We'd done the stag - now it was time for the main event. Kelley and Penelope were getting married in the south of France and I was on my way down there aboard the Eurostar from London to Paris. I always love going to Paris - I have seen a lot on my travels but few cities match the beauty of France's capital and I never tire of going there, even if the people on the metro seem utterly miserable. Arriving at Gare du Nord, I made my way straight to a restaurant by the Louvre, where Kelley and Penelope's union had created a reunion of old friends - a high school reunion. A Roskill reunion on the other side of the world. My old high school and uni buddies Stevie, Dino, and Jonny had flown ... read more

Kelley had no idea where we were taking him. All he got was a note telling him to turn up at the Euston Tap at 7pm along with two pairs of undies, photo ID, a toothbrush, and ten vomit bags. By the time I had arrived at the Euston Tap, the most of the stag crew had already shown up - Yohei the chief organiser (who you may remember from Granada), Andrew (who you may remember from Milan), blog débutante Wilson, and Kelley the stag himself (who regular readers of this blog should know by now). Our numbers were complete when we were joined by Hanson (who you may remember from the Peak District) and Francis aka Turtle (who was also with Kelley, Yohei and I in Granada) who was the last t... read more

It was a quintessential Eastern European experience that I was excited about yet dreading in equal measure - the overnight train from Moscow to St Petersburg. Indeed the climax of the film after which this blog entry is named revolves around one. Hopefully our train ride won't be as exciting as that one. This isn't my first overnight train - if this one is to be as comfortable as that one, then the Russian overnight train experience would be a pleasant one. Anna and I would be sharing a four-bed cabin with two other people and we were a little bit anxious about who we might be paired with - hopefully not weirdos, because the cabin is pretty cosy even if it is semi-luxurious. To our mild relief, our cabin partners were an old English couple ... read more

First of all, some personal news. My company announced just before I left for Brazil, that we would be shifting half our office from London to Amsterdam - which means that if all goes according to plan, my days in London are numbered and I will be moving to Amsterdam at the start of next year. I am definitely excited about it, as I think I have run my race in London - I am looking forward to a fresh start in a one of my favourite cities in Europe, a city I felt was eminently liveable the first time I visited the place. I'm a bit tired of London's hustle and bustle and am looking forward to moving somewhere a bit smaller, friendlier and laid-back. The upshot of this is that I have suddenly realised ... read more

In arranging our transfer from Ilha Grande to Paraty, Sag was told one price by the tourist agent before being told another price upon payment. The price difference was relatively meagre, but he refused to pay the new price out of principle which I suppose is fair enough. Which is how we ended up on the public transportation to Paraty. It was a stinking hot day and I was hungover as f*ck, a familiar legacy from the night before. Waiting at a cafe on the beach for our boat back to the mainland, I was finding the heat a bit hard to handle. The first leg was fine - a large ferry that took us from the island to the town of Angra dos Reis. A fairly unremarkable place, a couple crazy men who interacted with ... read more