Blogs from Europe - page 14478

Geo: 48.1391, 11.5802... read more

The committees trips to Iceland was prompted by the refusal by most countries in the committee to grant further exceptions to the International Competitive Bidding rules that allowed sole source procurements through the Icelandic Prime Contractor for all NATO funded construction in Iceland. As the U.S. represented Iceland on the committee (Iceland has no armed forces; their Foreign Ministry was only a dozen individuals located in offices above the Reykjavik Fire Station), we decided that it would be best to take the committee to Iceland to hear first had from the Icelandic authorities why it was in NATO's and Iceland's mutual interest to continue as usual. We also would take this opportunity to show the committee the results of their extensive funding of airfield facilities at Keflavik, POL facilities at Helgavik and the radar installations under ... read more

Geo: 51.1297, 1.31114... read more

Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236... read more

Paris is the most beautiful city in the world, dear reader; a city full of culture and tradition, and blessed with magnificent architecture. This journal tells the intensely personal story of six months spent living in this glorious city, where despite the beauty of the surroundings the personal signs were ominous from the beginning. Leading on from the previous journal, I caught the ferry from Dover to Calais and then boarded a train on to Paris where I checked into a hostel in the heart of the city. I was young and adventurous which is a plus, but impulsive with a tendency not to think things through, which for a traveller is definitely not a plus! I originally applied for a student work visa at the French embassy in Tokyo towards the end of 1987, and ... read more