Jun 30
As the van thing materialized, I started thinking about going home for a visit. I would be able to pick up some things like camping gear, a new iPod and my magic stuff. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of seeing family and friends too. Then I started thinking about summer in the Ocean State, which on some days can be the greatest place on earth. I imagined playing some Ultimate Frisbee, going to Block Island and Waterfire and getting lunch at some of my favorite spots.
After securing the van on Saturday, I bought a roundtrip ticket home. Tuesday night I arrived in Boston under the radar and have been surprising people since.
On July 11th Ill fly back to Amsterdam, settle into my van and start what feels like a new chapter in my travels.
Jun 29
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Jun 28
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Jun 24
Numbers are marked on old cement benches that circle and rise concentric from a lustrous red wooden wall making an amphitheatre around the giant circle of fine-raked yellow sand. On the ground, following the wooden wall, has been painted two massive red rings. High over the empty sand and all of us in the Plaza del Toro is a clear Spanish sky. Tourists wear shorts and carry blue vinyl seat cushions. Locals are in Sunday dress and carry glossy colored programs. People climb over one another, arms stretched to hands trading Euros for Cervezas, Ice Crème and Peanuts. The crowds soft rumble grows and above it sound whistles and hollers from seated friends to wandering ones.
Dressed in tights and jewel studded armor of bright blues, pinks and yellows, the players parade into the ring. They are a star matador and an army of others who strut and wave with a noble dignity. From their march, they take to positions beyond the freshly painted red wall. The crowds common voice had hushed for the display, but returns now. As the full bullring chats, drinks, eats and waits an anxious excitement grows inside all of us.
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Jun 21
I realized pretty much any Volkswagen Bus for sale right now is located in either Germany or the Netherlands, so I made a move up this way. The first thing I did was a book an appointment to see a van that looked decent online, then I booked a flight for about $200, which is pretty pricey, but the best I could find last minute. Next I started searching online for a place to stay in Amsterdam, one of the busiest backpacker cities in the world, during the height of the backpacker season and the World Cup.
Oops.
Obviously nothing was available. I found one hostel at $60/night for a DORM bed! Plus they required I book five full nights and pay the $300 total up front.
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Jun 13
For those of you who have been following my travels closely, I suppose its fair to keep you abreast of my relevant moods and ideas. As you may have noticed from recent posts (or lack thereof), Im getting a bit of travel fatigue. Considering Ive been moving around for about five months now, maybe it is to be expected. Sure, there were times Ive spent a couple of weeks on the same bed (Bangkok, McLeod Ganj and Paris), but I think being in one place for awhile without having had plans to stay there, still feels transient.
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Jun 12
We were circling around the cathedral on our search for a bar with a free Flamenco (Spanish dance) show. I was walking slow and falling behind, trying to decide if I wanted to leave them and head back to watch the street magicians we had stopped for only a minute to see.
This cathedral was a giant, the biggest in Spain. It stood wide and sort of haphazard, full of steeples that looked bumpy until close inspection revealed them to be laced with intricate sculpture. All stone churches look old, but this one looked older. The stones that made it appeared as if they were cut crudely and stacked quickly, like a medieval castle. The sun was hidden from me, but still lit the tall cathedral.
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