The Oktoberfest Recovery Begins

Alright here's the Oktoberfest day-by-day, starting last Wednesday:

Day 1 - I left Hannover early and caught a train to Munich, which took just under 5 hours. I watched a couple of movies along the way (finally saw Gran Torino, great movie!), I am loving having a netbook! I also traded a few movies with Malisa a few days earlier, I seem to keep doing that so I am never bored on a train or plane. I got into Munich and found my way down to the campground where Cam had told me he was staying. It was only about 20 mins south of the city center, in a wooded area right along the river. The place was huge, there were thousands of people there I would guess. I couldn't find Cam though, as he was already out and about at the fest. By some miracle I noticed a piece of paper on a display board with my name on it. Cam had written me a note telling me where his tent was. Though that dumb Aussie wrote the wrong sector of the campground so it didn't help much! I was able to rent a tent and dumped my stuff in a massive tent field run by some tour company. Never ended up sleeping there though, more on that later. I had a few beers at the campsite and then hopped on a shuttle to the fest. Oktoberfest is absolutely crazy and huge. It is like Disneyland, there are rides, roller coasters, food stands, beer halls, beer tents, and beer gardens, not to mention hoardes of people, absolutely everywhere you turn. Nearly all the women wear traditional Bavarian dresses called dirndls while maybe a third of the men wear lederhosen. I wish I had gotten them, but they are way too expensive. About 100 euros for the cheapest, while they can get to over 1000 euros! Plus I wouldn't want to have to carry it in my pack after the fest.

I spent a while just wandering around the fest, there is so much to see it is sensory overload. I found one of the huge tents and grabbed a seat outside in the beer garden. I met some random people sitting near me and was amazed at how friendly people were. The beer costs 8.50 or 8.60 per liter (in a stein of course) at every major beer tent. There were maybe 8 or so major breweries that each had the biggest tents, I was told the biggest of them hold 50,000 people. After going inside, I believe it. It wasn't too difficult to get in, find a table, order more beer, and meet a bunch of people. I randomly ran into my friend Karina who I met in Portugal. Ironically, Cam ran into her separately the next night! Amazing given how many people are there. I hung out with her and her friends the rest of the night. I believe my stein count was 3 for the night (plus 2 at the campsite earlier).

Now for the most embarrassing moment of my trip so far (and possibly my life). My memory is a bit hazy at this point, but I'm pretty sure I got on the wrong shuttle back to the campsite. In my defense, there were literally hundreds of shuttles and busses picking people up outside the fest. Regardless, I fell asleep on the shuttle (as many people do on their way home from the fest!) I have no idea how long I was asleep because I don't know what time I left, but I woke up as the shuttle stopped and it was about midnight. I didn't recognize where I was and asked a few people where the campsite was. They didn't seem to be sure, but were able to point me in the direction of the river. I walked for a while, and asked a few more people with no luck. I was quickly alone and had no one left to ask. I had no map on me, it was pitch black, and I was getting really cold (was wearing a tee shirt and flip flops). I asked a few security guards at some office building and they pointed me towards the river, which I was never able to find. I wandered for what seemed like forever. I was in some neighborhood freezing my ass off when I decided to call it quits. I considered knocking on some random door, but instead found an apartment building with the outside door unlocked. The heat was on and I sat down on the stairs with my head against the wall and fell asleep! I woke up at 6 am or so shivering (the heat wasn't that great), I heard people stirring, getting ready for work. I left the building and wandered for an hour until I found a bus. I didn't care where it was going, I just got on. I got very lucky that one of the stops was the Hauptbanhof (train station). I knew how to get back from there. Then, next to the highway, right before my stop, I saw the scariest street sign of my life: Munich - 72 km! LOL! I am so embarrassed, but I suppose it makes for a good story. I was in some suburb in the middle of nowhere (still don't know exactly where, but clearly people were directing me to a different river than I thought!), and I had to pay 15 euros to catch an hour and a half train ride back to Munich.

Day 2 - I got back to the campsite at around 9 am, cold, tired, and hungry. I found Cam at the site fairly quickly. He was there with a big group of Aussies that he met in Prague on his way to Munich. Lucky for me, some people that had camped in the site earlier had left their tents. So I grabbed the nicest looking one and moved my stuff out of my original tent and into the new one. Only had to pay 11 euros a night to camp there (vs 20 to rent a tent). I probably should have gotten some sleep at this point, but everyone was ready for a big day at the fest so I showered and got ready. Cam got lucky as he was borrowing lederhosen from a friend. About half of the rest of our crew dressed up as well. We headed the fest in the early afternoon and had a blast all day. I think I drank 4 steins that day and of course crashed hard in the early evening. I was exhausted and fell asleep with my head on my beer at one point! Cam was tired too so we walked to a grassy hill with a bunch of passed out people on it to take a nap. Cam said the next day that I was asleep before my head hit the grass. He woke up a couple of hours later and couldn't find me. Once again, my memory is failing me, but I at least made it home to the campsite. I'm not sure why exactly I left Cam on the hill, I feel kind of bad about it. But he ended up back with our friends and partied more. I got back to the campsite relatively early and slept.

Day 3 - I was now mostly caught up on sleep and was feeling pretty decent. Cam and I went sightseeing on our own. We wandered around the city center, climbed a church tower with great views, and ate some interesting German seafood dishes from a market for lunch. We decided to head to the Hofbrauhaus to check it out, kind of mandatory for a tourist in Munich. I had been there when I was in Munich 5 years ago, but I definitely wanted to experience it during Oktoberfest. It was packed as expected, and Cam and I hadn't planned on doing much drinking as this was our recovery day. Well of course we decided to grab a table and have a stein. Then the plan became, 'Let's have one then head back early tonight.' A couple of American girls, then German guys, came and sat down with us at our table. As we were about to order food, some guy at the table next to us gave us his full plate of food, untouched! It was a pork knuckle, a traditional Bavarian dish, which Cam and I devoured. We ended up staying the whole night there, drinking 3 steins a piece, and having an incredibly good time. We left after midnight, hung out with our new friends in a park for a while, then headed home. Got to sleep at about 1 am.

Day 4- Staying out so late on our supposed recovery day was obviously a bad idea. The reason we wanted to get in early was because our alarms were set for 3:30 am!!! It was the day of the AFL (Austrialian football) Grand Final, which is their Superbowl. There were 14 or so Aussies in our group, so they wanted to watch it live. After a couple of mishaps, we got to one of the Australian bars in town and got in line at 5:00 or so. Just before the game started, the doors opened and hundreds of Aussies poured into this tiny bar. The place was horribly packed, it was literally impossible to get to the bathroom and nearly impossible to get to the bar. I'm guessing, but I think I was the only non-Austrialian in the whole place. And I don't know the rules to the AFL or who the teams are! It was all in fun though, and the game was incredibly exciting as it came down to the wire. The team our crew was rooting for won, they're called the Cats, which I still think is a horrible name for a sports team. Afterwards, Cam and I headed back to the campsite to try and sleep for a bit before a big day at the fest. We got an hour of sleep or so and then headed back into the thick of it. This weekend was Italian weekend at Oktoberfest, so there are groups of sleazy Italian guys everywhere you look. The fest was so crowded this day it was starting to get frustrating. Not only could we not get into a tent or a seat at a beer garden, we couldn't seem to find any place to order a beer. We spent 2 hours at Oktoberfest without drinking a single beer, unbelievable! Finally we met up with our other friends for few beers at one of the smaller outdoor bars. Eventually, our friend Lauren found us as well! Cam and I met her in Seville, then she was in Lagos, then stayed with us at the apartment in Valencia for La Tomatina. It was awesome to have a reunion! She is a really cool girl and becoming a good friend as we keep meeting up all over Europe. She had to leave the next day for China, I hope to meet up with her again in the future, maybe southeast Asia! Here is her blog if anyone wants to read about her adventures: http://laurensworldtrip.blogspot.com. Lauren and Cam and I went on one of the roller coasters, the Olympic-themed one with 5 loops. It was a blast, I will post the video! Then we attempted to go meet up with our friends in one of the big beer tents. They had a reservation, but could only get a limited number of entrance wristbands. We spent nearly two hours trying to get in, the lines were so long, and security was hardly letting anyone in. Eventually some kid gave me a wristband as he was leaving, so I got inside and tried to find our friends. Finally I found them and went outside to grab Cam. It was so late Lauren had to head back for her early flight. Cam and I got in and spent the rest of the night up on one of the balconies, standing on a table with our steins and a bunch of friends. We danced and sang all the cheesy cover songs played by the German band in the middle of the tent. We met some funny German guys that actually lived in Munich. After the tent closed down, they took a little group of us to an afterparty/club. It took forever to get to because the German guys talked to every person we met along the way. We only stayed at the club 20 mins before Cam and I decided to head back, absolutely exhausted. Amazingly enough, I remember the end of the night very well, which is a good feeling! Stein count for the day was 4.

Day 5 - Cam left early in the morning to get back to London, so I spent the day sightseeing/recovering on my own. I saw two very cool sights in Munich. The first was the royal family's summer residence. I took a really nice walk around the palace and through the beautiful gardens. I had lunch in a beer hall nearby, wurst of course. Then I headed out to the other side of town for the English Garden. It is apparently the largest city park in Europe. It was really impressive and I walked through it for a long time. I drank a stein at at beer garden right next to a lake. I spent the whole day alone which was fine by me. I took a lot of pictures, then headed back to the campsite at 8 pm or so. Of course the post-Oktoberfest party was already in full swing at the campsite, so I went to check it out for a bit. Once again, one stein turned into many, and I had one of the best nights in Munich partying with a bunch of people I just met. I spent most of the night with a German guy and girl (Julia and Florian) who study together in Hamburg. The three of us drank a lot of beer and talked to everyone around us. The campsite is mostly Aussies but there were a lot of Italians there for the weekend as well. I didn't make it to my tent until 3:30 am or so.

Today - I woke up, packed my stuff and left my tent for the next camper who shows up like I did. I caught a train to Salzburg in Austria where I am now. I got to my hostel pretty quickly and am very impressed. My room has a view of the huge castle up on the hill. I took a long hot, badly needed shower and am doing my laundry right now. I am going to stay here 3 days and hope to see the whole town and take a tour or two. There are a lot of Mozart sights to see here, plus there is a Sound of Music tour which I might do. Apparently the Eagle's Nest is fairly close, and I would love to see it. It was built by the Nazis as Hitler's summer retreat, basically. I have seen it in movies and it is incredible (they went to it in that HBO series Band of Brothers). Other than that, I just plan on relaxing, recovering, and exploring Austria!

Oktoberfest is finally here!!!

I had a pretty easy flight out of Dublin, and a relatively painless four train rides to get to Hannover. Though the ticket I printed out for my train ride had a few issues. I only glanced at it previously because I already knew the details. I had noticed it wasn't in English, but just assumed it was in Dutch. After looking closer when I got off the plane, I realized it wasn't in Dutch. I was told by a couple people it wasn't in any language, it was just gibberish. I ended up going to the train station and having them print me off an itinerary along with a handwritten note to the German train system that said my ticket was legit.

I got to Hannover and met Marlene and Malisa at the train station. I stayed with Marlene's family at their brand new house which is really nice. We went out to a cool club on my first night. I met a few German kids and had a few beers for only 2 euros each. I am still amazed at that price, incredibly cheap for a club with a cover. We made it on the last tram home, then spent the next couple of days exploring Hannover. We rode bikes around town a bunch and to the huge garden/park called Herrenhäuser Gärten. It is designed in a similar style as Versailles and was really impressive. We wandered through and I got some great pictures, plus I got to see the tallest fountain in Europe. Malisa and I walked over to it and saw that it was turned off. I was pretty disappointed, but we decided to eat our picnic lunch next to it anyway. I made some joke about waiting as long as it took for them to start the fountain, otherwise I was asking for a refund. An hour later, after we ate and chatted and were getting ready to leave, the fountain turned on! I'd say the thing was about 40 meters high, though now I am curious and just looked it up, apparently it is 82 meters tall!! Wow was I off. The following day we met up with one of the girls' friends, Linnea, and went pedal boating on the lake. I ate dinner the first few nights at Marlene's, then once at Malisa's place and once at Linnea's house. I ate some great German food and once again feel lucky to be taken care of so well!

Today was my last day here, and I took a day trip with the girls to Münster, where Malisa is going to Uni. We walked around the town, which was very pretty. There are lots of tree lined walking and bike paths, just like Hannover. Both cities are extremely bike friendly. Plus they both have really convenient and efficient public transportation, people can easily live here without a car. We ate dinner right next to the lake, then lost track of time and had to run 1km back to the train station so we wouldn't miss our train. It didn't matter in the end because Marlene forgot to write our connection down, so we went to the wrong stop and had to wait an hour for the right train! If you plan it well, it seems you should never have to wait more than 5 mins for a connection to take a train anywhere in Germany.

I am planning on meeting up with Cameron tomorrow in Munich. I am probably going to have to buy a tent as we are staying at a campsite on the outskirts of town and Cam's tent is small. Apparently I can find one for about 15 euros there, and just ditch it afterwards. I'm not sure what my plans are after Munich and have no idea how long I will stay there. Probably until I get tired of paying 8 euros for a beer or until my liver fails me, whichever comes first. I am thinking I would like to visit Austria afterwards, but we'll see. Probably won't get online in the next week or so unless I find an Internet Cafe or this campsite has WiFi (yeah right).

Thanks for the comments on my posts by the way!

Resting up in Dublin, ready for Germany!

I had a really relaxing time in Nantes. It is a very nice city, clean and attractive. But there aren't a whole lot of sights to see, I could hardly believe it when I found out 800,000 people live there! It's not even mentioned once in my Lonely Planet guidebook. Vincent and I wandered around and checked out the castle, the main cathedral, and checked out a couple of bars. It is pretty easy to walk most everywhere.

His parents have a really nice, new flat next to just about everything. Vincent's father, Jean-Pierre, used to own a big restaurant and is an incredible chef. Neither he nor Vincent's mother, Martine, speak much English at all. Possibly less English than I speak French! I ate some amazing French food while I was there. And, of course, had a fresh baguette for every meal of the day. One night for dinner we sat down and Jean-Pierre put the dish on the table and said to me "Bugs Bunny!" So I ate some damn good rabbit. We had cous cous another night, roasted chicken a different night. I love that they eat every meal with fresh baguettes. You don't waste any food because you use the bread to mop up your plate when you are done. And the four of us drank 2-3 bottles of amazing French wine for dinner each night, not to mention the bottle or two for lunch. I tried the local favorite, called Muscadet, which was sweet and really tasty. Also had various wines from Bordeaux and the south of France, a couple different champagnes, reds, whites, roses, you name it. Many meals started off with a tomato salad which I (shockingly) am starting to enjoy. I would really like to learn French better to be able to talk to all my new friends. I am going to start watching some movies in French on my computer, and I hope to take a language class sometime after Oktoberfest.

On Friday I took a day trip with Vincent and his parents to the coast. We stopped in a medeival walled city called Guerande to look around, then continued to the salt flats which Bretagne is famous for. We made it out to La Baule, which is kind of like Nice for the west coast of France. It is a rich French playground with a huge sandy beach, dozens of kite surfers, and expensive real estate for miles. We walked along the main beach boulevard and had a beer at a cafe. On the way back, we stopped at a German U-boat dock fortification thing that is basically in the same condition as the war. The Allies bombed the shit out of it apparently, but no luck. The concrete walls are probably 20 feet thick. It housed 100 U-boats right in the Loire delta. It was pretty amazing to see.

On Saturday evening, Vincent and I decided to finally check out the bars and clubs. We wandered around not really knowing where to go, eventually followed some people to the Island of Nantes (in the Loire River) and found one of the main stretches of clubs and bars. There was some famous DJ playing at the biggest club, and there was a 45 euro cover! We kept walking down the strip and found a bar/club that was absolutely packed with no cover and 3 euro pints of beer! I couldn't believe it, so we stayed for awhile. On our way home, we talked to a couple of French girls that were headed the same direction as us. They hardly spoke any English at all, so Vincent tried a little game: he pretended to be American. They completely bought it which was hilarious. He was my buddy Vince from New York and we were travelling together. They had no idea he spoke French, and I just played along.

I explored the last bit of Nantes on Sunday with Vincent, saw the old biscuit factory, lol. As I said, not a lot of sights. After yet another amazing dinner, they drove me out to the airport and I hopped on a plane to Dublin. Quick flight, easy bus ride, hopped off the bus on O'Connell St. in Dublin and found Lisa right away! We walked back to her aparment ten mins away and I met some of her flatmates. There are two German girls, one Brazilian guy, and one other guy, not sure where he's from yet, maybe Brazil too? They are all very nice and speak excellent English. They are all in school or working (or both) here in Dublin. They all have fairly normal routines, and Lisa works 6pm to 12am every evening, so I have been hanging out with Lisa during the day and her roommates until midnight. On Monday I stayed in and took care of some chores. Transferred some money, posted some pictures, bought my next plane and train ticket, etc. Today, Tuesday, Lisa and I got up really early (5:30!) to take a day trip out to Kilkenny. It is two hours away by train, so we had to leave early to have enough time for her to get back to work. It is a really cute, very Irish town. We went into the beautiful castle right on the river which dates from the 1200s. Saw a modern art exhibit, went to a cathedral and climbed the cool round tower. We stopped in a pub for lunch and a Guinness before heading back to Dublin.

I have booked the next week of my trip, I am flying to Eindhoven (in the Netherlands, no one has heard of it, even my new German friends who live two hours away!), then taking the train to Hannover. I looked up many cities to fly to and take a train from as there aren't many directs from Dublin to Hannover. It is only 10 euros (before tax) for my flight, plus 29 euros for my train, not bad! I am staying with my friends Marlene and Malisa in Hannover until next Wednesday. I then have a train booked for Munich for Oktoberfest! I will meet up with a bunch of friends there and camp! I am really excited, hope to post again just before I head there!

Living the French Life

My last day in Balogna, I took a day trip by train out to Ferrara. I went with a couple uni students I met at my hostel that were going out there to start study abroad programs. The town was really nice with a real university feel to it. I checked out the main castle in the center of the town which was fairly impressive. Wandered around a bit and had pretty much seen all the sights. I headed back to Balogna and got in touch with a couple of girls I had met my first day in Balogna. They had just moved into university residences. I met up with them in town and we ate at an Italian buffet, the same one I had been to the previous night. All-you-can-eat Italian food plus any drink you want for 7 euros! We went out after to a few bars and had a great time. I caught the last bus back to my hostel, barely made it! If I had missed it, would have either been a 7km walk or sleep on the street.

The next day, I packed up and headed to the train station. Vincent had convinced me to head to Paris for the party! I found what I think was the cheapest way for me to get there, so I hopped on a train direct from Balogna to Paris for 100 euros. Not too bad, cheaper than a last minute flight. The train took 10 hours, but I watched movies on my netbook, slept, and saw some incredible views of the French and Italian Alps, especially near Torino (the Winter Olympics city). Got into the Gare de Lyon in Paris really late, so I found a hostel to crash. Woke up and trekked out to Marne-la-Vallee, a Paris suburb about 30 mins away by train. Got off the train and was staring at Disneyland Paris. It looks pretty impressive, though a far cry from the real Disneyland. After an annoying hour trying to get on the internet to look up Vincent's phone number (I forgot to write it down), I called him and he swung by to pick me up. We headed back to Clemont's house, in this tiny French village called La Houssaye-en-Brie. That's the town where all 14 of the French guys I stayed with at the villa in Portugal went to high school. Many of them still live there, and they know everybody in town. Vincent and I stayed at Clemont's, along with Clemont's cousin Pauline and her friend Julie.

When I arrived on Friday, there were a bunch of guys already setting up the party. I jumped in to help, setting up multiple tents, building structures to hold up several tarps (the weather sucked, rainy and windy), preparing food, helping the DJ set up equipment, etc. There was a lot to do! It took all day, but I definitely started to realize this party was going to be crazy. People started showing up at 8 or so, the DJ was awesome (Fabien, a guy I met in Portugal), and everybody was dressed in 'French' clothes. Meaning, those funny hats, white shirts, red handkerchiefs, etc. I was wearing this silly fur jacket, looked ridiculous. There were probably 150 people that came by through the night, and I didn't get to sleep until it was light outside. I saw a lot of the friends I met while in Portugal, they were all very glad I made it to the party. I'm pretty sure I was the only person at the party who wasn't French! Took a lot of great pictures and met just about every person that walked in. In French culture, you introduce yourself and shake hands or kiss every single person that arrives. I have gotten used to it by now. I am really enjoying the French way of life and have made many great friends.

I didn't wake up on Saturday until 5 pm!!! When I did, I immediately started helping prepare everything for the next party! More food and a new DJ. The weather was a lot better as well, though still kind of cold. That party was a lot of fun as well. Many of the same people, yet a whole lot of new ones as well, probably 200 that night. All in all, I had a blast and am really glad Vincent convinced me to go. Originally, I was only going to head to the party if Cameron did as well, but he decided to stay in London, and it sounded like too much fun to miss. I spent the next 3 nights at Clemont's place with Vincent and the girls (Pauline and Julie, aka Ginger and July). Clemont and his dad really took care of us. We had fantastic homemade French dinners each night. Sunday night we drove into Paris with several friends to an Australian bar. One of the guys is going to Aus in 2 weeks, and 2 others are meeting up with him soon. They are all going to be gone for a year and were very happy to practice their English with me, and at the Australian bar as well.

On a side note, all of the conversations taking place about where we are going or what we are doing are in French obviously. I usually have no idea what the guys are talking about, they speak way too fast and use too many words I don't understand. It is also really tiring to listen to all day long, often my brain needs a rest so I kind of tune them out. Vincent and Clemont also have a very bad habit of not informing me what in the world is going on. They pretty much have me on a 'Need to Know' basis and they don't think I need to know anything until 5 minutes before we have to do it. Most of the time, it is pretty funny because I am always surprised when they say, 'Alright let's go!' and I don't have a clue where we are going and have to get ready in a hurry. Sometimes, when we have to catch a train and I have 2 minutes to grab the laundry I just finished doing and pack my whole backpack, I wonder why they didn't tell me 10 minutes earlier!! Then I yell at them and they yell back at me 'Stupid American!', but it is all in fun.

On Monday, Vincent and Clemont informed me that we were going to go to Le Duplex, one of Paris' best nightclubs. Then they asked if I would mind driving, so they could both drink! Well of I course I don't mind, but driving in Paris sounded pretty scary. Not only is the city really busy and the streets are confusing and the drivers can be crazy, I can't read much on any of the street signs. And 2 drunk French guys providing terrible directions wouldn't help. I drove Clemont's old Renault, a beat up thing he bought for 100 euros that actually drives pretty well. Everyone in the car (besides me) was already drunk and we were blasting the electronic music they always listen to. Fortunately, I got to follow the car in front of me for about half the ride to Paris. But it was nearly 1 AM and they were doing roadwork on the A4, the main highway. So when the road closed and Clemont yelled at me to pull alongside the car in front as the car exited the freeway, it didn't work out so well. From then on, I was on my own with Clemont and Vincent both yelling directions in drunken French and bad English. It was pretty damn funny and I was sure we would get lost. We did, several times, but finally once we got into Paris I saw the Arc de Triomph. I asked them where the club was and they said right next to it! The traffic circle where the Champs Elysee meets the Arc de Triomph is the biggest one in the world. 12 different streets all meet at the roundabout, which is basically its own highway! The circle can fit about 15 cars wide!!! I had no idea I was going to have to drive on it. Fortunately, it being 1 AM, the circle was not incredible busy (though still quite a few cars). Somehow I navigated onto it, did a complete circle because the guys were confused about which street to take, and then crossed 12 lanes of traffic in one swift manuever to exit at the absolute last second. The girls were screaming in the back, but I was in control so it was hilarious! I parked, snapped some photos of the Arc and the traffic and we met up with our friends and got into the club.

I can see why the club is one of the best in paris, it was packed on a Monday night!! It was expensive, so probably a good thing I wasn't drinking. We got a private area with bottle service, meaning 150 euros for a bottle of Absolut vodka. Despite being sober, I had a great time and we all danced a bunch. Mostly electronic music with some American hip hop thrown in. I always make fun of the guys when they sing along to the English lyrics yet have no idea what half of the words mean. About 4 AM some of the guys and girls started falling asleep on the couches, everyone was still very tired from the weekend. So we called it a night early and I drove us home. Back around the crazy circle and down the Champs Elysee, along the Seine with all the main Paris sights flying by, onto 3 different highways, and somehow got us home in one piece an hour later. 5:30 AM, Clemont and Vincent were hungry, so Clemont cooked breakfast while Vincent and I went back through the backyard to the chicken coop. We were trying to be really quite, but Vincent was drunk and scared, so I fended off the cock with a stick while he stole about 8 eggs, laughing the whole time.

On Tuesday, I woke up to 'We are going to the castle in 5 minutes, get ready!' So I went with Clemont and the girls to Vaux le Vicomte, one of Louis XVI's amazing chateaus not far from Clemont's village. We didn't go inside, just got tickets to the gardens which were incredible. Similar in style to those at Versailles, we walked through them for 2 hours with amazing views throughout. It was pretty incredible and a great place to relax after several big nights in a row. We stayed in Tuesday evening, just enjoyed a nice meal some of Clemont's extended family. Went to a neighbor's house and drank a lot of good wine. I am definitely starting to learn more French, I can't hold a conversation by any means, but I recognize more words. I can even ask some basic questions and understand the answers, though my accent needs a lot of work. Sometimes I know how a word is spelled and I say it several times, yet they stare at me blankly. I swear sometimes they know what I am saying, they just pretend not to to spite me for having an American accent!

Wednesday was to be my last day staying with Clemont. We woke up relatively early and I caught a train into Paris with Vincent and the girls (Clemont had to work). My sister Lauren had just gotten into Paris, but unfortunately we weren't able to meet up (tough to communicate, I don't have a phone and hers didn't work). We went to the modern art museum called Centre Pompidou. Spent a couple hours there, some of it that weird 1970s sexual video art (like at Tate Modern in London), some of it really cool and bizzarre, but the best was the Matisse and Picasso collections. We also saw the Royal Palace and the Louvre's 'repository' museum or something like that, where they keep a lof of art for sale. Afterwards, Vincent had a date with the bartender we met at the Australian bar (that is a funny story in itself), so I took the girls to that big cemetary I had been to before, then to the Jardin du Luxembourg, which was absolutely beautiful. Clemont got off work early, so we had to hop back on a train out of town so he could pick us up from the station.

Wednesday evening, I packed my stuff in a hurry and went back to Marne-la-Vallee with Vincent. We said goodbye to Clemont and the girls, and I bought a 12-25 year old discount French train card. Then Vincent and I got tickets to Nantes!! We took a 3 hour train ride to Nantes, where I am now! Nantes is in Brittany, well, right next to it, on the west coast of France. Vincent's parents live here, and he is going to work and start uni here in a week or so. I am staying with him at his parents' place. They are both very nice and have a really cool place. They are taking care of me as well as Clemont and his family did. I am unbelievably grateful to Clemont and Vincent for taking me in like they have. I hardly pay a dime for accommadation or food. My only expenses are public transportation, entrance to museums, and the occassional drink at a bar (though even most of those get paid for by one of my friends here). I suppose I should feel a bit bad for mooching so much, but Vincent and Clemont both love to travel, so they know what it is like to be on a strict budget. They have both travelled all over the world and have been in similar situations where they have met people and stayed with them free of charge. And of course, they both know that when they come to Seattle eventually I will take care of them!

So, here's my plan: I am going to stay here in Nantes with Vincent until Sunday evening. We are going to explore the city today, check out the nightlife tonight. Either Friday or Saturday, I hope to take a day trip up to St. Malo and Mont St. Michel (sorry we didn't go there Roxanne! So close to it now I can't miss it!) On Sunday, I will fly to Dublin. I've already been there, so why Dublin? Well, there aren't a huge number of places you can fly to from Nantes, and taking a train would take a long time and be fairly expensive even with my new discount card. I found a fairly cheap flight to Dublin, and I can fly to anywhere in Europe from there. Plus, my friend Lisa who I met in Lisbon offered to let me stay at her place in Dublin right off O'Connell street!! She lives with I think 6 roommates and has a spare couch, so it should be a lot of fun! I will stay there a few days, then fly to Germany! In Germany I am hoping to stay with some friends in Hanover. I met Marlene and Lisa in Galway, Ireland at the beginning of my trip. We have kept in touch and they have asked me to visit. I will check out Germany a bit until the 23rd of September, when I plan on heading to Munich for Oktoberfest! I will meet up with Cameron there, and Lauren as well (friend from Spain and Portugal who was in our apartment for La Tomatina).

So the next couple weeks of my trip are looking pretty sweet! I have friends to stay with and places to go! It sure is nice meeting so many people on my travels, and Facebook is great for staying in touch! For example, I met a Swiss guy at that Australian bar the other day in Paris. Talked to him for maybe 20 mins or so. A day later, he found me on Facebook and now I have a place to stay in Geneva whenever I make it out there! The internet connection was bad at Clemont's house, hopefully it will be good where I go in the future so I can post more often. Stay tuned for pictures!

Pizza, Pasta, Gelato... yum.

La Tomatina, wow. I decided afterwards (and I think each of my friends did as well) that I am so glad I went to La Tomatina, but I would never, ever do it again. It is definitely a once in a lifetime experience. It was crazy, wild, painful, exhausting, disgusting fun!

The day before the festival, Cam and I went for a run out in the park next to our apartment. It was the first run of my trip, meaning the first in over 2 and a half months! I really needed it though and hope to keep running at least 2-3 times a month. We ran about 40 minutes at noon, it was unbelievably hot! Our group of 7 went out in Valencia to pick up some things for the festival, goggles. shoes, outfits, etc. Cam and I went to the beach, which was alright, very warm water, yet kinda dirty. That night, we planned on going out in Valencia because we hadn't heard any more details about the wine festival. The plan was to get up early the next morning and meet some other friends at the train station and head to La Tomatina together. I am so glad that plan changed!! We heard from some people that there is a big party in Bunol (the town of the festival) the night before and we shouldn't wait till the morning to go. We found this out very late, though, and the trains weren't running at the time. So the 7 of us hopped in 2 cabs at about 1 in the morning and made it down to Bunol. We jumped right into the party, which was basically a massive outdoor rave that lasted all night until 10 AM the next morning when the festival started! The party was really fun and everybody had a blast. As you will see in the pictures, I had a massive bullseye painted on my upper body as well as another on my forehead. Needless to say, I was getting a lot of looks from everyone! But Cam was in a Speedo and Tom was wearing a white dress, so I guess we all were getting looks. Almost got in a fight with about 12 Spanish guys who clearly did not like us tourists.

We made it out into the streets of Bunol, right in the heart of things. There is a wooden pole, about 5 meters high, that had a chicken or a ham or something attached at the very top. The entire pole is then greased up, I think it was soap. The idea is, the tomato throwing doesn't start until someone gets to the top of the pole and pulls the meat down. We were right up close, and I even spent about 20 mins at the base of the pole with people climbing on top of me. It was basically a mosh pit, with hundreds of people pushing and climbing on each other, everyone was hot and sweaty, pretty gross. No one was really working together to get to the top (stupid Aussies, most of them :) ). 2 hours passed with people trying to get to the top of the pole! I couldn't believe it was taking so long. After all that time, finally the cannon sounded without anyone ever getting to the top of the pole. Trucks filled with people and tomatoes started rolling down the street. Within minutes, thousands of tomatoes were flying through the air and we were ankle deep in them. Throughout this, everyone wearing a tee-shirt (both guys and girls) had them ripped off. So there were wet tee-shirts being balled up and thrown as well, not to mention the Spanish guys whipping people with them. As it went on, I started getting hit with a LOT of tomatoes, obviously. They started to hurt, though, and I took about 4 tomatoes right to the face. One of them gave me a bump on my forehead, another one gave me a black eye. That one hurt so bad I almost fell over, I was seeing stars! It felt like getting hit with a baseball. Supposedly the Spanish guys bring some of their own tomatoes that they freeze first. Bunch of assholes. Anyway, I spent a lot of the time turned away from the tomato trucks, protecting the girls in our group. Therefore I took a bunch of tomatoes to the back of my head and neck, which are still pretty tender from bruising. The girls wanted out, but there was no escape. Just way too many people to even move. Just before it all ended, the last couple trucks actually opened their rear doors and tomatoes just poured into the street. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to jump in. I basically dove into tomato soup. When I finally stood up (with help), it was literally knee deep! I was pretty glad when it all ended, as I smelled horrible and felt like I just got my ass kicked.

We made our way down the hill to the 'showers' and the river flowing down the street. I rolled around on the ground for awhile until I was somewhat clean. Around this time, I reached for my pocket and my camera was nowhere to be found :( It was a huge mistake to even bring it, I had it in a double ziplock bag and only used it before the festival. I didn't take it out during the tomatoes. My pocket was buttoned as well, I figure someone must have picked it at the end of the tomato fight before we headed to the showers. Turned out to be a 200 euro mistake. That's what I paid for a new one in Venice, though at least I now have a brand new model. Oh well, lesson learned, and I only lost about 4 days worth of pictures. I just borrowed Cameron's camera and am using his pics for those days cuz they were basically the same as mine. Took about 2 hours to get through the crowds and back to the apartment with everyone. We all pretty much showered and went to sleep as we had been up for about 36 hours. I got up at midnight and checked out some of Valencia's nightlife with Matt.

The next day, Cameron and I finally parted ways after 2 and a half weeks travelling together. He headed back to London, I bussed up to Madrid with Matt. I had a flight booked for Venice the next morning. He was headed to Marrakesh a couple hours later. We went out for some cheap tapas in Madrid and then decided to head back to the hostel to get some sleep. My flight was at 7:15 so I was going to have to get up very early. I had just climbed into bed about 1 AM (really looking forward to about 3 hours sleep!) when 2 people staying in my room, Jack and Julia, walked in and announced it was time for everyone to go on a pub crawl. They also informed me that the metro wouldn't be running until 6 AM, which would be cutting it close to get to my flight. They were flying too, and had a cab booked with a spot open. So I climbed outta bed quick and went with them on the pub crawl! The cab was to leave right after the last club. I had a lot of fun, and the last club was the same one I had been to about a month earlier in Madrid, the one with 7 floors. I made it out to the airport just in time for my flight. Slept a bit, but still woke up in Venice feeling exhausted, not to mention still sore all over from La Tomatina. So I wasn't in the best mood when my backpack didn't show up. I filed a claim with the airline and started thinking about the pain in the ass it was going to be to buy a new backpack and all new clothes. I got into Venice and began a 5 hour search for my hostel. Probably the worst day of my trip so far. The hostel gave me the worst possible directions, plus Venice has to be the most difficult city in the world to navigate. Possibly worse than Morocco. I finally called the hostel and they told me it was on the completely opposite side of the city to what the google map had shown online. Had to boat over and then ask about 8 people how to get there. The hostel wasn't that great anyway, and overpriced like everything in Venice.

Despite the circumstances, I thought Venice was absolutely beautiful. It is pretty fun working your way through the winding streets and bridges and canals (as long as you don't need to be anywhere at a certain time or have luggage with you). There are quite a few cool sights to see. Plus the pizza and paninis and gelato were amazing! Then the good news, the airline found my bag and delivered it to my hostel the next afternoon. Only had to go one day with dirty clothes and an unfortunate odor. The extra toothbrush and toothpaste in my daypack sure saved me. I also bought a new camera, I definitely didn't want to miss taking pictures in Venice! I went out to check out the bar scene that night as well. I met an American couple from Texas that were really nice and bought me a few beers at a couple different bars. My hostel had a 1:30 curfew, meaning if you show up late you are locked out. It took me 40 mins to walk to the bars, but for the walk back I didn't look at my watch until it was 1:05! I grabbed a 2 euro slice of pizza next door to the back and jogged most of the way back, showed up just as the hostel was locking up. Glad I didn't have to sleep on the street, that would have been one horrible Venice experience.

I hopped on a boat the next morning, then a train, and arrived in Verona early afternoon. I had a guesthouse booked, and once more had a terrible time finding it. After getting on the third bus, I spotted it, rang the buzzer and no answer. I sat outside the door for 15 mins wondering what to do. Finally I opened the mail slot and noticed the key taped to it and a post-it titled STEPHENS. When I got in, there was another note on my bed informing me that the owner wouldn't be around till the following afternoon and that I should leave the money in the mailbox. Pretty trusting guy! I never even met him. I spent the evening exploring Verona, saw the Romeo and Juliet (or Giulietta as they call her) sights, including Juliet's house, the famous balcony, and a statue of her. It wasn't as cheesy as I expected. Verona is a gorgeous city with awesome architecture and beautiful views along the main river. On my way back from checking out the castle (with a moat and drawbridge), I passed by the main square with a 1st century Roman amphitheater. There were hoards of people in line to get in, so I stopped by the ticket office to see what was going on. I heard something about a performance and ending up buying a 20 euro ticket. I got in line still unsure what I was going to see. I finally found a brochure as I entered and realized I was about to see a Verdi opera!! It was the final night of a summer opera series at the amphitheater, which holds 20,000 people. I saw Aida, by Verdi as I said, who is the most famous and well known Italian opera composer. I sat up on the stone steps, wearing shorts and flip flops while the people down below in the 200 euro floor seats were wearing suits and even some tuxedos. It was my first opera and it blew my away. I obviously have no idea what they were singing about, but it sounded awesome. The music, the set, the costumes were all incredible. It's hard to believe the actors can sing as loud as they do without microphones. The opera lasted nearly 4 hours! Didn't leave till 1 AM. I found a bar without a single English speaker and had a few glasses of 2 euro Italian wine (so cheap and so good!). This was now the third night in a row I had gone out alone because I hadn't met a single person at my hostel (the one in Venice was deserted).

After one night in Verona, I had seen all the sights, so I hopped on a train to Balogna where I arrived yesterday. I found the only hostel in town and was very glad to meet a huge slew of people and finally have some human interaction. This hostel is huge, though it is 6 km out of town, but an easy bus ride. Yesterday I stayed in and relaxed with some new friends. We all ordered pizza (the hostel has a free delivery deal with a local pizza place) and watched 'The Hangover' on my netbook. It was really nice to have a night in like that. I woke up today feeling awake and refreshed. I spent today exploring Balogna. There are not that many sights to see, it is mainly just a laid back university town. The university is actually the oldest one in Europe. A lot of the people at my hostel are studying abroad there, and are sightseeing before they move into university residences. I saw a couple art museums, a huge basilica, and then climbed up to the top of a tower, the tallest in town with some amazing views. Tonight I am going to try some pasta with the famous Balognese sauce, which they call ragu. Picked up a couple bottles of cheap wine and am going to check out the nightlife with some people from my hostel.

I think I will stay a third night here in Balogna so I can do a day trip tomorrow to Ferrara and maybe Ravenna as well. The following day I plan on heading down to Florence. I am really looking forward to Florence as I have heard amazing things and know I will enjoy all the art and culture there. Oh, I picked up a new small backpack today from H & M for 20 euros. It is really cool looking and has lots of pockets. The one I had been using went to the garbage, it was starting to rip. I am also getting excited for Octoberfest, though it is still 2 and a half weeks away. I now have about 15 friends that are going (including Cam), who are currently all over Europe. It will be cool to see people that I haven't seen in a month or two. I am also considering going to a party in Paris this weekend. The crazy French guys from Portugal keep hounding me to go! Might be an expensive trip to get there, but it will be a 2 day party and it sounds epic. The guys would pick me up, have a place for me, feed me, etc. If I can find a relatively cheap flight or train ride I will do it.