06/05 Coventry, England

I was disappointed that Jim didn’t have the same level of interest in seeing these local sites.  I started referring to Jim as “Stationary”, because literally, he’d stay in the train station and read a book while waiting for me to return from my trek.  Wasting opportunities like these between the pages of some romantic novel seemed foolish to me when this is all new.  …

07/04 Amsterdam, Netherlands

We wandered among its narrow streets that radiated out like spokes to a wheel. Bicycles danced across our path. Up one of these many streets we spotted a small coffee shop adjacent to one of the more picturesque canals. It was a good day for mischief. It had a large window and we noticed that the table upfront was vacant and had a nice view of a small flower market. …

11/30 Ushisar, Turkey

We had planned on seeing Urgup and the Goreme Valley and headed out into the streets in search for the tourist office.  It was still very cold but it was like a reversed microwave, my bones were colder than my skin.  We located what we believed was the tourist office but there were no brochures or posters to confirm that we had found the right place.  Everybody inside was huddled around a small stove trying to keep warm.  They explained there were no buses or organized tours this late in the year and suggested we find ourselves a taxi driver.  …

10/12 Napes Italy

When I woke up I notice that my knife was unchaperoned, sitting all by itself.  Most likely it was pushed away by me while I slept.  There were two elderly gentlemen sitting alongside the same bench staring at me and the knife.  I had gotten less than an hour of sleep and was still very tired and in need of a shower.  I followed those two gentlemen back into the heart of Naples.   …

10/01 Villach, Austria

I managed to get some sleep just prior to boarding an early train into Villach.  I didn’t have anything to read and I was getting a little bored.  I got out some colored pencils I had been carrying for some time and began coding a chart of guitar chords.  I was focused in on what I was doing, dreaming about something when I noticed a strong feeling that I was being watched.  I looked over to my left and sitting a couple of rows down the car were three of the cutest little girls all dressed up for Sunday church.   …

10/08 Siena, Italy

After packing up my clean clothes I headed off early into the city, sat behind a cup of coffee just off the main square, with pen in hand I watched the city wake up around me.  I found myself staring at the unique inner walls of the St. Catherine’s church.  The inside was different from what I expected from its outside.  It captured my attention and soul.  The contrast between the dark and light was not like others churches I have visited.  I sat off in one of the corners and for some time stared at the many faces looking down on me.   …

07/15 Archipelago, Sweden

The young man, who originally invited me to his parent’s house, got up at first light and ran off to work.  His friend Brent left to pick up his girl friend.  I began to prepare omelets for the returning couple and took the liberty of cleaning up the house from the night before.  Brent’s girlfriend was very sweet and quite attractive.  …

05/21 London, England

We proceeded down this path through a country side park, colored and shaded by many trees and leading into one of the many veins of London’s underground.  When we resurfaced we were in the heart of London.  It arose more from the haze of my memory than from the morning fog, my childhood memories of nursery rhymes and children songs accompanied every step.  …

05/20 London, England

The clouds had parted and the wings of our plane began to dry.  The very first thing I noticed was that “I wasn’t in Kansas anymore”.  Gatwick Airport had green pastures on both sides of the runway.  Unconcerned cows looked up at our passing plane.  This was a total contrast to the cement landscape we left behind in LA. …

05/19 Los Angeles, California

Imprisoned by my own curiosity. I felt as if I was looking up through trees that encircled my view, staring at the many branches and the fruits suspended beyond my grasp.  I knew I could no longer be satisfied simply to lie here on my back, closing my eyes and dreaming of things out of my reach.

…

10/26 Athens, Greece

One irony in my life is that I had very few women friends.  Most relationships with women were always aimed toward romance and when that didn’t work out or when we experienced an obstacle that couldn’t be overcome, we’d move on.  Mostly I have had male friends, sharing common experience and growing up like all normal boys.  But I’ll have to admit, women make pretty good friends.  Once that it is understood that not everything is sexual, we get along wonderfully.  They make much better traveling companions, easier to agree with, better conversationalists, not as competitive, better sleeping arrangements; they attract a different type of crowd, and if there were benefits attached all the better.   …

11/27 Pamukkale, Turkey

A small mini-bus arrived and toted us off to Pamukkale.  I only knew what I had read in the bible and in travel brochures about Pamukkale.  I understood that it was one of the seven churches Apostle Paul wrote letters to and was coined the “Cotton Castle” of the ancient world.  There was an extremely old hot spring that was believed to have healing power and over time became a center of a pagan cult.  Large limestone steatite created a beautiful arrangement of pools.  …

09/28 Baden-Baden, Germany

I woke up with a serious problem.  I don’t know if it was the combination of the exercise the other day, the consumption of alcohol or both but my arms had stiffened to the point where I could not extend them beyond a forty five degree angle.  I tried carried my bags first in one hand and then the other using the weight of the bags to help stretch out my muscles, very scary. …

11/26 Ephesus, Turkey

When I woke I could not shake that dirty feeling.  I had felt cleaner waking up on the floor of train stations.  It was early.  The sun hadn’t come up yet and Jenni was planning on sleeping in, so I headed off to the ruins of Ephesus.  That trek started out as a long dark walk.  Luckily I eventually hitched a ride.  When I reached the front gate the sun began casting long shadows but it was still very cold.  …