Little Thoughts

I am on a train going from Montpellier, France to Figueras, Spain, and since I have gotten to Europe it has been a bit of a whirlwind tour. Seven days in London, 2 in Paris, 3 in Heidelberg, Germany, 2 in Nice (with jaunts to Monaco and Cannes in there as well), and 1 in Marseille later and I have covered four countries and am on my way to a fifth. Europe is kind of the anti-Australia - no matter where you go...there you are (to quote Confucius and, perhaps more importantly, Buckaroo Banzai).

I don't have any epic posts for you right now (sorry!), but I do have a bunch of little thoughts associated with my journey so far. Take what you get blog readers!

- Writing a blog while traveling, even with tons of time on trains, is pretty difficult. When you can't think of something to write, you can go a while without posting and that leads to a boring blog, and when you do think of something it is quite often when you have the least opportunity. Sorry everyone!

- The things you take for granted are quite often the most amazing thing to others. Three examples:

1) I posted this on Facebook, but people in Japan reacted to me saying I was from Alaska like I would if I found out what one of my best friends was actually from the moon.

2) In London near Buckingham Palace, I saw a huge amount of people in a circle with their cameras out. Given the crowd, I expected a live unicorn or at the very least a small dinosaur. I pushed to the front and it was...a squirrel.

3) In Marseille, I was walking up by a huge chateau with a view overlooking the Mediterranean. There was a ferry leaving the port and all of the people near me were shocked and awed by the size of it. One person was actually covering their mouth. I was entertained.

- Europe during the summer, even if it isn't the real summer, is more expensive to stay at than even one month previous was when I came in 2009.

- The Cannes Film Festival is way less glamorous and exciting when you don't have a press pass and are actually there. It is like a less interesting comic convention with more fashionable and famous people. That may be the understatement of the century - comic fans are not fashionable.

- Monaco is great, but in particular, the Monte Carlo Casino is so freakishly amazing it will likely line up as being one of the best times of my trip. The building itself is gorgeous, and I personally contributed 30 Euro to it via gambling but it was so incredibly worth it. I have to say - I was up 10 Euro at one point. Which is when I should have quit.

- Europeans love bakeries. In France and Germany, you can't go past three buildings without going past somewhere that has absurdly delicious looking baked goods.

- Booking ahead on hostels REALLY pays off, and not booking ahead does not. The hostel I stayed in one night in Paris as I transitioned between Heidelberg and Nice was easily the worst hostel I have ever stayed at. Peace and Love Hostel should die!

- With that said, the place I stayed in Marseille (Vertigo Vieux Port) I booked the day before I went and it was remarkably great. Top staff, free breakfast, beautiful art everywhere, interesting architecture, great location, free and fast wifi and internet...major fan of this place.

- Paris is just as wonderful as I remembered. Best city ever, man.

- Even when you get to major cities like London, small town things can happen. I was in a comic shop doing some reading (what can I say, I'm an addict) when I ran into comic writer Nick Spencer and his girlfriend. I interviewed him at the beginning of my trip at Emerald City ComiCon...in Seattle. Fun!

- For two days, I was lonely. It was my friends Kerstin and Katharina's fault, as I hung out with them in Heidelberg and had an amazing time, and then left them and was sad to be by myself again. But I got over it because Marseille was super nice AND my hostel was filled with cool people.

- Having ample time to read random things and meeting random people allows me to become well versed in random subjects. For example, last night I had an extensive conversation with a guy from Montreal about the state of Canadian politics and I was able to hold my own. It was riveting (probably the only person to use that word about Canadian politics).

- Most Americans I meet act like I am a wild and impressive person because I have been so many places and have been traveling as long as I have been. I enjoy this.

- Missing the NBA Playoffs really sucks, but it has led me to discover my new favorite sports website - The Basketball Jones. I have actually had crazy laughing fits at 1 am in hostels because of this damn site, leading most everyone in the room I am in to think I am nuts. SCIENCE!

- Japanese food is crazy healthy. European food...not so much. I think I am gaining weight again even with walking at least 15 miles a day, and I blame the fact that I am eating roughly 13 loaves of bread a day.

- I was genuinely saddened by losing my towel today. I bought it for 5 New Zealand dollars in a K-Mart in Christchurch, and now I am lost without it. Awkward towel with sea creatures on it, you may have been mediocre at your central task of drying me, but you did it with such cheapness that you were impossible not to love. I miss you!

- Sometimes I start missing home, and then I realize something like "I am on a train between France and Spain right now instead of at work. This is awesome!" Yeah, that makes it easier to handle.

- Facebook is a great way to keep up with people while I am gone, but I have noticed people using Facebook as a forum to share grand plans that they have that they will likely not follow through on. As a person currently following through on a grand plan, I highly suggest doing so. Why not? After all, we only live once.

- Europe may not be as interesting as Asia or as naturally beautiful as Oceania, but man, this place is just filled to the brim with awesome and historical things, is incredibly easy to get around, and is straight up fantastic.

That's it. It turned into an epic post anyways because of the sheer volume of thoughts, but that is probably pretty unsurprising to all of you.

One other thing I'd like to add is that if you want a postcard, let me know in the comments (along with your mailing address). Also, if you want it from a specific place, let me know that too.

Music of the day: Girl Talk - Feed the Animals