Looking back

I was looking for something on my blog the other day, and I realized that I used to put all sorts of cool stuff on here that I don´t tend to do anymore. I was able to go back and do quizzes that I had forgotten about, look through random websites, hear songs, and more or less remember all the time I´ve wasted online.

And, seeing as I was just introduced to this mess, I thought I´d share it with all of you as well . . .
I hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did. How creeped out were you though?

La Maison des Chameaux

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDkRjm_U_s8

Life is never dull these days! I've been living on a camel farm in the south of France and loving every minute of it.

http://www.lamaisondeschameaux.com/home.htm

Everything else I had written here has been deleted.

Thrice.

Don't pretend to be disapointed. I'll tell everyone about everything in person the next time I see them!

Happy Holidays!

What a poser.

Bilbao baby!

I made it to Bilbao! After Jean-Phillipe decided to leave a few days early, I decided to leave with Petra and hitchhike together as far as . . . well, whatever the name of the place she wanted to go was. This gave me 4 days to get across the entire width of southern France then down into Spain and Biblao.
The first leg of our journey took us 4 hours. Not bad for Petra because she knew she was going to arrive that day. For me it was a bit more stressful because we´d only managed to get a fraction of the way that I needed to. Then in Foix we (plus another hitchhiker we bumped into) we found some French arachists who were going to Portugal.

SWEET!
So I just rode with them all the way to Bayonne and then spent the night in my tent. Then the next day we got up and went to meet some of their friends. I ended up living, eating and drinking with these guys for 4 days first in a squat, taking breakfast at 2 homeless shelters, then 3 days on the Atlantic coast. When eventually we did leave and get to Bilbao 2 days late and at 10:30pm, June was waiting for me in the station. We caught the metro back to her place and I showered and did some laundry. The next night we went out for an explorative walk and rented a movie. A movie which still remains unwatched because Bilbao seems to have a disproportionately large percentage of pirate pubs! We hit 3 that night before coming back home and going to bed.
The next day we went to a fantastic juggling convention full of young hippies from all over the place! It was awesome, with tall celings, enthusiastic young jugglers, a bar, sleeping upstairs, rope acrobatics, unicycles, everything. If you´ve seen it in a circus or ever wished you had, it was at this convention. All held in a fantastic 4 story squat, complete with vegetarian kitchen on the 2nd floor and climbing wall on the 3rd.
That evening we went to see a show and before hand one of the hosts started talking to me about my moustache. June told her I was Canadian so she started talking to me in French. Then later on during what was a FANTASTIC show full of ´Just for Laughs´caliber tricks and performances, they started giving out prizes. The last prize she started asking for the Canadian guy with the moustache she liked. I didn´t understand a word of it, but June said she was looking for me so I stood up. When she saw me she ran over, jumping over seated people (remember there are 400 people watching this show) and came over to me, gave me a pink toy bicycle, kissed me once on each cheek, and held my hand aloft saying something about being the Canadian d'Artagnan.
After that everyone at the conference knew me, and after the show lots of folks came up and patted me on the back, or congratulated me, or maybe insulted me, who knows, I don´t speak Spanish!

All in all it´s been a damn fine week. Let´s hope next week can match it!

Right on time

Today is Tuesday and as promised here I am, about to write a fantastically compelling entry to my blog. Buckle up folks here we go . . .

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my posse. From left to right they hail as follows . . .

JiPi - Short for Jean-Phillipe, we all call him Jean-Phillipe. He's the man that organized this place. It's an old house and he's renovating it in an ecologically sound way. We're helping. So far that consists of flinging muck made of woodchips and chalk powder at the walls. We call this insulating.

Jeneviéve - An integral member of the cast, Jeneviéve is from Québéc. She's the kind of person that makes you wish you had a stronger sense of national identity. She's fun, friendly, a great cook, and tons of fun to be around. It wouldn't be the same without her.

Grayson - The most kick ass dude on the scene.

Petra - The 2nd Petra I've met abroad. She's a Somerset girl educated in London with an accent that very consciously sounds nothing like that of the area she was born. Her culinary ability is worthy of praise and her predilection towards doing the dishes is a very welcome addition to our little gang. It's also good to have another Anglophone in the crowd, just to even things out a little.

This is a picture of my on the first day of my arrival in Chalabre. I guess I was a little excited to be here.

Damn

Ran out of time. Was going to make a great post, but sadly I need to give up the computer. Next time I'll have internet is Tuesday.

Check back then.

Back in Belgium

For those who don't know (and those who read my blog. This means you Clayton.) I've just returned to Belgium from Amsterdam. After my last experience hitchhiking I decided to just take the bus. (Last time took me 5 hours to get 2 hours up the road and it was hailing and cold and dark so I just gave up and took the bus and then the train. This time I just paid €5 more and took the train all the way in.

It was sold out on the internet, but when I arrived in person it only had 5 people on board, so I managed to get a ticket (discounted again because I'm under 25 ;) ) with no problem at all.


The trip took 5 hours so I slept a bunch. Then in Leuven I found my friends weren't home so I asked a stranger if she knew of a pay phone. She didn't so she took me back to her house, baby strapped to her chest, and let me use her phone. No answer, so I went to the pub ... for 5 hours.
In my defense I only had 6 beers (not even pints) over the course of 5 hours. To my detriment it was Duvel which is 8.8%, so I was a bit toasty when some granny started to chat me up in French. Fortunately my friends arrived before she could buy me another beer and she left. Then we left.


After arriving chez mes amis, we played 'Sing Star' on the play station. Turns out I suck. Then everyone left so I'm currently alone in a flat in Leuven, Belgium. It wouldn't be so bad if the T.V. was working but as far as I can tell I just have to wait for technical problem to be solved. I could read, or journal but I've been doing that a shit load today in that pub and I'm not really up for it again.


In other news I got a new Camera in Amsterdam!! It was priced €150 but I got it for €100 with 2 free memory cards. Not really cheap but it's good to have a camera again. Here is one picture. I don't know how to change the picture quality on my camera so everything is too big to upload all at once.

Curly Q

After much contemplation, and even more patience, and much determination, I have regrown my curly moustache.
The dude who looks like he's gonna bust a cap is named Frank. I met him that night. I have no idea why he's pretending to shoot me.

This gent went to Gent

That's right. On 4 hours sleep I went to visit the medieval city of Gent. It was awesome. Cool architecture, winding canals, pedestrian only sections of town, tons of bicycles, and a very friendly livable overall feeling. It's kind of what North American cities should be, but probably never will.

After seeing the castle (only €1.50 because I'm under 26 ;) ) I walked around for a while. Actually I walked around for hours because I got lost and just kept walking. Eventually I made it back to the station but I was hungry.

Knowing that I would eat when I got home I tried to forget about it and not waste money on some crap. I ended up buying an entire bag of chips and a sausage on a bun smothered in fried onions, sauerkraut, and hot mustard. Instead of the warm feeling of accomplishment; of having willpower strong enough to resist temptation; instead of this I got indigestion and €4 less in my pocket. Kind of makes me feel bad about fibbing to the guy at the castle.

It's like 1997 over here

There's techno on the radio and smoking in pubs.

Glad to see everyone's paying attention.

So I've been in Lille for the last few days and I've had a great time. I went to a Canadian bar last night and it sucked. A lot. Today I'm off to Antwerp and then to a Balkan Circus Party!! I'm justifiably excited about that!

I'm equally excited about a site my current host showed me. www.deezer.com where you can listen to pretty much any song you like; for free. No downloads but if you're on the road who needs 'em?

Hallowe'en

Folks in Lille aren't so keen on Hallowe'en. They've got their own French celebrations on November 1st so nobody really does much. That said there might be a party tonight in which case I hope to go.

I've spent today hitchiking from Paris to Lille a 2 hour drive took me hours, but I saved €53 and got lots of practice speaking french. When I arrived in Lille I had nowhere to stay; but now I have 2 options. I think I need a French sim, especially if I'm going to be in France for a month.

This picture is spooky; it's from Norway. I have no camera; it was dropped during Oktoberfest at the University of Oslo.

I used to be able to beatbox the theme tune for this . . .

Currently, I am sitting in a hotel lobby located just to the bottom right corder of the letter ´C´. I didn´t know this ´till the other day when East Enders came on the t.v. and someone pointed it out to me. I thought it was pretty cool.

Did I really do that?

I just read a comment left on my couchsurfing profile from a friend I met in Glasgow. We hung out for a day and a half and I slept on his floor for two nights. During that time he got to know me a little, and this is the impression I left him with . . .

´Whisky smuggler, 3-piece suit salesman, Manu Chao fan, emo club headbanger, and proud owner of one of the finest 'taches this side of 1973...´

That was an eventfull day and a half. It would appear I´ve become a bit dodgey since my departure from Canada. No wonder immigration gave me trouble when I wanted back into the UK.

Rauland

I'm farther inland now am apparently 600 meters above sea level. I've had a couple of adventures but I'm not going to write about them here yet. I keep telling my stories over and over, and then I write them on here, and then perhaps I might write a letter, and then when it comes time to write in my travel journal I'm sick of the story and can't be arsed to write it.

But not this time.

This time I'm going to write in my journal first, and then write about it on my blog. Or perhaps I won't. Perhaps you'll have to wait 'till I get home in order to hear about my adventures. That's really the way it's supposed to be anyway isn't it?

But I will tell you that I'm off to a dinner tonight with some folks, and moose is on the menu.

After a few days in Oslo

Since having left Glasgow I've not been hit on once by a dude, and people don't seem to look at me like I'm a weirdo in the street. Actually, since I've come to Norway things have been really good! The city is fun, the temperature is brisk, the people are really friendly and welcoming and overall it's just a good time! I've got too many people who want to hang out, and host me. I've had to say no to a bunch of them which I feel kind of bad about.

Norway is expensive so I smuggled some Whiskey in with me to resale at a profit to me and a savings to the Norwgean people. I still have all of it, but I really haven't been advertising it yet so I'm not worried. Yesterday I just walked around with a new friend and got up to all sorts of random stuff. It was a good day! We finished by watching a movie called 'Pike Med Perleøredobb' or 'Girl with a Perl Earring' which was pretty good. Today I'm wasting time on the internet, and then will go to the national gallery. Then dinner and then a German themed costume party at the University.

I'm starting to think this cowboy look isn't really working for me

Last night Matilda (my current host in Glasgow) and I went out to 'The Box' pub and listened to some music. It was pretty good. I'd been there the night before but the group last night was better by far.

At one point a guy came over to talk to Matilda, and then another guy came over and he hugged the first guy. Then he asked me if I had a problem with him being gay. Fortunately at that point Matilda said something to me and I was able to dodge the question entirely.

Then, not more than 30 seconds later, the 2nd guy that came over punched the first guy in the head. Really hard! So that guy got pissed off and stormed out. Then the punchy gay dude said unto Matilda in a thick Glaswegian accent 'Hey, can I talk to you for a second?'

The conversation went like this . . .

Dude - Hey, can I talk to you for a second?
Matilda - Uh, sure.
Dude - Are you guys together?
Grayson and Matilda - No.
Dude - Well, I'm not interested in her because, well, I'm just not. What he (referencing the first guy) chatting you up?
Matilda - No.
Grayson - No, he wasn't chatting her up.
Dude - He said he was chatting her up.
Grayson - Oh, well I guess so, but it didn't seem like it. How long have you two been together?
Dude - He's my brother.
Grayson - Oh.

At this point the conversation was between the two of us because Matilda had stepped out of the way. That's fine, it makes sense. It's the kind of thing you do in that situation. What wasn't fine was that she was insinuating that I should try to hit on him. That's when I stepped out of the conversation and left the guy by himself. He stood there alone for about 30 more seconds and then he said . . .

Dude - Fine. Hey, did that guy take a mobile from behind that speaker?
Grayson - I don't know, he took a jumper.
Dude - But did he take a phone?
Grayson - I don't know. He just took a black jumper.
Dude - I need to know if he has my phone.
Grayson - Well, was it in the pocket of a black jumper?

Then he kind of flailed and ran out the door.

Couch Surfing

I've left England for now, via a five hour bus ride prefaced by an hour and fourty five minute train ride which required waking up at 5:30am.

I'm in Glasgow and I'm couchsurfing in an awesome flat with an interesting story attached. It's also a store house for porn props. I've not been snooping but apparently there are all sorts of . . . things hidden about the place.

Last night there were a couple of other folks crashing there, and we all went out to some pubs. The first few were uneventfull (think out of key singers and stuff) although the streets were full of people! We tried to get into some of the better places around but at entry prices of £8-£15 we decided to stick with the smaller venues. Eventually we ended up in a basement pub somewhere off Sauchiehall Street and I ordered something on tap that looked cool. I found out 2/3 of the way through pouring my pint that they were out of what i ordered, so I got the 2/3 pint for free. Then some dudes saw my hat and moustache and they came over to chat.

At first I thought they were just friendly lads although a bit touchy feely. They got me a few pints and chatted with my friends and I. Then after a time (a relatively short time) I got the distinct impression that they were trying to pick me up. This suspision was confirmed later that evening when one of them looked at me and said that he had to level with me. That things weren't going as he had planned. That he had misread my hat and moustache and that there was no way I was going to sleep with him. I confirmed this statement and we ended the night with a big group hug in the street involving a random couple and lots of unecessary jumping.

It was weird, but whatever.

Gettin' chilly!

I'm still in the UK, still in the Wirral, still having to chase sheep every day, but NOT living in the Tipi. I love that tipi, but when it's lashing down rain and your fire's gone out, and you're all alone 'cause everyone else gave up long ago, a bed in a caravan isn't so bad. Even if it is located directly above a rat's nest. (I'll clear that out soon, I promise)

Now, here's what's happened. I don't know where I'm going next. It's getting cold here (my fingers are actually almost too cold to type as I'm writing this from inside the house that'll be pulled down in a couple of weeks.) I was going to go to Scotland, but that would be colder and I can't get ahold of the commune I was going to visit or anyone via couchsurfing.

I have been in touch with a helpex host in Bulgaria who's keen to have me visit, but before that I might pop up to Norway. I found flights there and back for 1p so why not? (there'll be tax on it and everything, but 1p is 1p!!!)

I kind of lack purpose at this point, I've got friends I still have to see in London and then I'm off to somewhere non English speaking. It's about time, I've crunched a few numbers (any errors can easily be explained by the fact that I did all the calculations myself) and it would seem I've been gone for just 2 weeks less than 6 months. I've only hit Ireland, Wales and England!!! I need to make tracks!

I don't think I'm going to make Octoberfest as I've not made any arrangements at all. Hopefully I'll still have a place to crash in Munich if I decide to go next year.

Still can't update my blog

I don't know why I can't change things like my profile picture but I can't and it's starting to tick me off.

I spent the morning fishing today and didn't manage to catch anything. I'm in the library now but I've wasted most of my time trying to figure this updating thing out.

I'm giving up now and moving on to something else.

Can't update my profile picture

I'm looking forward to being able to sit down and update my blog porperly, but that mightn't be for a while. I'd like to make it look like I care about keeping it up to date (try some of the links to the right. I dare you) and I will fix it all up eventually.

I'm in London now but will be going back to the northern farm tomorrow. Well, I'll make it as far as Manchester, i still have to buy a ticket to the Wirral (I really should be doing that now!) My first night in London I met Patty Wagon and he took me to the hostel he was staying at. It wasn't cheap (think $40/night. Thanks exchange rate!) but the stories we have from the night should last for a long time.



There was an 80s party the night we arrived so Patty and I decided to attend. We met lots of people and were having a laugh when suddenly a Kiwi guy I was talking to took offence to something (nothing I did, something must have snapped in his head) and he started getting agressive and pushy. He was a dick so I stopped talking to him and Patty and I decided we'd just go to our room and hit the hay.

Upon arriving we encountered our most thoughtfull roomate Lyndsay from California who was back from a job interview/date and had the lights on in the room and wasn't trying to be quiet at all. Patty and I talked to her for about 45 minutes trying to convince her that the £300 dinner she's just had with a 40 year old man, during which the conversation had turned to the topic of sex, might be an indication that she was going to be expected to do more than just watch his daughter. She agreed eventually but seemed to have no problem with it at all.

Then we went to sleep.

Then I woke up to the sounds of her sleeping with one of our other roommates. That went on for about 45 minutes and then I went back to sleep. When I woke up I got out of bed and Lyndsay was sitting on the edge of her bunk wrapped in blankets.

"Hey, can you pass me a shirt?"
I did.
"No, not that one, can you pass me that shirt?"
I did. I figured fine, she needs a shirt, no biggie.
"Can you pass me a pair of pants?"
I did, and in the process discovered the underwear of Anthony which had lost the previous night and which Lyndsay had refused to help him find because she was tired.

The next day we met a stranger in the street that tried to sell us some roasts of beef he had in a plastic bag and I'm pretty sure a man beside me in the train station toilet was masturbating in the urinal next to me.

London is a world class city.

A tipi in the Wirral

I've made it to England. Tomorrow I head to London to visit Patty Wagon before he head's to Africa for a year. Aside that it's business as usual. I live in a tipi surrounded by sheep, chickens and a donkey. A few friends and I help build a house with occasional side trips into Liverpool etc.

I've got tons more to write but only 3 minutes left, so another time.

Sweet deal!

I made a new friend last night and she seems pretty connected. Last night she managed (in only a matter of moments) to get myself and Griff staff passes to the Green Man festival near Cardiff. Griff works 'till 6 and after that he's going to drive us both down to the festival where I'll do . . . something in exchange for free entrance and camping etc.

I'd say it's a pretty sweet deal! I hope the weather stays nice!

You mean it rains here too?

I did it! I managed to escape the grips of Ireland and have made my way over to Wales! I found a way to make the crossing quite cheaply, but didn't find it until I didn't have enough time to qualify for the savings, so I just bought a ticket on the ferry and Rory (the guy who's couch I was surfing on) drove me to the dock so I could catch it.

Once in Wales I started talking to an Irishman who's been living in England for a while, and he bought my train ticket for me, and a cup of tea. Obviously I declined the offer at first, but he was persistent, and really, I wanted to accept. So, after the required 'Oh no's and 'I can't accept's I did just that.

I'm in Bangor now, and have been here a couple of days. My first full day was spent lost in the fields and forests of Wales trying to find a campsite which doesn't exist. I followed the directions of the folks at the Hostel and ended up in the arse end of nowhere. While there I took in some fantastic scenery, walked through some beautiful countryside, and got thoroughly lost. After a while the trail I was following seemed to stop, and I found myself walking through fields of sheep, cow shit, and mucky water. At one point I had to climb through about 20 meters of forest, during which time I managed to find no less than 5 sheep's skulls and find myself at one point standing on the spinal cord of a sheep, with my feet both between it's ribcage. I think once a sheep goes missing here, they just forget about it.

Anyway, after about 5 hours of random walking, Gruffudd (Can't pronounce it so I call him Griff, he's my Welsh contact) picked me up and took me into Snowdonia national park where I stayed at a hostel and enjoyed an included buffet breakfast which allowed me to pack an inexpensive lunch.

Since then I've attended a lunch with a group of Welsh speakers at the University of Bangor, and been given the run around while trying to convert some traveller's checks into cash.
Despite the rain, I'm going to camp tonight, and at some point I think I'll actually tell the campsite about my plans. No rush though, I've still got 48 minutes left on the Internet at the library!

My last 5 minutes.

It's funny, how sometimes things happen all at once. This is what just happened to me. . .

I came home from getting some groceries and calling my Mom to wish her a happy birthday and I thought to myself 'now what?' That thought was followed by a moment of absolute boredom during which time I decided I would do the dishes. I removed my shirt so as not to soil or dampen it while the dishes were being done. While I did this I discovered that I needed to have a shower. No big deal, I'd do it after the dishes.

So I started to wash the cups. I got about 5 cups in when one broke and I slice my right little finger open. This was particularly shitty because I was bleeding all over the place and there were no paper towels to be found. The level of shittyness rose even higher because, as you recall, I'm in someone else's house at the moment, and don't really want to be bloodying up the place while they're away on vacation. Eventually I managed to migrate to the bathroom leaving behind me no little red trail. While in the bathroom I found some gauze and managed to tape up my finger. Thank God, crisis averted.

Then I stepped out of the bathroom and missed the first step. I didn't fall though, thanks to the fact that I was able to stabilize myself quickly with my right big toe, which was then torn open. I managed to hobble back into the bathroom and gauzed that one up too. At this point I'm sitting at home, with a finger that I can't wash dishes with for a while, and a toe that will make it horribly painful to shower. Compoud this with the fact that I have plans to hang out with some people I just met the other day, and I need to text them and have no credit on my mobile. I also don't remember their names particualrly well, and I smell like BO.

And now (yes, actually just now) I noticed that my finger is bandaged too tightly and has turned purple.

Strangely though, I find the whole thing kind of funny!

Diet coke? I'm on my knees screamin' . . .

It's all over the radio and club scene here, and it's catchy as hell!!

Big Girls

Actually there's a lot of good music (well, fun at least) playing over here but I have no idea what any of it is or who sings it.

Last Monday, a group of us went to a pub that was playing some awsome music! It was all gypsy stuff and it was fantastic! I knew a couple of the songs by Gogol Bordello, but for the most part I didn't know anything. So I asked the DJ, these were his albums . . .

Electric Gypsyland (2 CDs from Crammed Disks)
Balkan Beat Box
Balkan Beats (www.eastblokmusic.com)
Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers
Barcelona Raval Sessions (2 CDs www.kindustria.com)

Check 'em out! They're good!

WOW! And there's a new Manu Chao CD coming out in September!!!

Unrelated events call for unrelated images.

Last night Martin (the German who's now leaving my in charge of his flat in Dublin while he goes on vacation to Albania) and I went to see a free outdoor screening of the movie Totsti about South African thugs. It was fantastic, if you ever get the opportunity, watch it. If you never get the opportunity, get off your ass and make it happen, it's a good film.

Immediately following that I walked into the street and some Spanish woman looked at me and said 'red'. I responded with 'Huh? . . . Wha . . ? Are you talking to me?' Then things went more or less like this . . .

Spanish Woman: You have red hair.
Confused Grayson: Yes, that's right, I do.
Spanish Woman: I want to have a baby with red hair.

At this point she puts her arm around mine and starts walking beside me in the direction of the closest pub. Within the next few steps she starts telling me about Spain and asks me if I know it well. I confessed that I didn't know Spain very well at all, and also that I was Canadian. Upon hearing that I wasn't Irish, she unlinked our arms and the whirlwind romance was over. Martin and I continued on to a different pub, and the Spanish folk (although they did still invite us to join them) continued in the direction they were originally heading.

Here's an excerp from a recent e-mail home

I've moved on from Wicklow now, and am in Dublin. I had GREAT crack in Wicklow too though! On my last day we went on a hike in the woods and came across a river. This river was beautifull, so we stopped to enjoy it. 'Twas at that poin that we found 11 500ml bottles of cider. So . . . we took 'em. While we were gathering these beer, I happened to look into the river and notice a full can of Budwiser floating past. Following that I found a fottle of Miller sitting in the shallows. 'Twas grand and it was the start of a great night!

I arrived in Dublin yesterday around noonish. I managed to find a German couple who would put me up for an indefinite period (always a good thing) and along with them came a couple of guys from Germany, a girl from Finland, and another girl from Argentina. They're all great craic and today a bunch of us snuck (we didn't have to try very hard) into the Guinness brewery. We did the entire thing, went to a tasting, and at the end of the tour, some American guy I just bumped into asked me 'Hey, do you want a free beer?' My obvious answer was 'Yes!' and there I was, enjoying a 360 degree view of dublin, in a pub that I wasn't allowed into without paying, with a pint of Guinness that I didn't have to pay for.

Tonight we're going to go to a free pub that's going to play reggae/sca/dub/Brazillian music. Should be good, but if not, who cares, something else is going on within a couple of minuites walk.

Seeing as this blog's been so popular lately . . .

I'm out of Galway. It took me a little longer than I had planned to pry myself away from everything and everyone that was keeping me there, but I've moved on. I'm in Co. Wicklow now (actually at the moment I'm in the library in Wicklow Town) and I'm working on a farm again.

It's really cool. It's called Carraig Dúlra (can't seem to link to it, but the URL is http://www.dulra.org/) and it's not only a farm, but also a traditional skills bank. It's on Carraig Mountain which is lovely, and I spend everyday outside. I sleep on sheepskins on the floor of a yurt and we cook all our meals in either an outdoor kitchen or over a fire.

I live with a couple of other folks, Petra from Toronto, Meg from Maine, and Alberto from Millan. They're all great craic and I'm really enjoying myself. Today was our day off and we walked all over the place and ended up enjoying the sun at the beach. We've got some photos kicking around, but they're not online yet, thus you can't see 'em.

Progress

It's been a while since I've updated this blog, and so many things have happened. It's been even longer since I wrote in my travel diary. I've been spending all my time having adventures, and not leaving enough time to chronicle them all.

Galway is the graveyard of ambition. It's been said again and again and I think I understand why. I met a guy two nights ago from Florida. He's been in Galway for 3 years now, and his life takes place in a triangle about 400 meters across. He lives in a flat that overlooks shop street where he busks, which is in turn beside his local pub. He says he counted the steps he made one day, and it was only 40.

I take MANY more steps than that in a day (I mean, I live in Salthill) but my life has likewise been simplified. I don't really buy groceries, I just go with people when they're going to eat and contribute a little to the cause. I've had authentic Italian pasta, Jamaican curry chicken, Spanish omelettes all cooked by folks who grew up in each respective country, and know what they're doing.

It's going to be hard to leave Galway, but it's gotta happen. I'll probably only stick around for another week or so, for the arts festival, but leave before race week.

Timmy O'Horton

Where am I anyway? Apparently you can get Horton's coffee in the back of some shops. I've not seen any yet, this cup was found by Jill (from P.E.I.) in a pub with a name I can't spell. It's been a grand 2 weeks in Galway, especially since I was only supposed to be here for a couple of nights.

The other night Karol had a big BBQ, we spent a good hour putting her BBQ together and then found out the connection wasn't right for the propane we had! Fortunately one of the guests was a chef and he cooked everything up in the kitchen. After a bottle of Buckfast and a few beers we went downtown to a pub to dance, then to an after party in a condo uptown with a D.J. We were supposed to go clubbing but I wasn't allowed in with my shoes, despite the fact that there were a few other folks inside wearing runners. My theory is they heard my accent or saw that I was having fun and decided I wasn't getting in. My response to them went a little like this . . .
Ignore the funny looking Italian guy giving me the fingers, I don't know him. He only lives with me.

It's chilly today . . .

. . . and there is a window open in the internet cafe.

Colm took this one of Keith and I at the first place I stopped in Taumgraney.

This is Matia, Kano, Drea, Chris and I on Jarod's last night in Ireland.

Galway City

Traveling is really all about flexibility. You make plans, and then they change.

Well, Galway has changed my plans for a while. I wasn't even going to visit the city when I was planning my trip in Canada, but I'm glad I did. I've got friends around town now, a flat to live in, a way to earn a couple of euros and I'm having a ball. I've been here a week already and now (Thanks to Shabudabu and her sister's friends) I've got a flat to stay in for the next 10 nights.

I felt a bit guilty though, so I'm sharing the place with an Italian guy I met in the hostel. He is a funny funny man. Today we walked around and ended up in a sea side casino/amusement hall. We were feeding 5 cent pieces into a machine, and we ended up winning some silly colouring sheets and some markers to go with them. I'm going to give one of mine to Karol's (The Shabudabu contact) daughter, just to be nice. The other one I might colour and try to sell it to some tourist on the street. We'll see how it goes.

Where I am in Salthill there is a sandy beach less than 5 minutes walk from my front door. There are mountains in the backgrounds, palm trees, and sailing ships on the horizon. The Australians, Italians, and Floridians have all been taking the piss out of it, but I think it's fantastic! The weather here has been wonderful, and I'm all tanned up. You'd have no idea I was in Ireland.

Last night was your man Jarod's last night in Ireland before he went to London and then back to Australia, so we had a bit of a piss up. We snuck into a nightclub after drinking some Buckfast (a drink brewed by monks as a cure for constipation) some Polish vodka and some beers. It was grand. People here are REALLY friendly and even if you have no plans, and you're out by yourself you'll have a fantastic time. I've been to parties on rooftops, dance offs in the streets, drinking beers by the Spanish Arch 'till 6am when the Guarda came to chase everyone off.

It's been a pretty wild week, and I'm having a blast. I have to return someone's bike I borrowed yesterday because I was so far away from where I was staying. I only met the people that night and already they're giving me their bikes and buying me wine and Gyro burgers.

Anyway, as you can tell, there are TOO many stories to post here but rest assured, since my arrival in Glaway, the craic has been mighty.

Ok, so I can upload my pictures now . . .

. . . but only if I do it one at a time. So I'll be waiting again to upload them to my album. I will however post a couple, just for the craic to let everyone see some of the stuff I've been up to.

I'm in Galway city now. I decided to head here before I left for Killarny because everyone told me it was a fun city. I'm in an internet cafe now that I was told about by an Aussie. It gives you a free half hour internet use, so it's not a bad deal!

The other day I went to a jazz festival and almost got stranded. I had met a couple of people from the same village as where I was staying, and they said they would drive me home. Then they disappeared. I didn't find them again 'till almost 3am (they said they would meet me at 2am) when they came walking down the street. I was getting so worried that I was starting to make friends fast in the hopes that I would be able to crash on their floor and not have to spend the night sleeping in the cemetery (which was what someone I had talked to was planning on doing.)

Anyway, without further delay, here are some pictures . . .

Kilrush Library

I'm supposed to be helping out at the market, but I've buggered off to the library to take advantage of the highspeed internet. Unfortunately they won't let me upload any pictures I've taken so it's another flippin' text post I'm afraid.

I've recently changed my itinerary a bit. I had been plannin on going to Kilarney next, but will now be going up to Galway first. Everyone I meet says it's the best place in Ireland for young people. I heard a story about an Aussie who had the same plans as I do, to backpack accross Europe. Like me he started in Ireland, but he never made it past Galway. Apparently that happens a lot around here. Everyone seems to have a story of someone who came to visit and who's still here 10 years later. I don't see that happening to me, but who knows?!?!

The family I'm staying with at the moment have two children. The eldest, Tom, told me a poem the other day which made me laugh. He must have written it on the spot but there were a couple of lines that cracked me up . . .

'I had a little pig, and he wanted to tell me something,

but I couldn't chance it,

so I put him outside.'

Tell me that's not genius!

The other day Colm picked me up (he was my first host) and took myself, a Frenchman, an Italian and an American up to see the Burren. (this is not the setup for some wacky joke, I swear!) It was awsome! I saw some monoliths, the cliffs of Moher, and I even got a picture taken in front of the house where Father Ted was filmed. Talk about an eventfull day!

Anyway, I better get back to the market. I've been gone for the better part of a couple hours now!!

Anyone out there???

Well I've moved on since last I've posted and I'm in West Claire now. Things are great and the ocean is only a hop, skip and a jump away. (Actually you might not want to take that last jump or you'll end up actually in the water.)

I've taken a few pictures recently, and then not brought my camera to the library in Kilrush. Oh well, another time I guess.

I thought today I would just list a couple of things I've learned since arriving in Ireland . . .

1) Stuff is expensive
2) If you ever want to meet anyone, just go to the pub
3) Every store looks like a pub (and some do double duty)*
4) Um . . . I guess thats it.

I had a much longer list in my head, but when I sat down to type it out I could only remember three of them. Perhaps I'll add more in the future.

Nah!

* In Carigaholt (or something like it) the village I'm staying beside there is a pub built into the back of the local grocery store. Apparently this used to be quite common practice!

A tad of Irony

The other day I got to drive the 4 wheeler up the hill to the forest where I blazed a trail into the woods. It's funny how a Canadian (from a country renowned for it's timber industry) can come to Ireland (a country famous for rolling green fields) and find some work blazing trails through a forest.

Last night at Pepper's

I've got today off and I think I'm going to go for a bike ride. I took advantage of not having to wake up early today by attending a music session in Pepper's Pub last night. It was in a neighboring village called Feakle (rather unfortunate name, I know).

It was a lot less formal than I was expecting, I had thought it would be a band playing traditional music, but it was really a bunch of local musicians who sat around a table and played music for the crowd. There were another couple folks in the audience who (after a little prodding) sang or recited poetry (there was a little Canadiana moment when one gent regaled the crowd with the story surrounding the Cremation of Sam McGee)

Overall a good time was had by all, and in the tiny pub, with not more than 30 people in attendance I met an American, some South Africans, a French contingent and a bunch of Dutch folks. (That's not counting the Austrian and Australian who I had arrived with) I think there might even have been a couple Irish people there too!

A couple missing pieces.

Ok, while I've got a moment I'll fill everyone in on a few things that've happened since my arrival in Ireland.

Since my arrival the weather has been pretty cold and wet. This is to be expected in Ireland but what bugs me is the past few weeks have been really beautiful and sunny. Everyone I've met has jokingly mentioned that I missed summer.

I've been helping one of my hosts build a tunnel (greenhouse thing) and that's been interesting. The biggest accomplishment of the day was getting power to our caravan! We've been powerless 'till now, reading at night to the light of flashlights. But that's sorted now, and it wasn't bad to begin with anyway, just makes for an interesting trip!

I've been eating great as well, everyone seems eager to feed Keith and I. Today for lunch we had fried pumpkin, potatoes with cheese over them, baked beans and cooked carrots with peas. It was tasty and we washed it all down with some Darjeeling tea.

I guess that's all I really missed since my last post, and I should go now anyway. I told Keith and Colm (my host) that I was just going to respond to an e-mail and I've been gone for the better part of a half an hour!

(There'll be more pictures when I remember to take my camera with me to update my blog)

I made it!

I don't have much time to post, and I've got a million and one stories to tell already. I've been in Ireland now for 3 days and I've met lots of people and had many great experiences. Everyone is really friendly and likes to chat over a pint or three of Guinness.

Last night I went to Mass (really interesting) at a small Catholic church on the walk between where I live and Taumgraney and then watched a hurling match (there was a man I had met earlier in the day who took some time to explain rules to me. His team had their asses handed to them). Following that I hitched a lift into Taumgraney and walked from there to Scarriff. That was fun, and I met some locals, had some drinks and some laughs before having to walk all the way home alone in the cold and dark.

Today I went to a car boot sale in a horse arena. There wasn't really anything there that I was interested in, so Keith (the Aussie I'm sharing a caravan with) just came home and had some tea.

Last second creations

This year for Christmas I got a sweet watch. It’s not a brand name or anything, but it works well and I like it. Very recently the band broke on me, so (before hearing that the missing piece had been retrieved) I put a snap on it as a fastener. Sadly this wasn’t a very secure method of keeping my watch attached to my arm so I surrendered and went to the mall to buy a new band. After finding watchbands much more costly than I had expected, I suddenly got an idea. I don’t know where it came from, but suddenly I could see clearly in my mind’s eye how to MAKE MY OWN watchband!

Following my epiphany I dashed to the dollar store and bought a lanyard with the Canadian flag on it. Then I purchased some ‘backpack strap’ material at Len’s Mill. I combined this with an old belt buckle I had at home and after a little creative engineering I had a new watch band, perfect for backpacking across Europe.

It’s clearly homemade (you can see stitch work etc.) but that just adds character right?

ALSO . . .

. . . Some of you may recall that I promised to post a picture of the cool ‘Rock Monster’ I found while at work a month or so ago. Well, here he is . . .
Pretty awesome eh? I also made this wallpaper to showcase how totally rad the green beast really is.

Things are lookin' good.

My Itinerary is pretty much the same (a few changes, but nothing worth writing about) although now I have some preliminary dates. Looks like I’ll be in Ireland for closer to 2 months now as I’ve got too many places to stay than can fit in a single month.

Once I’m finished in Ireland I’m going to cross via ferry from Dublin over to Holyhead, Wales. I’ll figure something out for Wales when the time of my arrival is more imminent.

(I'm sure these things are going to get WAY more interesting once I actually arrive in Europe.)

A new and improved update.

The waiting game is over (It was a quick game!). After connecting with a few folks overseas this is my revised Irish itinerary . . .

I’ve got a tree nursery in Co. Clare to stay at the first week or so after I arrive in Ireland. They’re going to send someone to meet me at the airport. Once I’m there they’ll take care of food and accommodations. I won’t be the only volunteer there either so I’ll have some folks to chat with who’re in the same boat as me.

Once I’m finished in Co. Clare I’ll head south to Co. Cork to help a man with his pedigree goats. I’ll be there for a little while, which I’m looking forward to because I’ll have my own room and en-suite and access to a sauna.

After that I’m going to head west to Co. Kerry where I’ll help stay with a musician and his family for a week or so and then perhaps head to the Dingle Peninsula. I hear it’s a very traditional area of Ireland where hearing farmers conversing in Celtic is quite common.

After that I’m going to head East to Co. Wicklow to this place where I’ll be camped out for a while and meeting people and helping out as much as possible. This is my last official stop on my trip before I nip up to Dublin for a couple days and then continue my journey in Wales, England, and Scotland.

I would love the opportunity to visit Northern Ireland, but I guess I’ll just have to play that one by ear!

Here’s an update!

I’ve been talking to some people in Ireland and I’ve got a farm lined up for the last week of May and a couch arranged for when I first arrive. Aside from that I’ve got nothing. I sent out about 7 more e-mails, to farms in Ireland, today to see who could put me up for a while. Now I’m sitting back and playing the waiting game.

It’s funny how when you’re planning a trip everything seems so attainable and then once you’ve booked the ticket and you’re watching the departure date approach you start to doubt yourself! I know I’ll be fine. I know I’ve got the skills I’ll need to get by. I know I’ll love Ireland and all of Europe when I’m there. However, regardless of everything I know, there’s still a voice in my head saying ‘What the hell have you gotten yourself into?’.

I guess I’ll have my answer May 10th.

Oops!

I guess it wasn't Glow Worm.

Perhaps it was Ferral?!

Elephunk

Here's my contribution.

Thanks Glow Worm - http://jewschool.com/2007/04/05/quick-comics/
And Glum Chum - http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g60/Sazzmo/Un2.jpg?t=1175

Aujourd'hui

The day started out at 5:10am.

I woke up, got ready, went to work, started work and was in the process of not really enjoying myself when I found something. Someone was throwing out a figure of a really cool looking green monster. I decided it was too good to pass up so I took it. Then a few streets over someone was throwing out a tiny red guitar. I took it and gave it to my monster. I can’t find my digital camera at the moment but when I do you’ll see just how awesome he really is!

Following that things just got great! I found ANOTHER scooter, a Canadian flag, an English flag, a German flag and a plant holder made of sea shells, bamboo and old coconut shells (kind of ugly, but in the best possible way!)

But wait! It gets better!

So then I’m picking up this guy’s garbage, and he comes over and asks me if he can throw out a bunch of lawn stuff as well. That would put him over his limit so he went to talk to my driver. APPARENTLY he bribed the driver with 4 cans of Guinness! What’s even better is that my driver didn’t like Guinness so he gave them all to me!!!

Then we sat at the dump for an hour and the day was over.

Ahem . . .

I would like to correct my earlier post. I will NOW (and apparently always was) be flying to Ireland for £200 and not $200. Silly me. Still not a bad price!

I’ve been looking into different ways to stay and see the country and have sent out a few e-mails. No responses yet (I literally JUST sent the e-mails) but I’m excited and everything is looking good!

I also got an e-mail response from one of my friends from England. He wasn’t an easy guy to track down, and that’s probably due to the fact that he lives in Trinidad now. Anyway, I’m not sure how he got the postcard I sent him but he’s written back and I’m in contact with 4 or 5 of the gang from the old highschool exchange program.

Things are looking good!

IRELAND then Europe!

I've got my ticket! Only $200 BOTH WAYS!!!!!

Highspeed courtesy of Caistor Central School

Thanks to March break, I'm sitting in my old grade 8 room using the school's highspeed internet. While I was doing this, I came across and old draft post which never made the blog cut. There was no text, just an image. I would like to share that image with you now.

What the heck?

My morning in the USA.

I was in the US today (dropping Dad off at the Buffalo airport) andwhile I was in the country I tried to order a Whopper meal. Everything was fine, except the price. I payed with a $10 Canadian bill and got back $1.50 American. I wasn't THAT hungry so I cancelled my order.

After a month, I post this?!?

It’s been more than a months since my last post! I’ll bet everyone has stopped checking my blog and forgotten about me altogether! Well, despite being busy with work, and accessing the internet on dial up (which although effective is quite frustrating much of the time) I have not forgotten about out the ColourCircus.

I’ve been working at Blockbuster and as a Garbage Man. I now get 10 free DVD rentals a week and all the ‘good stuff’ I can scavenge. Mostly though people just throw out junk (and dead animals make a strangely frequent appearance.) I did find a radio but I gave it to the truck driver. He broke the last one he found the other week.

The dog gone dog’s gone

Since my dog’s gone deaf there’s been a lot more wildlife coming up close to our house. The other day I almost hit a deer driving up my lane because I was distracted by the family of deer in the field. A few days later I drove past a couple of school busses full of children, all watching the wild turkey we had in our field. Yesterday they (the turkey not the school busses full of children) were in the back field right next to the house, so I snapped a picture.

A little bit of light . . .

There have been a lot of different things happening in my life recently. I’ll list a few of the best . . .

I went to Toronto last weekend with some friends.
- We went to a bar, which was pretty cool! It had about 4 different rooms you could sit, stand, dance, and drink in. One room had a piano player entertaining everyone while another had a man playing some fantastic songs by himself on guitar. It was quite a social evening which ended in someone we met being caught in the middle of a pizza fight, and Mike W. having his face forced into a big tin which had recently contained a huge serving of haggis.

When I got home I heard wolves in the woods and watched deer running through the trees and fields away from the howling.
- The heading for this one pretty much gave it away, but it was vary cool!

While looking for a job I saw hope for ‘outdated’ concept of community.
- I was looking through some job postings in an employment centre, and another man that was there referred me to a couple of places he knew were hiring that I never would have thought to look! Then I was directed to a closer job bank but wasn’t given an address, so one of the other people in the room took it upon themselves to interrupt what they had been doing to give me the directions I needed. Then when I got to THAT job bank, I mentioned that I was looking for something close. About 5 minutes later a man gave me the booklet he had been looking though and told me that he had saved all the jobs that were close for me as he was looking for employment for himself. Just because he overheard me talking about what I was looking for. Kinda trivial, but very positive, and that’s what I’ll focus on!

Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers

Damn it!

It's been a while since my last post, and as usual I don't know what to break the ice with. I've tried writing posts about reconsidering my trip to Mexico, and now my reconsidering my reconsideration. I've tried to post about having read the Hitchhikers's Guide books, I've tried to post about parties and about Shabudabu, but nothing seems to flesh itself out enough to fill an entire post.

Thus you're stuck with what you just read. And this . . .

Nomadic Brothers (maybe)

Look at these crazy guys, ridin' horses in a city somewhere. They could be anyone, they could be anywhere, and they could be riding for any reason. Here's my theory . . .

They are members of a nomadic group of horsemen (horsepeople for the more enlightened) who travel the world on horseback living simple lives which emphasize the importance of family and community experience over material possessions.

Sound about right? If not what do you think they're up to?

Dance party fantastico

At long last, a moment to update my sorely neglected blog.

I'm back in Ontario now, with plans to head to Mexico later in the month.

Last night was a party at Filthy McNasty's which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. It was definitely a result of the people as McNasty's is a crummy venue for a dance bar.

The End.