Europe trip finished

2006-07-14 : 1:27 a.m.

well...it has been a while since i've thought about writing an entry here....but it is time to do so.

my trip to europe went more or less without any problems - outside of losing my digital camera in florence. it was a good trip...which went mostly in this order:

• Barcelona, Spain - arriving on the 6th, I found Barcelona to be totally awesome! lots of cool history, great activities and bars and restaurants, and also probably the best beach that i visited in my whole trip.
• Nice, France - very touristy, but it does have its high points - mostly a rock beach, shopping areas, and casinos. i didn't gamble any...mostly because i didn't want to lay down 200 euros to play against the house. but the rest of the town was worthwhile...i still regret not buying a 10 euro rolex off the street...
• Genoa, Italy - a pretty boring town, i stayed here for one day, most of it just wandering around seeing some local attractions/buildings. i wanted to hit the aquarium, but i couldn't justify spending a whole day here just to see an aquarium...
• Cinque Terre, Italy - pretty awesome place. hiking, beaches, food, gelato, shopping, and about anything else i wanted at the time (a 1 star hotel, as the local hostel was full...). this is probably the best place i visited in my time in europe if you disregard the world cup...
• Rome, Italy - the dirtiest city i visited (spray paint amongst other things abound...). the coliseum, pantheon, and vatican were all worth the trip to rome, although i only spent about 2.5 days in rome to see all of this and watch the US tie against Italy - who eventually won the whole world cup. good times...i can't believe i didn't die in that restaurant watching that game...
• Florence, Italy - a great city with a lot of history and art. i didn't even make it in to see the real david or walk the uffizi, but i did see quite a bit of the actual town. it is an awesome city, although it tends to be a bit too touristy. and there police are pretty alright people - i even have an official italian police report (in italian!) to prove this further!
• Zurich, Switzerland - you need money to visit this town right. but even without much money, there's still plenty to see and do. the zoo kicked ass (but not as much as barcelona's). i remember walking around the streets and seeing advertised prices for watches and jewelry translating easily into the $50-75k range. ridiculous...
• Munich, Germany - world cup goodness. i saw a good portion of the town, but most of my time here was spent eating and watching the world cup unfold. germany played against sweden in munich during my stay, and i have some photos to prove the tens (maybe hundreds) of thousands of people who were along ONE street in Munich celebrating post-victory. completely awesome!
• Paris, France - my second visit into paris, but i have to say that i don't intend on making a third. there's a lot to see in this town, but most of it seems the same overall. lots of art, tons of museums, great food, and a bunch of monuments to climb and gawk at. i enjoyed my stay, despite my disliking of the standard french attitude...but i probably won't return on my own again...
• Barcelona, Spain - ending my trip on the 3rd of july, i didn't sleep that night (or for about 50 hours or so...). good times abound in this city, although i noticed that it was quite a bit hotter and more crowded than it was a month earlier...i would suggest an earlier visit if you are looking to travel through BCN any time...

well...that's more or less a (very) short summary of my trip. i kept somewhat of a log of things i did and thought over my trip which ended up being around 70 pages or so. right now i have just processed my film pictures and gotten them digitally processed as well - so i should have digital prints for every portion of my trip. the trip itself, though, was worth whatever costs it has brought on me. right now i am in baltimore getting ready for my first days at work - starting the 17th. if you are ever in the area, drop me a line and maybe we can hang out over here. schlehr and myself are rooming together in a house somewhere near downtown, and we would be glad to host most anyone we know for a weekend or so...

that's all - el wojo

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