AdventureswithEvan

My travels may have come to an end a week ago, but my blog is just wrapping up now. Between recovering from jetlag, spending my only week at home with my family, and moving my life down to Chicago to start work tomorrow, the blog just got a bit delayed. My apologies to my avid readers, but pretend that the quality of this post is that much greater because I’ve had a week to distill my experiences (see, I can even convince myself). Since posting last, I closed out my trip by visiting Istanbul, the Greek island of Chios, and Athens. For those who are geographically inclined, my route for the latter half of my trip was basically a clockwise semicircle from the UK to Athens. The plane tickets for this leg weren’t the cheapest, but ... read more

It might only be 7:30am here, but the sun has already been up for two hours. Yes, friends, I'm in the Scottish highlands, on a train this time instead of my usual blogging bus (typing to the sound of, "Please mind the gap when alighting from this train." The British make everything sound so proper). Since my last post I have been to Berlin, Edinburgh, and Loch Lomond, and I am en route to London--when I tell all the Scots where I'm going, they make a face and express their sympathy. Scottish people probably win the award for friendliest, most helpful people so far on this trip, rivaled only by the Irish; considering the Scots descended from the Irish, it's not surprising that things from their mannerisms to their accents are similar. Let's start from where ... read more

Greetings from Gimmelwald! This town takes the cake for least populated place on my trip so far--it's a farming community of 130 people perched on a cliff in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland. It is only accessible by cable car, and is a carless community. There are breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains, dozens of wildflowers in the fields, the most refreshing public water (runs out of natural springs all over the village), and the clanking of a cacophony of cowbells and sheepbells from animals grazing nearby. What a great break from the rest of the world! But probably my favorite part about Gimmelwald--the Honest Cheese stores. These self-service stores run out of people's houses serve the most delectable dairy products for cheap (and it's vacuum-sealed so I may be coming home with some...) I have been ... read more

--Author's note--this post was written yesterday on the bus in Ireland, but I am posting it a day late from Vevey, Switzerland. It did indeed rain later on the bus ride that day, per expectations (see below). Almost time to move on to another country! This travel update comes on a bus between Dingle and Dublin, Ireland (a cross country bus ride here takes about 5 hours). It hasn't rained yet today, and if it doesn't precipitate at all, it would be the first dry day of the trip. At least I'm experiencing the real Irish weather. I've been in the western part of the country since my last post, working down the coast from north to south. Owing to its adjacency to the Atlantic Ocean, the shorelines on this side form dramatic cliffs and crags ... read more

The inaugural post of my inaugural travel blog! Since I depart out of Chicago late Thursday night, there are still over 24 hours before I embark on my Grande Adventure; however, considering the number of things I still need to do before then, I figured I'd get the blog post out of the way (assuming I've figured out how to use this thing!). I'll use this post to give a brief overview of how the trip is probably going to go. Ready? Here we go. Step 1: Depart Chicago O'Hare; arrive London Heathrow. Step 2: Overnight in London, then fly to Dublin (don't worry, Anglophiles; I'll be back) Step 3: Romp around Ireland for ~1 week with friends Step 4: Let the itinerary get more 'fluid.' With my remaining 5 weeks, I will be visiting the ... read more