Woke up in the creepiest hostel I have ever stayed at and got dressed in the dark. I left the hostel at around 5:30AM and I will never return to that particular hostel. I drove on the highway for awhile before stopping at a Denny's for breakfast. This would be my only meal until I reach Dallas in the evening. I usually skip lunch on vacation and load up at breakfast to compensate. I also loaded up on caffeine pills at this point to keep me awake on the road. I will advise people to very careful with caffeine pills because they are addictive. They should be only used for emergency situations. Drive to Dallas was uneventful but I enjoyed looking at the billboard advertisements on the highway. The Americans advertise so much better on the ... read more

I left work at noon on my way to Chicago. Made sure I had all my necessities clothes, medicine, passport. I try to pack lightly and I knew along the way I can replace most everything except for my passport. So I would passing through the Sarnia border crossing on my way to the USA. I usually use that crossing because it is not as busy so you get through faster. Travelling alone I usually get interrogated by border police. I was expecting it to be even harsher this time because it would be the farthest trip I have ever done driving. So I took a deep breath as I approached the border. The border official asked me where I was going and I informed all the way to California. He seemed skeptical that I was ... read more

My last stop for this trip would be Bath, Somerset. I had meant to see the Roman Baths for some time but kept putting it off for other places. One of my Topdeck friends was working in Bath now so it was good opportunity to see her. Equity points hostel gives breakfast which included hard boiled eggs. I got there just in time as it starting filling up as soon as I sat down. I did some people watching and I did notice a large number of international groups at this hostel both European and Asian. This is likely because it is the closest hostel to Paddington which is on the direct line from Heathrow. I had another hard time sleeping which was due to the beds and the fact I was so hyped up from ... read more

This would be my 4th trip to Paris. I keep meaning to go to the top of the Eiffel tower each time before but something always gets in the way. So I was determined to make it work this time but things don't always work out the way you want it to. I was on a very narrow schedule and that was probably a mistake. I landed at CDG more or less on time but to exit the plane required us to board a bus which took us on 20 minute tour of the airport before dropping us off near the terminal. Customs and immigration line was another 15 minutes but Paris has a laid back immigration system and they simply stamped my passport and waved me through. I was already running late by this point ... read more

Today was my last full day so I left at 9AM for my French Quarter tour. I will admit at this point I was having a lot of trouble with the humidity so I was sweating like crazy all the time. I would go through many bottles of water each day. August is the hottest month of the year for New Orleans and is the slowest month of the year. That is quite surprising considering the crowds I saw during the day and night. Tour started at Jackson Square which is the heart of the French Quarter. It is called that because there is a big statue of Andrew Jackson on a horse who was a hero of the war of 1812. There is a strange carving on the side of the statue that says "THE ... read more