1011 photos... enjoy... off to MN till monday.

made it home with a bunch of new stamps in my passport, a tan, and a little somethin somethin you know what i mean?

after my five hour layover in warsaw (what?) then 10 hour flight i am now going to bed, about 24 hours after getting up at 7am czech time. ooof

Prague'n it up...

i'll post again when i get stateside.

on thursday we left Split: we took a bus to a plane to a bus to a train to a bus to a bus to get to our hostel in Budapest... only to find out we had been relocated to the other hostel location. so we had to take a tram. ooooof.

Budapest is cool and super cheap. last night some Hungarian girls took me to an open air hip-hop party which was hilarious. today metro police totally busted us for not validating our tickets (we had them, though) and that really sucked. i wish i had a bit more time here but tomorrow i leave for Prague. wednesday i fly home.

We're in Bol.

We're staying a bit more than a mile from THAT. Ridiculous.

in Hvar Croatia. it's an island. we're island hopping. it's awesome.

A post card just for you!

Hey ! I'm having such a good time! I wish you were here to enjoy the art food girls stuff I think that the experience I've enjoyed most is the art in Italy the Guinness in Dublin the architecture in Vienna meeting other travelers eating I've been seeing music too - you would have loved the orchestra in Vienna the open air concerts in Florence by the Uffizi watching Live8 in a Dublin pub the few street preformers who are good You would not believe how crazy the streets are the gypsy kids in Rome how broke this makes you the mosquitos I'll see you back in Chicago at Jim's wedding when you visit me in Chicago when I see you Signed your friend your relation your not so close aquantance Alex

I made it into the Uffizi this morning. I got in line at 7:15a and was in by 8:45 - better than I expected. I bitched out these people who jumped the queue but they apparently didnt understand english. I think they knew what I was talking about (blatently jumping near 70 people) and so did every person around me, but they didnt budge - gosh, idiots! I think the highlight was pointing at my ass and then at them. Diplomacy at its best.

my 512mb flash card is nearly full, I'm at an internet cafe trying to off load the pictures so I can take more...

venice was cool, but you really dont need much more than a day and a half there. in florence right now, it's totally sweet. i plan on going to the uffizi tomorrow at the crack of dawn, but there is talk of going to a discotek tonight... we'll have to see.

In Venice. I wish I was spending a bit more time here, but really the best thing to do is walk around. If you would like a post card please send me an email with your address, I think I'll be writing them when I'm in Croatia.

I got JLo'ed by my hostel guy. Right.

Me and Adrienne have been hanging out and having some epic Italian meals. Last night we got cocktails and awesome free apetizer type things in a happening Roman neighborhood (very few tourists). On the sewer grates they put "SPQR" (the Senate and People of Rome in Latin).

Tomorrow I go to Venice for a night, then Florence for two, after I get back to Rome we're going to Croatia for a little time on the beach. Awesome.

I'm in Rome. I've been site-seeing with two of my fellow hostelers, which is fortunate because they saved me from being pickpocketed by some gypsy kids. Rome is spectacular, today we did the Vadican, going through the Vadican Museum and Sistine Chapel - the whole thing is a long maze that has enough stuff for 10 museums. At a certain point we were just walking to get to the Sistine Chapel while we could still appreciate it a little, afterwards I could barly look at anything on the way out... art overload. I should be making a side trip to Florence around Monday. Caio

In Vienna and I cant get blogger in English... sheesh. (I really tried but they dont store cookies at this terminal). Here's a picture:



it may look chunky because it's resizing in your browser - I cant understand enough German to use their picture editing program...

Monday I took a 6 hour hike across the city - it is beautiful.
Yesterday I tried to take it easy because I'm a little sick but still managed to get the Music Museum and a Wiener (Vienna) Hofberg Orchester concert. It was pretty awesome.
Today I may try to go to the palace, not sure.
Tomorrow Rome.

Ireland has been great. I wish I could upload pictures but there is no CF reader around. The short list includes

Grafton Street - consumerism frenzy

Trinity College - historic and beautiful campus

St Steven's Green - nice public park

Guinness Storehouse - nice do-it yourself tour, free pint and an excellent view of the city

Dublin Castle - a collection of hisoric buildings

Chester Beatty Library - literary museum

St Patrick's Cathedral / Christ Church Cathedral

Irish Museum of Modern Art - housed in a nicely restored historic building

National Gallery

Natural History Museum - good stuff on interisting history of the isle

The best part of my trip has really been seeing my friends Eugene and Cora who were my neighbors in Baltimore. They've been exceptionally kind hosts and I'm lucky to know them.

great stuff:
Getting a pint in a small town pub, Eugene explains that a front sitting area that is very segregated from the rest of the pub is a "snug" where the women go to talk about flowers (or something) while the men drink and talk about sports. Cora then frowns and says, "no, they're talking about the men!" Eugene takes a look down the bar (mainly middle aged men) and says "not here they're not."

At the same pub, filled with small town people who have been going to the same pub and sitting in the same stools (according to Eugene) for years, on my way to the bathroom I was stared at like I was from outter-space.

Last night I went out with Eugene's nephews... that was a trip.

Today we watched a Hurling qualifier game - it is a fun game to watch.


Tomorrow I leave for Vienna.

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