June 21, 2009 – 11:42am

I am in Porto Cervo, Italy and it’s raining. Not just a light drizzle, but really raining HARD. Lightning, thunder, the whole package. I just finished having one of my legendary soliloquies. I told myself that although it doesn’t seem like I’m having much fun at times, this is a priceless experience that I’m having. Here I am a young, black male from Seat Pleasant, Maryland and I’ve experienced so much in my life up to now. I took a trip across the Atlantic by myself with no help. No travel agents, no companion, no one to hold my hand and tell me where to go. Not for work or for military service…just me, all by myself. I’ve been to London, Leeds, Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin, Paris, Rome, and now Sardinia. Tomorrow I’m going to Egypt. I did it. I did all the planning, saved all the money, and didn’t have to put myself into serious debt for it. I’m very proud of myself. I transcended language barriers and broke through my comfort zone. I can do anything. I’m intelligent, savvy, street wise, experienced, strong, and most of all blessed. There is nothing that anyone can say in doubt that will affect me anymore. I’m breaking through barriers of my own insecurities. I can now say that I’m a world traveler. Not only did I do the European continent. I caught a boat from the continent to an island off the continent and rented a car to a city on the island ALL ALONE. Maybe to some it may not sound like such an accomplishment. But to me, coming from where I come from, being who I am it truly is. Okay I’ll get off my soapbox now and put my horn away, LOL.

By the time that I got to Rome, the tourist thing had pretty much played itself out. I was tired of taking pictures and walking around quickly from monument to monument, museum to museum, trying to fit everything in. I just wanted to relax. I checked into my hostel and the guy at the hostel (who was the best host I think I have ever had in all my travels) gave me a map and charted out an itinerary for me based on how much time I had there. I also got a free bottle of wine and some discount cards for local places to eat. If you ever travel to Rome stay at the Funny Palace Hostel, you will not regret it. The guy that runs the place is Mabry and just tell him I sent you and he will hook u up with a good rate.

I was able to check out the Colosseum and the outside of the Vatican (they wouldn’t let me in cause I had on a tank top…I didn’t care it was hot outside). I did a tour of the Colosseum and found out some very interesting facts about it. The tour guide estimates that at least 1 million people have died there and 600,000 animals. In the center they used to have Christians hanging on crosses, then animals would jump out of trap doors and jump up and devour them. The bloodthirsty Romans loved it. This was before Rome converted to Christianity of course. And the reason that they had tons of rose petals drifting around inside is because after a while it would get pretty stinky in there and they were to add some fragrance. It’s mortifying to think how many people died in that place just for practicing Christianity! So now they put crosses in there in memoriam to all that died and the pope once a year makes it a point to go there and do mass and pray for the ones that lost their lives.

About Rome

Rome is just like any other big city. Lots of people running around looking busy inter mingled with tourists looking around lost and in awe at the same time. I have to say that the people of Rome are much more savvy than the people of Paris or London. Walking around I got the feeling that there were tons of schemers around, a much greater percentage than in any other European city. So, if you go there BE AWARE. There are also a smaller percentage of people in Rome that speak English so if you don’t know any Italian at all be prepared for a frustrating time when it comes to communication. Some people are very nice and some are just plain rude if they don’t speak much English. I asked one guy at a news stand for directions to the Colosseum and he didn’t even look at me, he just pointed to some direction and mumbled something in Italian. LOL, thanks a lot.

The food in Rome is VERY EXPENSIVE and very salty. And this is coming from someone that likes well seasoned food. For example, if you go into a restaurant you are going to pay on average 4 euro ($5.50 USD) for a coke! I went to this one restaurant that was supposedly for budget-minded people and spent 26 Euro (36 USD) and all that I had was some kind of pasta dish with salmon and spaghetti, some bread, and 2 cokes. It was not very good either, mediocre at best. I’m not sure if I’m just used to American food but I haven’t had a really good meal since I left America. I’m not going to say the food is terrible but I honestly can’t figure out why people say the food in Europe is so much better. Maybe I just haven’t been eating at the really fancy restaurants where you are going to pay 50 euro for a meal at least. But, in America, you don’t need to pay that much to have a good meal. What is also funny is that the American dishes that I’m used to like Chicken Parmesan, they never even heard of. One last thing, the service is very minimal. You sit down, the waiter takes your order, brings your food and drinks, then they are pretty much done with you. They don’t come back and see how you are doing or ask if you need anything else like in America. After your meal you have to go look for the waiter to tell them you are done. LOL.

Right now, I’m in Sardinia relaxing. It was much needed, I think. I’m not going to do much of anything today. Its supposed to rain so the beach is not happening. The people here at the hotel are very friendly so I just go and talk to the hotel receptionists. One of the hotel receptionists, I found out, is actually beta testing for the Italian version of Windows 7. Whenever I tell someone that I work for Microsoft they all ask me the same question. What’s up with Vista??? Why did Microsoft come out with such a crappy OS after Windows XP was so good. Sigh. Alas, that is a question that I cannot answer….

I guess I will have to submit feedback to the designers.

Here are some pics from my time in Rome…enjoy!

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Well, I finally made it to the Costa Smeralda!!! Getting here was crazy. After my stay in Rome (about which I will post later) I had to walk back to the Roma Termini (train station) alllllllll the way to the back of the station to catch the train to Civitaveccia. Mind you, this is with a backpack that must feel like a load of bricks right now and blistered feet. After getting to Civitaveccia I had to walk from the train station to the port. It’s about a 20 minute walk but I managed. I asked an old Italian guy that didn’t speak English at all. I had to make hand gestures like a boat and he pointed me to the right direction. After getting to the port I asked a guy where I get the boat to the Moby Lines boats and he told me which lane number in Italian….I figured it out eventually. Once I finally got to the boat I just followed all the passengers that looked like they were walk on, like me. Once I got on the boat and got my ticket, I realized that I was probably the only American on the boat and definitely the only one that spoke any fluent English. But it was all good, I hit the bar, was able to order a drink and went to my cabin and slept. Waking up in the morning, I went out to the sun deck experienced the most beautiful view of the Mediterranean as we got to the port of Olbia. As we pulled into the port I wasn’t sure about where I was supposed to exit as all of the instructions were in Italian, once again. So I followed some people that looked like they were walk ons and eventually exited the boat. After exiting the boat I needed to get a shuttle to the airport where my car rental was waiting but no one was able to tell me where to go to get the shuttle because they didn’t speak English and none of the signs were in English either. I saw a taxi cab, asked him how much to take me to the airport. He quoted me 20 Euro ($27.88 USD). I knew I was getting screwed over because I know it’s no longer than a 15 minute drive tops to the airport but at that point I didn’t really have a choice so I hopped in anyways. The rental car place was pretty cool. Very quickly I had my keys, my car, and was ready to go. Driving the car I just followed the signs to Porto Cervo which were pretty prominent everywhere. Luckily I also had my GPS adapter for my laptop which gave me a rough (and I stress the word rough) picture of where I was. I successfully go to my hotel and here I am. The weather here SUCKS. It’s very windy and cool. Nevertheless I hit the beach anyway. Well, that’s just a taste of what I’ve been going through here. LOL. I will post more tomorrow after I’ve rested up.

Here are some pics that I took of the beautiful Chateau De Versailles. Building it crumbled the French economy but it is one of the biggest displays of total monarchy and wealth in the world. Now Versialles is one of the richest suburbs in France. Enjoy!

P.S… On a side note the US dollar sucks right now!!! For every USD i get 0.71 Euro back. I was told by someone that a year ago it was basically dollar for dollar. C’mon Obama, help us out!!!

Here are some pictures that I took when I went to Notre Dame Cathedral. A wonderful thing happened to me when I was buying my ticket to climb to the top of the tower. There are 2 different fees, one for people ages 26 and above (8 euros) and another for those 18-25 (5 euro). You are supposed to show your ID to the person at the window so she can check your age and charge you accordingly. Well, I walked right up to the window and was immediately charged 5 euro. LOL. No one in this city believes that I’m 34, hahaha. I guess I can pass for the 18-25 age range. I’m blessed.

June 17, 2009 – 9:53pm (Wednesday)

While I was in Paris I was asked by a new friend if I was inspired by being there, in Paris. I explained to her that what inspires me the most is the journey, the experience of traveling from place to place. Sometimes you get time alone and sometimes you end up in a train cabin with people on a similar mission, to reach that ultimate destination. I think that traveling the way that I am, alone on the train, affords me a luxury that is priceless. I get to see the beautiful landscape of the Earth and meet new people along the way. Once again, I have no regrets. I have met some great people on this journey and I have learned a lot about myself. Just 2 weeks in and I’ve already started to rethink my life. During this journey I have crossed paths with artists, writers, artists, directors, business people, families, and single youths. While I was at the Notre Dame cathedral I met a Scottish gentleman who was there celebrating his 16th anniversary (I think?) with his wife. He said to me that he thought that more Americans need to travel and that he didn’t think enough of us did. I agreed with him. We just feel that we have this great big country and that we don’t need to experience different cultures. I think that we definitely need to expand our horizons. We need to travel somewhere beyond the immediate USA. I know that a lot of us go to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Alaska, and places like that but I think we need to break through those boundaries. Let’s expand our comfort bubbles. I know we can do it!!!

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18Jun

…

I cried. Why, I don’t know. I guess traveling on the train really brings out my passion. I read somewhere that the way to really identify your true passion is to start thinking of things that you might want to do and the first thing that brings tears to your eyes is your passion. I guess that my passion is travel. I feel that I have so much pent up inside of me. So much anger. So much sadness. So much frustration. I think that we go day to day masking these emotions and never really get a chance to unleash them. So many people wonder why I chose to do this trip alone. I have no regrets at all. I’m glad that I did it alone. I think everyone should do it at least once in their lives. Just you. No one else. When it comes down to it I think we all need to spend more time with the person that truly knows us…ourselves. It’s that person that we let no one see, not even our families or best friends. We all have that person inside of us that we guard so well. Honestly, if I had someone with me on this trip I wouldn’t have been able to reflect on all these things. Company can be very awkward. Especially when traveling. You start talking about anything just to alleviate the boredom or to fill empty gaps or uncomfortable silences. You never really get a chance be alone in your own thoughts. Now I see why monks choose a life of seclusion. Not to say that I would ever go that route! I enjoy people; I enjoy conversation, and socializing. But this trip is about me. I need to find myself and reclaim my identity and this trip is just what I needed. I’m halfway to nirvana. 3 more weeks to go! I know I can do it!

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18Jun

Paris to Rome…

June 17, 2009 – 7:14pm (Wednesday)


I am now on the train traveling from Paris to Rome. My 3 days in Paris were very inspiring, thought provoking, and interesting. Paris, to me, is just an older version of New York. Stepping off of the train and getting on the metro you are drowned in a sea of great diversity. There are so many different ethnicities there. White, Black, Asian, Spanish, Indian, you name it. After a day being there I had mastered the whole metro system. If you are a native of any big city that has a train system like New York, DC, San Francisco, etc. you should not have a problem getting around. There were so many times that I had to remind myself that I was in Paris. I literally felt right at home being from the East Coast. Walking around, once again, I got the feeling that no one could tell that I was a tourist. I had people coming up to me at times asking me for directions. LOL. And I’m pretty good at picking up negative/positive energy and the whole time I was there I didn’t feel like anyone even thought about robbing me. As I was explaining to someone that I met at my hostel, I guess when you grow up in an urban environment you kind of develop a certain type of instinct. I think you could take any kid from any ghetto or hood in the world and transplant him/her anywhere in the world and they would make it easily. It’s like that saying about New York. “If you can make it here you can make it anywhere.”

The people of Paris are BEAUTIFUL. Out of all the European cities that I have travelled to thus far Paris has the highest concentration of beautiful women in my opinion. All different skin colors from dark chocolate to caramel to vanilla. As I was leaving to get my train to Italy I saw this gorgeous Black woman. She was tall, slender, long hair, with a svelte figure. She was walking through the metro as if it was the catwalk. If I had to put money on it I’d bet she was a model. I could do nothing but stare. LOL. Also, Paris, has definitely brought back my appreciation for fashion. People here know how to dress. Not just some of them, EVERYONE. After being in Seattle for 7 years where fashion is an afterthought it was definitely a breath of fresh air. I know that the stereotype of Parisians is that they are snobby and arrogant but I don’t see it that way. To me they are just very genuine. People don’t walk around with fake smiles on their faces so when someone does smile at you it’s truly from the heart. Once again, that is one thing that I miss about the East Coast. I would have to say that Paris has earned a place on my list of one of the cities that I’d love to live in. I think its right up there with New York. It’s not as big as NY but the energy is there. The vibe is there. The swagger is there. Overall, I really enjoyed my time and I know it will definitely be a spot I will visit many times in the future.

For my last day in Paris I spent it with a friend that I haven’t seen in 8 years. I met her in Miami when she was on vacation there with her sister. Now, 8 years later, she’s married with 3 kids and I’m still single with no kids. Hanging out with her and her kids made me wonder if that is a life that I will have someday. Sometimes I feel that is what I want and sometimes I feel like it isn’t. Oh well, I guess time will tell. One thing that I did learn though is that when a woman in France has a child she can choose to take either 1 year or 3 years off from her job to take care of the kids. And check this out, THEY STILL PAY YOU FOR IT. Not only that but you get to choose, either the man or woman can do it. I guess Michael Moore wasn’t exaggerating in his Sicko film. And from what I hear the health care there is top notch and FREE to everyone. How about that?

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