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. …
Continue ReadingWe charted a bus north up the coast into Split where I was able to see the beautiful coast line. One of the advantages of traveling in baby steps is that we could stop at those beautiful places and not neglect the details that make each special. When we reached Split we headed through the walls of the old city seeking a room for the night. We either were appalled at the high prices for a room or they didn’t have any available. Since our budget was deflating I posed an option to Jenni. …
Continue ReadingThere were about eight of us on a train traveling from Sweden across the Arctic Circle into Finland. When we reached a painted line across the tracks, the train stopped and they ushered us out for a celebration. When the speeches were over, they actually gave each of us a certificate validating our crossing, woopty-do. It was a nice opportunity to stretch our legs, until we came to learn that this leg stretching exercise would continue for another few hours. …
Continue ReadingWe found ourselves a small room above a bar not far off the main square of Brugge, claimed ourselves bed, dropped off our stuff and hit the local canals for a little sightseeing. We roamed among the flower vendors, chocolate shops, lingered behind a cup of coffee and smoked a cigarette while standing on a humped-backed bridge. I enjoyed the mood of the weeping willows and gazed endlessly at the reflections painted by the water. …
Continue ReadingWe 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. …
Continue ReadingAt the breakfast table there were rumors of another train strike, so about six of us headed out early to attempt to board the last train prior to any stoppage. Our destination was Mont-St-Michel. When the island first came within view I stood there for some time and gazed at its glory. It had more a look of a cover to a picture book than something actually real, a castle right out of some fairytale. There were endless fields of mud waiting for the imprint of somebody’s foot. …
Continue ReadingI found a good cup of coffee on the square in front of the Duomo, sat there and caught up on my journal while I watched Milan wake up around me. The morning light danced past its arches onto the adjacent building. It was a breathtaking sight, absolutely gorgeous, a very unique structure. I spent some time queuing inside and then sat along the edges of the square. I discovered an excellent restaurant just not far from the Duomo and relaxed to a bottle of wine. …
Continue ReadingWalked up one of the local hills and watched the sun rise over the valley. Then I took a trek back to the pools to get a few pictures without people climbing all over in them. They were so beautiful and unique. Shallow petal shaped pools with large expanses that had the texture and the look of snow. I expected the crunch of snow but was met with the resistance of rock. I sat alongside them for rest of the morning, just day dreamed and enjoyed the view. …
Continue ReadingThe gentleman that leased us the car was extremely nice. I am naturally suspicious of people who are too nice and I usually create a bit of a buffer until I’ve figured out their motives. We ended up talking a bit over a cup of tea before we departed south. The agent’s nervous habit of looking out the window was distracting. …
Continue ReadingOne irony in my life is that I had very few women friends. Most relationships with women were always aimed toward romance and when that didn’t work out or when we experienced an obstacle that couldn’t be overcome, we’d move on. Mostly I have had male friends, sharing common experience and growing up like all normal boys. But I’ll have to admit, women make pretty good friends. Once that it is understood that not everything is sexual, we get along wonderfully. They make much better traveling companions, easier to agree with, better conversationalists, not as competitive, better sleeping arrangements; they attract a different type of crowd, and if there were benefits attached all the better. …
Continue ReadingA bunch of us from the night before had agreed to gather for a late breakfast and had earmarked today as a moped day. We all kinda wandered up at the same time around lunch. Brad and his sweetheart, Elspeth and Dave were all I managed to convince that it would be a worthwhile experience. Elspeth had never been on a moped before but wasn’t shy about taking on new challenges. During her learning phase either Dave or I would tag along side. …
Continue ReadingI awoke the next morning, took an early walk and just couldn’t believe how beautiful everything was. Every so often I claimed a bench with a view and sketch out some thoughts. I headed down toward the harbor to catch a bus to the other side of the island. I planned on seeing the blue grotto. I couldn’t figure out where to pick up a bus and nobody would give me a straight answer so I decided to walk. …
Continue ReadingWe proceeded down this path through a country side park, colored and shaded by many trees and leading into one of the many veins of London’s underground. When we resurfaced we were in the heart of London. It arose more from the haze of my memory than from the morning fog, my childhood memories of nursery rhymes and children songs accompanied every step. …
Continue ReadingI darted around from one small town to another and eventually followed a young lady into Kuopio. She explained that she had been traveling in Germany for the past few weeks and was reuniting with her boyfriend that evening. We kinda hit it off and she went out of her way to call a few of her friends to see if they could accommodate me with a room. She found me a beautiful cottage alongside one of the many lakes. I understood the cottage was her parents or an Aunt but they, like most the folks this time of year, were away on holiday. …
Continue ReadingI situated myself behind a cup of coffee in the middle of Oslo’s train station. It was early and I was in clear view of all the entrances and exits, so there would be no chance of Jim missing me. I had already gathered up the necessary supplies to prepare that night’s dinner for Solsberg. After about eight-hours of waiting, I was getting fidgety, actually angry, but assumed Jim probably had a bad connection and was on his way, so I held tight and caught up on my journal. …
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I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT ………………we now come to know the nature of change through Cognition ……… …
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I knew we had reached the Netherlands when the standard blue or green trains turned multi-colored. Two guys had hit us up in the train station soliciting us to take a room on their boat. I preferred being in the heart of the city where access was easier and I could be closer to the coffee shop I decide to write in, but Jenni kind of liked the idea of being on a boat. I was leaving in a few days and felt that getting her acquainted with another group of people was also a priority. …
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These rules are in no particular order.
A REAL MAN ……
1. Don’t lie to Doctors
2. Will fake peeing at the urinal or will wait on a toilet before walking out in tandem with another guy.
3. Never talk about their privates or name any appendage of their body. That’s just weird.
4. Know how to Spit. A pouhhhhh is unacceptable. If it takes practice, practice.
5. Never park in front of a bar. …
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Together we searched, above it all, as clouds, we wandered free but when us two, came to be one, we parted company. It’s a lonely road that comes to an end. I’m sorry my love but I must head home.
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I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT ………………we now come to know the nature of change through Cognition ………
“Cognition”, is defined as the mental process or facility by which that knowledge is acquired. …
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Where went the loveliness ……. I know you by, do I know the place
lost in all perfection ……. no longer shy, a dance without that grace
Pretty little dance ……. around we use to spin, a subtle touch ……. our eyes were one, we wandered like the wind
