New York

Quite a lot has been happening in the month since I last posted, it’s been a month I’ve really enjoyed. Some of the highlights since my last post have been going to Barcelona, Paris, seeing Porcupine Tree in Oxford, and now making a trip to the United States. One lowlight was losing a memory card with 1GB of photos

I had always thought about coming to New York on this trip because it’s so cheap to get to from London, so in October when I knew I would have enough money left, I booked the flight. I arrived November 13th and have explored the city a little bit, been hanging out with Denise, a New Yorker friend I met in Scotland 3 months ago, and have been staying a few nights with Katie’s family in New Jersey.

Yesterday was thanksgiving, we went to Katie’s Aunt and Uncle’s house with lots of the extended family and ate a lot of turkey. I obviously ate too much.

On the second day in NJ it was snowing when I woke up. It was melting as soon as it hit the group, but it was the first time I had been in falling snow. I’m told it’s the first time in years it’s snowed before thanksgiving, so I think I was pretty lucky to be here at the right time.

Then on the third day…

Ice skating at the Rockefeller Center.

Photos from the top of the Rockefeller Center. Weather has been a little disappointing.

It’s good not having to move around every few days and not sit on a train or bus for hours anymore. Coming here is being a nice way to wind down before I go home. I’m here for three weeks, coming home sometime during the weekend of December 8th. Looking forward to returning home and to get back to warm summer.

Karlsruhe

My tour ended last Tuesday. I was getting really tired of it, and especially the other people on the group. 6 weeks was just too long, it went downhill from Mykonos. In Eastern Europe we were only having overnight stops and really long driving days, most of my memory of that part is just a blur, but Istanbul was nice.

I got off in Amsterdam instead of going back to London and had 3 nights there, then went to Berlin for 3 nights. On the train to Berlin I met Katie from New Jersey who I’m now travelling with. Our plans differ a little bit, so we parted ways yesterday while she goes to Switzerland and Italy for a week and I stay in Germany and go to Belgium and the Netherlands again. We are going to meet again in Nice and do the French Riveria and Spain until I go to Oxford on the 7th of November.

Things are much more fun when travelling/exploring places with someone else, my days in Amsterdam were kind of boring by myself (I ended up doing another bike ride in the rain), but we had a blast in Berlin, I would love to go back there and I look forward to seeing her again.

I came to Karlsruhe last night. Tomorrow I go to Brussels, after that I’ll go to Rotterdam and probably Amsterdam again to see stuff I didn’t get to do last time.

My rail pass covers Denmark which I decided not to do anymore as it is too expensive and too cold. It doesn’t cover Spain so I will have to pay for tickets to get there from southern France, it’s not too expensive, around €40. To get back I can get a flight from Barcelona to London for €6 with Ryan Air (it seems too good to be true). I missed out on Barcelona with the tour because I was sick, so I’m happy to be able to go back.

I got a haircut in Istanbul.

At a flea market (flohmarkt) in Berlin.

Fun in Mykonos

For the first two days here in Mykonos I didn’t do much, just hanging around and being lazy.

On Monday, 6 of us hired 3 four wheelers (ATVs) and spent most of the day exploring the island, it was probably the best day so far. At one point we ended up at the port where there were at least 6 huge cruise ships anchored out in the bay. After dinner 3 of us went out again in the dark and found a good track going up to the top of a hill and down the other side. On the way back I was being silly and rolled my bike, a mirror broke off and the front light was a bit crooked. We went up it again on Tuesday morning so we could see the views.

Had to return them Tuesday lunch time, I was pretty nervous when they were inspecting them. The damage cost me 95 euro, but for the fun we had I didn’t mind paying.

In the afternoon I hired a jet ski, that was fun but wasn’t very value for money. It was 40 euro for 20 minutes, where the four wheelers are 20 euro for 24 hours.

After that we tried windsurfing, it was very hard and I was second to give up. My balance wasn’t very good and could barely get it moving and I got sick of falling in the water.

The wind surfing made my right ear block up (the left has already been since swimming on George’s Boat), but after a swim last night they have got a little better, it’s just the right one that’s slightly blocked and no longer hurts.

Today is the last day here, not sure what I’ll be doing, but the last few days have certainly been really good.

Mykonos

I’m now in Greece, first stop was the island of Corfu. We went on a day trip on George’s Boat for water sports and swimming. I got to do parasailing and really enjoyed it.

We then had a night in Athens, went up to the Acropolis, saw the original Olympic stadium where a few from the group ran a lap, being chased by security.

Arrived at our resort in Mykonos last night where we’ll be staying for 6 nights. It is really nice here and is right on the beach. The ferry ride over here was really rough, a few sick people.

This Mykonos part of the tour is different, it’s more independant and you can do your own thing while here. The resort has lots of optional activities you can choose to do.

Mosquitos are really bad here in Greece, I have over 30 bites on each arm and leg, and on my face as well. We slept with outside door open a few times and woke up covered in spots.

Sorry about the lack of updates still. Now that I have a quiet week I’ll get a chance to write more.

Venice

Just spent all day in Venice, didn’t see much of the sights but it was just nice to walk around. Went on a gondola ride and got lots of great photos.

Night before last we went into Monaco and into the Casinò Montecarlo. First time gambling, gained over €100. Won €65 on a pokie machine the first and only time I used it, must be beginners luck.

Had two nights in Cannes, they put us in a really nice hotel over looking the sea. Wasn’t very exciting there, just a stop over with 11 hour driving days before and after it which get very tiring.

Feeling a lot better now, just stuck with the Contiki cough that everyone apparently gets.

Florence tomorrow, then I think Rome.

Update

Quite a lot has happened since Edinburgh. I left the next day and went to York for a few nights. York is a really nice place, it has a river going through it with nice walks along the river side, lots of small old house boats moored along it.

After York I went back to Edinburgh and went on a day tour to the highlands and Loch Ness. Wasn´t very exciting, but did get a photo of the Loch Ness monster, will show that soon.

Went back to London after that and did another day tour, this one went to Stonehenge and Bath. Both great places to visit. Not much at Stonehenge but at least I can say I´ve been there.

Spent a lot of time exploring London more, been to more museums and went to Buckingham Palace at the state rooms open to the public.

European tour started almost a week ago, started with 3 nights in Paris. 2 full days of exploring, went up the Eiffel tour at night.

Went to Arc de Triomphe and the crazy roundabout around it, there is apparently a car accident there every 12 minutes, saw a few near misses. Traffic in Paris is generally chaotic.

Also went to the Catacombs and to the Notre Dame, climbed the stairs to the top of the towers. Had snails for dinner one night and went to a cabaret.

Managed to get into town this evening and met with the group, went to a flamenco and was picked to get up and dance, was not fun while I was sick, got dizzy and almost fell over.

I need to make better use of my diary, I´m sure there is more stuff I can´t think of at the moment. Will try to write more for now on.

Barcelona

This is just a quick note to say I´m still here. Just arrived in very hot Barcelona. Haven´t had any time to get to a computer since the tour started on the 2nd.

I started getting a sore throat in London and on day two in Paris, I got really bad and am still sick. Feels like I´m recovering, had some bad days and been going to bed around 7 for the last two days, missed out on everything with the group in the evening. Dinner is in about 15 mins and I will be going to bed right after.

Hopefully better tomorrow, will write more about what I´ve done and respond to emails in the morning.

Awful train ride

Today I arrived in Edinburgh, after 4 and a half hours standing on an overcrowded train. I think for now on I will check what the rail services are like and reserve a seat if necessary. I got to sit down on the floor for around 30 mins, but that hurt a bit as I’m still recovering from slipping on some wet stairs in London. And the air conditioning wasn’t working so it was freaking hot as well.

I didn’t get around to booking beds here, so I’ve only got one secured for tonight. The place is some kind of flashy 5 star hostel, everything is brand new and fancy, definitely the best one I’ve been to so far. Might try and look at going somewhere a little further out of town tomorrow.

London was really good, looking forward to going back. Pat was right, even 5 years wouldn’t be long enough to explore! There’s so much more I want to do. August is nuisance time to go because it’s so busy, the street outside the wax muesum was packed with people queueing so I gave that a miss.

Lots of photos

See all photos at Flickr. I need to experiment with my camera settings, a lot of them have turned out too dark.

We Will Rock You was good, the plot was a bit unexpected and odd but the performance and music was excellent. Am seeing Avenue Q tonight, going to Edinburgh tomorrow. Will definitely have to stay longer next time in London!

These are all from the Ireland tour, may take some time to load.

London is awesome

Arrived in London late yesterday afternoon. I was a bit nervous about going to the big city and wasn’t sure if I would like it. Now that I am here, I really love the place. There is so much to do, and the underground is piss easy to use, so it’s easy to get around with everything being within walking distance of a station.

I went and saw The Bourne Ultimatum after I checked in, I’ve been looking forward to it’s release ever since I saw the other two Bourne movies. It was really good, left me wanting more at the end. I had a hard time trying to find the cinema, the street it was on had the address numbering going in opposite directions, and I was going by the numbers on the other side of the street to get to the start, so I actually ended up at the wrong end of the street.

After that I tried out the underground for the first time and went to see the London Eye. It’s quite expensive and it was around 10PM so I’ll get on it another time when it’s light. Walked over the River Thames and saw the Big Ben.

On my way to the cinema I went past The Dominion Theatre, where We Will Rock You the musical is being played. I have booked tickets for tomorrow night.

I am currently helping set up the venue for the Stray Cinema screening tonight.