tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-303668402011-04-21T14:03:35.383-04:00Boldy Going! Jamy in Europe 2006captainjamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08081881477940911650noreply@blogger.comBlogger31100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30366840.post-1154514591498415372006-08-02T06:05:00.000-04:002006-08-02T06:29:51.510-04:00When you last heard from me I was in Madrid not really enjoying myself. The last night I was there was much better. I talked to an Irish guy and went out with a group of people he knew. It was fun. I think I got back to the hotel at 7am...<br /><br />A good experience, but didn't get the full effect of Madrid unfortunately.<br /><br />Now I'm in Lisbon as a co-organizer of a BEST summer course (<a href="http://www.best.eu.org">www.best.eu.org</a>) for 2 weeks. It's been amazing. Put 30 students from all over Europe together (plus one Canadian) and it's an enlightening experience.<br /><br />The first weekend we went camping & visited the beaches, which were stunning. Swimming in saltwater with huge waves (by my definition, they were small according to the Portugese participants) coming at me was so much fun; makes me want to try surfing. Classes are just starting now. Lots of partying going on. Alcohol units consumed in the past 3 days: really I've lost count.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30366840-115451459149841537?l=captainjamy.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>captainjamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08081881477940911650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30366840.post-1153486452336045022006-07-21T08:33:00.000-04:002006-07-21T09:28:51.120-04:00First, sorry for the delay! It's been quite the couple weeks since I left.<br />Traveling has been amazing, but stressful at times too - all in all it's been a<br />great learning experience so far.<br /><br />So! First some notes-to-self:<br /><br /><blockquote><strong>Travelling Tips So Far</strong><br /></blockquote><ol><li>Money: bring bigger traveller cheques. exchange currency in Canada (rather<br />than abroad)</li><li>Accomodations: book ahead if possible. Go to hostelworld.com ^ get the ones<br />with good ratings. If booking last minute, call places rather than relying of<br />internet (found it unreliable at times).</li><li>Packing: bring a diversity of clothes (inc. dressy clothes) rather than<br />large quantity of the same type of clothes (i.e. 5 t-shirts).</li><li>Packing food: I packed too much food! It was good to have some food I could<br />eat easily when nothing else was readily available, but I only needed like 2<br />meals worth max.</li><li>Don't think about money too much.</li><li>In each city: upon arrival, book train tickets for the next leg of the trip<br />asap (saves time later on). If you're like me and have a horrible sense of<br />direction, buy a map and/or dictionary.</li></ol><blockquote><strong>Somewhat-Important Things I've Learnt About<br />Myself:</strong></blockquote><ol><li>I previously thought I had a charming, Hugh Grant-like befuddlement to me... but now I realize that my forgetfulness can be really annoying (something that I've probably been told before but skeptically ignored). I left a lot of tasks to the last minute, inc. packing (luckily my mom can pack quickly and efficiently). When I got into Amsterdam I didn't write down the address of the hostel I was staying at... luckily I remembered the name and the information desk guy was nice enough to look it up. I've gotten lost a bunch (esp. in Amsterdam, their streets are circular and really hard to pronouce). I was supposed to meet this one Quebecois girl in the Louvre but I got totally lost. Honestly...</li><li>Oh, I also missed my train to Grenoble! It turned out that it was the last one that day. I literally stood at the station and said 'fuck' for like ten minutes. Then I just thought it was really funny. But it was good, I got to stay for the night of Bastille Day at Sacre Coeur and had a blast. Paris is quite an amazing place, I don't think I'd ever get used to living in the same city as places like the Louvre...</li><li>Traveling alone was tough at first, especially because I didn't really seem to blend in with the people in the hostel I stayed at in Amsterdam - except this one girl who came in from Rwanda and wanted to be a journalist and her friend from Germany, but they left the first night. Once I was in Paris though, it was much better - I quite liked the city and the people I met.</li><li>I'd say the pros of going solo are mostly that you have a lot more freedom and can meet a lot of people (it can be easier to talk to others/for others to talk to you). But it's nice to see a friend who you know and trust; I was quite happy to visit Darrin in Grenoble.</li></ol><p>Anyways, I'll post more about the actual places I visited =) And pictures too if I can figure out how in these internet cafes.</p><p>Adios for now!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30366840-115348645233604502?l=captainjamy.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>captainjamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08081881477940911650noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30366840.post-1152129232257144712006-07-05T15:52:00.000-04:002006-07-05T15:53:52.266-04:00I hope this works! I have to finish packing and run to the airport now (i should stop being so last minute).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30366840-115212923225714471?l=captainjamy.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>captainjamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08081881477940911650noreply@blogger.com1