Since I’ve driven across the US once and flown a few times, I decided it was time to complete the Planes, Trains, and Automobiles trifecta. Amtrak’s USA Rail Pass gives you 10 segments (rides, basically) over the course of 30 days for $499. Which might save you a little money, but what it certainly does is helps structure a trip.

In the spirit of living by one of my personal rules, “when debating multiple options, choose the more adventurous one”, I decided to go to Egypt. It wasn’t really even on my radar, but then I was looking at flights and there it was so why not. I spent the better part of the days preceding my flight getting mentally prepared for the hectic, relentless badgering that seems to take place in Arab countries.  Continue reading Listen to your convictions, even if they seem absurd to your reason. →

I’m writing this about 5 months after the fact, so expect it to be a combination of poorly remembered things and complete fabrications. But I’ve been posting on here for years, so it would be a pity if I didn’t at least make a minimal effort. At least for this one, I’ve got pictures. Continue reading If i could run across the beach into my own arms I would →

My annoying-on-paper flight from Buffalo to Charlotte to Miami to Lima to Montevideo went about as smoothly as I could have hoped. My Lima to Montevideo flight was scheduled to take off at 11:59pm, but we ended up watching fireworks from the runway for a few minutes before taking off. It was interesting to see New Years from the sky, and fireworks aren’t really shot very high. Continue reading I like looking at everything from far away, except you. →

Ok, so I actually stayed in Panama City for a few more days. And I went for a walk along another thing and took some pictures of it. It had a lot of water, and yachts, and pelicans, and a view of the city. There are some little islands in “Panama Bay” or something. It has a little wildlife reserve too. Continue reading He did not dare approach her for fear of destroying the spell →

I had decided to come to Yerevan to get the rich cultural experience and see the surrounding natural beauty (the flight to NYC was cheaper from Yerevan than Tbilisi). Upon entering Armenia, it was incredibly snowy, and it only got snowier throughout the week. So, I opted to just stay in the city center rather than venture out on treacherous, freezing day trips. Continue reading Honey, would you put a bumper sticker on a Bentley?! →

This is post #100! Didn’t realize I’d even done 100 things. All this traveling apparently hasn’t made me any smarter, because this week in the hostel I made the brilliant move of dropping my glasses behind the shower wall. They dropped about eight feet to the inaccessible area behind the showers into the abyss of random clothing, shampoo bottles, and other items lost forever. I climbed up, and luckily could see them. So I Macgyvered a contraption with the towel hooks and some medical wrap and fished them out. I’m sad to admit it was the greatest sense of accomplishment I’ve had in a while.

Continue reading History shows that there are no invincible armies →

I’ve been sick for more than a couple weeks now. Not terribly sick, just a cough, mildly soar throat and runny nose, and the occasional minor headache. Pretty annoying, and my “red eye” flight to Tbilisi didn’t exactly help. I left at 9:45pm, had to change in Riga, and arrived in Tbilisi at 4:25am which included a 2-hour time zone change. Not exactly a good night’s sleep, and then I was too early to check in (even after waiting at the airport until 9am) so I had to leave my bag and wander around the streets of Tbilisi for a few hours.

Continue reading The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything. →

I managed to avoid any excitement my last couple weeks in Riga, sticking to my familiar walking paths and coffee shop hopping. I did take a walk over to the markets on the weekend, which were quite large and busy. One building was completely filled with meat – did not last long in there. But I wish I had gone earlier, as there were huge stalls of vegetables as well.

Continue reading Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. →

I decided to enter the social realm for a few days, booking four nights at a hostel in Riga to start off the trip. The password at the hostel was “justonebeer”. Which of course is “just one beer.” But I’ve been drinking very little and listening to questionable music, so I thought it was just a weird spelling of “juston ebeer”. Surely, a mistake anyone can make. Thankfully, I did not say this aloud so my reputation as someone with some dignity remains intact.

Continue reading Two Latvian look at clouds. One see potato. Other see impossible dream. Is same cloud. →

I had planned on staying in San Pedro another week, but after a Spanish class that wasn’t ideal and a notification that there would be no power in San Pedro for an entire day, I decided to just head back to Antigua.  So I did that, stayed in a nice hotel to get some work done, and planned out the rest of my life. Continue reading But second chances are rare. Right? And that’s worth celebrating →

Continuing my ongoing quest to use every London airport, I left from Stansted this morning and flew to Budapest on Ryanair, which went extremely smoothly. My hostel is fairly centrally located, and I quickly located the nearest Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Hooters, so I don’t think there will be any issues here. Continue reading The plot thickens, as they say. Why, by the way? Is it a soup metaphor? →

Paris was essentially a catchup and recharging point for me. Dad had a couple day trips, and I more or less worked and did a couple walking tours on my own. While I wasn’t in the best of moods, I found Paris to be dirty, unfriendly, and lacking of general WiFi options – the latter upsetting me more than the first two combined. Continue reading A multitude of people, and yet a solitude. →

Finally back to this great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers are irresistibly drained.  My main goal this weekend was to try to get some work done and survive jet lag. I was marginally successful.

I hardly spent any money, just walked through the Portobello Market for a bit on Sunday and got some Venezuelan burrito sandwich thing.  Walked through Kensington Gardens and saw all the expensive houses and consulates/embassies, and strolled through the main part of London a bit too.  But mainly relaxed and caught up on some Netflix. Continue reading Cover your crystal eyes And let your colours bleed and blend with mine →

I didn’t feel like working today so I took a streetcar down to the famous Garden District. Sandra Bullock has a house there, so I figured maybe I’d run into her and we’d really hit it off. But then I’d probably resent her success and feel awkward when she took me to nice restaurants and bought me presents – favors I couldn’t return. Plus, she’s like 50, which kind of poses a long-term problem. So ultimately I decided just to leisurely stroll through the upper-class neighborhood of charming architecture. Also, I don’t really like Sandra Bullock. Continue reading Good morning America, how are you? →

I’ve got 5 days to get back to Copenhagen for my flight.  Luckily, I’m pretty close so I just picked a stop or two along the way to get there.  Turns out Bremen is in the right direction, so I decided to spend two nights in Bremen.  Long train ride during my “spare” time (like 5 hours) to get there on the first day, so that night was just relaxing and a bit of work.  But then the next morning I decided to see all there was to see. Continue reading Mirror, mirror, here I stand. Who is the fairest in the land? →

I woke up in my clothes at 4am, checked out, was at the airport by 5:15am, and landed in Berlin at 8am.  Their transit wasn’t too hard to figure out either, so I dropped my stuff at the hostel around 9 and then strolled around for a few hours.  I do a lot of strolling.  There were some museums and palaces and old structures and stuff that I looked at.  There was also someone with bubbles.  I saw a little girl fall off a statue and cry.  I had a bagel at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast because I didn’t know how to say any of the German stuff at the street fair. Continue reading Get some rest, Pam. You look tired. →

On Friday I started off by visiting a start-up hub in the city.  Someone there gave me a tour and showed me everything that was going on.  It was alright – not as exciting as I was hoping, but still pretty cool to work in that kind of environment.

Continue reading So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. →

So yesterday I overdid it and wore myself out too much, so today I relaxed a bit more and worked a lot to make sure I got everything done I needed to.  And I didn’t quite finish, because I work a lot anyways, so I need to work a bit more tonight and tomorrow morning to catch up for the weekend.

Anyways, yesterday I walked about 20 miles.  That might be a low estimate.  I don’t know why I walk everywhere; it’s kind of stupid.  I also get lost walking everywhere, which adds to the problem. Continue reading After all, I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. →

At the Philadelphia airport, I had a little extra time so I sat down and ordered a $9.25 Yuengling and watched half of a women’s college basketball game.  What was the worst hour of your life? That was mine. Just two days ago I purchased a $6 pitcher of Yuengling and was able to drink it without being affronted by such atrociousness.

Then I boarded my flight from Philadelphia to London at about 10:35pm. And they started by serving dinner. Who eats dinner at 11pm? So I just had wine for “dinner”. Continue reading Go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over →

Like the rest of the world, things don’t really open until at least 9 on Saturday.  I actually had trouble finding a coffee shop to work in (I was out of the hotel at 7), but eventually found a place to get some work done. Continue reading Chapter One. He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. →

I like to get an early start, so I walked to a coffee shop and worked from 7-10 to make sure the Internet doesn’t fall apart.  Thoreau said something to the effect of “a morning walk is a blessing for the whole day,” but I don’t think he took his morning walks in Midtown.  Anyways, I went to Culture for a couple hours, which was a busy little shop with good espresso. Continue reading Chapter One. He was too romantic about Manhattan as he was about everything else. →