After 17 hours, my overnight trek from DC to Ft. Richardson, Alaska came to an end. It was 3am Thursday morning, and I was climbing out of a van packed so tight that I had another soldier sitting on my lap. During my trip, I had run into some Alaskans; and I must say that I was impressed. They were so nice. One man even gave me his card and told me to call if I needed anything. Unfortunately, my warm welcome to Alaska was about to get chilly. There was a somewhat grumpy sergeant on duty who felt like taking [View Full Entry]

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The Hot Baths in Budapest are the best. $8 full body massages. You can't beat that. We went two days in a row. My other vibrant memory from Hungary happened when we were out at a club dancing. They played older music, and everyone sang along while they danced. The knew the words even if they didn't know what they meant. I'm telling you, you just haven't lived until you heard a room full of Hungarian men sing "It's raining men." [View Full Entry]

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Don't Go To Florence on a Monday Everything was closed - on a Monday. Who would have guessed. Well, the only thing I really wanted to see in Florence was Michelangelo's "David" and the Medici Chapel. The Chapel was open, but "David" was not, and since we stayed an extra day in Rome, we had to cut down our stay in Florence. Oh, well! I'll see David some other time. [View Full Entry]

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The Italian Soccer Championship I've never lived in a city that won a major sports championship, like the Super Bowl or World Series; but I've seen the celebrations on TV. Usually, a there are huge, almost riotous celebrations in the streets all night long. The next day, the city sends people out to clean up; and it's all over. Well, two full weeks before we arrived in Rome, the Rome soccer team won the Italian championship earning them the right to compete for the European championship. Even though their victory was two weeks old, there were still huge, unorganized human parades [View Full Entry]

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Cinque Terre is a must see for any traveler or tourist. It's a bit "touristy," but it's worth it. Stay in the southern most town. It's a picturesque group of five villages built into the cliffs along Italy's western coast. The nicest restaurants, the nicest beach, and most stuff to do is at Monterosso (the northernmost town), but I preferred staying in Riomaggiore (the southern most village) because it was quieter but not too quiet like the middle three villages. You can walk/hike between all the villages in an afternoon or take a 10 minute train ride. There's not a lot [View Full Entry]

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Imperia and Munich were two of our favorite spots because neither was planned. It was like bonus footage on a DVD. You can't go wrong. Unlike Munich, which was all about good food, great beer, and friendly celebration. Imperia started as a beautiful train station on our way to Cinque Terre. It was one of our few day trains, which you should avoid since sleeper cars are more comfy and economical. The train stopped at Imperia for a half hour or so, and Chris and I got off to stretch our legs. The station was beautiful and old. The town [View Full Entry]

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Nice, France TonyWe met up with Chris' old girlfriend in Nice, France. The beaches were nice but different. They have smooth stones covering the beach instead of sand. It was in Nice. That's when I really began to love French baguette. [View Full Entry]

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Munchen TonyWe went to Munich on a whim because we were bored with Paris. Boy was that ever a great idea. We had a great time. [View Full Entry]

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Pictures From France Europe » France » Ile de France » Paris By Pilgrim June 1st 2001 TonyI flew in and out of Paris; and honestly I wasn't super impressed with the city. It definately a "must see" in Europe, but that's mostly for the art and monuments. The town left me wanting more. Who knows? Maybe I' [View Full Entry]

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