Blogs from Europe - page 10063

Bluck! That word (just made up) pretty much summarises today's ride. Our planned route (which looked so good on the map) was to follow the quiet roads down the river Arno, cutting off about 20kms east of Pisa and head towards Lucca where we would spend a night at a hostel. I don't think in the end we chose a bad route, as there were loads of local cyclists out racing and training absolutely everywhere, so they must think it is a good enough route to ride, but the whole day was just spent in heavy traffic with very little to see really. Oh, and of course Florence wouldn't let us go, it took us at least an hour to get out of town as I took us down one wrong turn after another, and then ... read more

London to Athens!!! Today is actually the 3rd day of my adventure. I just bought a book at the internet cafe in London to write in! I love being back in England, though it does feel a bit different being here with a fellow Canadian. It's so good to feel the air, to smell it. It's like a certain laundry smell mixed with some men's cologne that just curls my toes. It is different being here in May, rather than December. It's a 7 hour time difference instead of 6, for starters. I miss Leamington, too. Will have to get there some other time. So, Karen and I left Saskatoon on the May long weekend- the 19th at 4pm. We flew to Calgary and only had about an hours wait. We met some girls who were ... read more

After two days of packing, moving out of my flat, saying goodbye to friends and organising accommodation around Europe, Jez and I were ready for Eurotrip 08. I said my goodbyes to Nicola who was going up north to spend time with her family and friends for a few weeks before our trip to Canada. I suppose I should give you a little background on my travelling companion Jeremy 'Jez' King. I met him while playing football in Christchurch for Avon united (we lost every game for a whole year). We flatted together too before I headed off to the UK. I once threw a clothes rack through his window but that's another story. He is a neat freak, loves long walks on the beach and his own hair. He is a GIS officer which is ... read more

Wednesday 21st May Marion went to collect the car from the underground car park she had left it in the last couple of nights to find it effectively "parked in". With Owen's aid in alerting her to the distance between her car and the others, she inched the car back a few millimetres, shoved the steering wheel around to opposite lock, inched the car forward a few millimetres, shoved the steering wheel around to opposite lock... You get the idea. The first section of the drive from Carcassonne took us back to where the road from the North that had taken us from Millau met this one. We resisted the urge to head North and re-acquaint ourselves with the bridge and instead continued on the road travelling East. At first this new area was all scrubby ... read more

Here are a few pictures from the Church of Ss. Peter and Paul in Straelen, where I studied organ improvisation today with Otto Krämer. He had given a brilliant masterclass in Birmingham in 2006, so I figured I might as well take some lessons from him since I was so close by. I believe he said the church was built in 1490. Tonight, we visited several bars in Münster's old city. We had our first encounter with a German bachelor party. Their custom is that the unfortunate groom must do something to earn enough money to buy drinks for all his friends. In this case, he was selling single-shot liquor bottles. I'm not sure how well that went over with the management. All the men dress alike, except for the groom, who has to look ridiculous. ... read more