Olivers Travels

Just a quick note for the subscribers of Oliver's Travels... I am hitting the long and dusty road again (today!!) and have decided to start a new travelblog, Oliver's Odyssey. Oliver's Odyssey Please subscribe and join me on a new adventure. I've already written the first entry so you have something to get your teeth into. Sincere thanks for your support, encouragement, and contribution throughout the last one. It really has inspired me to do it again. Oliver... read more

**Some character names have been changed in this story to protect their identity. In fact, some of their identities have been slightly changed as well to make it more interesting. But the rest is entirely true. Mostly. ** I was enjoying a pleasant breakfast in a youth hostel in Nice yesterday - the breakfast was fairly ordinary but the company was wonderful. I was with a gorgeous young Brazilian seamstress I'd met a few days earlier called Julieta, a jewel from South America. Breakfast was OK, but there was a small challenge between me and six Frenchmen to get the last bowl of sugar puffs. Little did I know it wouldn't be the last time I would be surrounded by six vulturous frenchmen all wanting something I had... Julieta and I were disappointed with the rain ... read more

"One more time, how do you say Pleased to meet you?" I asked Michał as we got off the plane and walked across the wet runway in Gdansk. I wanted to make a good first impression on his Mum. Plus, she didn't speak English anyway, so I figured I should make the effort. Michał gave me a disappointed look I was quite familiar with. I'd last seen it a few hours before when I told him I'd dropped my boarding pass on the way to the airport. 'Miło mi Panią poznać' he responded, wearily. You think that looks hard to pronounce?? Imagine hearing it. See that first word? That says Meewo. Apparently if you put a cross through an L it becomes a W. Fair enough... So Michał is really mee-how. I won't even go into ... read more

I didn't notice the ripples in the Loch until it was almost too late. She'd come for my white bread, I knew it. My Scottish loaf. The one I'd found perched on top of a shrubbery in the Scottish Highlands. This was all very mysterious. But then again, the entire history of the Loch Ness Monster is veiled in mystery. And it all began a long, long time ago. Here's how our bus driver told us the story: "On a cold winter morning in 565 AD, Saint Columba, a travelling Irishman, found himself on the banks of Loch Ness. He gazed out into the mists of the waters and saw a boat he liked, floating just off shore. He realized he would have to get someone to swim out to fetch it, and the local Pict ... read more

One of the things I loved the most about the English village of Frome was pronouncing it. Please, take the time to say it aloud: Frome, Frome. FRRRROME. What a warm and homely sound it has. I hope you actually did say it out loud, because I am about to tell you something that you won't believe. But first, some background information. I left London with four days off and told anyone who'd listen that I was heading to Frome (Frome, Frome..) where I was visiting Gary and his lovely family. If you're wondering where Frome is, it's down in that little corner of England near Stonehenge and Bath - two places I was very keen to see for myself. Frome, Frome, Frome, make yourself at home. (If you're wondering who Gary is, he's a friend ... read more

As it is Christmas Eve and I'm working the graveyard shift, and as I am terribly lonely and bored, and seeming they haven’t blocked this website at work (yet) - I figure it's the perfect opportunity to recount what has been the most epic year of my life. This is also a good chance to pay my respect to the people who have not only made it possible, but also made it unforgettable. And maybe take you on a trip with me down old memory lane. Also, seeming there are a lot of memories flying about as I put all this into perspective, and seeming I keep getting interrupted by jobs to do around the hotel, I apologize in advance if this entry is a little fractured and jumpy. Where can I begin? Fittingly, I suppose ... read more

It's been a long time between entries, so I thought I would condense the past three months into one entry, about 26 short sections in length. Turns out there are 26 letters in the alphabet. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put those two together, so here you have the A to Z of my last three months. A is for Amsterdam. My self-confessed number one fan (Dulal) has commented, emailed me, and even called me (for the first time in 6 months) asking me for an entry on Amsterdam, but I'm afraid it's not going to happen. I have devoted the letter A to it, though. I don't really have much to say about Amsty, except that I've been there twice and had blazin' good times. It's an unusual place, and even though some ... read more