They say in traveling there are things worth seeing but not worth going to see. The mountains of northern Italy are worth going to see. The most stunning scenery Ive seen of my trip, and unlike any mountains Ive ever seen before. The best American comparison are the Smoky Mountains or the tropical mountains in Hawaii, very green and very lush. It was an awesome trainride from Austria, through Northern Italy, through Tuscany and into Florence. Florence got off to a rollicking start when I noticed my camera wasnt on me. After backtracking my steps back to where I got o [View Full Entry]

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From Munich, I took the train to Innsbruck Austria .. right in the heart of the alps. I was surrounded by snow covered mountains, but you would never know it because it was short sleeve weather. It was rather warm. It was the end of snow season, and the summer season hadnt quite kicked in ... and it was a Easter Weekend .... so the town was rather dead. Because of this I was able to finagle a dirt cheap hotel room at a hotel that was way nicer than I had any business staying in for only a fraction of [View Full Entry]

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Well, mini-disaster has struck when my camera was smashed to bits getting off a train in Florence, so I lost my pictures from Munich, Austria and Florence. Im currently in Rome looking for an electronics store to by a new one. But oh well, stuff happens ... so the next few entires are just text. Most of the stuff I took pictures of is pretty recognizable tourist stuff. Lots of mountains, lots of statues, lots of castles. From Brussels I took a train to Colmar France in Alsace (northeast corner next to German border). Not much to mention about Colmar other [View Full Entry]

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Pardon the typos; still havent completely mastered the European keyboard By highspeed train I arrived in Brussels from Paris. The Good News: I immediately got a pretty thorough walking tour of the city. The Bad News: Because my hostel gave me lazy directions on how to get there. Lets just say Brussels isnt my favorite place. The main tourist attraction: The Grand Place is pretty dazzling, but you can take it in within an hour and then its a matter of Now What? The rest of the city was charmless skyscrappers. Lots of graffiti. Lots of guys booming horrible, horrible belgian [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Paris ready to leave the wind and rain of Scotland. I got off the plane, took the bus to the Metro, took the metro to my hostel, checked in and dragged my weary feet and bleary eyes to the first restaurant I within eye sight ... it was Vietnamese. I immediately ordered a huge bowl of hot Pho and a glass of wine. Within 30 minutes (and a couple of more glasses of wine) I was rejuevenated, refreshed, jolted awake, feeling great and I haven't stopped feeling that way in 5 days. Paris is awesome. Awesome food. Awesome [View Full Entry]

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A lot of European cities have a castle in the city center. Edinburgh's city center looks like one big castle. It's maybe the most scenic city I've ever been to. Everywhere you look there is a castle or spire or a medievel looking building. At the city center is Edinburgh castle on top of a hill in the middle of the city. There are also a ton of meuseams. In fact the entire castle is one large collection of museum, with meuseams dedicated to the Scottish Royal Jewels (a sword, a crown and sceptre ... which you're not allowed to take [View Full Entry]

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After a long overnight flight from NYC I arrived in Dublin with some time to kill, so I took a bus from downtown to the city center. This is my 2nd time to Dublin, but we didn't quite catch it all last time having only spent the better part of one afternoon downtown. This time I specifically wanted to see St. Stephens on the Green, and it didn't disappoint. Maybe the most pristine park I've ever seen. I also took a stroll through Trinity University, which has a beautiful campus in downtown Dublin. It was the day after the St. Patrick's [View Full Entry]

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No better place to begin my pre-trip festivities than in my two favorite cities surrounded by some of my favorite people. Of course I had to eat Tex-Mex 3 times a day in Austin not knowing when I was to come across it again ... at least in an edible form of what I call Tex Mex. After a few days of catching up with old friends in Texas it was onwards to New York city, catching up with a friend and making several new ones. St. Patrick's Day is kind of a big deal in NYC, almost a 2 week [View Full Entry]

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Well, I leave tomorrow for my trip around the world. For the next week I'm visiting friends in Austin and NYC, before officially leaving for the Europe leg on the 17th (coincidentally heading to Ireland on St. Paddy's Day). I probably won't post another update until I get to Europe, but wanted to post my kick-off entry while I have Internet Access. [View Full Entry]

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Pack list for backpack trip around the world.... Daypack.... Day Pack: 1 Sprial Notebook & Pen Small Travel Medicine Bag/First Aid Kit Books Hackeysack Travel Guide for India Travel Ipod Speakers 8 Gig Flash Drive Pocket Flashlight Cap Light Clip Camera & Case International Power Adaptors AC Adapter/Multiple Outlets Compass Camera Memory Card Reader Camera Battery Recharger Camera USB Chord Pocket Alarm Clock USB Hub Digital Watch Glasses Ipod Ipod AC Adaptor Ipod USB Chord Passport Travel Wallet Rain Overcoat Inflatable Travel Neck Pillow Sunglasses Cards [View Full Entry]

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