sgwaltney

So far the Italian portion of my journey hasn’t been as evocative as the first half. I can’t report on any strange experiences that leave me with feelings of awe, humility or some other gut check; though Rome did include some pub crawls that rivaled Edinburgh’s first few. In fact the only unique moment I distinctly remember occurred after walking out of the train station onto the aqua-streets of Venice. I couldn’t help but drop the Indiana Jones quote, “Ahhh Venice.” ...Or was it Bugs Bunny who said it first? Relaxing in the sun and beauty of an Italian spring is hard to beat. Seeing the Statue of David and the various other sights in Florence has been a treat. I caught the Rome-Florence football match, which was fun and very intimate. My sense memory from ... read more

I arrived via the train between Edinburgh and Aberdeen on a Sunday. For some reason my reserved seat was occupied by an obstinate woman who couldn’t seem to understand why she wasn’t allowed to sit with her family. Instead of arguing the merits of “reserved seating” I decided to find a different coach and deal with the substantially more appealing option of sitting next to someone other than this woman’s husband, daughter, and mother-in-law. After all, I was sick and in no mood to listen to a family bicker. This illustrates the importance of two critical perspectives when traveling: remain flexible; always look on the bright side. The train ride itself was pleasant enough and had some great scenery. I am very impressed with the amount of stone walls. I expected the tradition of stone walls ... read more

I scheduled my train and ferry to Dublin the morning of my 2nd day in London. I had a total of four usable days in London including my half-day trip to Stonehenge, which wasn’t enough time, especially given certain distractions. Thus I left without seeing the Tower of London, a Shakespearean play, or any of the musicals. Good thing I don’t have to be anywhere at any particular time after my trip to Scotland - London will be visited for the second time, before Paris. I boarded the afternoon train to Chester at Euston Station. I missed the direct train to Holyhead, but the flexible tickets make it easy to switch things up. What isn’t easy for first time riders is figuring out where you need to transfer to get to your destination. I used the ... read more

Sunday I flew to London on no sleep thanks to a group of Austin, TX based flight attendants I met Friday night. Well, I should say I got some sleep between Friday and Saturday, but the hangover and physical exhaustion really set in at the airport on Sunday morning. The flight to London felt like it went quickly (all airlines need to pick up the habit of putting complimentary movie screens in the back of their seats regardless of ticket class). Heathrow is an easy airport to navigate, but I had some helpful advice from a friend of the family on how to get through the Underground quickly and hit the right stops to cross London and get to my hostel in the London Bridge area. The Underground ride was long and annoying after my flight, ... read more

Once we returned to Thomas’ house in NJ life slowed down. Andy left on Thursday for NYC so that he could make an early departure Friday morning. Thomas and I were left to our own devices. Without reflecting poorly on Thomas, I can honestly say we are getting old. Thursday didn’t bring any partying or youthful nonsense. We took a ride in the BMW side car to Johnny Mac’s, sat quietly for dinner at Brick Wall in Asbury Park, and returned home early to watch movies and play chess. Playing chess with a friend is one of the things I miss about my family home. My dad taught me the game when I was a young boy. We would play on lazy Saturday afternoons while watching the old James Bond films. My brother and I may ... read more