Saturday, April 12, 2008 – 10:41am – Oops, i called mom and dad at 1:00am their time! Hmm, otherwise, i can’t get a hold of my Bret and or Button (his friend living in Switzerland that we were supposed to meet up w/). Button’s phone number isn’t working and i couldn’t get an early train to Milan to meet up with those two. Bret and Button should be arriving in Milan around 1 or 2pm and i wont get in till around 4p. Hmmm…. we have no way of getting a hold each other. Meh! I’m a little worried but all i can do is sit here and journal and wait for the next train to Milan and meet at our hotel at some point…hmm no wait, bret booked the hotel but hasn’t sent me any info.

Sooooooo, Riomaggiore is the town i stayed in. It is one of five coastal towns in this region known as Cinque Terre. Super cute… fuck Vegas, i could see doing a honeymoon in a place like this. You get off the train and walk through a tunnel lined with a mosaic tiles of all kinds of materials, it was a grand entrance lets just say….getting off a train and having to walk through a tunnel to get to this village. So you exit at the base of the village which is a fairly substantial hill. It was just how i’d imagined! i fairy tail village that crawls up the coastal rocks amidst cobblestone roads, mutlicolored homes, all in shades of pastel…clothes lines running from almost every shuttered window sill and stray animals a muck, and fresh produce stands on every corner.

So in the chaos of rolling in to town, getting lost and getting off on the wrong stop, i met these 2 girls from the U.S., Michelle and Morgan. It was pretty funny because we ended up being in the same hostel but met as we were all arriving into town the day beore, lost at the same train stop…. anyhow we did dinner at this rad little cafe after we had settled in our hostel. The host was incredible even after i offended him and asked if he was American….his english was so good i thought he must be american! haha, he gave me shit all night for that of course. I had the best Gniocci ever…no kidding…one day i will return for his Gniocci. So Morgan was from Pittsburg and is studying to be a Finance major and Michelle, the behomoth of an Asian (tall) was studying to be a Pharmacy major. The next day (this morning) i hiked to the 2nd village with them and it was ridiculous! You’re hiking along the dug out cliff’s in one of the most beautiful regions in the world that i’ve now experienced first hand.

It’s now 11:58am, the sun is coming out in Monterosa as i wait for the train to Milan. My first hostel experience ever was interesting but a good experience. The other kids in the room were nice and very informative, and pretty trust worthy given the conditions.

As for the hike around the cliffs it was nice but i really wish i couldve gone to see more of the area. I would really like to come back soemtime soon…maybe share it with someone next time and when i do come back it’d be nice to know a little more italian! I feel like an ass not knowing more of their language! Ok, so back to the hike…the ocean side stroll. It was breath taking and overwhelming to hear, see and feel the waves crashing onto the rocks below. It reminded me a lot of the reefs of Samoa but way more intense. It makes me think about life, where i’m at right now. I came out to Europe for adventure and to experience new cultures and taste new life half way across the world, but part of me is looking for answers as well. The relentless yet seemingly futile bout between the seawalls and the waves trying to mount the shore reminds me of my life… i know how those waves feel. ill keep on pounding those seawalls until i make it. ….aaaaaaah, i feel so happy right now.

Click HERE for the full Cinque Terre photo album!

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8:00am, Zurich Switzerland – Holy weird characters and unfamiliar words batman!! Haha, no really they seem to cater to us english speaking people more than i thought they would, but it does take some getting used to. everyone is incredibly friendly. I am having a little anxiety about the trains. The railway is pretty complex and the train station is like an ant farm…people running around a million miles an hour ,every which way… ease dropping is nearly impossible cause everyone is speaking their native languages…a bit intimidating but exhilarating. Despite that, everyone was quick to reach out to help before you could ask.

So after a bit of scurrying a slow, broken english chit chat with some of the guys at the ticket window i managed to find my way to the right train through Zurich to the main station….now i’m heading through the heart of Switzerland through the mountains on the train to Milan then i’ll be making my way to Cinque Terre. My god, the Swiss countryside is incredible…Pubs, so much graffiti you gotta check this place out! So yeah, Bret won’t be getting in to town for another day and a half so i figured i’d take heed to all my friend’s advice and go check this coastal Italian region out.

Two of the people in my car barely speak any English, but my Turkish friend Guzzda speaks great enlgish and has been fun to talk to. She is actually studying language in Amsterdam and has been fielding all my dumb questions about Turkey with a smile. We talked a lot about the U.S. and we also realized that we would be in Amsterdam at the same time so i already made plans to try and meet up with her when Bret and i got into town.

Crap, i left my nalogene bottle in the train car. Hopefully we will meet up so i can get that back…i don’t even know how many of those things ive lost!

2:10pm, Milan Italy – I will have a real day in Milan soon but for now all i know is the rail station.  Aside from it smelling like a horses ass, all the people (young) are UBER fashion forward and look like they could be related to Stuart (ex-boyfriend).  I’ve always been attracted to fit, dark haired men, shorter usually so its kind of funny cause almost every guy here fits that mold.  Anyhow, off to La Spezia in Cinque Terre!!!  A little nervous because i just read that my hostel requires 7pm check in and no less than a 2 day stay…. what if i get there and i’m shit out of luck? where do i stay? its a small region and town so there aren’t a ton of options… meh! what can i do at this point?

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4/10/08

So the flight (to Toronto) was quick. I pretty much passed out and did that obnoxious dozing in and out of sleep thing, where you wake up every time the flight attendant comes by or when the pilot makes an announcement….ya, the not so much kind of sleep. Guy next to me had death breath my god! i don’t know why that stuck out at the time but i can still feel his breath crawling all over me… moving on. anyhow, the flight was pretty standard but pretty exciting given my destination. Was nice to hear some Frenchies again once in Toronto! having not spent very much time in Whistler this last winter make some really miss the international blanket all around me.

There was wi-fi in the terminal, that kept me busy for the 2 hr layover. i almost caved and went to Starbucks but thank god there was a long ass line so i just gave up and decided to rough it…ha, rough it? what am i saying!?

On the next flight i sat next to this really neat, yes, neat lady and i hate myself for not remembering her name! It was really interesting to chat with the 50 year old woman on life, love and happiness. I came to discover that the place in life that she was arriving at seemed to mirror my current state….single, selfish and happy. It’s a good time to be single. i think she was happy, or at least contented. It took her half her lifetime and as she explained, all of her young adulthood and into her ripened years to figure “it” out though. Her positivity and energy was beautiful…contagious even…. i wonder what ill be thinking when i’m 50 if i’m feeling liberated at 25?

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So back in April i took a trip across parts of Europe and i never really shared the adventure with anyone. This is my belated attempt to recollect my memories, discoveries and adventures along the way!

I journaled a little bit while i was out there. I’d usually pick up a pen when we were on the train or at night since we didn’t go out a ton. Anyhow, you’ll figure it out as you go, ill do my best to add as much color and description, but where i’m lacking the pictures will do the speaking.

April 10, 2008

Basically we all know that this is something that i’ve wanted to do for years. okay, maybe we don’t all know, but im sure we’ve all been in these shoes at some point. whether a longing for travel, that one true love or maybe a new iPhone or something? anyhow, I sat back and watched as all my friends brang back stories from abroad….i’m finally doing it! Bret (big brother) and i are gonna hit up Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, France and Holland. So back in December (2007) when when Bret originally booked the trip i really wanted to go but wasn’t sure on the timeframe that he had booked…. it was right in the middle of the evo company retreat and during the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival up in Whistler, two of my favorite annual happenings. So needless to say, i just wrote off Europe once again.

Following a productive but tiring winter season i’ve grown very burnt out by work and told my boss i needed to get out of town, out of the country, and basically away from everything for awhile or i might do something retarded like quit my job and run to Alaska and marry a man with an overabundance of facial hair and nail trimmings. So on Saturday, April 5, 2008 i booked a ticket to europe…its now Thursday and i’m actually on my way to europe….on my own dollar, for no reason what so every, just to get lost for a bit and to be a ign’nt American abroad.

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