Heading Home

Thirty six hours and counting. That is roughly how long until our plane takes off from Gatwick airport. We are heading down around 2 tomorrow to a hotel that is about 5 min from the airport as my grandmother will be flying out bright and early on Friday morning. She is taking off 4 hours before Megan and I, and we will be following her across the Atlantic as she has decided to join us in Canada for Christmas.

It has been a great six months as we have seen and accomplished so much. The only problem is that there is still so much more to see. We will be returning to England after Christmas and new years to pick up where we have now left off. We are hoping to have a few visitors as well this year to all of you who would care to join us for a few adventures.

The last 5 days we have been off visiting family. After work on Friday we headed over to Wales but not before getting stuck on the M25 for 2 hours. We made it to Ogmore Vale (just north of Bridgend in South Wales) late Friday night but still it in time for food and couple drinks. On Saturday Kevin and Kay (Megan's side of the family) took us down to Bridgend and out to a wonderful meal at a pub that we can't remember. We spent the day shopping, eating, and drinking. At night Kevin took me down to the Gentlemen's club where I lost badly at snooker (real snooker on the huge tables). But I did get a few drinks in and a lot of laughs which made up for it. The next day we said goodbye over a really huge Christmas dinner around 2:30 and drove on to Bristol to see Lyn and Richard (some of my family for the night. We arrived around 5:30 and had another huge roast meal which was excellent even though we had just eaten. I don't think I have ever been so full. It was great timing as I got to see my dad’s cousin Ann who was over from Indiana for the week. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long as the following day we drove 2 hours south to Devon to see my other grandmother and my Uncle Keith and family. Once again we were well fed and very rushed with time as we only had 2 nights before we drove the 6 hours back up to London to start packing. It was a lot of driving for a short time but we are both used to it from our long drive across Europe. It was great to see some family again.

Well that brings us up to date as I am packed and ready to head home. I should be in on Friday around 7:30pm so feel free to stop by or give me a call at home as I no longer have a cell phone in Canada. I will try and sleep on the plane so I am not to jet lagged for that night. Looking forward to seeing you all soon. Cheers

The Journey of a Life Time

It’s been hard. I’m not going to lie and tell you all it’s been an easy ride or your typical Disney movie script. The adventure of a lifetime comes once, happeneds and goes as quick as its come. Each day was a battle. Every night was cold and frosty, and every morning we put away a soaking wet tent!
So why take this adventure? Why battle the ups and downs of each country? For me living with Crohns disease is a challenge every day. I knew in my heart that if I could do this, just last the 6 months away from home... and survive, I would be alright; I would make it in this world.
Well I did just that. However, if it wasn’t for the strength, the constant hugs and encouragement, the kisses and most important someone believing in me, I don’t think I would be writing this today. No matter how many tantrums I threw, or cheese toasties I burnt, Phil was there. He was my guide and my wall. He was someone I could, and very much leaned on through the trip.
With his help I did it. I set out what I was going to do and I won. I saw things that only one might see in books or movies. We drove places where the citizens were chasing the cops around. We coped with car troubles, bums, drug deals, gippos and fatigue. We swam in the shadows of the great Alps. We saw spiders bigger then a human fist while doing the dishes. We lived. Moreover we saw just a hint of what this world can offer if we just take the chance and open our eyes to it.
I’m writing this now because I want you all to do the same. Perhaps not today or tomorrow, just don’t let opportunity pass you buy. After all, there’s more to life then sandy beaches and a cool margarita. Explore and you will find yourself.

A Megans Perspective
Brought to you by Megan :)

Latest 3D Model

Attached below is the football that I have been working on the last 2 nights after work. I have being working on a few textures for it as well but only one is complete. Let me know what you think.

For more detail click on image to enlarge

For more detail click on image to enlarge

Same old Same old

Well nothing new is happening on this side of the pond lately but I figured I should update the blog anyways. I know how much everyone loves to read all the crap I have to write about. Well last weekend we were supposed to go to Wales but that was cancelled once we realized that we needed a new clutch. I don't think our car was ready for the 4 to 5 hour drive it would have been. Plus Wales was covered in snow over the weekend so I would assume the roads where blocked up pretty bad. Especially since Brits don't know how to drive in the snow and the cars are not really geared for it.

So it was a weekend of walking and relaxing as we didn't want to drive the car that much. I spent most of Sunday doing some 3D modeling on the computer and reading. Not a bad way to spend a weekend but it could have been a little more eventful.

Today (Monday) we got the car fixed (£180.....ouch) and then worked all day. At least we only have 9 working days left with one weekend in-between. We are planning on heading to Wales in 2 weeks followed by Devon and stopping in to see family in Bristol as well although they don't know it yet....unless they are reading this blog entry.

Well I will cut this off here now as I have no real great stories to tell presently and no great photos to post. I have attached a model that I am working on for you all to see and critique if you want. It also happens to be the book series that I am reading at the moment. Enjoy.

Pictures Galore!!!

Well I have now uploaded a few hundred photos onto a MSN space website. For those who want to see a lot more photos of our trip click here. Click on the photo albums and you will see the photos split up by country. Let me know what you think by either leaving a comment on this website or you can also comment on the blog section of the MSN space site. Hope you enjoy them.

http://spaces.msn.com/members/PhilDrew/

A Visiter from Germany

Thursday night at midnight I picked Curtis up from stansted airport which is only about 15 min from where we live. His plane was late arriving so I wasted some time in the Airport Casino on the 10 pence slot machines. I ended up losing a pound in total and wasting about 20min. By 12:30 am on Friday morning we were playing video games and drinking a beer. Unfortunately I had to work the next day (as did Megan) so we went to bed shortly after that. Megan and I both took the afternoon off work and took Curtis into Harlow as we had appointments with the bank. Sorry to put you through that Curt but the bank situation was such a nightmare. Following that we grabbed some Pizza hut and headed back for some games and soap operas. Around 8:00pm we were off to the races. The greyhound races in Harlow were extremely amusing as none of us had ever been to a dog race before. It was pretty crazy how fast they ran after the rabbit (aka a windsock). None of us placed any bets down and we soon got tired and cold of watching the races and headed back to the pub that is 10 Curtis steps away from our door. A couple of drinks later we were kicked out of the pub (11pm is last call here even on a Friday night).

Saturday looked quite promising as the weather was nice and we had planned to go to London. Not surprisingly, the train service was down yet again (image that). England isn't exactly known for is on time and great train service. After an hour bus ride we got to another train station and made our way into London. We were a little later getting into London than we had planned for but we still saw a lot of London, stopping off at Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Westminster and Big Ben, and the London eye. Once again we were unable to ride it due to the long line and at £12.50 a head it gets a little expensive. St. Paul’s was closed but we still got a good look at it from the front. Apparently it was closed early for some ceremony that was to be held there that night. I found that out the other day Curt. A few stops on the tube we made it to the tower of London and then hung around Tower bridge for a while taking some great pics. Finishing off the night we went to Piccadilly Circus (to go to the Mac store), leister Square for some food, and Covent Garden to have some Moosehead at the Canadian pub called the maple leaf. Then we made the long journey home having to take the one hour bus yet again. Makes you appreciate the London Underground song even more! (For those of you that have heard it anyways.....if you haven’t, ask me and I will send you the link).

The night ended with a few more beers and some video games until 2:15 in the morning. Curtis had to leave the next morning bright and early but we still had some time to have a great English breakfast before he had to leave. It was really nice to have him here and he was a great guest. Hopefully he sticks to his word and comes again in a few months. I think he enjoyed London enough that he wants to see more. Attached below are a few pics of the weekend. Enjoy!

Oh and to read the same story but from Curts point of view check out his blog here. Don't forget to look at his pics as well!!

At the races

The finish line

Curt and Megs at Buckingham Palace

The phone booth shot

Tower of London

Tower Bridge by night

Regent Street by night

What to write? What to write?

Ok so its being a long time since and thats because we are once again into the working life routine. Get up and go to work, come home and make dinner, and read/play gamecube so we don't have to spend money. The weekends are really the only time we have to do anything because by the time we get out of work it is pitch black. The only good thing is that Saturday night we got to watch the fireworks in celebration of Guy Fawkes night. They have been lighting fireworks every night since then as well. On sunday we had plans to go to Ely Cathedral which is a hour or so away but it poured rain all day so I got up early (Megan wanted to sleep in) and went to a car boot sale with my uncle and my cousin. Didn't buy much besides a few more books to keep me occupied.

Some good news though is that Curtis will be here tomorrow night so we are taking him to either Clacton on sea or South end pier on fri and London all day saturday. South End pier is the largest peir in the world and has a train that takes you to the end. Although I have to look into it now as it caught fire 3 weeks ago and I hope we can still get out to the end.

And now since that wasn't the most interesting blog ever I have attached more photos of our travels so far.

Megan at the airport the day we arrived

Glasgow Cathedral

Megan, Ellie, and um.......evil Megan???

River surfing in Munich

12 Days until our first visitor

Yes in 12 days somebody has finally decided to come and see us. We are really excited to pick Curtis up from Standsted Airport in under 2 weeks. We had a great time staying with him in Regensburg Germany (check out the photos below) and hopefully he will have a awesome time here. He is only going to be here for 3 days but we will make sure to make the most of it. So far our only plans are to take him into London for one really long day to go site seeing and of course to check out the downtown pubs. I am sure we will end our night somewhere around covent garden. Those of you who have been there will know why we will end our night there. Those of you who havn't, well come over here and find out. Chances are we will end up playing some Gamecube at some point in those 3 days. Check out Curts Websiteto see what he has been up to lately in Regensburg and to also check out his love for Gamecube. Not sure which is worse. Video games or Geocaching. Maybe we will have time for both Curt......see you in 12 days.

Mapped Out

Ok so I took some time to map out our main trip. Hope this is helpful to those who are unsure on any of the locations we went to on this trip......there will be more to come.

Scotland Trip

The Big European Trip
Click on picture to Enlarge

Famous Fog

As most of you know England has quite a reputation about its thick Fog. Well it might not be so bad that you can't see your feet but it can get very thick. Below are a few pics of the heath (village green) as seen from my grandmothers balcony. So all those people who keep asking me about the fog, this should put your mind at ease.

In the Fog!!

On a clear day

Greensted Church (and a geocache)

Hello everyone I guess I should really keep this blog up to date, but nothing really to exciting has happened over the last few weeks except for the fact that we are both working temp jobs now. Megan is working for a company called banktec and I am working for a company called Raytheon. Neither of our jobs are really that exciting so I won't write about them for now.

Today we went down to a place called Greensted Church which is located in the country about 30min away from us and is known for being the oldest wooden church in the world and the oldest wooden building in England. The oldest part of the church (one timber log)is dated at 1060 AD. The church is really small inside but has a honesty box store where if you want to buy something you just put the money in a box. Well at least it used to be a box last time I was there. It has now turned into a safe that you drop your money into. Can't trust people inside a church anymore.....

Once we were done looking around the inside of the church we made our way outside and walked among the graves trying to answer a few clues we got off the internet. Ok wait let me back track a little. There is another reason we went to see this church that is going to make everyone of you laugh at me. Well everyone besides Mike Chan that is.....sorry Mike but I know you would have done the same. Megan and I went geocaching although don't hold it against Megan as I made her come with me for this part. For those of you who don't know what geocaching is click here.. This geocache was not like the other one I have found (yes I have only done it twice so far but I will be going again soon). There was a series of clues that we had to find first such as the date on the crusaders grave, the date of a certain persons grave, and the dates that a certian choirmistress held her postion at the church. We had no idea why we needed to find them but like the clue said it became quite apparent once we found the cache. Once we located the cache which was about a 15min walk from the church, behind a small retaining wall. We realized then that the clues were the numbers to the combination lock that locked the ammunition box that held the cache. We got inside the cache and signed the log book as well as looking at all the junk people place in there. We didn't take anything or leave anything but at least we are putting my GPS to good use. Ok go ahead laugh again. It was a great little walk to find it though down by a few fields and streams in the English countryside. It was a great way to spend a sunday afternoon. I have attached a few photos below for everyone to look at and laugh at. Enjoy.

Front view of the Church

Back view of the Church

Megan points at the Geocache although we found it tucked down behind the wall.

More Photos

Amalfi Coast, Italy

A great photo of the Southern Alps in France

the infamous cardboard cutout along highway 7 in France

The Eiffel Tower by night

The distance between the Eiffel Tower and Toronto (more of less)

Megan at the Arc de Triomphe

Infront of the Louvre

Moulin Rouge

Notre Dame

The Roseline in the church St. Sulpice (for those people who have read the Da Vinci Code)

ma me mAY MAAA MOOOO

Cough cough, It starts. As the long stories go, I have managed to become my own boss and get auditions for myself. Whether it’s for modeling, singing, dancing or acting; I scope out what I would like to go for.

My audition, my first mission - To make a female R&B band and become famous!

Well, although I’m not sure I made the band yet, I will find out in a week. The night starts:

5:30pm Philip drives into the parking lot from his first day of work. Walking up the stairs he notices his shoe is untied. Quickly tying it up, he proceeds to the door, walks in and gets into something more comfortable.

6:00pm Megan and Phil proceeded to the train station in little Toby Blue, Park, grab the tickets and await for what should be a very interesting night. After all what could go wrong?

6:20pm The train comes and they try to get inside realizing the door was locked! The whistle blows and they run to the next door, jumping into the train they sat down and sank into their chairs.

6:30pm Over a lovely conversation, Phil suddenly asks Megan where they need to go? In shock Megan realizes she has forgotten the sheet with all the information on it! Quickly she calls Gee Gee and writes down the information on the back of a tube direction chart. Another disaster eliminated as the train rides on.

7:00pm The train arrives at Central Station, Megan and Phil start walking to the tube. Stopping in his tracks, Phil notices a big sign stating that the Northern line is shut down and to please use another line. Disaster 3, that’s the line we needed to take to get to the Ghetto of London. We plan B it, and take two different lines, setting us back about a half n hour.

7:45pm Dashing off the train we take our left (way out) and enter into a very sketchy tube platform. This was called 'Elephant and Castle' We walked as quick as we could, now starting to slip off the edge of time and surface our way up to the street.

7:55pm With the clippity clop of my stiletto sling backs, we walked silently observing everyone and everything around us. People would pass and eye you down as if to say 'Don’t try anything on me' finally getting to our down the alley way street! We approached a building that was playing extremely loud music. Rang the doorbell and entered into what would be the interesting part of our night.

8:05pm I had made it on time and walked to the reception area to grab some forms. Phil and I both looked around and noticed we were surely now in the ghetto. The place was filled with ghetto folk and very little whites. We felt so out of place and the looks we were getting didn’t help in the least. We chose a couch and sat down.

8:45pm The lady in charge of the girl group audition finally gave me a form to fill out. I filled it out but this time I decided to be myself. Short answers getting right to the point. If they didn't want me, I didn’t need them.

9:00pm Phil and I met with the manager of one of the bands playing at the Much Music awards! Asking him a few questions about the industry, he answered politely, kissed my cheek and wished me good luck.

9:45pm I finally get called. It’s my time to shine! Walking into the audition room I noticed a group of 4-5 people just looking at me. They were the posh type, defiantly knew what they wanted. I stated my name and age as I looked into the camera. The guy filming then took his SLR and shot me twice with it. I showed humor and personality through the picture taking. Let’s face it; no one likes people who just stand there stiff and smile!

10:00pm After singing two songs, one chosen by them, I aced it. Every note was there, the expression, I felt the music and I loved it. I was so into it, I had forgotten the few nerves I had and pushed out my vocals so the angels could hear them. It was so good it could have been a cd. They sat me down for about 15 minutes and talked to me about everything. How I wouldn’t be making a profit at the start because at first it’s all promoting. However once a record label picks the group up that’s when it starts becoming more of a reality.

10:15pm I walk out and smile. Even if I don’t get the part, I know I did my best and I was thrilled that it went that well.

12:30pm Phil and Megan finally arrive home. Its now bed time after a long hard days work!

Facts about our trip

Total miles driven = 5666m (roughly 9065 km)
Total number of countries visited = 8
Total number of different languages we were exposed to = 6
Number of days away = 53 days
Amount of weight I lost = 22 lbs.
Number of homeless men that sat on our car = 1
Number of close calls in the car = 1
Worst place for driving = Italy by far…….its crazy
Best country for driving = Germany (gotta love the no speed limit sections)
Top speed the 92 ford fiesta would go = 175 kph(its a 1.3 litre what did you expect?)
Number of Cheese toasties (grilled cheese) eaten = no idea….but well over 50
Number of hard rock café shot glasses = 5
Longest time without a shower = Megan – 5 days
Phil – 6 days (I would rather be dirty than use some of the showers)
Highest price paid for gas = around 1,45 euro per litre (around $2.03 Canadian)
Highest price paid for camping = 33 euro per night in Venice
Lowest price paid for camping = 10 euro per night in Prague
Favourite campsite = Camping Tiber in Rome
Worst campsite = Italy with a crazy lady and a charge of 31 euro per night
Favourite drink = a tie between the absinth and the giant 1 litre beer in the Hofbräuhaus
Favourite cathedral = St. Rupert in Salzburg Austria
Favourite City = Bruges with Amsterdam a close 2nd
Favourite place for natural beauty = Wolfgangsee in Austria
Biggest waste of money = a €4 Gatorade (we didn’t know the price until it was to late)
Total amount of fines = €75 in Czech Republic

If there is anything else you want to know please ask away and we will add them. But don’t ask how much it all cost. We are not to sure and we don’t really want to know.

Last days of the trip (until the next one that is)

Well I we have been back in England now for a few days so I suppose its about time for me to write a new blog. Following Paris we headed back to Belgium and stayed in the same campsite in Bruges (the first site we stayed at). Heading into Bruges it was a whole new story than last time. The weather has become much colder and all the tourists had gone home so it seemed to be just us and the locals. It was funny to see the main square almost empty and we enjoyed the town as much as we did the first time. The next we took the train into Brussels for the day and found ourselves in the main shopping district within the first 30 min. Megan was happy at least.

After a bit of shopping we headed on to see the cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule. Inside there are statues on the pillars of the 12 apostles which are almost life size and very detailed. Following that we headed over to Grand Place Grote Markt. This was the city’s first trading forum and dates from the 12 century. It was destroyed in 1695 and took 5 years to rebuild. The Grand Place today looks amazing. It is typically Belgium as it looks a lot like some of the places we saw in Bruges. Not to far from the Grand Place is a statue dedicated to the legend of Manneken Pis. According to the legend this young boy extinguished a fire by urinating on it and therefore saved the city from disaster. As we arrived it was busier than we thought it would be and had to join in the crowd to get a photo of the Statue. After that it was a long walk to see the business centre and the bury fountain, and then an even longer walk to see the basilque du Sacre-Coeur which is the 4th largest Catholic Cathedral in the World. When we first saw it from the street I told Megan it looks close and that it would be ok to walk to it. Well half an hour into our walk it seemed as though we had gotten nowhere. Another 45 min we finally made it there and yes it really is huge. That would explain the deceiving walk. Anyways to our disappointment it was closed.

We wanted to make it over to the Atomium and the Royal Palace but it was getting late and they were really far from each other. We decided to leave it for next time as we still have tickets left for train trips anywhere in Belgium that are good for a year. It was cheaper than getting 2 return tickets by 7 euro.

Anyways the following day we drove back to Calais, made the crossing seeing the white cliffs again, and made it back to Hatfield Heath to a kitchen and a nice warm bed. It does feel good to be back but also a little sad that the trip is over. At least there will be more to come. Well I guess I will leave it at that for now as this is turning into a novel and I will write about the being in England a little later on.

The three hour tour! A Megans Perspective

The sun was shining on the little french towns as we drove happily to our next destination. Everything was fresh and clean and Perfect! .. A little too perfect. Where were all the people or the cars? Where was the suttle signs of life in these towns? Rain started falling heavily as we continued on through the villages and the farm lands. Massive grape vines hugged the earth leaving the scent of wine in the air. I looked down at the map for one single second when BAM WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!!! Standing on the side of these deserted roads was a child like black cut out figure with a broken heart. (Can you say freaky).
It took several minutes to shake that one off but when I did we finally came across a 4 star camping resort. Ok so the camping didnt quite work out, theres something about a old abandoned mannor house with a few campers that didnt sit right with us. Needless to say we kept driving.
Its around sixish now, nothing has come up sept a few more cut outs of the black figure with the broken heart but it doesnt faze us any longer. By this time we are so tired we just want to find a hotel.
Comming to another village we finally see signs about 15 minutes away from a nice cheap hotel, are hearts skip for the first time and we get large smiles on our faces. Nothing now could spoil our moods, or so i thought, what pops out of the bushes yet again? Its not the man with the broken heart, no, its the man with a big read crack down his head!!! I mean COME ON!! This time these figures were paired with two or three of their kinds, the door locks and we keep driving to our location.
Well folks theres nothing a hot shower and a good meal can't fix. With a roof over our heads we set out to the old fashion Texes grill for dinner! YEE HA, they brought us a wonderful salad that was free, endless rolls, I hadnt eaten that well for over a month. We both decide on the big thick bison burger and fries, mainly because we couldnt read the menue and lets face it we are not rich.
Mouths watering the lady brings them up, it smells wonderful, she places it infront of me. My mouth must of twisted in such horror that Phil couldnt contain his laughter. THATS NOT KETCHUP I TOLD HIM ITS BLOOD! I stuck my fork into the burger and warm liquidy blood came oozing out. I was so disgusted I had to send it back to get cooked for a second time. Phils burger was the same. Although our buns were drenched in a pint of blood Phil bravely shut his eyes and backed the creature down. It was the worse experence I had ever had at a sit down resteraunt.
Well the next day we finally made it to Paris! But yea thats another story!

Where can a 4 day drive get you from Rome

Paris.....yes thats right 4 long days. That is because the highways are quite expensive and plus you see more on the back roads. Up and down mountians that twist and turn it takes a lot of time but is also some the best driving I have got to do. From leaving Rome we made it through Cinque Terre and past but not quite to Genova on the coast. The campsite was 31 euros.....ouch....and wasn't great except for the crazy lady that owned it. She kept coming over and asking us to do strange things like move our car closer to the tent. Well it was only about 6 feet away and we were the only people in the camping field. I said I would and then just never did. She also came by and asked us to put some of the trash outside the campsite in the garbage bin outside. Then another couple came and they got in trouble for having a big tent. Quite amusing to watch.

Anyways the next day we made it to France.....so nice to get a country where I can understand 10% of what they are saying. We did a driving tour through Monaco heading down to the rich part and seeing Ferrari's, Bentley's, and Aston Martins. Our little Ford Fiesta looked good next to them all. After that we drove to the village of Eze and then down to Nice for a while and finally stopping on the west side of Nice to camp and swim in the sea again. We are going to be coming back to France to do it in more detail but we are getting low on money and very tired. Its being almost 2 months since we left England and we have seen a lot.

By the third day of driving we stopped in a hotel in a place called Moulin. Yes it was a cheap one. 35 euros had finally had a shower. (it had been a few days......a by few I am being generous).

Well the 4th day we made it to Paris. We got there around 4 and then set up camp and headed into the city to see Paris by night. We took a long walk along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower and went up just as it was getting dark. It was great since we got to see it during the day and at night for the same price.....Budget travellers strike again. After that it was getting late and we headed back to the campsite.

The 2nd day in the city we went to the Arc de Triumph and walked down Champs Elysees and ate at the fanciest Mcdonalds I have ever seen. Still the same great low price we expected though. Continuing down the street we got the louvre and found it was closed on tuesdays.....forgot to check the book we have. oh well. Instead we got a 2 day bus hop on hop off tour and did the main 2 hour trip round the city. Saw the milatary training camp where Napolean Boneapart trained, Notre Dame, all the sites we had seen on foot. Then getting on a different tour (same ticket) we went down another shopping district and to the Moulin Rouge. It was a fun but long day and we headed back to the camp site, but not before stopping in at the hard rock to get another shot glass for my collection. Its up to 8 on this trip along now. Somewhere around 20 I think in total.

Today we started with a little shopping but it was pretty unsucessful. Everything here is really expensive so christmas presents are going to have to wait. We then headed to the Louvre to see the mona lisa, the venus de milo, and countless other paintings and statues. That was followed by going inside Notre Dame, and then doing yet another section of a the tour....once again same ticet. Last but not least we stopped off at the church St. Sulpice to see the rose line and see the square in front. I will post photos later for all you people who have read the Da Vinci Code.

We tried to make it up to Sacre Coeur but the bus was a little late and we figured at 6:15 it was probably closed so we are saving it for our next trip to Paris when somebody decides to come and visit us. Anyone....????

Well that brings us up to date besides some photos which unfortuantley will have to wait since I didn't bring my camera cable in today. We should be back in England in a few days so I will post some them, and a lot more from our travels so far. Talk to you all soon.

Amalfi, Positano,and Sorrento, and Pompeii

Well the last 5 days have been great. We relaxed, drove along the coast to the small towns on the amalfi coast, and snorkeled in a secluded bay. The drive was long but we found our campsite in a place called marina del cantone with somewhat ease. We set up camp and then had well deserved beer at the bar. The next day we read, played cards, and soaked in the sun all day. It was funny because after what we have been doing we found just laying around quite boring. So the 2nd day we went for a drive to Positano and Amalfi for the day enjoying the driving (the craziest driving I have ever seen) and the views of coast that reminded me somewhat of hawaii. We were going to leave that day to go to Sorrento (about 30min away over the mountain) but we saw a snorkeling trip for a cheap price on tueseday so we decided to wait and do that. It was well worth it as well. We got to this little secluded bay by boat and started our snorkeling right away. Before we knew it we were in 25ft deep water and our guide was diving to the bottom and pulling up starfish. We got to touch a pretty big bright red one. We also saw a few schools of fish and a plastic bag that looked like a jelly fish at first but that was about it. The even included drinks and 2 giant rolls.

After the dive we headed to sorrento for one night walking around in the city and taking photos of the bay of naples and the city of naples itself. (decided to skip naples after hearing some stories about it). We also got some good photos of mount Vesuvius.

The next day we headed towards pompeii to find out that is was 10 euros each to get in. Well Megan and I am not extremley hurting for money but we do have to watch where we spend it. Luckily there gave us a half price discount with our British Passports. So that made up our minds and we spent the next 2 hours walking around the ruins of pompeii which was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. I have attached some photos for your viewing pleasure.








Following Pompeii we drove back to Rome so we could finally see the sistine chapel having missed it again last saturday due to a huge and I mean huge lineup. Today was no better and it was packed. After about an hour or so we finially got to the chapel and it also was packed with a ton of people. the paintings though are amazing. I can't even descirbe it. You will just have to see it for yourself.

Rome (Day 1)

Well there is no way to see everything in Rome in one day. It was been a long day of about 10 hours or walking and site seeing and still there are things on our list. We will be coming back into the city tomorrow. We made an early start into the city and made our way straight to the Vatican via a castle called Castel S'Angelo which is really close to the Vatican. We made our way down the road Via Della Conciliazione leaving italy and going into the smallest country in the world. Vatican city, passing the Canadian Embassy on the way. The walk into St. Peters Square was amasing. It was a great site walking into it and seeing the dome of the Vatican above us. The only problem was all the people. Everywhere you looked there were a ton of people but I guess that was to be expected. Heading through the huge line, through the metal dectectors and security we were finally inside. It is a trurly breathtaking site to be inside the Vatican and to be looking at the high alter. We spent a good hour inside and another half hour in the treasury.

Well once we were done we headed to see the Sistine chapel and the Vatican Muesuem but it was going to take us a long time to get around so we decided to save it for tomorrow and go and get something to eat since we were starving. A much needed real meal at the hardrock cafe was had stopping at the pantheon and Piazza Navona on the way. After that we took a long walk down the main shopping streets on our way to tghe Collisium. We also stopped at Foro Romano and musei capitolini. This may not sound like a lot but we walked the whole thing before walking all the way back up to Vatican to catch our train back to the campsite.

One of the greatest things about Rome is that every turn there is either a monument, a fountian, or a amazing building with tons of carvings on it. Rome has got to be one of our favorite cities we have been to so far. Tomorrow we plan on seeing the Pantheon again in more detail,the fountain Trevi, and Isola Tibernia as well as some other churches and monumnents. Oh yes and the Sistine Chapel is first on our list.

Attached is also some photos taken today. I will try and post a lot more once I get a chance.

Enjoy!!

Eh The Leaning Tower of Pizza (Megans perspective)

Well not quite pizza however just as appitizing to the eye. With the massive marble buildings surrounding the tower. Pisa stands forever slanted to the right side almost falling directly over the museum.

It definatly was worth the drive to this small shady town, To our amasemet Phil and I even ate proper Pisa street meat.. thats right, one hot dog cut down the center smothered in ketchup layed on a nice pinini bun. What more can you ask for. No sooner downing the dogs of all dogs we were truly now living it up, Feeling energetic we decided to grab some tickets and head up this slanted tower. 15 euros later we were definatly not up it. Are you mad people, we may be euro kids but we are definatly not stupid tourists willing to pay those prices to get a view of the famous Pisa! Walking through the markets surrounding the out side of the square horse and buggies trotted up and down the street. Police men wearing there pointy hats moved people off the grass, as who but a Canadian couple from Toronto no doubt ignored the piercing whistles and embarrassed themselves immensly as they were pushed off the grass. And no it wasnt us, a funny site to see though

Well Phil has just informed me he had wrote a blog about this already so take care and have fun,

Yours
The Euro kids

Pisa and Siena

Well we spent on night a Pisa and luckily found this campsite without to much of a problem. The drive from Florance was really quick so we set up camp and walked the 800m to the tower. There is a crazy market place along the stip that has the cathedral and the tower which is encircled by a large wall. The market sells just about everything. I even got some fake oakleys for 5 euro. Well the tower itself was really impressive and it really does look like it is about to fall down. We wanted to go up it but the price was crazy. 15 euros per person and lets face it, the view over the rest of the town of Pisa is not one I care to see.

We spent about 2 hours walking around the grounds, snapping photos, and easting some cheap hot dogs from a street vendor. With that we headed back the campsite for a nice swim in the pool (where I had to buy a swimming cap) and read for the rest of the afternoon.

Today we drove the long way through a town called Volterra on our way to Siena. We came into the town about 2:00pm and went to see the mumified head at the church San Domenico. Its encased in a glass shrine but you can still see some of the teeth. Really strange. Once again though no photos were allowed. After that we headed to the Duomo which from the outside is really quite spectacular. We paid 3 euro to get in and were we unaware that it was just babtistry since it was all under scalfolding and was under an extensive renovation. When we tried to get into the actually church there was a huge line up and they wanted another 6 euro each plus another 6 euro each to get into the crypt. Can't pay to go in everything. We headed over to the main town sqaure called Plaza Campo. It was filled with restaurants around the outside and a lot of touristy stores. Well that should bring the trip mostly up to date. Tomorrow we are heading to Rome for 3 nights and then off to the Amalfi coast for some R and R.

Florance round 1

Well I just wrote a blog about florance but I have also just drank a bottle of red wine at dinner. The spelling mistakes and grammer are horrendous so I have decided to hold back on the post for now. I will post it later so you can enjoy. It will include Michaelango's David and the cathedral among other things. Hope that is good enough for now.

Cheers

Phil

Florance (the edited version)

Its 10:10 and a litre of wine later at the moment in Florance. The city itself was amasing. We spent a full day walking the streets visiting not only the touristy sites but also the local streets and really taking in the city. Our first stop was this old fort at the north of the city which was nothing like any of the castles I have seen so far. From there we had only been in the city for 30min when I was giving some Americans directions. Its funny how many people are English speaking in Italy. Americans and Austrailians seem to be everywhere. Following that we went to the museuam that has the statue of Michalangelo's David. Well it is far more impressive in person than any of the photos. It must be about 18 or so ft. tall and the detail is amasing. The hands and the veins are so impressive since it was sculptued 501 years ago. It was truly a sight worth seeing. Unfortunaley there was no photos allowed and guards were watching all the time. Still we got a postcard but it doesn't do it justice. After that we went to the cathedral which was really a great site since it is unlike any other exterior I have ever seen on a cathedral. The inside seems really empty though. After that we had to try some Geloto according to Megan. It was damn good although we had to share it because of the price.

Then we did a little more sight seeing looking at the oldest bridge in Florance, a palace, and a sketchy market which was probably best left to the locals. Another hour was then spent looking for out bus stop and then we had some cheap wine and pizza back at the campsite. Megan however does not enjoy red wine so it was up to me to drink the whole bottle. That would bring us up to the present time where I have drank a bottle of wine and I am waiting for her to finish with the phone.

Cheers

In a downpour will the streets of Venice flood???

Well the answer is yes. It absolutley poured down on us there. The morning however was really nice. We got really lost at first. We had walked all the way across the downtown core without knowing it. There are no cars on the small streets and all transportation is on the canals (around 180 of them) and of course walking on the 415 or so bridges. We found a lot of the sites we wanted to see in the morning such as the oldest church in Venice and a few statues that we accidently came accross. Then it started to pour with rain. At first we hid in a cafe eating a cheap slice of pizza and then just decided to get wet. Well it just would not let up so we bought 2 unbrellas and walked around in the rain until we came across san marco square. And it was flooded. I mean water up to Megans knees flooded. We splashed and ran around in the puddles though and people just stood and stared at us from under the canopys. We did manage to get some great video though of Megan dancing in the rain and my feet under water. Even all the stores were flooded inside. Finally the rain stopped and then everyone else came out to play and take photos in the puddles. We went stragiht the cathedral of San Marco which was also flooded out so they put up bridges over the 8 inches of water for tourists to walk across to get in. We walked around for another hour or so after that in the puddles and streets until we decided to take the ferry back to our campsite.

Had yet another great meal of cheeze toasties (grilled cheeze) for dinner and went down to the bar where we played cards with a American from California and 2 germans from Dussledorf near Koln. The American tought us a game called slam which was basically just snap which I played when I was 3 but a few beers later the game was actually a lot of fun. That and the germans kept losing. Then we tought them a game we learned in Scotland called shithead and the kept losing at that as well. It was a great night at the fusina bar.

This morning we got up and drove to Ravenna which was a bit of a dive so we kept on going and then on to Bolonga which was also a dive but with crazy drivers. We narrowly missed getting in a accident when a guy decided he wanted to to get off the roundabout from the inside lane and just cut right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes hard and swerved a little and missed him by inches. Also mopeds run red lights and drive on either side of the car when there is no lane. A 2 lane road just means there is enough for 3 lanes....I kid you not.

Anyways we got to Florance and could not for the life of us find the campsite. Either one of two would have been great. After about an hour for driving around the subburbs to Florance (which are dirty and crappy) we decide to get on the highway for teh first time and just pay the tolls. WE drove for about 10min and I caught a glimpse of the campsite and luckily enough found it no problem after. And that is wehre we are right now and off to Florance tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow will be another great adventure. It always is.

Austria and the 11 hour drive to Venice

Hello once again. We are currently in Venice in a small internet cafe completley lost in the maze on allyways and canals. But it is nice not to have to drive today. Let me start from the begining. On tuesday we left Curtis and Anna in Regensburg and drove to Salzburg Austria which was about 2 and half hours. We pitched our tent and headed straight into the town centre by bus. Salzburg is a great Austrian town. Its population is about 150,000 but you wouldn't guess it from the size of the downtown core. Its small but beautiful. It also has one of the most beautiful church interiors I have ever seen. Its worth looking into St. Ruperts for photos. Some the the interior walls have balconys making it look like its really an exterior wall and it is covered with paintigns everywhere. Salzburg is also famous for the sonud of music which was filmed all around there. We went to the Palace gardens where all the garden scenes where filmed. Salzburg is more famous for being the city Mozart was born in even though he appently couldn't wait to leave.

The following we day we packed up and drove 30min to Wolfgangsee which is a lake surrounded by the Austrian Alps. Don't worry we took tons of photos. We swam in the fresh water. Swam really far out to a diving platform only to find out it was privalty owned so we rested and swam back. Then sat on the bank of the lake and read for a few hours before getting the car and heading to the town to St. Wolfgang for 3 hours. Did the sightseeing, relaxed on the waterfront, and then played a 2 euro 18 hole mini putt. It was a close game all the way until the last hole where megan cheated and one by one stroke. I noticed this however and then changed it so we tied. Girls....can't trust them for anything.... After that we returned to the campsite, swam again, and then relaxed and fell asleep.

The following day we decided not to that the highway because it cost 12 euros in Austria and a ton in Italy. We drove for 11 hours, 5 of them through the alps in Austria. Up and down up and down. The roads curved like crazy as well so it was really a fun drive with all the motocycle gangs.

We got to Venice drove the wrong way and crossed the bridge to Venice. We turned around and then found the campsite was really well posted so we followed the signs and got there in the dark at 8:30 and just crashed. I guess that finally brings us up to date as this morning we took the ferry over to Venice and now I must go and enjoy the city. Take care.

At last some photos

Hello everyone we have at last taken some time to post some photo's. I have't decided which photo posting service I want to use plus I don't have the time to upload over 2 gigs of photos at the moment. That will have to wait until we return to Canada but for now I hope you enjoy these select few because it was hard to choose out of the 1500 or so photos that we have taken.


Yes there really is a memorial to our first Prime Minister in Rogart Scotland


The Scotish Highlands in all their Glory


Looking up at Edinburgh Castle from Princess Street

Loch Ness, Scotland

Loch Leven, Scotland


Scara Brae, Orkney Islands


A coffee shop in Amsterdam


Cathedral in Amsterdam


Riots in Edinbugh during the G8 Protests


Brugge, Belgium. Probably Megans and my favorite city we have been to so far.


The white cliffs of Dover


The back of Cologne Cathedral. I couldn't get a photo of the whole church because of its size


Berlin Wall


One of the Museums on museum island in Berlin


Looking up at Prague Castle and the Cathedral St. Vitis


Charles Bridge in Prague is the most famous of the 16 bridges crossing the Vltava


Walhalla just outside of Regensburg Germany


Me and Megan in Prague