Finally there came a morning where I woke up at a reasonable hour, and I was able to wake up leisurely, shower, and write some blog entries before heading to the beach. Around 11 Inés' friend Dámaris picked us up for a day at la platja de Sant Joan - a beach in the town of Sant Joan, which is right next to Alacant (Alicant) and some 40 minutes away. The ride down was painless - it was interesting to see how desert-like and desolate it can be between cities inland from the coast. The beach itself was fairly crowded and [View Full Entry]

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Walking off the train we were greeted by Inés, bronze as ever and looking very Spanish after having returned for the entire summer. We headed right to her famlily's place just a few blocks from the train station. The piso was very traditional, much to the dismay of Inés who wasn't the biggest fan of the classic look. With 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a large living and dining room, office, laundry room, and kitchen, it was a very nice sized home. Looking out the the window one could see much of the town sprawled out between the mountains. Her parents were [View Full Entry]

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We had set our alarm for 8 the next morning, but upon waking up decided it was best to reset it for nine. At this point supposedly Chris pushed it a bit later to 9:15. When I finally woke up I had an uneasy feeling that it was a bit later than it seemed. Looking at my computer and seeing 11:56 confirmed that. At that point I jumped out of bed, since, well, WE HAD 4 MINUTES TO CHECK OUT. I quickly called reception to ask for an extension but due to the place being booked we needed to get out [View Full Entry]

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Pulling into Valencia I was at first slightly nervous about the city given that my surroundings were, well…ghetto. I suppose that is just what is to be expected around a train station/train tracks. The Valencia-Nord station was awesome - very old school European with a huge awning and perhaps 10 tracks for both regional and long- distance trains. In a matter of seconds I spotted Chris in his wifebeater - after all it was about 700 degrees and humid - and all things were once again well. My first impression of the city was that it reminded me of the Plaza [View Full Entry]

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I guess I should start out saying that I am in Spain and that that is a blessing in itself. The day’s misery pales in comparison to yesterday’s, or rather, the day before yesterday’s MIERDA, but I still just don’t get why air travel and I don´t get along so often... At around 3pm yesterday I got a cab and left for round two of the pure bliss that is Logan airport., and really just post-9/11 air travel in general. Naturally my new AirFrance flight was already delayed half an hour, but given the fact that the weather wasn’t going to [View Full Entry]

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Greetings all from this wonderful European café I stumbled upon called "Café Fleming-Marino" It is just so wonderful - one of the owners, Bryan, picked me up from the station around 8:30 last night and even paid for my taxi to the Guest House. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and conversation before retiring to the blow-up double bed for the evening! I'm now sipping on my coffee and enjoying the sights and sounds! It is almost like I never even left the country! Oh wait - I NEVER LEFT THE COUNTRY. NOT EVEN BOSTON. Yesterday [View Full Entry]

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Well, the clock is ticking...pretty soon I'm off to Logan. Somehow I've managed to cram my entire life into one backpacking backpack, a carry-on suitcase, and a backpack. I don't know if this image is working out what, but I currently feel like vomiting and need to finish clearing out my room. I'll figure it out once I'm settled across the pond. Tata for now! Next update will be from Spain! [View Full Entry]

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Well friends it's been a few years since my last adventure but I thought I'd give the heads up that another one is on the horizon, this time for a whole year! I've added and deleted a bunch of e-mails, so please delete yourself or let me know you want to be removed from the update list. Only 67 days until I'm off to Europe - first stop Catalonia and Valencia, Spain, for a little beach relaxation before heading to the mountains of Andorra! In the meantime, check out some of the old posts if you're bored! ~Jeff [View Full Entry]

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Saturday morning we departed from Rome, walking over to the train station nearby and taking a bus to the main train station. that's when the drama began with our tickets. i dont' really feel like getting into it, but basically me and caroline boarded the 12:30 train with only a confirmation number from the 11:30 train that we missed due to the fact that the machines refused to print our tickets. luckily the train guy was niced and trusted that we did indeed purchase tickets online the previous day. arriving in florence it was rainy and i purchased my FIFTH cheapass [View Full Entry]

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well well well, i'm back from my long weekend in italy. oh what fun. after another night out we had to wake up quite early for our 12:40 flight to Rome. i crammed god knows what into my bag and was on my way. the flight was fine, minus the bitchy italian flight attendant, and we ended up in Rome by evening since had to change planes in Milan. our taxi from the airport ran us around 50 euros, but whatever. we were lucky to see Casey, one of Jen's roommates, walking back from class, and she let us into the [View Full Entry]

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