Can't believe Turkey Day is already over.. Hope you all had a nice holiday and tons and tons of food- I definitely did- oink! We cooked a big turkey dinner- and by we, I don't mean me...I drank mimosas and sang NKOTB with Jen... But I thoroughly enjoyed everyone else's hard work. Anyway, here are the pics. Thanks guys for such a great and memorable time, and thanks Mike and Rena for your hospitality. Ciao for now. [View Full Entry]

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I wonder what it is to just run. Run until my feet are sharred and my mind without thoughts and my feet without soles and heart without breath- before I'll tire. Then I'll turn around and head home. I cannot but conjure the proverbial image of Forrest Gump running, without necessary destination or consistent support- simply the air beneath him and the road before him- running. Despite others' questions, running. Despite circumstance, running. And despite himself not knowing the answers or what lie ahead, running still. And then he was finished. And he turned around and headed home. Wa [View Full Entry]

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And we're off again... First omen of uncertainty: when checking in at a self service terminal I had to enter the first three letters of my country of residence: Luxembourg couldn't be found. Picked up Gregory Maguire's 'Wicked' and the sequel 'Son of a Witch' about the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz'. Hope those paperbacks sustain me through 16h of flying. Next stops: Atlanta and Paris. [View Full Entry]

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So picking up where we left yesterday - in the end I was so knackered I just slept in one go to 11 AM. Then I head off to downtown to the Gas Lamp Quarter. Very charming neighbourhood. Got a California wrap as lunch. After that to Balboa Park which is *huge*. So I settled visiting the surroundings of Casa del Prado. Once again sunny weather, lots of people out and about and some minor attractions. Got my palms read as well and I must say that the guy is either the best people reader ever or I have to wear [View Full Entry]

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Well we made it down to San Diego in one piece! We rented a car in San Francisco and drove down the coast. We got a lovely Toyota Prius in the end after they tried to send us off in a Pontiac with no petrol! We weren't having any of that! We took Highway 1 down the coastline, despite advice that highway 101 would get us there quicker. The advice was on the money, but we were so glad we didn't follow it! We wanted the views of the cliffs, the Pacific and the various gorgeous towns on the way through [View Full Entry]

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Started off with my first evening and day in San Diego! Picked up the huge car at the airport and drove to my host in San Diego. He dragged me straightaway to some clubs. Lots of fun, lots of drinking and a massive hangover to boot. Saturday was spent on some walking and viewing local political activism; there was a huge rally (15000 people) against proposition 8 known as the ban on gay marriage. It was absolutely splendid weather, the people were hyped so I observed a bit. Sadly my camera's battery ran out pretty soon so the photo coverage is [View Full Entry]

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We're living a few miles north of downtown San Diego, so I occasionally use the local bus service to get around. You always find some, errm, unusual characters on buses but Southern California has to outdo most. Here are a couple of the more notable ones I managed to capture using my phone camera... The Preacher You can't see his face, but he caught my attention at the bus stop with his full beard, wraparound sunglasses and overflowing shopping trolley. To give an idea of where I am coming from, the shopping trolley is to the American homeless person what a [View Full Entry]

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So i’m writing this blog on the way down highway 1 while Gareth is driving. We left San Fran yesterday morning (Monday) on our way down the coast towards San Diego. San Fran was so cool. Had a fab time staying with Lynne and Ken and they were way too nice to us! Great Irish community there so we really felt at home propping up the bar at the Shannon Arms. We arrived on the Tuesday into the bar to meet Lynne and were greeted by the land lady Theresa who made us feel very welcome. :-) On our first day [View Full Entry]

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Just overheard someone ordering a 'decaf double small latte' - I'm not a coffee expert but how can such a thing even exist? [View Full Entry]

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Vliegen. Sommige mensen haten het, ik hou ervan. Of misschien hou ik van het onderweg zijn. Het is waarschijnlijk de simpelheid ervan die me aantrekt: de enige keuzes die je in het vliegtuig moet maken zijn of je wat gaat lezen, schrijven of toch maar even slapen, en het enige waar je in het vliegtuig ongelofelijk blij van kan worden is de drinkkar met Starbucks- (slootwater)-koffie (nog 3 rijen, nog 2 rijen...) en het moment waarop je eten gebracht wordt en je verlekkerd zit te kijken naar de rij schuin tegenover die zijn eten al heeft. Dit keer was ik alleen [View Full Entry]

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