Ok. I'm actually writing this entry the same day as my previous one regarding Rethymno but I figure the last one is lot to read and most won't have read it in entirety to appreciate the humour. We're now in Iraklio/Heraklion which is the biggest city in Crete. We took the bus this morning from Rethymno, dropped off our stuff at our hotel and took the bus to Knossos. I suppose it was a good thing that Knossos is the most famous archaeological site in Iraklio so they actually have a specific bus route that goes (for cheap) to Knossos. The [View Full Entry]

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We flew to the island of Crete from Athens. We figured flying was an easier and faster option for our needs than taking a 9 hour ferry ride. We took Aegean airlines which I thought was a discount airline as we only paid 20 euros + taxes for the flight. For the 40 minute flight we were offered a mint, tasty caramel cookie and our choice of non-alcoholic drink. The island of Crete is fairly large and the some of its landscape includes highways and ugly concrete buildings. Its a bit of a contrast to one of the smaller islands near [View Full Entry]

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Aright... Athens. The last time I was here, it was on a whirlwind tour of Europe and mom and I spent 2 days here. I didn't see a whole lot. Now, I'm staying in the Omonia bordello-esqe district but I havn't seen a whole lot of hookers yet. We had dinner in the Plaka last night and were schooled on Greece by our british-accented Greek waiter. Janice made the mistake of asking for (pita) bread to go along with with tzatziki. As you all are well aware, north americans enjoy fusion cuisine - mishmashing various cultures in the name of tasty [View Full Entry]

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My time in Montreal was short. Jean-Luc, Janice's boyfriend, drove us there from Ottawa. Montreal is a crazy city to navigate by car. Janice, who's from Ottawa and has been frequently to montreal would rather drive in Toronto. The roads were built around existing Montreal. Some highways were built below ground level and some off-ramps are on the left hand side. Insiders tip: stay in the left lane to avoid driving past your exit! We spent Sunday afternoon touring around the Old Port and Old town. It was a quaint area paved with cobblestones. It didn't rain on us suprisingly. There [View Full Entry]

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The last time I was in Ottawa, I was in high school attending the government-sponsored Encounters with Canada program. Funny though, I almost feel like a high school student again as I squint my glasses against the sunshine and its rays reflect off of the metal wire of my retainer. Perhaps karma has come full circle as I had previously pitied adults who had to wear retainers. Now, the retainer gods chose to adorn me with this resin and wire contraption shortly before embarking on my trip. I think to confirm my theory that I bring heavy rains with me each [View Full Entry]

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After all of my travels, I've realized that my interest in a particular country or culture dramatically increases with a visit to that destination. With that in mind, I've decided to embark on a quick one month jaunt to Greece & Turkey (and make the most of my Classics/Classical Archaeology minor of my undergraduate degree). My fellow journey-er will be Janice, a former roommate (from last year's dig in Italy) and friend from Ottawa who recently got her MA in Classical Archaeology from the U of A. Our goal is to hit up many-a-beaches and great archaeological sites (on the [View Full Entry]

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Hm... where did I leave off.. I'll try to make this more exciting to read than the last few entries. Last weekend my friend Janice and I headed up to La Spezia (near Cinque Terre) to visit my friends Enzo and Sandro. They took us sport climbing near Porto Venere which overlooked the Ligurian Sea. I was proud of Janice for making the sketchy descent down in flipflop sandals and I was proud of myself for doing a few routes with certain techniques I havn't used in a long time (for the one person who would understand the lingo - crack [View Full Entry]

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Another journal entry from Tuscany... This will be our first full week of excavation at the roman villa site at Ossaia. There isn't a lot happening but we're finding lots of broken pottery and tiles. Most people would be shocked that we are throwing out some pieces of pottery (yes, two thousand years old!) but when you're in the potshed scrubbing pottery sherds the size of your thumbnail it gets frustrating (pieces that size don't tell a lot anyways). Last friday, we went to Orvieto which is the home of some decent white wine (I'm sure you can find a $10 [View Full Entry]

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sorry folks, this entry will probably be a tad boring. After an exciting walk down Lee Avenue in Brooklyn, I flew down to Virginia the next day to see some relatives in Norfolk. This city was a nice suburban contrast to the busy pace of New York though not being able to walk to the Target store two blocks down is a bit depressing because there are no sidewalks. The city is a military town as there is a navy base close by I believe. Stores offer military discounts and many people have the yellow ribbon decal on their cars saying [View Full Entry]

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I'm here in New York to visit my friend Ariela who I havn't seen in three years since we met in Peru. There will be no further mention of the Statue of Liberty, Staten Island, Times Square and Fifth Avenue as its already been seen and done. I ventured into Brooklyn. This area is a burough of New York and does have a reputation of being a immigrant and latino neighbourhood with some areas being extremely poor. Many Manhattaners won't venture across into this area which they consider somewhat of a suburb. It has a pretty comprehensive collection including art from [View Full Entry]

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