Greece Needs to Thank the Olympics

Athens has been a rather intriguing city, its filled with beauty but also graffiti. Walking around the city appears to be fine and the metro is surprisingly clean. Since the Olympics in 2004, you can tell that they have modernized their rail system. The city is very English friendly and very easy to navigate. However, while in Athens apparently jumped into a train that caused us to be delayed by an hour to our destination. The hostel I am staying at is very clean and has a great staff. Last night we had a chance to drink with some other backpackers and try ouzo and Mythos. Mythos is the local "Budweiser" of Greece. It taste like Heinken, just like all the beers around the Mediterranean seem to taste. The trip is going well, I really wish we could do a bit of island hopping, but there is always next time. Next stop is Vienna.

Venice and the Vatican

After much delay I finally have the Internet again. It has been rather hard to find a hotel that offers free wifi or even the Internet for cheap. Typically it has cost about $5 per hour for any Internet use. Speaking of costly events today we just spent about $10.50 for one load of laundry. It was absolutely wonkers, which is a new word we picked up from a friendly Scottish fellow we met at an airport.

Recently we had a chance to roam the canals of Venice via gondola (pictured). The city was very crowded and hot, but still magnificent. While walking around we saw Marco Polo’s home and Casanova’s home. After our journey through the city we had a chance to eat at a Pizzeria with a couple we met from North Carolina. It was nice to finally sit down with other Americans and speak American English. Hopefully, I will get a chance to meet up with them in Frankfurt during the closing stages of my Eurotrip. While in Venice I had a chance to drink the bitter ale of Nasturo Azzurro. The beer has many similarities to Heinken, but has a harsher after taste compared to Heinken. Most of the beers in Italy appear to be very light and somewhat tasteless. However, it still taste great when enjoying an Italian pannini.

Today we are in Rome and just finished up visiting the Vatican. While it is my second time visiting the Eternal City, it still never gets old. The Sistine Chapel is simply stunning. There are not enough words to explain the feeling you get when looking up at every little detail that flows from the ceiling to the painting of the Last Judgment behind the alter. As the Sistine Chapel wasn’t enough for Michelangelo, he also sculptured La Pieta. The sculpture is finessed with details from the head of Mary down to the piercing in Christ side (look at the picture). Later today we will be heading to the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, and many other sites. As for tomorrow we head off to another city filled with history, Athens. Hopefully, I will have a chance to blog and upload pictures for you in a timely matter. Feel free to check out more of the pictures on my facebook profile albums. Ciao!

Pisa = Peaceful

After a long day in Paris we headed off to Pisa where we were welcomed by a nice peaceful city. We had the chance to walk all around the city and had the chance to watch the sunset (pictured) over the Arno River. It was beautiful! The Italians are a lot more laid back then the French and make much better ice cream. The first thing we bought in Italy was Gelato. The soft tasty ice cream is by far the best dessert among any. After walking around with our gelato we headed towards to rather smaller than imagined Leaning Tower of Pisa. It sits in a nice little square beside a beautiful cathedral.

It was rather surprising to see how much the tower leans (pictured).

After checking out the tower we headed towards a bar where I found Duff beer, yes Duff as in Homer Simpson's Duff Beer. It tasted horrible, it was worse then a six pack of skunky Keystone. I recommend just taking a picture of the beer bottle rather than trying the nasty stuff.

Our next stop is another great city in Tuscany, Florence. For pictures of Pisa check out: http://tinyurl.com/p8rdey

Paris, the city of lights

Life has been a bit hectic lately, especially without the Internet. I am going to be pretty brief for the next few posts since I am using Internet cafes for my connection.

Paris was a bit interesting, the city is lively but very dirty. The monuments and museums are a spectacle that any person needs to see, but the moments are somewhat dulled due to the horrible graffiti and trash scattered throughout the city. The food is wonderful and the night scene is a spectacle. The view from the Eiffel Tower (pictured above is the Arch de Triumphe from the Eiffel Tower) is a must for any tourist. I recommend getting to the tower around 8:30pm and trying to catch the view as the sun goes down. Looking at Paris during the night is simply awing.

While in Paris I had the opportunity to try various wines and of course a beer. Pelforth Blonde was the selection of the city. It was a tasty wheat beer that washed down some of the best fries I have ever had. Overall the city was a blast and the food was amazing. For picture check out: http://tinyurl.com/ppxtst

London is a blast!

London is not too shabby. The city is filled with history, great architecture, and plenty of people. Our day started by ridding the tube (metro) to Tower Hill. Tower Hill is home to numerous executions and sits right outside of the Tower of London, which was built around 1060AD. While at the Tower we were greeted by the Beefeaters. Not the gin, but the actual guards to the Royal Family.

Next we headed to Westminster to see the Westminster Palace, London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. The Abbey looked nice from outside, but it was a little busy and too expensive. I figured I would spend my money elsewhere like Tattersalls Tavern. I decided to head to this pub after finding out one of my friends use to work there. It has great lunch specials and numerous choices for beer. I happened to try Landlord. It's an ale that has a clear color and is extremely bitter. This is not one of my favorites by any means.

After Westminster we headed to Harrod's to pick up a new addition to our caravan. His name is William the Conquerer (the bear pictured on the right). I have decided that everywhere I go William the Conquerer will appear to make his presence known. Since London is one of the first stops he is joining the trip in the nick of time. If you have any suggestions for where we should take pictures of William, please let me know below in the comments section. By the way William the Conquerer is the first King of England who built the original Tower of London. I hope you like the new addition. For more pictures from London check out: http://tinyurl.com/europetrip4

Anglesey Abbey, Ales, & Awesome Views

Today I went to Anglesey Abbey, Cambridge, and Ely Cathedral. Anglesey Abbey had beautiful extensive gardens and the abbey itself was amazing. The abbey was once a mansion and had all kinds of antiques, old portraits, jewels, etc. The home was purchased by Huttleston Rogers Broughton, the 1st Lord of Fairhaven. Behind the property is an old mill, which is still in use today.

Cambridge was an awesome college town. It had more colleges than I can name and they all had amazing architecture. We ate by the river at a place called Anchor Inn where Pink Floyd use frequently eat and drink. My drink of the day was Old Speckled Hen, a very bitter ale, brewed by Morlan. The food was great and the view was even better as we watched the punts float down the river.

The last stop of the day was Ely. The small town of Ely is a poor representation of the magnificent Ely Cathedral (pictured), which is astonishing. It is a very medieval style church, but very elegant. Next stop is downtown London.

For more photos check out my photos on facebook at:

Anglesey Abbey Photos at: http://tinyurl.com/ognoaf

Cambridge Photos at: http://tinyurl.com/olqvuc

Ely Cathedral Photos at: http://tinyurl.com/r2qtvt

Enjoy Dublin with an Ice Cold Guinness

For our first stop I had the luxury of visiting the lovely city of Dublin. The nice thing about Dublin is that there are a lot of sites within a few blocks of each other. There is a really neat Castle right in the middle of Dublin. My favorite place had to be the Guinness Storehouse. Not just because of the beer, but the Gravity Bar that rises over the city as a lookout. Guinness was founded in the early 18th century by Arthur Guinness. They originally produced ales and then later switched to porters and stouts. The reason Guinness pours the way it does is because the nitrogen that is released when it is poured. To enjoy the best glass of Guinness make sure you wait about 190.5 seconds to allow the nitrogen to do its job.

Beyond the Guinness Storehouse we ate at the Caspan Bar where I had a pint of Carlsburg, which is a Coppenhagen brew that taste a lot like an American Lager. Clear color and not very filling, but overall pretty tasty.

A quick tip for traveling in Ireland, get a map, a compass, and buy the Dublin tour bus pass along with the airlink pass. This would have made our adventure in Dublin much easier. Anyway, I hope you are all doing lovely in the states and I look forward to seeing you all soon. Next stop, London!

Photos of Dublin: http://tinyurl.com/p6hhey