Veni ad Roma

I'm at an internet cafe and have some time left over so I thought I would do a quick update. I'm in Rome now, have been here for about 8 hours so far. In that time I have already seen how different this city is from any other in the world. It's almost like watching a movie. A very funny movie where people drive wherever they want and traffic lights are more of a suggestion than a law. But the greatest thing so far...the weather! After 4 days of dripping gloom in London, I came here and the sun was blazing and the air was 30 degrees. I couldnt believe it, why dont people come down here every weekend just for that?

Once I got to my hostel my room wasnt ready yet so I went up to the roof. Six stories up, but I tell you not even Donald Trump can boast a view like this place has. It is 360 degrees, and everywhere you look you see a monument or a statue, I think in the distance you can see the Pantheon, but I cant be sure as there was quite a bit of haze. So in any case, I was very tired because the previous night had been spent leaning on my backpack at the airport trying to catch a few hours of sleep (not too successful). So while my room was being prepared, I went up onto the roof and started doing something I have never done before in my life: stripping. Yes I turned gigolo for all of Rome to see. First my T-shirt, then my shoes, and as the finale my pants came off as well until I was sitting in nothing but my boxers. But the sun felt sooo good on my tired muscles, so I leaned back and fell asleep for an hour. I got a weeks worth of Vitamin D with one short nap. Take that Canadian weather!

Now I have awoken (obviously) and the sun is starting to set. I think I shall go walk around the area and see what it has to offer. But I am heeding the advice many of you have given. As soon as I got to the center of Rome, I could tell there are quite a few shady characters around (one even asked me if I needed a place to stay...I dont know what his plan was, but I dont think it was just dinner and a nap), so I am being careful when walking. But thats Rome for you, have to take the good with the bad.

Alrite all hope you are well. Will write more when time permits, and perhaps try and get some pictures up here for you as well. Take care.

Notice from London

Hello All,

There is a reason I haven't been keeping up on this thing. Well, several reasons. First is because I'm out most of the time instead of in front of a computer. That would seem to be a pretty good reason. But more than that even at these internet cafe's, most of them don't allow you to put pictures up, because of virus junk or whatever. I don't really know, but I've asked at 3 places and they all said the same thing. And finally, they are just highway robbery, I'd rather eat dinner than go to a internet cafe. In any case, I will be updating it, just a little later from my friends place in Denmark. If Fred you are reading this (and I hope you are), I will be raiding your computer. Don't worry it's a perfect excuse, then you have no reason not to study.

Just a quick update for now tho, without the pictures. Dublin - fun, small, unbelievably beautiful people (honestly I think Fashion magazines should set up their headquarters there), but the people themselves...not so friendly. Or at least that was my experience. Ironically the best part about Dublin is a park, St Stephen's Green. You must be wondering how a park can trump all the old historical sites and authentic Irish pubs. Well, it just does. It is immaculately kept and the greens there are native only to Ireland, I have never seen those shades before, even in Photoshop.

London is very cool as well, but mind bogglingly expensive. A warning for any Canadians planning on coming here, budget however much you want, but when you think you have your number, double it. Then double that. It is insanity! 1 day on the metro costs around 12 Canadian dollars. And a cheap dinner? Perhaps 15 or 16 Canadian dollars. Maybe the best way to do it is bring a fishing rod and catch your dinner in the Thames. If I could fish, I would do that.

But other than that, it is an amazing city. So much history here, on every corner there is some statue or monument to a war or hero that lived before Canada was even inhabited. Ok, maybe not that old, but pretty darn old. Most of the time I walked around here, cause then you get to really see the city, but my legs are crying for me to stop abusing them like that. Oh well, they'll just have to deal with it. But ironically, my favorite part of London has the same name as my favorite part of New York : Soho. Strange, but true. I like the New York one better tho (yes stop smiling Navin), this one is amazing too, just very very crowded.

And of course, no visit to London would be complete without...rain. And more rain. I has rained a little bit every day I've been here. How these natives don't get so depressed they make psychiatrists' wallets dwarf Bill Gate's, I don't know. But somehow they manage. Very gloomy, although one day I did get quite a bit of sun, so I took most of my pictures then.

Alrite everyone, I may try and do another update from somewhere in Italy, but don't count on pictures. But who knows, maybe they are nicer down there. If not, hope you all are well and enjoying your respective countries. If I don't get a chance to write, I will be back in about a month's time from Denmark. Take care everyone.

New York, New York

Getting into New York was quite the journey. The train ride ended up taking 12 hours because we were stopped at the border. I was expecting them to have some questions for me, which they did, and finally I was done after half an hour of questioning. But even still we ended up staying at the border for 2 hours. So finally, after sitting in the train for far too long, we pulled into Penn Station at 10:00 PM on Monday.

After negotiating all the tricks and turns that is Penn Station, I finally found my friend. Over seven years since we've met, but somehow we fell back into our same routine right away, like we hadn't missed a beat. I guess that is the way it is with real friends.

The evening mostly involved an agape jaw as I saw what a bustling metropolis New York really is. It is unreal how many people live here, and all of them seem to have Energizer batteries powering them like the Bunny. But I left the discovering for the next day, as we were both tired.

That is Manhattan in the background. I started the day by going on the Path train into downtown. I got off at the World Trade Center which is still just rubble. There is a fence barrier around it and pictures from 9/11 are attached all around it. It is a very somber feeling to be there and imagine what happened just five years ago in that spot. It is still very eerie. I walked down to Wall Street and saw the financial district. You can absolutely tell who the big shots are, the suits are shiny and their egos are so big it pushes the shoulders back so far they almost tip over. Wall Street itself isn't that big, and what surprised me the most is that it is a walking street now. And NYPD is absolutely everywhere. Patrol cars block off certain exits, and police men walk in groups up and down. It actually makes you feel quite safe, especially when you look like a tourist with a camera slung around your neck.

That picture took me half an hour to take. The Wall Street Bull is a bigger tourist attraction than Wall Street itself. Throngs of people stand around it waiting for their picture to be taken. They kiss it, hug it, mount it, hang from its horns, put money in its mouth, and the less scrupulous even touch its udders (being a bull they are not udders, but a litte PC doesn't hurt). Finally after waiting for there to be no people in the frame, I snapped that picture.

My friend was at work until about 6 so that gave me all afternoon to discover what lower Manhattan had to offer. I walked up Broadway and into Chinatown, possible the dirtiest area I have seen in a long time. Nothing at all like Montreal's Chinatown. Here all the stores sell jewelry and handbags. Seems like that is the only thing people want from China. It is really knockoff central.

After that I ended up in Little Italy. I snapped this picture of Mulberry Street. If you look you can see the restaurant in the frame, Umberto's. I didn't eat there as it is around 40 bucks just to breathe in there, but I had to take this picture just because of the Soprano's episode that some of you will know. But the next stop was my favorite area in Manhattan so far: Soho.

This area is so trendy I felt quite out of place in my hoodie. Stores are all slicked up and everyone is walking around in haut couture. But tucked away into little corners are the most amazing food joints in the city. I had a 2 dollar falafel that beats anything I have add in Montreal (sad to admit it, but unfortunately it is true). You can see in the picture how different it is from the traditional image of Manhattan. Cobblestone streets are quite prevalent. I walked up and down that area for quite a while. Until I ended up at a very cool place: Washington Square Park.

I'd heard of this place mostly from the movies, and I had to see if it was true. And honestly, it is exactly like they say. People are playing chess all over the place, and most of them are hustlers, playing people at speed games for a few bucks a game. I had heard that one of the biggest advantages you can have is being an unkown, because then the opponent doesn't know whether to play as he would against someone who is weak or strong. So I was there eating my falafel, and one guy asked me to play. I said alright and sat down. It was a 5 minute game and I have to say he could really play. But it was completely like it is in the movie Searching For Bobby Fischer; that is, they play tactics, not position. In the end I was able to surprise him enough times and beat him. At least for me, one of my favorite memories from New York will be that I won in Washington Square Park.

By about this time my friend was getting off work so I started back to Tribeca. I took the route along the Hudson River, which is scenic enough. I stopped a few times to take in the view, you can see it in the picture. Finally I got to Citibank and waited for my friend.

The rest of the night was mostly just hanging out with him, and then we met up with his brother Kabeer and his cousin whose name I now forget, but they were both nice. We went to a restaurant right on Times Square. It was a 3 hour meal, and the funniest part was when the check came. It reminded me of the opening scene of American Psycho when their check comes. Four credit cards come flying out, no cash anywhere in sight. If you've seen the movie, you know exactly what I mean.

After that we called it a night. I am actually just now about to go to a party at my friend's friend's place, so I will cut it short now. Will write more later. Hope you all are well.

T-Minus One Week

The countdown has begun. Preparations have been made for the past months, things have been bought, sold, and moved. All that remains is the actual follow through. And that will happen in exactly one weeks time.

It seems almost surreal now that I think about it. I don't imagine the true excitement will take hold until I actually step onto the train heading down to New York. Up until now it has been maps and history books. On October 18th it will be something else entirely. It will become part of waking life. Sometimes the anticipation of something is greater than the thing itself. However I think this situation is an exception. In fact, all travelling is an exception. No amount of anticipation can compare to actually standing under the Sistine Chapel, or staring at the timeless granite of Stonehenge. That is I think the greatest part of seeing and experiencing new things. It awakens pieces of you that have been asleep for so long they had been given up for dead. But when they breathe back to life, every other part of you gets drenched in the spillover, and instead of just one part of you waking up, everything is new again.