http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/The-Open-Road/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from The Open Road en-us Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:39:28 +0000 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:39:28 +0000 Travel is a gift all too often taken for granted. As members of the Western middle class we have the social mobility to move in and out of new countries and cultures seamlessly sometimes roughing it and living on spaghetti and tomato sauce for weeks on end. We are able to do so with knowledge that the social safety net of our background will usually prevent us from any real harm. Upon return hom http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/blog-446513.html There have been many travels since my last blog Berlin Andorra the Pyranees Alicante Albarracin Majorca Picos de Europa Bilbao Asturias and Teruel. We travelled a great deal of the country overland by car as the realisation came to us that our time here was coming to an end and we had spent too much of our free time and money travelling abroad. Spain needed some attention and finally w http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Saskatchewan/Regina/blog-433284.html It had been some time since I had entered into the East. Here everything is different. Though I knew this prior to arrival The Medina of Marrakech was more exciting chaotic and stressful than anywhere I had been before. I had experienced souq culture in Dubai and Muscat but here it seemed the pressure to buy at all times of the day would not let up. We walked from our hotel on our first eveni http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-359333.html Oh Christmas holidays. I was very much looking forward to having my mother and aunt come to visit Kris and I both because I miss my faraway family and because I was looking forward to showing them around Spain. My mission was to show them a good time and not stretch any of our budgets too far. I thought I had done a good job. And then I got the email from my uncleYou're mother's flight has b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/blog-359706.html Adrenaline addiction has yet to have a global advertising campaign against it. In fact quite the opposite ski resorts adventure sport companies even energy drink and high octane breakfast cereals have glorified this serious disease into something to be craved and desired. I too as an unwary consumer bought into the madness and purchased the occasional Red Bull and various sporting goods. Last http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Valencian-Community/Sagunto/blog-327120.html When I lived in Northern England circumstances transformed me into a bit of a social chameleon. Thrown together into a 6 bedroom house with 5 other outcasts had me wearing button up shirts and nice shoes to bars that played bad Britpop or attending Drum and Bass shows in seedy warehouses. These experiences in combination to my daily exposure to British Teenagers clouded my impression of the coun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/North-Yorkshire/Knaresborough/blog-327116.html It's always dangerous to write about experiences that occurred almost two months ago. With the passage of time comes a natural romantisization. The nostalgic part of my brain has already added a soundtrack and cut out the down time. But my warm feelings of Saskatchewan in summer never change. Dennie and I touched down in Regina tired and excited in early July with high expectations of weddings bb http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Saskatchewan/Regina/blog-327102.html When I was 17 I went to Europe on a graduating school trip. Our parents reluctantly signed permission slips allowing us to enjoy a glass of wine with our meals knowing this likely would result in binge drinking with our teachers and sent us off for two weeks of touring from Paris to the Pyrenees. Everything about Europe was so new to us and the oddities found on the menus of French KFC restaura http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-299648.html This trip in many ways mirrors one of our other great weekend trips taken this year. It was in the Pyrenees we drove there in a rented Peugot and once again we were lucky enough to be along for the ride on another great trip fully planned by our friends Nadine and Aaron. They are tripplanning wizards and nice enough to welcome last minute tag alongs. So when Nadine planned an adventure trip to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/blog-284800.html Switzerland is a bit of a postcard. So perfect do things work so idyllic are their rolling green hills and dramatic snow capped mountains and so friendly are their chubby blonde children that one begins to believe that all is not well in the land of clocks and chocolate. Just as no one suspects the butterfly the Swiss have managed to slip under every ones radar undetected slowly stockpiling ma http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Interlaken/blog-273771.html Our experience in Spain up to this point had been wonderful and we had been on some great trips both in the country and outside of it but there was one great North American tradition that we were beginning to miss the road trip. So we paired up with experienced roadtrippers Nadine and Aaron rented a car and set our sights on the snow capped peaks of Andorra. If you arenrsquot familiar with http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Andorra/blog-268709.html Leonardo Di Caprio is lost on the backpacker trail in Bangkok when he hears word of a magical Beach located off the Southern coast of Thailand. Like most backpackers without a plan would he follows this secret advice and is justly rewarded for his search. And though he narrowly escapes death gets chased by a shark is exiled from the hippy commune and is driven mad it makes for a good story. S http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Montenegro/Kotor/Kotor/blog-266713.html There was a time when I was happy to touch down in a country with only a pack full of dirty clothes a box full of wine a smile and a willingness to sleep on the street. I would trust in the kindness of strangers and usually find myself in cheap substandard accommodation. This style of travelling generally made for good stories as it led to nights in mud huts brothels and scary guesthouses it http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Dalmatia/Dubrovnik/blog-266667.html The EU is looked to world wide as a leader on a variety of fronts progressive social policies environmental laws cutting edge technology and economic efficiency. However the reality of living in Europe can be quite different. While Spain is certainly notorious for carefree attitudes and refusals to abandon old ways in favour of tradition one wonders how this country can exist and thrive with http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Valencian-Community/Valencia/blog-260908.html Every now and then a person finds themselves in the right place at the right time whilst travelling and a unique experience happens. One such memorable night came together for Kris and I while we were in Bologna. The trip up to that point had been a success. We had climbed towers drank cheap cold red wine and followed Bologna's porticoed streets up in the hills to see the church and the view. Un http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Emilia-Romagna/Bologna/blog-239959.html I nervously chewed my fingernails at the Valencia Airport hoping my parents would make all of their connecting flights. I might lie and tell you that I had total faith in my parents ability to travel independantly but my badly chewed nails are evidence for the fact that my faith had wavered. Me of little faith they arrived unscathed and ready to take Europe by storm. Expecting them to be jet l http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/blog-233038.html Another Ryan Air holiday bound to be plagued with certain uncomfortable elements and yet in the balance between comfort and cost we happily opt for the cheaper and more dangerous route. After enduring the ominously error free flight and bus ride we arrived in a chilly Brussels properly decoded another confusing metro system and met our couch surfer host.Belgium is a symbol of internationalism. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Brussels-Capital-Region/Brussels/blog-228107.html When you arrive in Alicante the first thing you might notice is the castle high above on a hill. Or you might notice the pretty little beach only a few blocks from the downtown action. Or maybe your attention will be drawn to the beautiful facades of the churches and museums. But after we spent the weekend in Alicante the thing that struck us the most was the amount of characters wandering aroun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Valencian-Community/Alicante/blog-211269.html Please note that the comma between drinking and driving indicates that we did these activities at separate times my aren't we cleverDriving codes and conduct vary widely from country to country as does the training required to recieve ones licence. In most of Europe people must take extensive and expensive driving courses which involve learning defensive driving techniques and hours of in car http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Rhineland-Palatinate/Trier/blog-211255.html As many of you may or may not be aware I am something of a homey gee. When I am not chilling with my peeps on various stoops in various countries I can be found wandering the streets aimlessly cassette boom box on shoulder blasting the likes of Jazzy Jeff and the occasional track from Kool Herc and the Hercoids. Growing up on the mean streets of Regina taught me the importance of vandalism and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-204910.html