Bonjour mon Amis! I am in France today after arriving via the overnight ferry from Portsmouth, England. I've been in France for only half a day now and I freaking love it. I am staying in a cute hotel near the main city center. Today I set out on foot to see what William the conqueror, and others, have done to leave their mark on the city.The city is fairly easy to around, with the enormous church and castle serving as good travel markers. I ran into a faRmers market where snails and oysters sat along an array of beautiful breads, olives and crepe vendors, among others. The streets are clean and on this Sunday, absolutely everything is closedexcept for a handful of restaurants. A parade walked past my hotel,celebrating what, I'm not sure, today's Pentecost, ... read more

Well here I am, in the land of royalty, cockney accents, fish and chips, milky tea and and endless sea of concrete and tourists - London. I'm in Westminster actually and was able to stop on over and see the changing of the guard, quite a big whoop I guess, though, meh, I would give it a resounding OK. London is being torn apart right now in preparation for the coming Olympics and as such even Buckingham Palace is just one massive construction zone. The spectacle of it all is quite amusing, but between the hundreds (literally hundreds, if not thousands) of young students, and fellow rubberneckers, I am not sure that this is on the top of my list. Big Ben was quite a site as well as the offices of the Parliament. The Thames, ... read more

I have made it to the island of fire and vikings! I was brought in on the red eye and have had today to try and recoup the sleep deprivation and to enjoy the city. The city is quite similar in feel to Helsinki, the port is right to the south of my hostel and the church is,of course, right at the top of a big hill. The church is really quite fantastic, with columns reaching high into the sky. I have assigned myself some homework though as I could not discern which religion it belongs to. I usually stop into churches to say a prayer and noticed that in this one there was no symbol of Jesus (or anyone I recognized) anywhere. The city, town really, has its own vibe. Quite peaceful actually. Stores sell ... read more

My first day as a tourist in the big city and I am proud of the progress I have made. Wringed up and thoroughly used after a red eye out of slc, I was at first overwhelmed by the city. This has been remedied though by a metro ride to nowhere, a lot of nerdy tourists (big time nerds that we all become when in a new, amazing place) and the complete awesomeness of New Yorkers have all helped to make this day a success. First up, two sites I have had on my to be visitEd list for years; the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island. Lady Liberty was closed due to construction, but it was a great visit none the less. She is a lot smaller than I imagined! Ellis island was interesting as ... read more

The last few days in Guatemala were spent in the Solola Department, either in Panajachel or in San Marcos. The western part of Guate was just as great as the first half that we saw when we went over to Flores Island and Tikal. Antigua was full of colonial ruins, but Panajachel and Lake Atitlan provided all the natural beauty one could ever hope to find, it really was quite beautiful and unexpected. Three volcanos circle the Lake and the legend of two star crossed lovers, doomed of course, is apparently the reason behind the whitecaps that come in on the lake in the afternoons - that is called the Chocomil. The boat taxi system is relatively easy to use, though my dismount from the boat is atrocious. I gave a few locals a good laugh ... read more