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09/01 Valencia, Spain
06/06 Edinburgh, Scotland
11/30  Ushisar, Turkey
12/04  Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
08/01 Gloriette, Vienna Austria
06/03 Oxfornd, England
08/22 Algarve, Portugal
06/24 Paris, France
11/17  Haifa, Israel
05/27 Avebury, England
12/15  Amsterdam, Netherlands
09/24 Countryside, France
06/27 Oslo, Norway
10/06  Pisa, Italy
08/31 Toledo, Spain

09/01 Valencia, Spain

I woke early to the jingling and jangling of the vendors setting up the local market and was up and out in minutes following the caravan of wagons and carts down through the streets to the market.  The strategy was the same, I looked for food and if I could obtain it for free, all the better.  As long as we both got what we wanted out of the conversation, I could play the game.  “You picked them all by hand did ya? Your fingers are too big.  I think this one has been bruised. 

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06/06 Edinburgh, Scotland

We headed north into Scotland.  Initially we didn’t wander too far from the train stations but eventually we stretched our arms and headed into the countryside.  The weather had been wonderful.  I truly believe the sun had been following us for weeks.  The primroses were in bloom and the fields were scattered with frolicking rabbits. 

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11/30 Ushisar, Turkey

We had planned on seeing Urgup and the Goreme Valley and headed out into the streets in search for the tourist office.  It was still very cold but it was like a reversed microwave, my bones were colder than my skin.  We located what we believed was the tourist office but there were no brochures or posters to confirm that we had found the right place.  Everybody inside was huddled around a small stove trying to keep warm.  They explained there were no buses or organized tours this late in the year and suggested we find ourselves a taxi driver. 

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12/04 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia

It was very late, or to be more accurate, real early in the morning.  Outside the station it was dark and cold, really cold.  Neither one of us were equipped for that type of weather.  The streets were covered in ice and our worn tennis shoes didn’t provide much if any traction.  When we exited the station we had no idea which way to head to find ourselves a room.  There were two others that also exited our train so we began following them in the hopes they would lead us down the right path.  We came to a large boulevard lined with large office shaped buildings but there were no signs or lights that provided us any indication that we were heading in the right direction. 

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08/01 Gloriette, Vienna Austria

One thing was for certain, I needed a shower.  Sleeping out with element guarantees one thing, we were up early, so we took advantage and started searching for a room.  Luckily we found a room in the area that accommodated our needs, but we couldn’t check in until later that afternoon, so we reserved a room.  They were kind enough to watch our bags, allow us to scamper off and tour the city. 

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06/03 Oxfornd, England

One cold morning, while we were huddling on a train platform like lost ghosts in a graveyard, a young man with a weathered face wandered up to the two of us.  It looked as if he had been working the local mines and hadn’t showered in some time but approached us with a smile anyway. 

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08/22 Algarve, Portugal

I’m an early riser and that provides advantages.  Like in the morning, there were no lines leading to the showers.  I walked around until breakfast and then took the shuttle down to the beach where I planned to spend that entire day on the sand.  When I reached the bluffs I began exploring.  Jim followed duplicating every picture I took.  It is just better to ignore his competitiveness than to give it thought it doesn’t deserve. 

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06/24 Paris, France

It was a relief to be back on a dry train.  When we reached Paris we found it almost impossible to find ourselves a friendly word from the locals.  It was like the Parisians were trained at youth to be rude to foreigners.  Their rudeness came so easily it must have been a mandatory subject in their schools. 

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11/17 Haifa, Israel

We discovered that the prior day’s information was incorrect.  There were no boats leaving today.  We got our Sabbath’s mixed up again.  We had already packed everything up and trekked the long walk down to the docks.  At first I had doubt that anybody was talking straight.  I always had to ask a few to get some comfort in confirmation.  We managed to gather numerous alike answers and concluded that we were stuck there another day, fuck.  

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05/27 Avebury, England

One night at Mik’s place while passing around the pipe, he weaved stories of sprits possessing the trails between the white horse and the many rock circles heading north.  I could almost visualize these images he was painting and hear the pounding of drums in the wind, as I focused in on the flames dancing with the beat. 

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12/15 Amsterdam, Netherlands

I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT ………………we now come to know the nature of change through Cognition ………

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09/24 Countryside, France

I wandered about the northern coast of France skipping from hostel to hostel and enjoying their fine cuisine.  Finding excellent food was easy but locating a smile or a friendly gesture from the locals was sometimes impossible.  I felt that the rudeness the Northern French dished out actually provided the glue that bonded us tourists closer together.  I came across a nice room in Blois and utilized it as home base to visit the chateaus in the area. 

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06/27 Oslo, Norway

We ended up in Oslo’s train station an hour and a half earlier than we had originally planned.  We had eaten and kind of ran out of touring options and found ourselves debating on which train to depart on.  One train left at eleven and the other at midnight.  Jim was having another one of his bad days, randomly complaining about everything and anything that came into view.  I wasn’t up for spending much time sitting in this vacant station with only Jim’s attitude to entertain me.  When the first of the two trains arrived, Jim walked the length of the train while I watched the gear.  “There’s no first class, so let’s wait for the next one” Jim demanded. 

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10/06 Pisa, Italy

I was told of a nice beach just outside of Pisa so I snuck in an early shower again and took an early train out.  Tuscany provided an enchanting landscape painted in pastels.  I followed the tourists to the tower in Pisa, gave my two cents and climbed to the top.  With all those people hanging all over it I was surprised it hadn’t fallen and decided to head down before it did.  After strolling through the Duomo and viewing Ramous’s doors I wandered across the river to get a feel for the countryside and sat along the side of the bridge thinking.  Truth, like art is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.  

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08/31 Toledo, Spain

We both had traveled through Madrid on our way into Portugal but neither one of us had our mind on sightseeing.  We had planned on traveling through into Avila and then on to Toledo so we only got off the train to stretch our legs and find ourselves some food.  When we first arrived in Toledo we walked around its outer wall.  Ann was sporting a t-shirt minus a bra and again my mind began orbiting. 

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