The End

One last day in Paris before returning to England. We arrived to find Mala the maid cooking us a wonderful Sri Lankan curry dinner and had made a black forest cake. Word had passed that it was Mikes 23rd birthday. Gilberts worked late that night and we did not eat until 930pm. Our stay was short but was nice to be abe to say thank you to Gilberts again for putting up with us as long as he did. Our train left early the next morning from St Lazare. 2 hours later we were in Calais. A slummy looking port town with little to offer. Our luxury liner departed amidst perfect conditions and put us in Dover 90 minutes later. Dover was Calais, it had the same feeling of nothing, yet the White cliffs of Dover and a castle spruce up the scenery. We hitched a train into London as we were to meet Sophie(the girl from poland, living in Leeds) at 830 at Kings Cross Station. We arrived in London 4pm with considerable time to kill so we marched on with our bags and started walking across London in search of the British Museum, one of the sights we missed earlier in the trip. Being a friday London was very busy and the pubs were overflowing with people but we managed to make it to the museum. Not realizing it would take so long we didn't have uch time to go into the museum but thankfully the building itself is part of the attraction. 830 had rolled up on us so we headed to Camden for the train station. Patiently we waited at Swatch store as directed by Sophie. Sure enough threre she was, looking lively and ready to have a fun weekend. We trained back to her parents house in Tooting Bec, a borough of London. We were all very tired from our different journeys that day so we went out for a quick bite at the local Indian restaurant and caught up on the ends of our summers. At first Adrian and I were unsure if we wanted to spend our last weekend in Europe with a friends parents, to be honest we were totally against it. Further inquiries into hotels and hostles proved to be hopeless so we sucked it up and went to Sophies house. It turned out to be great, her parents are from Mauritis and apparently love to entertain. Our last full day in Europe was upon us. After eating a lovely english breakfast we commuted back to Oxford circus and shopped a little, eventually connecting with Sophies friend Ellaine(also met in Poland). The 4 us went to dim sum in China town and ended up at Funland playing video games trying to out do eachother. After a fun day in London we headed back to Sophies house and got ready for the big night out. As I was saying earlier about Sophies parents enjoying guests, 4 of Sophies friends also made the trip in from Leeds to join us. The house was packed and we were watching rugby, enjoying some Vodka. Eventually the time came to go out and enjoy the final hurra! We tubed to Clapham, a popular strip for clubs and bars. We had heard of this Vodka revolution bar and had decided to go there. From this point on we endure many shots of Vodka with a wide varity of flavors including a chili infused shot, Lucky me pulled the short straw and became the end of my night. We partied as hard as possible and ended up back at home passed out on the couch. Captured on film as the last picture of the trip, a fitting symbol to our European Adventure. After sleeping soundly for 3 hours we awoke to the hell of leaving Europe. Thankfully we had pre packed the night before and rolled out of sleep into the car and off to the airport. Sophies parents were gracious enough to drive us to the airport. Unfortunatly Mike had to get out of the car and empty out the rest of last night. Excluding that everything went off without a hitch. A long 10 hour flight, 3 bad movies, crap food and crappier seats we arrived back in the wild wild west, Canada. It felt strange but at the same time it felt so comfortable to be around normal people. haha...just kidding..On the BC ferry ride Adrian and I really realized that it was all coming to an end and that I wont have to share a bed or wake someone up anymore. The great journey had come full circle. 12 countries and 3.5 months later we returned refreshed and ready to return to Normal life. The few thousand pictures will remind us of the amazing experience Europe was culturally and physically. Tools such as this blog will keep our memories intact and the spirit of the trip alive.

Round Trip

We arrived in Luxembourg city and were surrounded by the features of a bigger city. The walk from the train station to the hostel wasn't a bad one at all, the directions were more or less solid. The thing with Luxembourg city is that a good section of the city is located in a valley below the rest of the city. As far as we were concerned we were standing where the hostel should have been but weren't, it ended up being a nice hike down into the valley. One of the nicer hostels we've stayed at, very large and had a hotel like feeling to it. We were surprised to find that there was no kitchen though, which always in a damper for us because we like cooking our own warm meals. We settled in the first night and got the classic bread, meat, and cheese dinner and vodka to drink and then took advantage of the pingpong table that was available for use. The next day we perused the city. Lots of wealth there that's for sure, most men wearing business suits, Louis Vuitton jewellery cases for 38000 euros, and bank machines that suggest that "your money would do better in Luxembourg." We vistited the sights in the city, the Spanish casements, which were built to overlook the hillsides to defend the area, a cemetary that we thought contained war casualties but ended up being more of a civilian cemetary, and the business and university district. Luxembourg was a very nice city but like most European smaller cities and towns was completely shut down on Sunday, when we happened to be there. After our stay in Luxembourg we headed back to Paris to spend some time with Bas, Annette, Maureen and of course, Gilbert. What a strange feeling to see your parents for the first time in 3 months. One minute you are making your own decisions and wondering what mom and dad are doing, the next minute you are in a kitchen with them. Our few days back in Paris were excellent. We eat very well and got to see some things we hadn't seen earlier in the summer. We were spoiled over these 3 days and paid for very little, which we are very thankful for. We saw some photo exhibtions, The first was a black and white exhibition of Weegee, a famous 1940's New York bases crime photographer. Quite graphic at times but very provocative. The second was Pierre and Gilles at the Jeu De Paume gallery. This was a very colorful display of Pictures that had been altered by paint. Most pieces were very surreal and intense. Ranging from Naked porn stars to a teary eyed child holding a bloodied teddy bear. These pieces were thought provoking and required much examination. Tottaly something we would have not seen on our own. The following day Maureen returned to Vancouver and Gilbert to work. The 4 of us enjoyed the Beaubourg nodern art museum. The building itslef is as much a piece of art as is the 2500 plus pieces in the gallery. There was certainly something for everyone in this immense gallery. Our second to last full day in Paris, Adrian and I were left alone as my parents had not been to Versailles. We made our way to the Musee des Arts Decoratifs at la Mode. Unfortunatly the fashion portion of the musuem was closed. This did not stop us from enjoying the rest of the museum. It was full of furniture from the 12th century until modern day. It was lots of fun. Our last day we were re united with the folks. We had decided earlier that this day was to be reserved for shopping. We went to Printemps, Paris' largest and most fashionable department store. The kind of place that makes the Bay look like Wal-Mart. Jeans for 300$ and socks for 100$. My mother managed to purchase a lovely hand bag and we ended up with some items from C&A, being much cheaper. Our last night in Paris we all went out for dinner to a traditional french restaurant and had a great time enjoying each others company. Paris will be hard to erase from our minds. A city I would like to think I will re visit numourous times in my life.
Upon leaving Paris we headed to the small town of Bayeux to set up shop for a couple days of touring the D-Day beaches in Normandy. We rented a couple bikes at a little shop and set out for a nice long ride to as many baeches as we could get to in the one day. Our first stop was a town called Arromanche where there was a 360 degree film which jumped from real time war footage to present day in the same location and had a surround sound system reliving the war time scenarios as well. It was extremely well done. We then headed west toward to ever famous Omaha beach, where the American troops assailed the Germans and had a huge loss of life. The beach itself was very windy yet calm and sombering at all once. To be standing where thousands of young men were killed in one battle was almost unimaginable. We headed up to the memorial and the cemetary that housed more than 10 000 soldiers. It in itself is remarkable. To see the movies portraying the war and the battle of Normandy and to actually stand there is a whole different feeling. Row upon row of white crosses perfectly arranged and spaced, engraved with the names of so many who's lives were extinguished so prematurely is an extremely powerful thing to see. The only unfortunate thing is that the memorial and cemetary has naturally become such a tourist attraction that groups of school children and others are moving around talking and in some cases laughing. Silence and respect is what is written on the signs in the area and unfortunately it isn't always so. Our next stop along the way was a place called Point du Hoc where a group of 235 Rangers were given the assignment to scale what the Germans thought were unscalable cliffs and dismantle the guns at the top to prevent even more bombardment for the troops on the beaches on the following days. The area was surreal. There were partially destroyed bunkers buried into the ground and massive craters were artillery obviously landed from the navy boats. Of the 235 Rangers who assailed the cliffs only 95 remained at the end of the day. After Point du Hoc we decided we had to head back to Bayeux to return the bikes before 830pm, we had been riding since about 1030am and it was nearing 5pm. To take the quickest route back we took a turn off which actually spat us out onto the N13 highway. It was not the best place for a couple of bikes. Cars were whizzing by us at speeds of 110km/h and honking their horns. As if we didn't realise that we shouldn't have been there! We had no other choice but to continue on down a stretch of 15km and to make matters worse it started to absolutely pour buckets of rain on us. By the time we got back to the bikes it was 730pm and we were soaked, so a quick trip to the grocery store and we were back at the hostel to warm up. The next day we were leaving Bayeux to head towads Juno beach where the Canadian soldiers landed. A little town called Courseulle-sur-Mer was where the Canadian war memorial and cemetary were so we stayed there for a couple days to absorb it all in. The memorial is the only memorial for Canadian soldiers and was fantastic. Walking through and reading and listen to all the info gave us a great sense of pride to be a Canadian. The cemetary was more secluded as well so it was very peaceful and reflective for us. So many young men, younger than us, were laid rest here well before their time. Paying our respects there was a must in our journeys. We spent another day in the area and just relaxed and the following day we bussed to a town called Caen and splurged a bit. We decided to rent a car for the next three days and head up to the famous WWI site of Vimy Ridge and Dieppe before returning back to Normandy. After filling out all the paper work we were shown our new ride, a brand new Opel Corsa TDI. How exciting to be behind the wheel of a car again after 4 months. We had talked previously about how it would be strange and possibly difficult to drive around again but I found it very comfortable and a lot of fun. We managed to escape Caen and we made a push for Vimy, which turned out to be our farthest drive of the 3 days. After driving all day some 300 km's we arrived just before dark and managed to see the memorial before night arrived. What a site. A gigantic stone monument that dominated the surrounding area. Visible from some 30 kms away from the North. This memorial was created for the 60000 soldiers who gave their lives for a small piece of french countryside during the first world war. The sheer number of lives lost mtahced with the size of the memorial was hard to take in. On one hand you admire the beauty of the monument and on the other you read the names carved in the stone. They seem to go on for ever and ever. We have seen many things on the trip but this site was not only one of the most impressive but also the most profound, not only because we are Canadians but also because of the surrounding area and the peacefullness that is now, Vimy. That night we decided to sleep in the car to save money. We found a quite farmers road and parked in the middle of a cabbage patch. Fairly uncomfortable but we survived. That morning we went back to Vimy amidst heavy fog and walked through the trenches and went into the Tunnels that remains open to the public. The land that surrounds these trenches is full of massive craters made from heavy shelling more than 85 years ago. A tour was required to enter the tunnels so we joined up with a school group and did the tour in french as it was the only available tour for the next few hours. It was strange to walk in these tunnels and hear the sad stories of these brave soldiers. It was also strange to be in a place where Adolf Hitler visited numerous times. The Canadian cemeteries were also very sad, there are over 1000 war cemeteries in France. We paid our respects and left Vimy with a strong impression of pride gratitude. We highly recommend it to anyone who plans on being in the area. It is well worth the trip. We travelled from Vimy to Dieppe to be at another site of Canadian war history. Unfortunatly Dieppe suffered from the war and does not have much to offer for anyone searching out there dark past. A Canadian museum exists but was closed while we were there. So for us Dieppe was rather boring. A dark, dirty city with little to do. We found ourselves at the movie theater again after a pleasent meal at a local seafood restaurant. Another night of sleeping in the car and we moved on again back towards Normandy. Over the large Normandy bridge and we were back. It felt like home again, Normandy is one the most enjoyable regions of France. Amazing food, friendly people and lots of history and beaches. We happened to stumble on The Merville Batteries, one of Britains most important battles which paved the way for the landings on Sword beach and we saw Pegasus bridge, the first bridge liberated in all of France. We ended up In Oustreham and decided to book a room as we had enough of sleeping in the car. The house we stayed in was very quaint. We were greeted by an elderlycouple and showed to our room. Before we could even get settled we were offered tea and home made cider, which we both indulged in. That evening we relaxed and made a sandwhich for dinner and went down to the beach. After eating we headed to teh cinema to watch Shoot em' up the new Clive Owen action movie. We couldn't have picked a better movie because there wasn't much dialogue and with it being entirely french with no subtitles we were still able to enjoy the movie. In the morning we headed back to Caen, checked out the memorial and info center there, which was quite amazing and a must see if your ever in the area, and drove the car back to the dealer. We hoped on a train and headed back to Paris for the night. Next stop is Calais to ferry us back to merry old England for our last couple days. Happy Birthday Mike! Let's go out in style.

ketchup 2.0

Well back at it again we apologize for the long delay in the blog but here we go. Prague was good, I say good and not great because before getting there it had been very over hyped. With Krakow being as amazing as it was it made Prague appear just a little less exciting. It happened again we took our first night train, which was a very good experience, and upon arriving at the hostel around 9am they said we couldn't check in until noon, so we locked up our bags and headed out on the town early morning. It was the most touristy thing to do but we ended up going to The Simpsons movie to help pass the time. By noon we were quite tired so we checked in and had a nap. We woke up went grocery shopping and picked up our new beverage of choice, vodka and oj. After cooking dinner a bunch of people from the hostel went out but for some reason didn't invite us, no skin off our teeth. We headed out for a night on the town but again were quite dissapointed by the over hyped nightlife. The one big club they had was a tourist trap, no locals and long lines, not even worth it. So we walked around went to a few bars and called it a night. The following day was better, we did some sightseeing and stumbled across a rare gem, when we were in Poland the Bourne Ultimatum was scheduled to come out that in a couple weeks but in Prague it came out that day, so naturally we had to see it. That night was much better we met some girls and some guys in the hostel and we went to a nightclub that has a bar a club and a topless bar in it. Believe it or not we stayed away from the topless bar, not because the tv's above the bar in the club protion were televising it, and stayed in the club. Regardless it was great and the sun was up when we left. The next day one of our new friends wanted to see the new Bourne installment so we went with him again, and then we ended up at the same night club that night, another great time though, it all depends on the people and lucky us managed to meet some cool people once again, or is it lucky them? On our last full day there we showed around two girls we met and we're not ashamed to say went to the Bourne Ultimatum for a third time in three days, the girls came along. That night we celebrated our last night in Prague with our wonderful concoction of vodka and oj, what a wonderful discovery. All in all Prague was fun but didn't hold a candle to Krakow, the next destination was another very hyped city, Amsterdam. Upon arriving in Amsterdam we made our way to stay in an apartment which was made availble by friends of Adrian's family, Katinka and Albin. It was very nice to not live like a backpacker for a week and a bit and just relax in our own little place. Amsterdam is a crazy city and we experienced some of it but we also decided against experiencing all of it. We went to the Ajax stadium and did the full tour, another stadium crossed off the list, and we went to the Anne Frank house, the Heineken Brewery, and the Red Light District but only during the day. Amsterdam was a beautiful city with the miles of canals and bike paths which remind you that your definitly in Holland. We spent a about a week there but didn't party much at all it was more of a down time for us to relax and get our bearings. The one night we went out we met up with our friend Carly deGoode and brothers and cousins. We had Albin take us to a more local Dutch bar where we had some beers and drinks, by the end of our time there we had taught the bartenders what a Gladiator and a Dr. Pepper drinks were, we found it strange that we knew about drinks and they had no idea, really spreading that Canadian knowledge of alcohol i guess. We spent one night with Katinka and Albin and had a nice home cooked meal and began oraganizing our trip out of the city. After spending so long in Amsterdam amongst the hustle and bustle we decided to head east to the De Hoegue Veluwe National park. We had heard good things from Katinka and Albin and it was a good chance to save some money and camp. The train trip was only one hour but you would have had no idea that Amsterdam was so close. We caught a bus from Ede to Otterlo and entered the park from there. 7 euros per day in the park but you got the use of a white bicycle to explore the entire park. After finding out where the camp site was we realized we had a 9km bike ride through the park with our packs on. Let's just say it was fun. The next few days were great as we spent our days biking through 26 km of paved and gravel trails, making our way through forests, tall grass plains, sandy dunes and moores. Truely spectacular. A major attraction at that time of year was the red deer in the park as it was the rucking season. In a few key locations throughout the park there were secluded areas to view wildlife. Normally the areas were empty and nothing was to be seen. Luckily enough for us one evening we were biking through the park and decided to pull in to one of the view points. To our surprise a large crowd was gathered and we got to witness a large group of deer in a field. There was one male red deer who was rucking, trying to mate with one of the females and making crazy noises. I suppose trying to intimidate them. Then all of a sudden 4 other males come of of the bush and attempt to join in,with no luck. All we know is that we were very lucky to witness these animals in the wild. The rest of our time in the park we searched for strange looking mushrooms and caught some amazing photos of a wide range of them. I know it doesnt sound so exciting but it helped pass the time as we strolled through the park. After a few nights we decided we had enough ham and cheese sandwiches and camping so we packed up our things and took off for Rotterdam to see Adrian's Oma. We trained to Rotterdam and booked into a hostel for a couple nights. Again we took it easy in Rotterdam. Upon arriving at Adrian's Oma's place in Vlaardingen we had some lunch and some dutch cakes and Adrian tried his best to speak Dutch to his Oma and Mike tried his best too, at one point he ven fell asleep, what a guest! Adrian hadn't seen her in a few years so it was a absolutely wonderful visit although as we left we are sure she was crying but we did our best not to look back. Back we went to Rotterdam. The city with little to offer after you have been everywhere esle. As we were slightly unimpreesed we moved south out of Holland and into Belgium. We planned on doing some more camping as it was easier on our budgets so we decided on heading to Namur. The last major outpost before the Ardennes. We arrived not knowing that it was the weekend of a large music festival. In need of groceries we hit up the local tourist information, being a Sunday we were told the only open store was on the opposite side of town. All we had to do was walk all the way down the main street, lucky us as we had our large bags and a crowd of 50,000 to navigate through. This turned out to be the start of a very long day before ever reaching the campsite a mear 6km outside of town. To make a long story short we walked too much, took one too many buses, got lost, found our way, got lost again and then had to walk up a long steep hill to the campsite. We set up camp got drunk and moved on in the morning to Bastogne, the site of WW2's most deadly battle. It was kind of surreal to be in such a place. Obviously it had been completely dimolished in the war and rebuilt but it still had this feeling about it. Tanks were positioned around town as little reminders as was the memorial to Patton and Maculiff. The most impressive site in Bastogne was the Bastogne Historical center, a museum and the memorial to all the American troops who fought in the area. It was easily one the largest memorials and one of the best museums. It housed many uniforms from both sides of the war and many weapons and artifacts. Very informative and made you realize the sacrifices soldiers made for everyone. All in all in the neighbourhood of 75000 soldiers were dead in the area and countless others injured. After soaking up the history in Bastogne we made a push for luxembourg and the small town of Eshe sur sure, the home of Luxembourgs oldest castle. Esch sur Sure a town of only 320 people had the best campsite we have come across on the trip to this point. We really only spent a night there but we were able to see the oldest castle in Luembourg while there, and hike up some nice scenic trails. Esch was a quaint little stop over before moving on to the capital Luxembourg city. The city was small compared to some we've seen but it was quite beautiful. It still maintained a good amount of nature and the city has a nice cohesion of old and new. We visited these casements built by the Spanish to defend the ld town if necessary. There were numerous little tunnels mostly marked but some that dissappeared into the darkness that we didn't venture down. Luxembourg is a very wealthy city and you can tell by the amount of construction going on all the time with numerous cranes painting the skyline. The city was a nice place to say we've been because not a lot of backpackers tend to make it there. So after our stint in Luxembourg we are heading back to Paris to stay with Gilbert again for a few days and visit with Mike's parents while they are here. So to date we've been to 12 coutries and countless towns and cities, with a few weeks left we hope to make the best of it!

Polish Dreams

We are writing from Prague, a far cry from Krakow. How we seem to miss Krakow. A land of beautiful woman and cheap food and drinks. It seemed to have everything one would want from a Distant holiday spot. Mundo hostel was an amazing hostel that was very clean with an amazing staff. One ting that we later learned was that outside the hostel was a Brothel. We never entered and it never caused us any concern. I suppose it added to the ambiance and the character of the city. We took full advantage of the city and its surroundings. We made our way on an organized tour of Aushwitz and the death camps. Truely a sad and overwheming experience but something that needs to be experienced and understood. The actual size of the camps and the silence that surrounded the capms was spooky and hard to believe at times. We captured some images that we hope will help people understand the sadness we enountered. We will never forget our short time there but since I have been I think of it Everyday. Poland proved to be very cheap which was great for us but at the same time you wondered about the locals who struggled to get by. Krakow was a verry clean and toursity destination but you had the feeling that a short distance outside the city center it became very poor. We made excellent friends in our hostel and partied pretty hard in a variety of clubs and pubs. We truely miss Poland and hope to make it back some day. Full of history and beautiful people making our stay one of the best stops on the whole trip. So we have spent a night in Prague but it does not seem to hold the same flavour as Krakow did or Barcelona did. We will try to make the best of it and enjoy all Prague and the surrounding area has to offer and soon we will be in Amsterdam and beyond. Ciao

Techno Troubles

Well we have reached our first two months away from home. After leaving Munich we decided to slow it down a touch, so we made our way west to Freiburg. Germanys universoty town at the foothills of the Black forest, home to Hansel and Gretel among other famous tales. We stayed in a relaxed and friendly hostel just outside the old town walls. Black Forest hotel had lots to offer, ping pong-pooltable-kitchen and hot showers. We made new friends and hit the town, having a great time at a small club but of course listening to electronic music which is something like a plague spreading itself throughout Europe, almost impossible to avoid. We medicated the problem with tequilla, seemed to do the trick. Having only one full day in Freiburg we tried to make the most of it. We had noticed there was a rather large hill behind the hostel with a viewing tower so we made our way to the top for some spectacular views of freiburg and the Black Forest, well worth the workout. We didn't have much time at the top as we had made plans to go to the Planetarium which was showing "Queen Heaven" a spectacular laser and light show mixed with the music and footage of Queen. It was really good and we have found ourselves to be quite fond of Queen over our trip. Certainly a great break from random noises they call music everywhere else. So that night we made an asian infused meal in the hostels amazing wok setup. I know, we are in Germany making stir frys, what's up with that? Too be honest we were there on a Sunday and nothing happened to be open except for this little asian market near the Planetarium. So now you know. Our time in Freiburg was up. We enjoyed walking the cobble streets and taking in as much scaffolding as possible. It is so beautiful. Freiburg proved to be a nice break from the craziness of Munich. Next was Berlin which easily made Munich feel like Berlins boring math teacher. We thought Paris was big, Berlin is nine times the size of Paris. Beautifully enough the train system really facilitates the travel throughout the city and we managed to find the hostel without any problems. The hostel was voted top ten hostels in the wotld in 2005 so we were expecting good things. It deilvered. The best shower we've had in a while, a kitchen where we could get back to cooking our own meals, and a nice laid back staff and common room. The only problem was we were right back into party central. Our first night we made friends with a couple guys from the London area and we had a good night out, until we left the bar to thunder and lightning storm. We ran home in the pouring rain! The next day we soaked up what Berlin had to offer. We went on a five hour walking tour of the city and saw the various sights. The Museum island, which is an island full of museums, creative name; the victims of war memorial, dedicated to every victim of any war; the Berlin wall; the book burning square; the Nazi Air Force building; the Brandenburg Gate; and the Holocaust memorial, a very chilling environment. That night was another night out. Another electro-dance music club and lots more tequilla to medicate. Our next day we went to the German history museum, a very vast and extensive history that tends to get overlooked due to the troubles during the 20th century, a shame really the museum was extremely informative and interesting. That evening we decided to go to the strangest club we've ever heard of. It used to be an old power plant that was transformed into a night club, but not redecorated, it was like walking through an abandoned plant we crazy electro house music blasting everywhere. You really have have to see it to believe it. We were honestly a little overwhelmed by the whole affair and ended up leaving soon after arriving there, needless to say it wasn't really our type of scene. On our last day in Berlin we decided to take in as much of the city as possible, so we rented bike's and biked all around the city. It was a beautiful day. Berlin was massive and quite the experience, we've decided now to go another direction before heading to Holland. Poland and the Czech Republic are next in line to meet us two, laid-back, Canadian boys. Hope they're ready!

ketchup

Finally we are back on the blog. We apologize for not keeping everyone up to date but we have run into either expensive internet or no internet. Many things have happened since our last entry, so we will try to update everyone without writting a novel. Montserrat was beautiful, we hiked around the surrounding area and took in some incredible views. We highly recommend the journey if you find yourself in Barca. Adrian and I made sure our last night in Barca was a good one so we partied until 7am and I (mike) ended the night/morning with a swim in the Med. As we mentioned before we had made arrangements to ferry across the med to Rome. Things did not start well for us as the boat was delayed and we didn't depart until 12am. Fortunatly we met 2 canadian girls and we became fast friends and hung out together the wqhole trip and beyond. Good thing for them as some of the passengers were a bit odd and Spaniards and Italians seem to be a bit forward when it comes to good looking girls. Long story short the ride lasted 28 hours and we are sick of playing Rummy. At last we were in the eternal city, Rome. We got kicked onto the street when we arrived because the hostel was a little less than understanding when you arrive at 5am and don't have a reservation because their computers were down. So there we were walking around Rome at 5am. Quite peaceful though, no one around, we took in all the sights and got somme photos of the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps, usually packed with people, completely barren. After a couple days in Rome we were ready to leave, in was a nice city but the hostel we stayed in really soured our experience. Luckily we headed off to heaven on earth, Cinque Terra. I can't even explain the beauty of this place, five coastal town on the Med connected by train and hours of hiking trails. Words can't do it justice you'll just have to wait and see the photos, trust us there are lot's of them. Our next stop on the journey brought us back into France to Chamonix, the host city of the 1924 winter Olympics and the home of Europe's tallest mountain, Mt. Blanc. More hiking and a furniculure trip to 12000ft views that would blow your mind, see not just drinking all the time, we have seen so many beautiful places. First time we saw snow inquite a while was when we were up at the top of Mt. Blanc, I guess it got us excited because on the waqy back down we trail ran a two and a half hour trail descent in just about an hour. One of our days in Chamonix involved some white water rafting. We rafted in the freshest water in France the river l'Arve. The home of Evian water and quite cold, our guide had us jump in and practise rescues, and needless to say it wakes you up when you hit that water. Awesome! So after 3 days of camping and eating bread and cheese we decided to indulge in a traditional meal. So after walking through beautiful Chamonix we decided on a restaurant and we had a cheese fondue. Adrians first time. It really capped off a wonderful few days in the mountains. After a 12 hour, multi train journey we landed in Munich. We went on a free bike tour and had really nice weather. We got to see a lot of things that you probably wouldnt know about if you were on your own. Did you know there is a local surfing spot in the English Garden? That´s what I thought. So we have busied ourselves with massive beers and plenty of local cuisine, including sausages, saurkraut and mustard. Our time is up in Munich and we are not sure where we are heading. The reality is that the weather is not what it was in the south so it's back to rain and being cold. I hope we havent put anyone to sleep with our stories. We look forward to reading your comments and sharing our trip with everyone in the near future, we still are unsure on that as well. Take care...ciao

We have entered our 4th country, Spain!! We are in Barcelona, a beautiful city with amazing architecture and narrow side streets and a nightife that rarely begins before 2am..Before we arrived in Barcelona we travelled from Paris via train to the south of France in search of the Med. We found it in the form of Valras Plage. Without even knowing it we managed to go to the "camping capital of the world", full of caravaning families and disturbing tans. Haven't these people heard of skin cancer? So we lounged in the heat (35C+) and uncovered our farmer tans. 4 days later, after having enough of camping and being dusty we made a charge for Barcelona. Our hostel is very small but full of fun people. We didn't manage to book our next two nights so we are in the midst of arranging more nights in this hostel, if not we move on to a new one. Our first full day in Barca we went to Nou Camp, the home of FC Barcalona, what a site it is. Fifa awarded Nou Camp with the prestigious 5 star award for stadiums and it doesn't dissapoint. We practicaly had full access to the field and stadium with our tour. Nou camp is the largest stadium in Europe and the 4th largest in the world, with a maximum capicity of 98,000 people. They love their football in Europe but it seems much more evident in Spain then it did in France. Here it is a religion. Today we will go to the Picasso musuem and take in somemore sights. If all goes to plan, tommorow we will go to Montserrat, which lies an hour outside the city center. After that we will cross the Med for Rome on a 19 hour ferry ride. Such be fun. Ciao for now....Mike & Adrian

Instant Paris

We are back but unfortunatly have little time to tell you all about Paris..We came, we saw, we conquered. We've seen the eiffel tower, the louvre, les invalides, notre dame, versailles and everything else in between. We also saw the greatest fireworks ever and a concert with Nelly Furtado..I hate to say that I am bored of Paris but it is true. The weqther has just changed for the worse, I think it's a sign to leave. We are thinking of starting our train trip and making a move for Barcelona but perhaps a vacation within a vacation to Morrocco or Greece. We have been so spoiled in Paris. Gilberts apartement is fantastic and very near the eiffel tower. We have tried to live like the locals, buying groceries everyday and being rude. haha, just kidding (kind of). We have been running alot and trying to work on our tans as we gaze at the Eiffel tower. It's a tough life, I know. It's been a different experience here but we're anxious to continue on, the next time you hear from us who knows where we'll be!

Sardines in a Can

At last we are back at the blog. We are writing this entry from the comforts of Gilberts enormous apartement in Paris, tough life!! The end of our last blog had us on our way to Norman and Elizabeths. We had an excellent few days with them in Shropshire but before we left Manchester for the south we managed to squeak in a magical trip to Old Trafford football stadium. A moment I will never forget for the rest of my life. We were unable to do the full tour of the stadium due to upcoming Genusis concerts, just our luck a band that hasn't been together for 25 years and they decide that now was the time to start it up again. We spent our time with Norman and Elizabeth going to Ironbridge which is a world historic site being the first ironbridge ever built. We also went to the R.A.F museum whcih holds an extensive collection of rare and historic British aircraft from all eras. Quite overwhelming as most things are over here, there is just not enough hours in the day to fit it all in. After coercing Adrian we managed to fit in a swim in Normans pool which was a must, very cold but awakening. Our 2 days in Much Wenlock flew by as we were having such fun. Being the gracious hosts that they were, Norman and Elizabeth offered us a ride to Manchester airport and we were quick to agree to this before they changed there minds. Take into consideration that Glasgow airport had just been attacked so things were not business as usual. Fortunatly our trip to Manchester went without a hitch and Adrian and I found ourselves heading for our first european union stop, Dublin. Ryan Air some kind of airline, like sardines in a tin we were crammed into a plane, with luckily the two of us sitting in the very front with tons of leg room. In what seemed like a flight to Vancouver we arrived in Dublin. Interesting airport with a barrage of Gaelic being spoken, no clue what that language is about. The first person we met was a little old lady, who decided it would be right to freak us out and say,"It's a beautiful city, but we've had a number of stabbings recently,", awesome! Well two nights in a hotel later and no problems on the streets, we checked into our first hostel. Nice enough, a hostel with an innordinant amount of spanish speaking people. Over the next few days we had plenty of rain but still fit in what the Irish are famous for, Guiness. We had a few pints, hit a few clubs, pubs, and enjoyed the street life in a district known as Temple Bar, where the majority of goings on occur. We fit in a visit to undoubtbly the heart and sole of Dublin, the Guiness Storehouse, and took a tour there, you get an unbelievable view from the top. Our stay was rainny but we made the best of it, played some on-line poker in one of the numerous internet cafes and did our own cooking in the hostel kitchen, bringing some of our Canadian flare to the kitchen. Apparantly hamburgers are an extravengent meal, everyone was blown away that we could prepare them, but hey we like to BBQ. The night life was great was the grey skies got a little tiresome so come the 10th we were really looking forward to getting over to the continent, so back on the the plane like sardines for our first stop in a non-english speaking country, sould be interesting!

lost in the house

We have arrived in Honley to an empty house(june29). David and Jenny are in London and have been gracious enough to allow us into there home while they are awayafer we left London we made our way to Cambridge, our first real taste of being on our own. We camped just outside of the city center in a small community called Cherry Hinton at the local caravan club. Despite the rainy weather it went off without a hitch. Cambridge proved to be a beautiful city and very accessible by foot. We had a few pints at a local pub and enjoyed a bit of culture as we took in the fitzwilliam musuem. A beautiful collection of modern works including Picasso and Lowery to the much older works dating back many centuries. They also had an extensive collection of antiquities from around the globe. Anything from Egyptian tombs to a medieval armoury. After a chain reaction of events the morning of the 27th we narrowly escaped missing our coach trip to Bradford. After 7 hours on the bus we met Charles at the Bradford interchange and he drove us back to his place where there was a gaggle of kids awaiting our arrival. We never went into Bradford as we heard it was a bit tough so we stuck to the local pubs and pool has. Charles and Pauline took us on a lovely walk our first evening and we enjoyed some Boddingtons. The following day we went walking in the forest with him, his daughter Libby and there dog flo. We had lots of fun and took her to the park. She is just about the same age as Brayden. Nathan also had another daughter (age70, Charlotte. They clung on to us and were sad when we had to leave. Joan was doing well and lives in an attached house around the back. We will spend the weekend in honley and enjoy the views and this beautiful home. Monday we will make our way down to Shrewbury where we will stay with Norman and Elizabeth before flying off too Ireland for a week. Can't wait to write more..Talk to you soon..A+M

Living Luxury

So far so good, we've been staying with Adrian's aunt and uncle in a little town just outside of central London. The meals have been excellent, and of course free. Our first London meal on our own consisted of, believe it or not, wild boar sandwich. It was absolutely tasty. We will be heading out of London area soon and travelling north where a bit of the backpacking will begin, hostels, random people, stories will really start to pick up. We has our first real pub experience recently in a little town called Billericay. Friends of Anette's have been more than hospitable, making us excellent meals and showing us a good night on the town. Smoking in pubs is still allowed up until the 1st of July, and it is noticeable, probably second hand smoked at least three packs last night and the clothing reeks the next day! Really makes you appreciate the sweet smell of fresh air. Manchester is our next major destination before heading of to Dublin, Old Trafford will be a must see. London has definitely been an exciting experience. Learning the train systems, tube systems, and the unbelievable vastness of the city and some of it's architecture has been a memory in itself. I'm sure there will be many more to come, everyday brings something new and that's part of the adventure!

We have landed!!

We have arrived in London. What a change of pace from small town life. It took us the better part of 2 hours to cross London from Gatwick airport to the west London suburb of Ealing. We are told it is comparible to the size of Victoria. Today we did not manage to travel into the city center as Adrian failed to wake up before 1pm, I was up at 5am.lol.....We are going to buy a cell phone and check out what Ealing has to offer. Will post again once we have bigger and better news..take care...
A&M