete.
1) I'm not really a motorcycle/moped guy
2) Drivers in Greece are pretty much all insane and drive however they want.
3) Crete has magical teleporting wormholes everywhere.

Our next stop is Mykonos for a couple days and then Corfu. We're currently riding the FlyingCat 4 zipping across the Aegean Sea towards another new and exciting city.

Traveler Log: Journey to Crete

The last couple days have been spent enjoying the sun and reading outside. I can't remember the last time I had the opportunity to just sit and think about nothing except the book that I'm reading. I've literally spent hours on end outside by the pool finishing a few books that I hadn't had a chance to read. One was a recommendation by one of my co-workers called the Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer. I must say, it took me a little while to get into this book, but after I got over the beginning slowness I couldn't put it down. I read most of it in the last day or so and I highly recommend it. It's really a story about growing up and trying to handle the obstacles that get thrown in your way along the journey of life. It addresses the core themes of life that every great novel/memoir (love, family, friends, death, and finding purpose/meaning). There are plenty of references to literary masterpieces throughout the book as well and the parallels drawn between the Great Gatsby (one of my favorite books of all time) and this story are frequently referenced throughout the story and are fairly obvious. In any case, it's definitely worth the read.

I'm suddenly finding myself out of books to read already on this trip, so I'm starting to borrow some from my traveling companion. Fortunately, one of us realized how important it was to have a large selection of books and he decided to bring a small library to read (even though it added about 10 pounds to his pack). I'm probably going to reread On the Road by Jack Kerouac one more time (because it's another one of my favorites) and then dive into the History of God from my buddies collection.

Today we spent three quarters of the day chilling out in Santorini and then hopped a ferry to Crete. We arrived in Crete at about 7:45 p.m. and then proceeded to walk around for a while in an effort to find our hotel. We are staying at the Kastro Hotel (which happens to be really nice) and it's only costing us about 25 euros a piece per night. So I really can't complain. It took us a while to find our hotel, but while we were searching we met another back packer named Joe (We'll call him Massachusetts Joe because he has a really thick Boston accent) and he was also searching for a place to stay. We decided to look around together and we actually grabbed some dinner tonight with him. As it turns out, he has been traveling for the last 4 weeks and has hit every place from Switzerland to Turkey and down to the Greek Islands. We have plans to meet up with Massachusetts Joe tomorrow morning and see the Archaeological Museum then possibly tour a few other sites on this island.

To top it all off, this hotel has the first free internet connection that we've come across in Europe. Up until now I've had to either pay for internet (usually 3 euros for an hour) or "creatively" find other means to access free internet. I've tried to balance it out as much as possible so I don't feel too much like a criminal.

Anyways, so far the free form part of our trip has gone off without any issues (knocking on wood). The ferries have been great and on time, the hostels/hotels have been clean and friendly, and the weather has been phenomenal. So on that note, I'm going to stop pushing my luck and call it a night.

Traveler Log: Santorini

It's officially been a day and a half on Santorini and I have to say that I'm loving this island. Yesterday the ferry brought us in without a hitch and our Hostel picked us up at the port. The Hostel is called San Giorgino Villas and it costs 20 euros a night. A young married couple runs the place and it is exceptional to say the least. First off, the owners are amazing. From the minute we checked in they walked us through all the different things we could see on the island and local recommendations for everything from food to island cruises. They also took extra time to explain the different beaches and the best ones to hit up. Second, the lodging accomodations are fantastic as well. They gave us a private room with a private bathroom and our room opens up right to this private pool that no one really knows about. The location of the Hostel is also ideal as it's right off the main square in Thira (the main town on Santorini).

The island itself is quaint and has a much different feel than the island of Capri (which we visited earlier in the trip). It doesn't feel like a rich snobby island, but more of a haven for middle class younger adults. There are a few expensive restaurants, but it seems most are priced fairly reasonably. There are a string of shops and scooter rentals pretty much every place. To get to the various beaches you have to take about a 20 minute bus ride to the east and west coasts of the island. So far, we've hit up almost every beach. We've been to the red sand beaches, black sand beaches, and white sand beaches. So needless to say, we are really working hard since we got here.

Tonight we took a sunset cruise (per the recommendation of our hostel owner) and it was phenomenal. It was a five hour boat cruise for approximately 30 euro and it was worth every penny.

The first stop on this boat tour was the volcano. We docked at the edge of the volcano and hiked up to the top. I have to say, it was not as impressive as I was hoping. Today it got up to about 90 degrees or so and it really wasn't too much fun walking across a barren wasteland of black rock. The hike was extremely grueling and the view from the top (while impressive) wasn't really worth the exhausting hike.

After we got back to the boat, we waited for everyone to finish walking around and then set sail for the hot springs near the volcano but on another smaller island. I really enjoyed this part of the trip. The guide let us jump off the ship into the Aegean Sea (about a 15 foot leap) into the cold water. After we jumped, he put the ladder down for everyone else so they could lower themselves in. From the boat it was about a 50 meter swim to the hot springs. It was more like the luke warm springs because the Aegean Sea keeps the temp at about 30 degrees celsius. But it was still pretty cool nonetheless. At that point, the cool water felt great after our long volcano climb about a half an hour earlier.

After playing in the ocean for a little longer, we swam back to the boat and set sail for another small island where we docked for about an hour and had some wine and cheese. Then we set sail once again and watched the most amazing sunset I have ever seen in my entire life. We cruised around the Aegean Sea as the sun was slowly setting just to the left of Santorini.

It was definitely one of those moments in life that I will never forget. I think I can actually die a little happier (hopefully not for a long time though) now that I've seen probably one of the most beautiful places on this earth. As the sun was dropping into the sea, the captain turned off the engines and a serene hush fell over the boat. No one talked for a good few minutes while we all attempted to internally process the beauty that we were watching. It was an incredibly moving moment that even caught me a little by surprise. It's nice to know that our planet can still inspire us and leave us breathless with an amazing sunset that makes us appreciate how lucky we are to be alive.

Traveler Log: Ferry to the Islands

Today George proved once again that greek hospitatility is truly amazing. He was nice enough to wake up early with us this morning and drive us to Piraeus (the port where our ferry leaves for Santorini). As I type this we are on the Hellenic Seaways Highspeed 5 ferry to Santorini. It left Piraeus at approximately 7:20 a.m. and we should be getting into Santorini around noon. I've been really impressed with all the ferries so far. The one we are currently on has very large seats and you can barely feel the boat moving at it jets along at amazing speeds. We've been very fortunate to have good weather so far on the ferry rides as well. It is once again a crystal clear day with calm waters.

The plan for today is pretty simple. I've arranged for our hostel to pick us up at the port and then from there we are going to check in and then hit the beach and relax for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, we are going to rent a couple mopeds and make our way around the island. Should be a pretty laid back couple of days. With all the walking and sight seeing we've been doing over the last week and a half or so, it will be nice to relax a little bit and do some swimming in the Aegean sea.

Traveler Log: Athens Day 2

Today we caught the noon metro back into Athens and spent another solid day walking around the city. We had already hit most of the sites we wanted to see, so this trip was just to get a better feeling for the city and do some walking around the Athens flea market. It was an incredibly warm day, but that didn't hold us back. We walked for probably around 7 hours straight, cris-crossing the city. Stopped at a little cafe in Athens and sat outside enjoying some good sandwiches as well as a fredocino (basically a better version of a frapacino). We then hiked up the highest hill in Athens and took in the amazing view from the top of the city. Like most large hills, there was a small church called St. George at the top of this one. The view from this hill offered dramatic 360 degree views of the entire city. We rested up their a while and then proceeded to make the trek down.

Finally, we headed back to the flea market to make a couple more passes to see if we could find any souvenirs to take back that wouldn't be trinkety. We didn't end up buying anything and decided to hold off until we see what kind of stuff we can get on the islands. After that we sat in one of the many squares in Athens and people watched for an hour or so while the sun went down. We waited until we could get a decent night shot of the Acropolis and then hopped on the metro and headed back home around 9:30. Once we got there, Marcy had made us a great pasta dinner and we ate outside on their veranda at about 11:00. We stated up late into the evening with George and Marcy drinking great wine and discussing philosophy, science, and the curiosity of man.

Once again it was another amazing evening on this trip that I won't soon forget.

Traveler Log: Athens Day 1

Today we received a tour of Athens and spent some quality time touring the Acropolis area. It really is amazing all that the Greeks were able to accomplish at the peak of their civilization. Their contribution and legacy to the world will always be present within us and their culture influences almost every society around the world in one way or another.

Our tour finished up around noon and Chris and I walked around the city for a while more. We saw the changing of the guard in front of the Greek parliament and wandered through one of the larger parks in the city. After that we headed back in the general direction of our hotel and came across a small cafe. We decided to stop there for lunch and I ate some spanakopita (spinach pie).

After that we got lost for a while on the streets of Athens. In many ways it reminds me of Boston with no basic street grid system. Streets can start out going one direction and end up going a completely different direction by the end of it. Plus there are a lot of little side streets that are worth exploring so it's easy to get turned around.

We eventually got our bearings again and headed back to the hotel for an afternoon nap (we are trying to embrace the culture as much as possible). Similar to many cultures around the world, the Greeks usually take a siesta type break after lunch and most shops close down for a little while. We hung around the hotel a bit and then headed out for the final dinner with our tour group. The dinner was at another small greek taverna with live music. Every half hour or so they had greek dancers come out to perform a little show next to our table. We had some delicious soulvaki for the main entree as well as a lot of wine. Afterwards many of us went out to a club in Athens and stayed out until the early morning hours drinking and having a great time.

So that is officially the end of our tour and now we are on our own. We're checking out of our hotel this morning and going to stay with some friends in Athens for a couple days. Then we began our island hopping adventure. Opa!

Traveler Log: Outside the Athens City Limits

The last couple days have been truly enjoyable. We've been staying in a villa just outside of Athens with friends of Chris's family (named Marcy and George). They have been extremely hospitable and both of them seem to embody the attitude and personality I expected from native Greeks.

The first night we were there they picked us up from the metro station nearest to their house and then took us for a late dinner (around 10:45). Since most people in Greece eat dinner quite late, this was not out of the ordinary. The place they took us to will be something that will stay with me for quite a long time when I think back about this trip. They made reservations at a nice little outdoor restaurant that sits just along the Aegean sea. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing. It was a topas type restaurant where you order multiple appetizers and share them among your group. The food was hands down some of the best greek food I've ever eaten.

We had everything from domathis to spanakopita plus several things I have never eaten before. Of course all this was served with a considerable portion of wine (which Greeks seem to drink at almost every meal). I'm not a big wine person, but even the wine here is phenomenal. After we started working our way through the copious amounts of food that had been laid out in front of us, a greek band came on and started to play live music.

At this point it was about 11:30 (on Sunday night keep in mind) and people were just starting to trickle in for dinner and drinks. The local band was absolutely amazing. I can't even begin to describe the musical style that they performed because I have never heard anything like it. They had traditional a traditional bouzouki guitar, a regular guitar, keyboard, and bongos. Plus an amazing female vocalist. Everything was sang in Greek of course, but George was kind enough to translate some of the lyrics for us as they were playing. The music was filled with tragedy, drama, heartbreak, and hope. The poetry wrapped in these songs was like nothing I've ever heard before. I never realized how poetic the greek people can be when writing about their lives.

After about a half an hour into the show, it really started to get interesting. There were two large tables in front of the band filled with people probably in their early to mid twenties. Suddenly, the bongo player came off the stage with this bongs and hopped on their table and started cranking out a bongo solo like no other. Then the female singer started the lyrics and the guitar players came in, in dramatic fashion. All the people at this table seemed to know the lyrics to this song and several extremely attractive greek women hopped up on the table and started dancing as well. It was just amazing to watch. The guys at the table then took some more women from the table and started greek dancing in front of the band. Then they started selling flowers that were to be thrown at the dancers while dancing. After they finished that, the men and women split off and one of them began doing a solo dance while the others knelt in front of him singing and encouraging him. They each took turns doing this and then the women did the same. It was an unreal experience to watch how differently these people in their twenties party in their culture. In America I can't really even fathom a restaurant that would allow people to get on their table and start dancing. It made me feel like in a lot of ways we really don't know how to truly celebrate life in our culture and have a good time. There are too many rules and restrictions around everything that we never can really break free and celebrate like we all should.

After a fantastic evening, we left the restaurant at around 1:30 a.m. and the party was still going strong. A lot of people were actually just starting to come out at 1:30 a.m. Most of the bars and restaurants along the sea are open until 6:00 a.m.

We ended our evening at about 2:15 a.m. and slept really well with the windows open enjoying the warm breeze coming off the Aegean Sea.

Traveler Log: Travel to Athens

Two days ago we left the port of Brindisi on the Italian coast and hopped on to the ferry for Greece. Both Chris and I were really surprised at how nice these ferries actually were. It was basically like taking a little cruise ship across the Adriatic Sea. The trip took approximately 18 hours and gave us all a chance to relax a little. We have had really good luck with the weather in Europe so far. The days have been sunny and warm while the nights have been clear and cool with a quiet breeze. Because of this, the Adriatic Sea was so calm that it seemed like the boat was sailing on glass. A couple hours after we left the port, we watched the sun slowly plunge into the endless sea. While watching this breathtaking sunset, you couldn't help but appreciate life and all the moments that have led you to that one.

I really feel like I'm starting to understand the mindset of both the Italians and Greeks. They truly know how to live and appreciate the small things in life. I think that's something all Americans can do better. Slowing down every once and a while and really taking time to appreciate the journey we are all taking through life together is something that should be cherished and encouraged. After all, each of us is defined by a series of moments that make us who we are and determine who we will become. If we are always thinking about the destination without really appreciating the moments along our journey, true happiness will end up evading us our entire lives.

Throughout the boat ride I spent most of the time on the deck under their covered veranda reading and relaxing. We had a small cabin with an even smaller bathroom, but the only thing we really did in there was sleep. Most of our time was spent top side enjoying the ride across the sea. There was a small cafeteria on the ship and the food was surprisingly good and not too expensive. We had some decent mousaka for dinner. The breakfast was a little lackluster, but that has been our experience across europe so far.

After the boat ride we hopped on a bus and arrived in Athens at about 4:00 P.M. After unwinding a little at our hotel, we walked around the city. Our hotel is right downtown which is really fantastic. We walked through the streets of Athens appreciating the little shops and cafes. There were definitely a lot of people walking about and enjoying the nice day in the city (random sidenote: One thing that I learned which surprised me is the main industry that supports modern day Athens is tourism). We walked by the ruins of the original Athens city wall and admired the Acropolis from a distance. The Acropolis is truly the core of Athens. It's perched on one of the highest hills in the city and you can see it from everywhere you go.

That evening we had dinner together with our tour group at a traditional greek taverna. Our group is a lot of fun and as we are nearing the end of our trip, I feel like we are all connecting as we share this amazing experience. They served mousaka as the main dish at the restaurant along with wine, salad, and gelato at the end of the meal. Afterwards we wandered around the city with a few people from our group and found another quiet taverna outside some more ruins of the city wall and grabbed a few drinks. Athens is amazingly beautiful at night. The Acropolis is brilliantly lit up and there is this quiet excitement in the air everywhere you go. After taking it all in and enjoying good conversation with some of our tour mates, we ended the evening at around 1:00 a.m. and walked back to our hotel.

Traveler Log: Pompeii

Today is mainly a travel day as we take a bus from Sorrento to the east cost of Italy and pick up the Adriatic Ferry to Athens. However, we do get one stop over for a couple hours in the city of Pompeii. We just finished touring through the amazing city of Pompeii and since we have some down time while we are commuting across Italy, I figured I would type this up.

In case you don't know the story behind Pompeii, I'll give you the two second summary. Pompeii is an ancient city, about a 45 minute drive outside of Rome, that experienced a catastrophe of epic proportions when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and covered the city with 20 to 75 feet of ash. Because of this eruption many people died horrifically suffocating as the ash covered everything around them.

The ash from this eruption amazingly preserved the city and many of its inhabitants. Our group took a guided tour of the city and it was interesting to see how intact so much of it actually remained. Obviously, they have done a lot of restoration as well, but the main structure of the city still stands. Upon finding this site originally, historians were able to learn a plethora of information about how these people lived. It's a truly remarkable place with amazing architecture (for that period). Additionally, it was one of the first cities to use pipes for water transfer between houses, fountains, and bars. Granted, these pipes were made out of lead, so lead poisoning was most likely a very frequent cause of death. But using pipes in this fashion shows that Pompeii was many years ahead of it's time.

That's all I have for now. We pick up the ferry at 7:00 P.M. and get to Athens around 12:30 P.M. tomorrow. So it's going to be a long ride, but I think a lot of us are looking forward to just taking some time to relax a little while we take the overnight ferry. So on to Athens!

Traveler Log: Isle of Capri

Today we caught a ferry from Sorrento to the beautiful and stunning Isle of Capri. My first take on the Isle of Capri is that it really is a playground for the rich. The main part of the island is filled with designer clothing stores and shops with a variety of expensive trinkets. Obviously, at first glance I wasn't too excited about this place (this will come as no surprise to those of you that know me). However, once you get out from the main areas and start walking to the other parts of the island, it definitely felt less like a tourist trap and more like an exotic island off the coast of Italy. The cliche phrase "never judge a book by it's cover" seems to come to mind right now.

We left Sorrento at about 8:30 a.m, and took about an hour ferry ride over to the Isle of Capri. Once you dock there, you have to take a five minute cable car ride up to the actual city of Capri. Once there you are let out into the mother of all tourist traps. You're immediately surrounded on all sides by white affluent individuals and families looking for the latest expensive trinket to add to their massive collection of "things they don't need" back home in their million dollar mansions. Immediately after seeing this, Chris and I heard about some various island ruins on the eastern coast, so we started following the main road out of the city towards the east.

A fun little side fact about this island is that it doesn't allow cars (mainly because the roads are so small and the buildings are so close to each other). However, instead of being plagued by cars, this island has little golf cart like utilities vehicles. When you are in the main part of the city, one goes wizzing by you every 30 seconds or so.

So we walked on foot through the city and then the outskirts. The path took us pretty much straight up a cliff side winding back and forth. It's hard to guess how far we walked because there were so many stairs, but we definitely got our exercise for the day. At the top of this large hillside, the view was just unreal. Italy is hands down the most beautiful place I've ever experienced. At the top of this hillside we came across a small Italian restaurant (the island has these little restaurants all over the place). We sat down for a leisurely meal and had some of the best handmade stuffed Ravioli that I've ever eaten (for quite a reasonable price I might add). Oh, and I should also mention that this restaurant was right on the edge of the cliffside overlooking the island and Mediterranean Sea. We got their early enough and we were able to get a table right on the edge of the veranda. The view while eating was beyond beautiful.

After finishing up with our meal, we were able to get our second wind and we headed towards the Jovias ruins. These ruins served as the home for one of the Roman emperors. It was once again quite a long walk up the hillside but it was well worth it once we hit the top. The view literally took your breath away. The contrast of the giant cliffsides and the deep blue Mediterranean Sea, was stunning. It didn't seem like many people get up that high due to all the walking involved, but in my mind, that was really the highlight of the Isle of Capri.

After we saw a little more of the ruins, we headed back down the hillside and back to the dock to catch our ferry home at about 6:00 p.m. We did get there a little early, so we took our time and grabbed some gelato and did some people watching before hopping on the ferry home.

All in all it was a tiring but fun day. Capri is an amazing island and for anyone who likes to hike around a place with breathtaking views, it's well worth a stop.

Traveler Log: Sorrento

We drove about three hours this morning past Naples and to the city of Sorrento in southern Italy. Checked into our hotel called Hotel Albatross, which planly makes reference to the placement of this city in Homer's Odyssey story. According to legend, it was near Sorrento that the Sirens of Homer's Odyssey epic lived and sang/attacked unsuspecting boats.

The town itself looks like it hasn't changed in a couple hundred years. The Sorrento area is made up of six villages but it's very hard to tell the separate areas apart. The city offers sweeping views of the Mediteranean Sea and a breathtaking shot of Mount Vesuvius (one of the most explosive volcanoes in the world). This evening we ate right around sunset on the patio of a good little Italian place that overlooked the ocean and Mt. Vesuvius in the background. It was amazing to say the least. We also had the opportunity to really sit down to a nice dinner with several individuals from all over the world that are part of our tour group. It's quite a great cultural mix. The countries represented by the individuals in our tour include England, Australia, Canada, Brazil, France and the U.S. So while we were having this great dinner overlooking the Mediterranean, we also had a chance to talk about everything from cultural oddities to politics. Afterwards, about 20 of us went to a little pub down the street and drank until late in the evening.

All in all it was an extremely fun day of meeting new people and experiencing new cultures.

Traveler Log: Rome - Day 2

"We only take licenses from Alabama." - Comment by the attendant at the Vatican as my buddy Chris gave him his drivers license from Texas as collateral for renting two audio guides. He said this with so much seriousness it took us both a few seconds to get that he was actually joking.

Today we visited the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and the Costillo Catacombs. The Vatican Museum was amazing. We had to wait in line for about an hour and forty five minutes to get in, but it was well worth the wait. Although, I was pretty surprised to see the collection that the Vatican had of non-christian art as well. They devote a surprisingly large portion of the museum to greek myths and egyptian art. The sculptures from the various time periods are just phenomenal. But now that I've seen both the Louve and the Vatican, I have to say that I actually think the Louve has a considerably larger Christian art collection.

We finished with the Vatican around 1:30 and grabbed a late leisurely lunch just outside the city. The weather was phenomenal today so once again we ate outside and enjoyed the weather and people watching in an alley off of one of the main roads in Rome. The italian food was once again phenomenal. After that we navigated our way around the public transit system and headed to the southeast corner of the city to check out the Costillo Catacombs. These catacombs are the largest in Rome. On our way there we accidentally got off the bus a few stops early, so we decided to walk the rest of the way (about 2 km). To our surprise, we realized that the road we were walking down was the only Roman road that was mentioned by name in the bible. It's one of the oldest roads in all of Rome. Sometimes it's hard to properly grasp and soak in the history of a road like this when we come from a country that is so young. Once we got to the catacombs we met up with some other guys from our tour group (they are from Calgary Canada) and decided to take the walking tour. It was extremely cool, but the tour itself was pretty lack luster (only lasting about 20 minutes).

Finally, Chris and I left the catacombs with the Canadian's and then we stopped at a couple mom and pop grocery stores to grab some bread, cheese, wine, and fresh fruit for dinner. Then we headed back to the hotel and ate outside on the open air veranda at our hotel. Tomorrow, we get up early and head to Sorrento and take some time to soak up sun and swim in the ocean.

Traveler Log: Rome - Day 1

The flight from Philadelphia to Rome was fairly uneventful. There was a slight hour and a half delay, but at this point I was just happy to get off the ground and to Rome's international airport. After I landed, my luggage came through and I took a taxi to the hotel. Since I decided not to sleep before my flight to Philadelphia (and I didn't sleep much on the plane), I've probably gotten about three hours of sleep in the last 36 hours. But strangely I'm more excited than tired to be half way around the world experiencing a city that I've never seen before. Once I landed, I dropped off my luggage at the hotel and grabbed a bus then the Metro (subway) from Corellia to the Termni station. One there, I transfered trains and went to the Colesseo stop to see the Colosseum and the surrounding areas. Thanks to one of my co-workers (we'll call her "J") for letting me borrow that great map of Rome. That really came in handy today while navigating the public transportation system in the city. I found it a little odd that unlike most cities, Rome doesn't have train routes prominently displayed throughout the stations. So if you don't have a map ahead of time, it can get tricky to navigate if you don't stay on your toes. As you come out of the Metro station, the enormous Colosseum is directly in front of you. The building (or what's left of it) is truly a testament to the power of the Roman empire. I must say that it was more run down than I expected, but learning about the history of the building and the brutal combat that took place within those walls, really opened my eyes to the brutality of that age.

Then this evening Chris and I started walking from our hotel through a park called the Villa Doria Pamphill just southwest of the city. We didn't really have a plan, we just picked a direction and headed towards the city. This park was vast and beautiful to say the least. It was hard to believe that just a few miles to the East was the city of Rome. After walking a mile or so through the park we got into the city and started wandering through small alleyways and found a quaint little Italian restaurant. One of the many nice things about this place was that it was way off the beaten path from the standard tourist traps. We sat outside and leisurely ate some great pasta dishes with a few glasses of beer. Then started walking deeper into the cities through more alleyways and came across a variety of small local bars. We didn't stop at any tonight because we wanted to explore the city and see the sights at night. This allowed us to catch-up on things and get some great shots of Rome at night.

We walked for miles around the city crossing the Tiber river several times until our feet couldn't take us any further. We headed back shortly after that and now I'm definitely ready to crash. So this is it for now. It was a good first day in Rome and a promsing start to seeing this fine city.

Traveler Log: Domino Effect

Well, the first day of my month long vacation didn't exactly go as planned. Here is a recap:
1) Flight was delayed in Minneapolis due to high winds in my connecting city of Philadelphia
2) Boarded flight after a two hour delay, taxied out to the runway then flight was delayed again due to a computer glitch in the FAA scheduling system. Returned to the terminal.
3) The subsequent delay caused me to miss my connection from Philadelphia to Rome.
4) The only available flight from Philly to Rome was the same flight on the following day, so I rebooked all my airfare with a slight twist. The Minneapolis to Philadelphia leg of the trip was booked solid the following day, so I had to take the 5:30 a.m. flight to Philadelphia.
5) The U.S. Airways customer service representative (who were all complete ass holes about the situation) then informed that that I would have to wait for an hour and a half before I could get my checked bag off the plane.
6) Finally got my bag back then took the Light Rail back from the Airport to Downtown. Half way there at Lake Street the conductor informed us that a women was hit by the light rail and the tracks ahead were closed. So we had to leave the train and board a bus that would drop us off at the Metrodome. This added an extra hour to the trip from the airport to downtown. Instead of walking from the Metrodome to my apartment with all my gear, I hailed a cab and got a ride across town.
7) Finally made it back to my apartment in Minneapolis for the night. Decided to make the most of it and met up with some people downtown to do some drinking in an effort to try and forget the many many unfortunate events that transpired today.
8) Decided not to go to bed because my flight to Philadelphia was so early. So I flew to Philadelphia at 5:30 a.m this morning (only available flight through U.S. Airways). Now I'm waiting in the International terminal for my flight to Rome which doesn't leave for another 8 hours.

After typing that all up, it almost feels like I'm writing a fictional story. I guess the good thing is that I am actually laughing as I sit here and write the details about all the unfortunate events that have transpired over the last day and a half.

I figure there is no real point in getting frustrated or mad because all of these things are completely out of my control.

I'm going to miss one day in Rome with our tour, but with any luck, I'll hopefully be able to meet up with them when I get into Rome at 8:40 a.m. tomorrow. So this is not exactly the way I wanted to start this trip. But I'm trying to take it in stride.

I can only hope that the trip from here on out will be a lot smoother.