Costa Rica

12 days in Costa Rica Pictures

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Europe Slide Show

Nashville

I am back in the USA now. As good as it is to visit other countries, it's always good to come home. Nashville is my new home. The President has come to welcome me here. Actually, I don't know why he is here today, but I was stuck in traffic because of it. So after a 7 month vacation, I will be getting back to work. I guess all good things must come to an end... But that just means a new good thing is beginning.

Dublin

I had an awesome time in Dublin with my friends that live there (we met in New Zealand). They made me some really good food; I think I ate more this weekend than the last week or two. It was really nice to stay in a house and not have to worry about which train to take or which way to go. We toured the city and saw Trinity College (where the book of Kells is kept), Christchurch Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Guinness Storehouse, O'Connel Street, Templebar, St. Stephens Green, and probably some more places that I can't think of right now.

Brussels

I have had the last couple of days here in Belgium. I didn't realize that Brussels is the home of the European Union though I don't know exactly what that entails. I spent the day touring the sights, as always. I sawthe Grand Place (town square basically), the Botanical Gardens, Parliament, the Royal Palace, Brussels park, and St. Michaels. There's really not a lot to see here, but it is a nice city. It has the old European feel but with some modern skkyscrapers in there. Tonight I stopped in the main square to see what was going on. They were having some type of entertainment. I guess you would call in modern art. There were many people on stilts wearing huge white suits. They looked like giant snowmen and they had a variety of tricks and dances they did to the music playing. It was one of a kind.

Amsterdam

Riding the train across Holland was fun because I saw the stereotypical windmills in the distance. The old wooden windmills are being replaced though by the new ones that aren't as nice too see. It's been nice here in Amsterdam (aside from the rainy weather). It is a city of canals, bridges, and bikes. I think there are somewhere around 900,000 bikes in the city which is about one bike per person. Never have I seen so many bikes. They have a lot of them stolen though. The junkies steal them and sell them again at "bum bridge" for about 10-20 euro and that's where everyone buys their bikes after there's is stolen.
I have seen many of the sights including the old church, the jewish quarter, the royal palace, dam square, the jordaan district, the house where Anne Frank and family hid during the war, the dutch east inida company, some art by rembrant and van goh, the widest bridge in holland and the most narrow house. The houses here are all leaning forward toward the street. They are about 4-5 stories tall and back in the day were where people lived and worked. The bottom floor was their shop; they lived above it and stored their goods on the top. The buildings have a hook at the top of the building that was used like a pully system to bring the goods up to the top floor. There's no way they could go up the stairs anywhere in this city. They are so narrow and really steep. The people didn't want to goods to hit the windows on the wall, so they built the walls at an angle.

Berlin

This has been one of my favorite places to visit. There is so much history here and the city was completely changed during the war and since the Berlin Wall came down and Germany was reunited. It is different than the rest of Europe because the buildings are not hundreds of years old.
I took a walking tour of the city to see Brandenburg Gate (see pic), Hitlers Bunker, Postdamer Platz, the SS Headquarters, Museum Island, Holocaust Memorial, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie (see pic),and more. I also saw the most secured construction site in the world at the moment at the US Embassy. And the hotel where Michael Jackson was hanging the baby out of the window.
I also went to Sachsenhausen concentration camp outside Berlin. It was the model that all other camps followed and a place where over 50,000 people died. It was incredible to see and hear about what happened there. There are many reminders around the city to remind people of Germany s dark history.
I also was able to go to a music festival with a group of locals. It was so cool to hang out with them and listen to their music. They were really funny when they started dancing around to a traditional song with a traditional dance and then switched to singing "lolli-pop" in English.

Münich

Münich, home of BMW and Audi. I have had a good time here seeing the sights despite the rain and very chilly/cold weather. I didn´t realize that over 80% of this city was completely destroyed from the bombings of WW II. The locals passed a law when the rebuilding began to build as close to the original architecture as possible. Even though most buildings are relatively new, they still have the original look. I visited Maffeistr... and the town hall that has a huge bell tower with life size statues that move and put on a show as well as the Englischer Garten and Hofbrauhaus. I was also able to have two proper German meals in the local places, one with a local guy too. The waitress wore the traditional Bavarian clothing and was really rude, which apparently is common.

Paris

Paris has been really great. I heard that the people here weren't friendly, but I have experienced nothing but friendly people. I was able to meet up with my French friend who I met in Australia which was really fun.
While I have been here I have seen tons of sights including:
The Seine, Notre Dame, The Louvre and Jardin des Tuilleries, The Opera Garnier, Hotel De Ville, Eiffel Tower which we climbed up at night, Arc De Triomphe, Avenue des Chamnps Elysees, Place de la Bastille, Moulin Rouge, Musee D'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, and some other things that I probably can't remember at the moment. All in all, Paris has been a really cool place to visit.

Barcelona Spain

I only have limited time online, so my posts are often really short. Anyway, Barcelona has been great once we made it here. It took 4 trains but we made it.
We met a cool guy living here who showed us around the city. I have seen some cool architecture here, mainly by Gaudi. The most famous is the La Sagrada Familia. It is this enormous cathedral that looks like nothing you´ve ever seen, but has not been completed thought it has been under construction formore than 100 years. Apparently the Spanish arent in any rush.
We also visited a park he designed that provided awesome views of the sea and city.

French Riviera

Today we arrived in Nice along the mediterranean in France. It is really nice here. We took a short train ride to see Monte-Carlo, the capital of Monoco. There are only about 7000 people living there, but lots of money. We saw the palace where the royal family still lives as well as some really nice views. At the moment I am in Cannes, home of the International Film Festival held each year.

Venice Italy

I spent the last few days in Venice. We rode a gondola around the great canal and saw the opera house, marco polo's house, the famous Rialto bridge, and the home of Casanova. The next day we explored the islands of Lido and Murano as well as visiting the Piazza San Marco and Doge's palace.

Viena Austria

Viena has been a great place to visit. I was able to visit several of the sights around town including the home where Mozart lived. We also went to see the Wiener Residenzorchester (Vienna Residence Orchestra) perform music by Mozart and Johann Strauss. There was some opera singing and some balet dancers. It was at the Palais Auersperg which is a really beautiful palace.
I also went on a biking tour through the Wachau valley visiting places like Dinstle gut luiben, Durnstein (where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned), Joching, and Durnstein. We also took a break from the biking to swim in the Danube River. In Durnstein we climbed to the top of a mountain to see some old ruins and great views of the village.
Finally, we went to a local film festival in the park where we ate some good food before heading in cuz of an early train in the morning.

Luzern Switzerland

I am now in Luzern. Its a cool little city that is very Swiss. Unforuntately it is raining so I have not been able to do much.
I was able to see the Atstadt which is famous for its frescoed houses and also the Kapellbrucke which is a famous wooden roof pedestrian bridge that was in the 14th century. It is one of the most photographed sites in all of Switzerland. I also hung out with the locals along the river for the blue balls festival before catching the train to Zurich.
From Zurich I will catch the overnight train to Vienna, Austria.

Interlaken, Switzerland

Interlaken is a small town in the middle of the Alps full of adventurous activities. I was able to go canyoning and para-gliding. Canyoning was great fun that involved wading through a river, jumping off rocks/cliffs into the river, and sliding down the rocks. We also jumped off the top of a waterfall that was about 9 meters tall.
Paragliding was awesome too. It was a smooth ride above the mountains. We were able to catch the right thermals that allowed us to soar even higher than the height where we ran off the mountain. My guide was pretty cool and did some tricks as we were nearing the land including what he called a downward spiral.

Rome pictures

you can click on the photo to enlarge it... the pantheon
sermon on the mount in sistine chapel
michaelangelos god touching adam in sistine

Switzerland

Wow. this place is really nice. much nicer and way cleaner than italy. it was crazy getting out of italy on the trains. every train was late and no one could tell me the right information. everyone said something different. the swiss trains are much nicer and have air conditioning. i was in milan italy for a few hours on the way here. it is a little more modern city than the others i have seen in italy.
i stopped in brig switzerland where i met a local guy. we rode the train together to interlaken. the ride through the swiss alps is very scenic. the air here is so fresh too. i am going canyoning today which should be a blast.

Cinque Terre

I am now in Cinque Terre which is on the northwest coast of Italy. It is not terribly far from Nice France when you are looking at the map. Cinque Terre is actually five fishing villages that are connected by train and hiking trails. The all overlook the Ligurian Sea (part of Mediterranean). I have hiked the trails connecting the cities and stopped at little beaches along the way. The trails provide some awesome views. The villages are built on the side of really steep cliffs and they are all really quaint. The trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore, Via dell Amore, is the most famous because of its breath taking views and a stone tunnel painted with love scenes, now covered in graffiti.
I have met some great people here and enjoyed my time.

Rome

Buongiorno from Rome! I flew from London to Rome via Prague (Chez Republic). I wanted to get out and see Prague, but wasnàt able to coordinate a flight to do so. The line in London to check in at the airport was the longest I have ever seen at an airport, but i chatted with some Aussie backpackers in line which helped pass the time.

When I arrived in Rome it took me about 5 hours to find my hostel. I saw parts of the city I woùldnt have otherwise seen (and probably would have been ok with that).

As I walked around the city, I was surounded by so many awesome buildings with tons of history. Every building is something to see, even if it is not listed as a sight on the tourist map.

The Colosseum was the first sight I saw and i would say it dwarfs the other ruins in the Ancient City. Next to it was the Arch of Constantine, i saw it and as much as i could before i was completely exhausted having woken up at 4am to get to the airport.

The next day i went to see the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. The line to get in here was about 10 20 people wide and over 1 mile long. I met a nice gal from Austin in the pizzeria who invited me to join her and her fiance in line. I did so and only had to wait about 30 minutes which was awesome. They were a real nice couple and we spent the rest of the day hanging out.

When you walk into the Vatican Museum it is overwhelming. The architecture is grande and you are surouned by tons of sculptures and paintings. It is hard to take it all in.

The Sistine Chapel was very cool to see. The ceiling has 9 main panels that tell the stories from creation to the fall of man. On the side walls tell the stories of Moses and Christ. Pretty cool to be standing where Michaelangelo and other great artists have stood.

I was also able to visit the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, Fontanta di Trevi, and a posh shopping area with stores like Gucci, Pucci, and Armanie.

And i went to the basicalla di san pietro (St. Peter s). This place is huge. I saw the tombs of the popes including the most receant one who died. There were still flowers on it. From there I went by the castel sant angelo build by hadrian in AD 117.

Tons of stuff in Rome.. it was a whirlwind but great.

London photos

(Top to Bottom) Holding up the Tower Bridge, one of the Royal Bands who played at the Changing of the Guard ceremony, Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben

More of London

Yesterday we took a stroll through Notting Hill. It's real quite and peaceful there- upscale neighborhood. We went down Portobello Street and saw the market, then over by Paddington Station on the way to Abbey Road where the Beatles recorded back in the day. One of the ablum covers shows them walking across the street at a crosswalk in front of their studio, so we checked that out. The recording studio is still going and many people have written comments on the wall outside.
Later that day we were able to check out the Tower of London. The castle area first began with the White Tower (built with William the Conqueror circa 1066) before the rest of the buildings were built. It is here that the Crown Jewels are kep and have been since the beginning of the 14th century and is still used by the queen and her family today. The Tower Walk provided some great views of the Tower Bridge (see pic) which crosses to Thames River.
After leaving the tower we headed down to London Bridge (nothing special) and then St. Paul's which is pretty awesome (see pic above).

London

I made it into London at about 8 AM local time. We are 6 hours ahead of central time in the US. The flight from Dallas was about 9 hours in the air. Not near as long as going to Sydney.
As soon as I got to London, I hit the ground running. I have found London to be extremely similar to Sydney. The train system is virtually identical which has proven to be helpful. Nobody has AC here either, just like Oz.
I met up with my LSU friends and began to seek out the city. We went through Hyde Park (similar to NYC's Central Park) on the way to Buckingham Palace where the changing of the guards was taking place. That is quite a ceremony. We then headed down to Westminister Abby home of the grave's of Bloody Mary, Elizabeth I, and more. The church was really expensive to go into, so we visited the free one next door where Winston Churchill was married (St. Margaret's). Then we proceeded down to the Thames River to see the infamous Big Ben and the House of Parliament.
The day wasn't over, as we proceeded to the National Gallery and saw paintings by Monet, Leonardo DaVinci, and others.
After the musuem we headed to Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus (somewhat comparable to NYC's Times Square, but really no comparison). We found "cheap" tickets to see a West End play, ie Broadway. We saw Guys and Dolls which was very entertaining. I think all the actors were British, but did a very good job with their New Yorker accents.
On the way home, my flip flop breaks which made it a very difficult walk to the hostel. But I survived. It has been an eventful day, and tomorrow will be great too.

Headed Out

I'll be flying out in about 14 hours. I'm pretty pumped to get going on my next adventure. I made a tentative plan and it doesn't seem like I will have enough time to see all the places I want to see. Guess I'll just have to go again.
By coincidence I have friends flying into the UK the same day as me and another 2 days later! It will be great to start the trip of with some familiar faces.
Feel free to leave a comment on here sometime; I never know who is reading this travel blog.
Though I'm pretty excited, I really do need to get some sleep. My next posting will be from London!

On the road again

Well I've been back in the land of the red, white, and blue for about six weeks or so and decided that is long enough when there is still a lot of world out there that I haven't seen yet. So I'm off to Europe!

I have a new job that will be great and I'm excited about. I have a little bit of time before my start date; I thought I should take advantage of the time and travel again. I don't know when I'll get this opportunity again. I know I will always remember these times.

I'm extremely excited about the chance to see another part of the world and about a great job when I return.

Back in the USA!

I've made it back to the land of the free and the home of the brave. It's good to be back. I'm hanging out with Brad and Katy in Phoenix this week before going to Baton Rouge. I had such an awesome time travelling Oz and NZ. I learned so much from meeting people from around the world and living in a different culture. It was definitely an awesome experience that I'll always remember.

As I quoted before leaving:
The seaons remind me that I must keep changing, and I want to change because it is God's way. All my life I have been changing. I changed from a baby to a child. I changed from a tennager to drive a car, into a worker to spend some money. I will change into a husband to love a woman, into a father to love a child, change houses so we are near water, and again so we are near mountains, and again so we are near friends; keep changing with my wife, getting our love so it dies and gets born again and again, like a garden, fed by four seasons, a cycle of change. Everybody has to change, or they expire. Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons. D.Miller

Queenstown

I've been here in Queenstown (South Island) for a few days now. It's my last stop in New Zeland; it has been great. The snow-capped Southern Alps and Lake Wakatipu provide an awesome backdrop. The first day here we took a 9 hour kayak trip down the Dart River which was absolutely breathtaking. We were able to go through some caves where the water was so clear you could see down 30 meters or so to the bottom.
The next day we headed to another river for "Mad Dog River Boarding" aka White Water Surfing. The basicaly give you a boogie board and put you in class 3 rapids. By the way, the water was freezing cold. I don't know why I keep putting myself in cold water as we are approaching winter. It was a pretty intense ride down the river (about 5km of rapids and 2km of calm water). After the hard-core section of the river, the guides pulled us behind a jet ski and then let us go down a really huge slide into the river.
From Queenstown, we took a trip to Milford Sound, via Te Anau, where we spent the night on a boat. Some of the best scenery I've seen was from there in the sound.
I'll be heading back to Sydney for a few days this weekend before returning to the USA!

Christchurch & Fox Glacier

After arriving on the ferry to the small town of Picton on the South Island, we got on the bus and headed to Christchurch. We followed the Kaikoura coastline and stopped to see some seals and some really nice views, similar to the great ocean road in Oz. We didn't really do much in Christchurch besides walk around the town for a couple of hours. It was settled back in the day by the Europeans to be a town centered around Christ, hence the name. It has a nice little river running through it. From there, we took off for Fox Glacier.

Fox Glacier was really amazing. I've never seen a glacier before much less hiked on one. After taking a helicopter ride up to the glacier on the side of the mountain, we put on our boots, attached the spikes and started hiking along the glacier. The glacier grows 3 meters (~1 foot) per day so it's always changing. We hiked through some ice caves and saw some waterfalls. Fox is the 3rd largest glacier in NZ and is one of over 3,000!

Wellington

After leaving Taupo we headed south to the nation's capital- Wellington aka Welli. We drove through the Tongariro National park on the way which was the first place we saw snow up on the mountains. Wellington has a scenic drive into town along the water front and we saw a great view of the city from Mt. Victoria. The city sord of reminds me of Chattanooga; its about the same size and has a similar feel. While in the city, Nathan and I checked out the national museum which was really cool. Included in there was the Lord of the Rings exhibit. This country has gone crazy over that movie; we've seen many locations that were in the movie. We also saw the theatre that held the premier. We left Wellington on a 3 hour ferry ride that carried us through the Marlborough Sound and Cook Straight to Picton on the South Island.

Did you know there are only 4 million people in the country of NZ? That's about how many people live in Louisiana alone. Also, they call themselves Kiwis after the national bird called the kiwi.

Rotorua & Taupo

In Rotorua we visited the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institue (called Whakarewarewa) and learned about the Maori people (native to NZ and of polynesian deceant). There was a pretty cool geiser there that was erupting. We also saw the Craters of the Moon thermal area and Huka Falls after leaving Rotorua towards Taupo. During the evening in Rotorua we went to eat a traditional Maori meal and watch a show about their culture.

Taupo is cool and sits on a big lake. There we went on the luge which is great fun. You sit on this little seat that has a t-bar handle which is your break and steering wheel, then take off down a big hill. It's a lot of fun. We also did an awesome ropes course where we walked across a log that was really high in the air and across some wires. We also climbed a telephone pole, stood on top of it, and jumped to catch a trapeeze bar. We ended the course by jumping off a tower; it was like a bunjee swing type of deal. We ended that day with a boat cruise and dinner on the lake.

I was showing off in the picture by lifting my foot for the camera.

Waitomo (North Island)

I met Nathan in Auckland the other day and we headed south to Waitomo. It was really nice to see a familiar face from back home after 3 months away. In Waitomo we went black water rafting which is basically tubing through a cave. I really don't think they would allow this type of thing in the US, but it was great fun. The water was 11 degrees C which is pretty cold. I could blow smoke out of my mouth. It was pitch black except for the light from our helmets when we turned them on. We had to climb over rocks through the cave and jump off a few waterfalls. In certain parts of the cave, you could look up and see the glow-worms, which actually glow in the dark. You can see more of what we did at blackwaterrafting.co.nz

After leaving Waitomo we stopped to do the Zorb! This is the craziest thing I've heard of. You get in a giant ballthat has water in it and roll down a hill. You feel like a hamster in one of those wheels or some people compared it to being inside a washing machine. (see above pic)

Arrived in Auckland

I made it to New Zealand despite a lot of questions at customs because I didn't have a copy of my return flight with me. As we were flying in, the landscape was really amazing. The mountains looked so green and lush. I can't wait to get out and see the country-side. Auckland seems nice, though I've only seen it at night.

On the trip through the Grampians, we ran into an obstacle. A tree was blocking the road and there was no alternate route. Well there was one, but it would have added an hour and a half to our day preventing us from climbing the mountain we were headed to. So can you believe that this group of people actually moved this tree that was still connected to it's trunk in the ground? It took a lot of effort, but we were able to get it out of the way just enough to drive through.

ANZAC day and Aussie Slang

Yesterday was ANZAC Day (Australian & New Zealand Army Corps). ANZAC was the name given to the soliders of World War I. Since the war, the two countries have denoted one day to the memory and gratitude for all soldiers as well as national pride, much like Memorial Day back home. I went to the ANZAC march (parade) for a while. It was full of bagpipes, marching bands, and veterans. It was really long and somewhat somber, so I didn't stay the whole time.

On a different note, there is a lot of slang down under that I thought might be interesting for everyone back home. This is a list that only has a few of the words I have had to incorporate into my vocabulary.

Oz-Australia
Aussie-Australian
Yanks- all Americans, even those in the South
Kiwi- New Zealanders
mobile (pronuced mo-byle)- cell phone
queue- line
breakie- breakfast
mum- mom
mate- friend, also used to address strangers
g'day- typical greeting, good day
how you going?- how's it going?
you alright?- can i help you?
good on ya- good job
chips- fries
crisps- chips
footy- Australian Rules Football
thongs- flip flops
reli- relative
youse- y'all
no worries- it's ok, no problem , you're welcome (i think it is the motto of oz)
she'll be right- it's ok
arvo- afternoon
entre- appetizer
main- entre
tea- evening meal (they also have morning and afternoon tea which includes tea and biscuits)
biscuits- cookies
bloake- man, dude
barbie- barbeque, or anything on the grill
bushwalking- hiking
heaps- lots
picie- picture
Hungry Jacks- Burger King

There are tons more, but I can't remember them all right now.

Grampians to Adelaide

After the Great Ocean Road, we entered the Grampians National Park. Much of the forests in this park were burned (almost half) in the bush fires of January. Most of the trees seem to be recovering though they're trunks are black. Our first stop was a hike down to McKenzie Falls which was a really nice waterfall. The next day including a hike up Mount Hollow which provided some really nice views. It was 190 meters to the top and there were tons of rocky walls to climb and caves to explore. We cooked on the barbie for lunch and played a little footy (Australian Rules Football). It was good fun though I jammed my finger. I arrived in Adelaide that evening and am here now. I took a tour around the Barossa Valley which is full of grape vineyards. And I ate kangaroo!

Great Ocean Road

I have just finished travelling from Melbourne to Adelaide (see map). Part of the journey included travelling along the Great Ocean Road. This road was built as a memorial to the Victorians (those from the state of Victoria) who died in WWI. They completed the road in 1919 and it is full of breath-taking views along the coast. Some of the road is extremely windy and steep which is why Mercedes Benz chooses to film some commercials there. Along the road, we stopped at Torque which is home to Ripcurl (these guys invented wet-suits) and Quicksilver (they invented board shorts aka boardies). Just out of Torque we saw several koala bears along the road. We were able to stop and get some cool pictures. Did you know those animals sleep about 19 hours/day?? The best part of the road is the 12 Apostles (see pic). These "apostles" used to be part of the actual land, but as the water pushed itself along the land, the land began to erode away leaving columns of land in the middle of the water. This process is still happening. Near the apostles is London Bridge, which is a smilar land formation but is more like a bridge than an apostle connecting the mainland with another piece of land. In 1990 the bridge of land actually collapesed into the ocean leaving a couple stranded on the new island of land. About 4 hours later a helicopter came to rescue them, but not before the media came out and put together the romantic story of the couple stuck on the island. Unfortunately, after the romantic story came out, it was discovered that the man had a wife back in Sydney...

Melbourne

Melbourne is a pretty cool city that seems to be quite competitive with Sydney. There are lots of little alley-ways full of cafe's and shops where you least expect it. I was able to go visit the site of the Australian Open, but not for long before it started pouring down rain on me out of nowhere. Next door is the MCG and other stadiums that were used for the Commonwealth Games that just finished up. (Those are the games that all the nations who are part of the British Commonwealth participate in, similar to the olympics).
I was able to go to an Australian Rules Football game, aka footy game. It is similar to rugby. It was pretty entertaining and exciting. After a few minutes, it was pretty easy to catch on to the rules.
The Comedy Festival is going on for the next few weeks. I have gone to three shows. They were entertaining, but nothing spectacular. They all had a lot of Australian humor which I either didn't pick up on or didn't find funny. It's still cool to see.

Few more pictures

Fraser Island


Click to enlarge pictures.. Fraser Island group Ah, the grehound. My main mode of transportation along the east coast including a few over-nighters.
Magnetic Island
Carlo Sandblow at Rainbow Beach

New Pictures: Coffs Harbour & Byron

Awesome sunrise at Byron Bay from Australia's most eastern point. ( You can click on any photo on this site to make it larger)
Ben and I had to stop from our bike ride to take a picture of this awesome sunset at Coff's Harbour
The marina at Coff's Harbour. I think I heard the OC music playing...