09/28 Baden-Baden, Germany

I woke up with a serious problem.  I don’t know if it was the combination of the exercise the other day, the consumption of alcohol or both but my arms had stiffened to the point where I could not extend them beyond a forty five degree angle.  I tried carried my bags first in one hand and then the other using the weight of the bags to help stretch out my muscles, very scary. …

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.   …

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.  …

10/10 Rome, Italy

Early morning trekked across town and I followed the cats to the Coliseum.  I was disappointed it was a ruin.  I would really have enjoyed if it had been rebuilt and had the opportunity to see mock gladiatorial games or mythological dramas within its walls.  When I was young my exposure to that type of history was either through reading books or viewing movies but to actually stand in such a historical site awakened the senses of my imagination.  I could almost make out the roar of the lions and the cheer from the crowd. …

05/30 Stonehenge, England

Like a string of pearls, one complaint began to lead into another.  One minute it’s the weather, next minute it’s the price of food, carrying too much shit and then it was his feet.  “I’m not walking any further, maybe I’ll just fly home”, confronted Jim.  I reminded him that I was not his mother and if he thought I wanted to hear this shit, he had bigger problems than just his feet.  “Nobody’s putting a gun to your head and you don’t need my permission to make choices”.  I explained that I was not budgeted for repeating every other step and had a plan of what I wanted to see and experience and sometimes those things aren’t at the end of a train line.  “I’m committed to go forward and if you find it in your best interest to detour, I’m more than willing to meet you anywhere else on the map”.  “There’s no rule that says we have to do everything together”.  I provided an example of picking up women.  “I expect this to happen along the way and when we reach that fork in the road I’m sure you’re not going to be wanting me hanging around as a third wheel or vice versa.  We’ll just meet up someplace down the road”.  I tried to be a good person and attempt to avoid confrontations but traveling together has a tendency to bring these things to the surface.  Conflicts start and end with words.

Surely I dreamt today, or did I see. I wandered in this forest thoughtlessly
the clever boy that I once knew; with pebbles white and bread crumbs too
left no trail and lost my way, where all my pictures were thrown away

Through the forest, in the middle of a glade, forever nagging to persuade
no plank or bridge was placed in sight, only fists clinched as if to fight
the wind, the wind has caused me harm; you pulled too many false alarms.

08/07 Lugano, Switzerland

I was awakened by the sound of sweeping in the distance.  It’s funny how things looked different under the light of the day.  I really thought we had selected an isolated location where we could be unnoticed but the fact was we practically slept on top of a monument.  It was comfortable and no one bothered us and would have been perfect if we weren’t sharing the space with a colony of ants.  …

09/20 Paris, France

I attached myself to the rear of a group touring Notre Dame.  After I came down from the tower I found myself sitting among delinquents in the square just outside the church.  After I finished a cigarette I proceeded down to the Louve.  It took me all day to wander its halls, a maze of inconveniences.  I planned on coming back in a day or two to catch up on what I missed.  I always wanted to learn how to paint, so  I enjoyed watching the students copy the masters.   …

10/14 Marina Piccola, Capri Italy

The next morning I took advantage of the locations that I had found the day before.  It was another beautiful day with the sun shining down under a dense curtain of trees.  I lounged around in-between the shade of the trees and the heat of the sun.  At the end of the day I sat down in the harbor and watched the passing faces leaving the island. …

07/04 Amsterdam, Netherlands

We wandered among its narrow streets that radiated out like spokes to a wheel. Bicycles danced across our path. Up one of these many streets we spotted a small coffee shop adjacent to one of the more picturesque canals. It was a good day for mischief. It had a large window and we noticed that the table upfront was vacant and had a nice view of a small flower market. …

05/21 London, England

We 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.  …

11/11 Bethlehem, Israel

I wasn’t sure if our bus could make the trip but luckily Bethlehem was not that far of a ride.  Bethlehem was rather small and unexpectedly vacant.  Typically I liked to walk around the outskirts and then worked my way back toward my destination.  That gives me a better feeling of where I am.  The church was also empty and there was nobody inside its wall but the two of us.  It was kind of a shell of a church with an altar at the far end.   …

05/20 London, England

The clouds had parted and the wings of our plane began to dry.  The very first thing I noticed was that “I wasn’t in Kansas anymore”.  Gatwick Airport had green pastures on both sides of the runway.  Unconcerned cows looked up at our passing plane.  This was a total contrast to the cement landscape we left behind in LA. …

05/31 South Wales

We proceeded down through the middle of Wales, heading south toward the coast.  We followed the hedge groves that lined the road as it meandered like a large serpent, forcing the adjacent hill to bow to its will.   …

10/07 Siena, Italy

I had earmarked a hostel on the outskirts of Siena but the travel guide didn’t provide a good description of how to get there.  I asked a young lady who was sitting across from me on the train if she knew the best way to reach this destination.  She made a few attempts to explain but probably the combination of her hearing herself and the expression on my face persuaded her to just show me, so I followed her off the train.  …