Delphi, Greece

Greece has thus far surpassed my every expectation. Yes, going into it, nearly everybody who has traveled here said that Athens isn't worth it; its sketchy, not much to see, and in general, not that fun of a city. Well, sometimes it is best to go out, and do it your own way. Athens, and Greece so far, haven't disappointed and have far surpassed everyone else's evaluations.

In a civilization that is the cradle of humanity and academic learning (seems fitting that I travel there right? Well, okay, that might be a stretch), they must know how to do something right. Although Greece is a PIGS country, Athenians have been living and carrying on their culture over 2500 years and 6 empires. So, in actuality, yes, the ruins may be more ruin than temple -- but that is why they are called ruins. Yes, you may have a grandiose vision of what the ancient Greece looked like, but it would be rather short-sided to assume the architects 2500 years ago were planning on how the ruins looked in 2010 for your benefit.

It is often the case tourists forget -- it isn't all about you. People once lived there (which is why you visited in the first place), but life goes on, and yes, people still live there. See the sights, but experience the culture that has lived on.

Yesterday, I took a day-trip to the ancient site of Delphi. Where oracles "foresaw" future events -- written through the interpretations of priests. In essence, it is now known, that the oracle would be placed in a room above a vent of hallucinogenic gas, would speak, and her discombobulated words would be interpreted into a dubious poem by 5 priests. This poem would depend not on your situation, but would depend on how you read the poem or emphasized punctuation. The oracle was always right.

More than anything, it was just cool old stuff. 2500 years later, this stuff remains. In America, you see a house that is from the 1800's or early 1900's and it is an "old house." Well, in Greece, a "new church" is a Byzantine church from the 1000's. Its a big world, and there are old cultures.

More Istanbul

Craziest place ever -- the Call to Prayer wakes me up every morning at 6 AM -- and keeps me on my toes throughout the day (5 times a day!). Beautiful, gigantic Mosques dot the landscape, minarets poking through the somewhat decrepit, gigantic city.

I love it -- and the food is amazing. Kebab, Durum, Doner, lots of tea. They certainly love lamb here -- and what isn't to love about lamb? Thats America's problem, the serious lack of lamb and eggplant in our diet.

Pictures today! Tomorrow I'm off to the Asian side of Istanbul -- not much to do there besides a market, and now being able to say I have stepped foot on the Asian continent.

Istanbul

Istanbul -- Not Constantinople. Its Istanbul, who cares about Constantinople? Well, say that to all of the past civilizations who once ruled over this gateway between Asia and Europe. Every great civilization has controlled Istanbul at one point or another, and it shows. East meets west, truly, here in this great city.

It is like nothing I have ever seen, or smelled, before. Maybe it is the combination of fresh roasted chestnuts, combined with the aroma of slow roasting lamb on a spit (Doner!), kebab, roasting corn, or the seemingly infinite amount of feral cats. It is something so different, so unique, and so great, from where I have been before.

Mosques a plenty, street hawkers, impoverished, greasy, Turkish. I love it.

The language is absolutely insane, and the people all look unfriendly. Few speak English, no one speaks Spanish, but they are all after the western tourists. Its great. I love it.

Istanbul has such a rich history; a crucial stop on trading routes since ancient time, a stronghold for the great civilizations, and a cultural capital of the world. It is brilliant, the food is outstanding (and cheap), and the coffee is to die for. I have a profound respect for cultures that understand the importance of good food (delicious roasted meat), and even better, motor-oil, strong, acidic, Coffee.

Barcelona, Catalunya

Oh Barcelona. My one love. A great city -- new meets old, land meets sea, strange meets weird, and a clash of one culture into the next. A beautiful city, a better language, good food, better bars, and some pretty good times.

I'm going to miss this city -- my first (and hopefully not last) European home. I've been living with a great family, who treats me like one of their own, to whom I am eternally indebted to, while living in a brilliant city. I am sad to be leaving, and don't know what else to say. So maybe, for once, I won't say anything, but instead just show pictures.

Montjuic. Home of the '92 Olympics, and 2010 Shakira Performance. I'm a fan.

Sagrada Familia

Camp Nou, and of course, Barca

IceBarcelona. Ice Bar. Barcelona. -13 celsius. Vodka drinks from ice cups. And dancing to keep warm. Andrew didn't even need the jacket, his beard sufficed.

La Boqueria market, you haven't seen a market 'till it stares you in the face

Oh, Herro.

HERRO!

Catalunya -- home to Caga Tio. You take care of it, beat it with a stick, and it poops gifts. Yes I'm serious. I love Catalunya.

Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.

Places I've Been

Places I've been (green), places I'm going (yellow), and places I want to go to (Orange). Too much of that map is orange and time is too short (on this trip). Why can't I make a living doing this? Moreover, why isn't anyone willing to pay me to do this?

Where to next (after Europe)? Well, I have lived in the United States my entire life, and at this point, I have seen more worldly cultures than my home cultures. The great American adventure is calling -- and It is one I feel I must take. As of now, I am convinced that the great states of America have absolutely no culture. So, America, bring it on -- show me some culture (if you have any!).

The great thing about traveling is that you can do it -- no matter what age, race, gender, or background. The world is there, and it isn't going anywhere. I have been to two continents, and I have 5 more to visit.

Cork, Ireland

This weekend -- Ireland. Well. What, I am following a trend -- visiting Europe's worst economies in a short amount of time, lovingly referred to as PIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Greece (not yet! In December though!), and of course my beloved Spain. Hazards to austerity and suckling from the great teat of the welfare state these countries go bust -- and they do it right.

Oh Ireland, somehow your leprechaun charm did not let me down. Maybe it was your accents, or perhaps the fact that you all drive on the wrong side of the road (and I always look the wrong way!), or perhaps it was the rainy afternoons spent drinking pints of stout, throwing darts, but it was a winner.

Well, it is always a winner when you don't get that late night drunken Kebab.

Ireland 1, Mike 0.

What else is there to do in Ireland? Well, to be honest, not much. Darts, pints, oh and of course the Jameson Factory Tour. One craptastic tour, followed by the most excellent whiskey tasting ever. We are now certified whiskey tasters -- you better believe it. That is one for the resume.

Lisbon, Portugal

Sorry for the late Blog post here, I have been busy, and this was sort of the last thing on my mind during the busy exam weeks.

Anyway, Portugal. Good food, strange weather, and the best hostel in all of Europe. If you ever find yourself stranded in Lisboa without a place to stay -- this is your place. Nice people, cheap local beer, and great home cooked meals every night!

Lisbon: Ghetto but beautiful. The town is decrepit and slowly crumbling. The local citizenry is about as old as the buildings (and most of them in the same shape). Because of the rent price ceilings, land lords are unable to fix up the buildings, so everything is covered in Graffiti.

Especially the graffiti of my favorite street artist, BluBlu. If you haven't already, check out his stuff.

The surroundings itself are quite beautiful, and everything in town feels a bit surreal.

When the language is impossible to understand, a smile and a point are always universal.

Madrid

Madrid. Is it fair to say that it may be my favorite Spanish city (Barcelona doesn't count. Barcelona is Catalana, for reasons to be discussed later). It's beautiful, modern, chic, and has an all around great vibe -- not to mention a haven for foodies, such as myself.

I love food, I'm not afraid to admit it. It should be enjoyed thoroughly every single day. In Madrid, this isn't a hard task. They have everything you could ever want: Tapas, American, Mexican, Italian, Argentinian, Chinese, and always more. When you go to Madrid, you will be fed copious amounts of food, and you will never be let down. Next to Plaza Mayor, there is a cool little market that is entirely filled with bars, tapas bars (You order a Canya (a cervecita) or three, and it comes, topped, with a plate of tapas -- thus the name).

Character and good food, what else do you need from a city to enjoy yourself greatly? Well, for one, lots of dive bars help. There are plenty to be had in the bustling nightlife of Madrid. And, after drinking Estrella Damm for a while, it was nice to cleanse the palate with a different pilsner of choice (hell, even through in a stout for good measure -- but the stouts really come in a few weeks when I go to Cork, Ireland).

Madrid also is home to two amazing museums: The Prado, and La Reina Sofia. Both were quite interesting, but La Reina Sofia was home to more of the modern art ala Dali or Picasso. Which suited my tastes in art much better.

The final thing that I like about Madrid -- Its Spanish. All of the signs are in spanish, and all of the people are speaking spanish. While this is also the case here in Barcelona, it is so to a much lesser extent. Primarily, the Catalans speak, well obviously Catalan. So, all of the signs are first and foremost Catalan, then Spanish, then English.

Even though I don't speak Spanish that well (though I am getting better, and understanding mostly everything), I do greatly enjoy being able to communicate -- even if it is not my native tongue. Here in Barcelona, it is sometimes overwhelming with the constant bombardment of Catalan -- with even Spanish as a secondary language.

No pictures, I know, boring. But I am saving my photography abilities for upcoming travels -- next weekend is a much needed weekend of rest, in Barca. Then off to Portugal, then Ireland. So, until next time!

Girona & Figueres

This weekend adventure brought to you by funky artwork and crazy painters -- Namely, Dali. Yes, Dali was a total and complete nutcase, dare I say whackjob. But he was a brilliant whackjob none-the-less. I feel like I have been saying this to much -- sometimes people ask "Why? What is that? Its, so bizzare" to which, all I can reply is "Why not? Its Spain -- they don't care!" well, at least in Barcelona and Catalunya, they don't. The people seem to embrace, love, and charish the oddities and bizarre. Why not? Enjoy.

The Dali museum was built, in part, by Dali himself to house the works of Figueres' most famous painter and eccentric personality -- Dali. It was rebuilt, of sorts, from the wreckage of a theatre that was partially destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and chose it as the proper location to store his works.

As for his paintings, they are all quite strange, many featuring the phallic symbols piddling into their own mouths, random nudity, and crazy colors. Though, some of his work was also more tame. Really, I don't know how to describe his work, nor do I want to because that really takes the fun out of it.

Its the philosopher's conundrum -- the reason why I hate philosophy of any and all kinds. Scholars will study the intricacies of every minuscule detail of the work attributing give certain qualities meaning -- proclaiming to know true thoughts and intentions with absolutely no tangible proof or factual evidence -- instead of admiring it for the (somewhat bizarre) beauty that the entire painting is. To understand his true thoughts you would probably have to be crazy, anyway.

Then we went to Girona. It was a beautiful small town with lots of small churches, narrow streets, and beautiful sights. Had a delicious meal, where the menu was in only Catalan -- not even Spanish. The wait staff spoke Catalan, and you replied in Spanish. Everyone around you was Catalan -- Not Spanish. We weren't in Spain, we were in Catalunya. Relaxing, enjoyable, and a good weekend.

I have a pretty hectic travel schedule within the next few weeks: Madrid, Barcelona (home), Lisbon, Cork, and after that, probably even more travel -- the road is endless, and I haven't seen all that there is to see -- yet.