Photos!

Just kidding!

Happy Haloween to all you North Americans. I'm jealous, they don't do Haloween over here :(

As for me, after a freezing cold day in Madrid, I caught the night train to Lisbon, and what a cool city this is. My first day I went to Casa do Roca (I don't know exactly how you spell it), Europe's western-most point and just a really cool place if you like massive cliffs jutting out into the sea and viscious waves crashing in on the shore. I have some great pics, but you'll all probably have to wait until I get back to Haliax before you see them.

Other than that, I've been roaming around Lisbon. They have a cool old town and an even cooler new town where they held Expo 98 and where I happen to be staying. It's neat to go from super-modern to super-ancient architecture. There's an old castle right in the heart of the city which gives amazing views. Also (and this is where my true engineer-iness comes to light), there's a really cool set of museums about Lisbon's water distribution system. I went to visit what I think is the biggest aquaduct in the world yesterday, built in the 1700s, as well as some neat water reservoirs and a steam pumping station.

Today, I visited this huge Christ monument across the harbour from Lisbon (more fantastic views), as well a Tile Museum, which was cooler than it sounds.

And with that, I'm signing off for another night. You'll probably hear from me again before I catch my flight home. But if not, I'll talk to you all on the 7th from Halifax.

Barcelona Bites!

So my second morning in Barcelona I wake up covered in tiny, itchy bite marks. Bedbugs! So I gt reinbursed for my stay and catch th next train to Madrid.

Now, Madrid is really great, one of my favourite cities. It's very laid back and really pretty. And the weather is great, we've been in the high twenties for my entire visit. I have to ask, is it snowing yet back Canada way?

I went to the Museo Del Prado and the fantastic Reina Sofia moder art museum, and did the New Madrid free tour (also great). Tomorrow I catch the night train to Lisbon, where I might even get some photos uploaded. Talk to y'all later.

Barcelona

Barcelona is cool. I nearly got my bag stolen after I first got here, but otherwise, I've been enjoying this city a lot. The Sagrada Familia is the coolest church I have ever seen, despite being only half complete, and Gaudi is some kind of architectural genius who has really given this city a style of its own. It's pretty cool how they have lots of old architecture right next to really modern stuff. Barcelona is also a very vibrant city, I think they have more (and better) buskers here than any other city I've been in. Seriously, there was one guy singing what I think was Opera, while playing piano, and he was GOOD! Acrobats in the street, cool reggae/rock bands (I bought a CD), and pretty much anything else you can think of. I'm not sure if there's much to do here other than walk around, hang out at the beach or drink yourself stupid, but it is definitely a great place to come if you just want to chill.

And with that, I'm signing out. Still no pics, sorry, they'll come eventually.

Nice is... Aptly Named

Alright, lame jokes aside, Nice is really nice. I just got in today, and even though it's kind of cloudy and not too warm out, this city is still great. Miles of beach, cool boardwalk, and probably the cleanest and best organized city I've ever been in.

But enough about where I am, where have I been? Well, I made a stopover in Pisa, and to be honest, it has to be the most lenient city I've ever been to (not funny...?) Seriously though, the leaning tower war pretty cool, but you wouldn't want to spend more than a couple of hours there.

I spent a couple of days at Cinque Terres, which is this really spectacular National Park along the coast of northern Italy. Basically, you take a day and hike to all these small, quaint villages, which were totally isolated from the world (except by boat) until the 1960's. It's a really nice, relaxing place, with great views, great beaches and plenty of other hikes (which I did not do).

No pictures as of yet, but I'm sure that once I get to Spain, I'll find some place to upload some pixels. In the meantime, take care blogites.

Ah, Italy

Since you've last heard from me, I've been wandering around Florence, enjoying life (because that's what you do in Florence). Great food, great art, great scenery. I saw David (3 times!), the Uffizi gallery and I spent all day today in Siena, which is a really sweet medieval town. Unfortunately, I don't have time to post these photos right now, but rest assured, they're on their way.

I'm going to spend one more day here in Florence, hit up a couple museums, and then I'm heading out to the Cinque Terres area. For more info on what that is exactly, stay tuned.

Lame!

So, it turns out that to vote abroad, you need a lot more foresight than I had. Oh well, just so long as Harper doesn't wipe the floor too thoroughly, I'll be happy.

Just want to add that Rome is sweet, but tomorrow I'm off to Florence. Right now, it's time to find some dinner...

Quick Fix

Yes, I'm still alive and doing alright. I went to Sicily, where I basically hung out and had a good time in beautiful Taormina. Got into Rome a couple of days ago (that's a story in and of itself), and have been doing the touristy things here (Colosseum, Vatican, etc).

Also, I got my return flights booked. I'll be getting into Halifax on November 6th, so you Westerners will probably hear from me mid-November sometime.

Now I'm off to see if I can't vote. Catch you all later.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Deceased

In more rect news, I've arrived in Naples, and today I visited Pompeii and the lesser known (but equally impressive) Heraculem.

Naples is INSANE.

Naples is AMAZING.

I've never seen a city that is so vibrant and so chaotic at the same time. Not for everyone (I think I would go insane if I lived here), but definitely something unique and incredibly lively. People complain about this place being dirty and poor, but if you look past that (it's really not that dirty and poor), you'll find that Naples is just awesome. Especially if you like good, cheap pizza...

But now, some Pompeii pics:

Christian - Live at Pompeii

Photos

Alright, promised photos first, then some more recent news.

Samoria Gorge





Hania







More Switchbacks than any road has a right to






A really cool old tomb









Nafplio



Castle



Olympia

Back to Italy

Alright folks, no pictures I'm afraid, but an update nonetheless (is that really just one word?). In Crete, I ended up in Hania, which is a beautiful little city right on the water. From there, I took a day to hike the gorgeous Samara Gorge, in all its splendor. At one point, the trail narrows to a mere 3 meters, while the cliff faces on either side of you rise to over 300 meters! Pretty cool. And the bus trip there and back were also pretty intense. Trust me, you don't kow the meaning of the word "switchback" until you've been to Crete. You spend half your driving time just going back and forth, trying to climb over the mountains they have there. You're also in a coach bus, driving on one-lane roads clearly not built for buses, with really sketchy dropoffs beside you... In short, lots of fun :)

From Hania, I caught a night ferry (gods, I hate those) to Athens, and then bussed to Naflpio, another beautiful little seaside town with a really cool, really massive castle perched on the cliffs overlooking the town. I also spent the afternoon exploring some old Mycean ruins, including the spectacular Agememnon's Tomb (basically a giant stone igloo built into a hill).

From there, I went to Olympia to check out... Olympia. Pretty neat ruins and a really good museum, plus I got the best meal I've had yet in Greece: A Gyros portion (with fries), a full loaf of freshly baked bread, a (big) greek salad and a 500 mL beer, for the low price of 8 euro. Not bad, I guess prices really come down come October (there's really no tourists around at all this time of year, relatively speaking).

And now I'm back in Patra, hanging out for a few hours until my ferry leaves. Hopefully I'll be able to get some photos up once I get to Naples, but don't hold your breaths. Talk to you all later.