Some Pictures

Doug on the top of the Keep




Melanie on the Way to the Castle



Dover Castle

Halifax to Dover to Paris

We made it, after a sleepless night on the plqne to London, a long line for passport verification at Heathrow and a couple of trains we arrived in Dover, for our first night: We arrived around 1:30, had a nap and went to see Dover castle. The castle has a long history dating back to Roman times. It was a favoured home of Henry the VIII, and features a Roman Lighthouse and Norman Church. It was very impressive, we had to walk 20mins up a steep hill to get there.

The ride over to Calais was alright, Calais seened deserted. Once we arrived in Paris on the train we had some fun trying to get around got on the wrong train switched qnd eventuqlly made it. Would type more but am running out of time. Write again soon.

Halifax & Bubbles

This is the morning before we leave, thinking things over in my head, and I am increasingly anxious. We arrived in Halifax yesterday, catching a ride down with Melanie's cousin Natasha. We arrived around noon and spent the day walking around Halifax. The best part of the day was when Melanie and I, went to eat lunch. We went to eat at Bubbles Mansion, a restaurant run by Mike Smith who plays a character called Bubbles in a TV show called the Trailer Park Boys (for those who don't know). Anyway the restaurant had various outfits and things from the show, on top of that the food was really good. While we were there Bubbles was actually hanging out in the restaurant, so it was lucky we were there when we were. I didn't go say hello or anything, but it was cool to see him.

Today, we plan on getting a few last minute items and relaxing before we have to go to the airport. I think we have gotten everything, but will probably miss something. Luckily they do have stores in Europe so I am sure we will be alright. Next time I post I will be in Europe!!

Getting Closer

Well the time until departure is coming quick. We finally finished packing, and have moved our things from Charlottetown to my grandmothers basement in Kingsclear, NB on Sunday. It was a long, long day, moving everything. In the morning Melanie and I woke up sick from what we suspect were some bad re-heated fish and chips. We were both vomiting and trying to pack when we felt a little bit better, luckily by noon and the time Melanie's brother arrived, we felt much better. We left Charlottetown around four, drove to Rexton dropped a few things off had supper, and were off to my grandmothers. We didn't finish unloading the truck until 11:00 that night. So with the loading, unloading, being ill and packing we were tired. Needless to say we have had lots of sleep since.

I had a little scare this morning when I wrote to the B&B we are supposed to stay at on our first night, and they responded saying that they had no such reservation. I panicked, and than realized that I had written to confirm the wrong date. I wrote back and they confirmed for the correct date. Currently we are settling in to life for the week at Melanie's parents, and organizing the belongings we brought for a short stay once we return.

Not very exciting stuff.

So Busy...

Well just a few notes for those interested:

- I got my Camera back today after its unfortunate fall. Works like a charm.

- I was able to get Medical Insurance for Melanie and myself today from the co-operators, by far the best price and has all the important stuff covered

- I am really busy right now packing for the trip, it is really crazy right now. You wouldn't believe the amount of garbage a person accumulates after living only four years in the same place. The only thing I like about moving is having the chance to sort through things and get rid of it all.

- We booked our first four nights in Paris on the weekend. We got a really good price, and it is a private room with an en-suite. Hopefully we will be this lucky all the time.

- And lastly... We got our rail passes on Monday! We are now mobile and able to get around Europe. Can't wait to get on that first train!

So we have had lots of excitement and craziness to keep us busy, but we are moving forward which is the main thing. Write again soon.

First Nights Accomodation

Well, I made the first nights reservation today. I booked us in at the Clare House in Dover for the evening of the 29th. Hooray!! It was actually a bit of a rush when it was confirmed. Silly, I know but oh well. This is their website, a really quaint little place.

So Much Planning.... only 3 more weeks!!!

Well I am back, a personal note first off. As I mentioned in my last post way back in March, I was finishing classes and was looking forward to exams. Well they are over and exams went well, I studied way more than I had to. Knowing that these were the last few exams made me a bit nervous as I knew I had to pass or graduate at a later date. Don't get me wrong, I have never failed a class or come close to it, but for some reason I was extra nervous. Anyway, graduation is this Saturday, and the family is coming over for it. Its which is going to be fun, to bad the apartment will be half packed but that doesn't matter.

Back to the trip, part of the reason I have not been writing on the blog, is that I have been trying to plan the trip itself. It takes a fair bit of planning to be able to line up train times. For example, when we land in Heathrow we have to: Walk down to the "Heathrow Connect" train that will take us to Paddington Station, then we have to get on the Bakerloo subway line which will take us to Charring Cross station, where we can finally catch the train to Dover where we will stay for the night.

The connections and whatnot doesn't intimidate me, its making sure that we get to Charring Cross station on time so we can make it to Dover at a decent hour. We will only be there for the night and we want to have some time to see the cliffs, and catch dinner. The next day it’s up early, probably about 7:00 GMT (3:00 our time) for a "Full-English" breakfast, and off to catch the ferry to Calais and then off to Paris!

90% and Two Months to Go !!

Well I have hit the 90% savings mark for my trip to Europe, that is a big milestone. Can't wait to hit 100%, which I will be able to do with the work I get at the Bulk Barn. Which is awesome, it has been a long road, but will be well worth it.

On the subject of long roads, the time until the trip is quickly passing by. Today marks the start of the two month count down until we leave. Every day I talk to Melanie, and we are getting more excited by the day. Two months is not a long time.

On a side note, I only have 5 more days of class and my last exam is on the 13th of April so University will soon be coming to a close. Scary but exciting!

Great Gigabytes Batman!

Man you can turn almost everything into a exclamation by Robin. Anyway I finally found a great deal on digital memory for my camera. Futureshop had 1GB cards on for $15 a piece so I picked up three. I know have 5 gigabytes (gigs) of memory for my camera, and hopefully that will be enough for the trip.

Just so you know how much 5 gigs is, this will be enough for me to take 3500 11x14 or 4750 8x10 photos. I know that might seem a bit extreme, but I don't want to run out and I don't know how easy it will be to transfer pictures to a CD while I am over there. I figured if we are over in Europe travelling for nearly 80 days this will allow us to take 50-60 pictures a day, which should be plenty. I know most of those pictures will never be printed, but can be sorted through when we get home and you can't have to many pictures especially of a trip like this.

Anyway I now its not very exciting, but some news that I was happy about. A funny fact that Chad will appreciate, one of these little cards that you see in the picture (which are about 1-1/4'x3/4'), holds ten times the amount of memory that Chad's first computer had. Mind you that computer came out about 15 years ago, but still it is pretty amazing.

Passport

Yeah!! My passport arrived in the mail this morning, which means I am able to actually go on this trip that I have been planning for a year now. The Post lady knocked early, while I was still being lazy in bed and I almost didn't answer the door, until I realized it could be my passport. So I jumped up and called after her down the hall. Anyway it is pretty cool, I now feel official, when people ask for my passport I can slide it across the desk to them... I know that sounds dumb, but you always see people on the movies having to hand over their passports, something that as a kid I remember seeing as something exclusive or a ticket to am adventure. I hope you know what I mean so I don't sound completely crazy.

I was waiting for my passport to arrive for a couple of reasons, not just the fact that I need it to travel, but so to purchase our train tickets. I figured that I should wait to get them until I had my passport in hand cause the tickets would be a waste of money if I couldn't use them. So I should be buying the tickets in a few days. I am debating between two different kinds of tickets.

1- The first type of ticket lets you travel as much as you want for two months all over Europe
2- The second allows 15 days of travel within 2 months

I am leaning toward the second option as it is about 40% cheaper, and chances are that is the one I will get,cause even if we use up the 15 days the cost of buying the tickets that we need would not add up to the cost of the first type of ticket. I will let you know when I get them.

Mount Vesuvius !!

Well the other day I was reading an article on Mount Vesuvius and realized that it isn't that far out of the way, almost on the travel path actually, and I was stoked. I am sure you all know the story of Mount Vesuvus and its famous explosion that covered the town of Pompeii and Herculaneum and has since become legend, especially since the towns were rediscovered in the 1700's and excavation revealed the tragedy of it all. The fragile ash casts of people hiding and belongings left where the stood, there was a movie on the discovery channel a few years ago about it. You can read more by click on the links in the previous sentances. Anyway, it is a pretty cool place to go as much of the towns have been uncovered from the ash and debris that covered them. I guess it is one of those places that is so traggic and morbid that you have to go see it for yourself, kinda like when you are watching something disturbing on TV but can't look away.

The ironic part is that the current city of Naples is not that far away from Vesuvius which is still an active volcano and has erupted as recently as 1944, though not to the magnitude of 79AD. There are many sensors around the volcano and experts believe they can predict an eruption up to two weeks in advance, so there isn't a whold lot to worry about, but evacuation plans are in place. Maybe there will be an eruption when we are over there that would be cool, as long as we are at a safe distance.

A view from Pompeii

The Crater ..

Mount Vesuvius with Naples in the Background

Less than three months to go.

Wow, time is really flying. February has gone by really quick and I am certain March will go by even quicker with only four weeks left of school. I ran into a friend, Thea, the other day who had just returned from a trip to Europe and China and had a short chat about her experiences while over there. Thea said that the daily budget I have projected should be good, which is a relief as I wasn't totally certain if it was enough but she said it was a good amount. A tip she gave me was to have a short piece of cable that could be looped through our packs and tie them down while traveling on trains or buses. Just something easy that would prevent would be thief's from simply picking up the pack and walking away, sounded like a fair idea and it would allow for a bit more relaxation. Don't get me wrong I don't think Europe is crawling with thief's, but you never know and when everything you own is in one bag you don't want to risk anything.

I am hoping while we are over there that we might be able to take in a music festival, the idea occurred to me the other day when it was announced Aerosmith was coming to town and we weren't going to be home. I thought with all the large cities over there we would be bound to come across something good. Anyway I just wanted to check in and let everybody know what was going on, and as you can see there isn't much right now, just school and work. Will write something proper soon.

"Silver Jet, Way Overhead..."

Well we did it!! We bought our tickets!!

Wow, I am really psyched now, this is the first really big investment of our trip. The packs were expensive but could be used for other purposes. The tickets well they are a lot more, and they can only be used for one thing. The departure date is Monday May 28 and we come back the 13th of August.

The flight over is a night flight; we leave at 10:45 and arrive at 8:35 local. The flight time is 5hrs50min, but with the time change we arrive latter. I like the idea of arriving in the morning, as we will be able to see London as we come in, and we might be able to get some sleep on the way over (doubt it), and will let us have a full day right from the start. The flight back lands at 2:25, so that is pretty decent as well, will hopefully be able to get home the same day. It will be a full day, but we will be use to long days by then.

You can see our seats in the picture below. They seats are both closer to the back; I didn’t want to sit to close to the wing as it might obscure our view. Melanie has the window seat on the way over. I remember flying over London on the way home we went into Gatwick Airport and I got a beautiful view of London and it is something I will always remember, so I wanted to make sure Melanie has the same chance I did, to see Tower Bridge as you are coming in for landing.
I can’t wait, and I know Melanie can’t either. It is taking the big steps that really get you excited.

Another 767-300 ER (367) cruising

An Air Canada Boeing 767-300 ER (367)

Our Seats !!

Here are our seats on the plane. Click on the picture for a better look if it is to small.

Cafe Florian in Venice

Venice, the city of canals and gondolas. A place I can't wait to go and see.

I was watching one of my favorite travel shows called "Backpackers" (on the Outdoor Life Network) the other day, and the were visiting Vienna. Anyway, while there they visited a cafe called "Cafe Florian" and it looked really cool. It is the oldest cafe in Europe founded in 1720. The interior has a really cool ornate look that probably hasn't changed since it opened, and it has a seating area outside in St.Marks Square, with about 100 chairs, the type of cafe seating so often seen in pictures of Venice.

It is supposed to have some great coffee, and I thought it would be a great experience. The only thing that takes away from it is that the coffees cost around 7 Euros, which translates to be about $20 Canadian it will have to be one of the luxuries on the trip. As you can see from the pictures below it is a pretty cool place. Hopefully the coffee will be worth it. The guys on the show had this to say, "I don't know anything about coffee, but this is really good coffee" so I guess that kinda sums it up. I will be sure to let you know. On one final note looking for famous people that lived in Venice and may have had a coffee there I found out that Casanova actually lived in Venice from 1725-1798, so he probably went here. Pretty cool. Anyway hope you like the pictures.