Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, September 05, 2011
Monday, November 01, 2010
Jamie likes to be bad abroad!
Jamie recently came to visit and he brought the devil along with him. Together we tread the cobbles 'neath bow bells seeking neither fame nor fortune, instead just having a good time. In London we hit up the portrait gallery where we each worked in pastel to reproduce some of the modern art in an impromptu artist lead exercise, checked out Camden Market and took pictures of some of the city's main attractions.
At first Jamie found the whole experience somewhat surreal, but before too long he got excited!
Then he just got carried away!
He's home now, in Canada, and England can breath a sigh of relief. I, however, will miss the guy.
He's home now, in Canada, and England can breath a sigh of relief. I, however, will miss the guy.Friday, July 02, 2010
Canada Day in Trafalgar Square
But he wasn't as scary as he looked, and after a few beer, and one accidental bomb scare, we all lived happily ever after! Oh Canada, what a great day!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Super Tea
This was a good cup!I like this picture because it looks like we`re a wacky crime fighting team or something.
It was taken in Česky Krumlov in the Czech Republic at the hostel I was staying at.
The dude on the far right is in Budapest now, as I am, and tomorrow we`re going to meet up and see some stuff.
Lots of other stuff, I mean LOTS of other stuff has happened in the time since last I logged an entry on here, but I don`t feel like writing about it now.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Yesterday
I had wanted to leave the 'farm' yesterday, hitchhike into Koblenz and then catch a train to Hamburg in order to chance a meeting with a friend who said they could host me. I figured I'd find a way to get in touch with them so no biggy if I had nothing really arranged ahead of time.
I arrived in Koblenz (after a free bus ride and 1 car) and the weather was wonderful! Sunny and warm in a way not typical of October 23rd! I was feeling good so I went to a shop and got my watch battery replaced (the one that controls the 'globlu' function, because as it turned out my watch has 3 batteries.) and grab a kebab for a quick lunch outside the train station.
That's where things went wrong.
A ticket to Hamburg was €80. I decided screw it I'll head straight to Berlin. But that would cost me €100. So now I have a dilemma the likes of which can only be sorted with the help of the Internet. So that's where I went, a cafe just outside the Hauptbahnhof to search for cheaper bus lines and to ask for a ride share. I found nothing. So I talked to the Moroccans outside (this is when it's good to know a little French even in Germany) who told me I should go to the homeless shelter for 1 night and then try to get a ticket tomorrow.
I didn't do that.
Instead I went back to the station to see when the next 'cheap' train fare would be available. Turns out if I waited until Sunday I could get to Berlin for only €64. Still far more than I was expecting if I wanted this rate I would have to buy the ticket at some point before 8pm that night. So I had some thinking to do. I posted some last minute requests on Couch Surfing and now I had to play the waiting game.
I'd been told Cologne had more and cheaper hostels but the Internet revealed that this was a lie. So I did what any traveller in my situation would do. I bought some cheap beer and sat on a park bench.
Behind me there was a skate shop\record shop that I thought might be nice to check out, so I finished me beer and took a walk inside. I looked around, and on my way out asked if the store clerk (a 24 year old named Geronimo) if he knew of any hostels in Koblenz. Turns out there is only one and it's €18 a night. But he said he'd let me use the Internet at his shop if I wanted!
It was while surfing the net here that I got a call from a CS host who said she could host me, but not until the following evening. So now I had to find a place for tonight. The search was one and I was diligently running through all of my options when Geronimo politely informed me that he was closing the shop. I was screwed, but Geronimo told me to wait a moment while he made a phone call. Homeless himself he had nowhere he could let me crash, but after a phone call to his boss he assured me I would not be out on the street, I could in fact crash in his store's back room where he would be spending the night.
Crisis averted I went back to the station to buy my €64 ticket at which point I was told I could go to Berlin for a mere €25 if I didn't mind taking the slow train and having the 6 hour trip stretch into an 11 hour trek. I didn't mind and so with ticket in hand, I set off to the Circus Maximus to buy a burger and relax.
6 hours after arriving in a strange city without anywhere to stay and no idea where I was going or what was going to happen to me the Universe once again smiled upon me and I was spared a chilly evening on the banks of the Rhine.
I arrived in Koblenz (after a free bus ride and 1 car) and the weather was wonderful! Sunny and warm in a way not typical of October 23rd! I was feeling good so I went to a shop and got my watch battery replaced (the one that controls the 'globlu' function, because as it turned out my watch has 3 batteries.) and grab a kebab for a quick lunch outside the train station.
That's where things went wrong.
A ticket to Hamburg was €80. I decided screw it I'll head straight to Berlin. But that would cost me €100. So now I have a dilemma the likes of which can only be sorted with the help of the Internet. So that's where I went, a cafe just outside the Hauptbahnhof to search for cheaper bus lines and to ask for a ride share. I found nothing. So I talked to the Moroccans outside (this is when it's good to know a little French even in Germany) who told me I should go to the homeless shelter for 1 night and then try to get a ticket tomorrow.
I didn't do that.
Instead I went back to the station to see when the next 'cheap' train fare would be available. Turns out if I waited until Sunday I could get to Berlin for only €64. Still far more than I was expecting if I wanted this rate I would have to buy the ticket at some point before 8pm that night. So I had some thinking to do. I posted some last minute requests on Couch Surfing and now I had to play the waiting game.
I'd been told Cologne had more and cheaper hostels but the Internet revealed that this was a lie. So I did what any traveller in my situation would do. I bought some cheap beer and sat on a park bench.
Behind me there was a skate shop\record shop that I thought might be nice to check out, so I finished me beer and took a walk inside. I looked around, and on my way out asked if the store clerk (a 24 year old named Geronimo) if he knew of any hostels in Koblenz. Turns out there is only one and it's €18 a night. But he said he'd let me use the Internet at his shop if I wanted!
It was while surfing the net here that I got a call from a CS host who said she could host me, but not until the following evening. So now I had to find a place for tonight. The search was one and I was diligently running through all of my options when Geronimo politely informed me that he was closing the shop. I was screwed, but Geronimo told me to wait a moment while he made a phone call. Homeless himself he had nowhere he could let me crash, but after a phone call to his boss he assured me I would not be out on the street, I could in fact crash in his store's back room where he would be spending the night.
Crisis averted I went back to the station to buy my €64 ticket at which point I was told I could go to Berlin for a mere €25 if I didn't mind taking the slow train and having the 6 hour trip stretch into an 11 hour trek. I didn't mind and so with ticket in hand, I set off to the Circus Maximus to buy a burger and relax.
6 hours after arriving in a strange city without anywhere to stay and no idea where I was going or what was going to happen to me the Universe once again smiled upon me and I was spared a chilly evening on the banks of the Rhine.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
And you get a letter in the mail!
I was thinking today while I was at work moving lawns. Here's what I was thinking . . .
A story writing exercise.
I'm going to handwrite a page of a story and then post that page to someone else.
That person then handwrites the next page and posts post pages to someone else.
That person then handwrites the next page and so on and so on.
Each participant needs only write 1 page (and please lets limit it to that so everyone can get a chance without us inadvertently killing a small forest)
Then when the story is done, the last participant sends me the entire thing and I'll make copies, bind them, and send one to each participant!
Sound like fun? Let's get started! Either leave me your address in a comment or sent it via e-mail! Do it now!
A story writing exercise.
I'm going to handwrite a page of a story and then post that page to someone else.
That person then handwrites the next page and posts post pages to someone else.
That person then handwrites the next page and so on and so on.
Each participant needs only write 1 page (and please lets limit it to that so everyone can get a chance without us inadvertently killing a small forest)
Then when the story is done, the last participant sends me the entire thing and I'll make copies, bind them, and send one to each participant!
Sound like fun? Let's get started! Either leave me your address in a comment or sent it via e-mail! Do it now!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Feliz Año Nuevo!
Leading up to New Years I was a little nervous. I had been told that the last time June introduced someone to her friends who only spoke English, they really made no effort to talk to him and he was bored.I shouldn´t have worried though. When we arrived June and her friends all talked with each other and I found out there was a Brazilian girl there too, so good! 2 non native speakers! I think I started talking to her in English and within a few minutes I was able to talk to everyone and they were all great!
Our entrance to the bar cost us 20€ but that included 3 drinks and a shot. And they just gave you free shots when you ordered a drink anyway, I have no idea why! And if you asked them to mix you a really strong drink they would. It was pretty good! Anyway we stayed there ´till 4 or 5 I guess then we went to another bar and then to a house party in some room some guys rented. Across from their room there was a bar, I went in and bought a beer and ended up talking with strangers in there too. I had an argument with some Latin American guy about whether or not I was American and I just gave up because he was getting mad. After that though we were best of friends.Just before the bar closed I asked the bartender if he´d just fill up my pint for me . . . and he did!!! Ha! Just filled ´er on up! Then I played hackey sack with some guy with a tennis ball, or more accurately just kind of kicked his tennis ball away from him.
Over the course of the night people disappeared, people reappeared, people threw up, I was given a roll of toilet paper in a grand ceremony in the bar, and then at about 8:30am we all stumbled back to our places and tried to get as much sleep as possible. I didn´t get up ´till 5pm.
Prior to all of this, June and I had watched the countdown to New Years on T.V. and then ate the traditional 12 grapes during the first 12 seconds of the year, then went out to the balcony to watch people shooting off fireworks from their balconies! Seriously! People were shooting crap right out their kitchen windows! I say one thing smack into the wall of the building on the other side of the road! I saw pedestrians on their way out have to run after someone dropped a firecracker out their window above them. It was awesome!!Please note the Christmas tree in the background of the one picture. That´s because Christmas here isn´t over ´till January 5th when the 3 wise men come. The 25th is when Olentzaro brings gifts. That´s the dude who´s effigy I´m carrying in the impromptu parade in the old town.
Monday, December 10, 2007
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)