Italy, the land of my forefathers... and wine, lots and lots of wine

Ciao, bella!

I took an overnight train from Vienna to Milan as one of my last journeys during my Eurotrip.  The total journey took 16 hours but I was bunking with a couple from Austria that were going to Italy to ride motorcycles back to Austria hitting some cities in between and this awesome Turkish guy who is studying in California.  It made for a short train ride and I got a decent amount of sleep as well.

Once we arrived at the station, I hit up my good buddy, Giuliano and he came to meet me and take me to his apartment.  Once we got to his apartment, I snagged a shower and since it was Friday and he had the rest of the day off, we went out and had a good lunch in a nice little part of Milan.  I was amazed at the process of dining in Italy because it is awesome and I really, really enjoyed the length of the meal as well as the different courses.

First, you start off with a bottle of wine - naturally.  Then, we would get a starter which might consist of some deli cuts with fresh cheese and bread along with pickled vegetables and then, your main course follows.  That day I went with some delicious pasta recommended by il mio amico and Giuliano, being the healthy eater he is, got a salad.  After the pasta, we went in for a little dessert and then a coffee.  Actually, it's "Café" and it really means espresso (because that's where it originated)!  Then, we had an after-dinner liquor called, Amaro which is used as a digestivo like the alcohol, calvados I mentioned in my Paris post.  It is quite delicious and really helps make you feel like you didn't really just eat everything you did.

After the delicious meal, Giuliano and I took a stroll and he showed me lots of the city which was really nice.  We went to il duomo of Milan which is what the main cathedral is called in any Italian town.  We went inside and it was huge! It had some brilliant stain glass and some tombs which were neat to see.  We then went to a park and saw the castle where the Duke of Milan lived hundreds of years ago.  The architecture was quite beautiful everywhere we went and we grabbed an aperitivo (same thing as the French aperitif) and a beer then headed back to Giuliano's place to clean up and get ready to meet up with the man, the legend, Paolo Benedetto.

I had talked with Paolo before on Skype in Shanghai and on facebook a few various times as he is a great friend of Giuliano and he is hilarious.  However, we had never met in person so I was excited to meet him.  Once we met, it was like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time and we got well acquainted in no time.  The meeting place was actually a hostel in Milan called, Hostello Bello which is actually a pretty popular place to go for a drink even if you're a local.  We sat around and chatted and then Giuliano told me they had guitars downstairs and he as well as Paolo encouraged me to go down and have a look.

We went downstairs and there were two guys playing some guitars and doing a little bit of singing.  We listened for a bit, and then one of them put down a guitar and took a break, so I snagged it and played a quick, impromptu song.  It would be an exaggeration to say the room exploded with applause, but after a few claps here and there, I jumped into another one and the two other guitarists and I combined forces to play some songs.  It was quite an awesome experience as more and more people came downstairs to listen.  We carried on for almost two hours, then it was time to head home as it was late and Giuliano and I had to hit the road the next morning.

In the morning, Giuliano and I packed some clothes and headed out to his hometown of Treviso.  Treviso is about 30 minutes outside of Venice and it was quite the lovely town.  Giuliano and I got to his mom's house right around noon where I had the pleasure of meeting his mother who is such a sweet lady.  We headed out in search of some grub and we settled on a place that was quite delicious that also had prosecco on tap which apparently is quite common in Italy.  It blows my mind that they just have barrels of the stuff with a tap on it but I'm definitely not complaining.  We ordered a carafe and then dug into some delicious starters followed by a delicious main course and of course ended with tiramisu which Giuliano told me was highly regarded as being some of the best in Italy due to being in Treviso.  After a café and an amaro, we headed out to see some landmarks from Giuliano's childhood including his high school and an interesting fountain.  Once we had seen a bit of the city, we headed back to his place and then hopped on a bus into Venice.

It was quite surreal to walk in Venice as many people have seen it in movies or on TV, but it's actually pretty big and there is a lot of walking to be had.  When all was said and done that day, Giuliano and I had walked 30+ miles.

We stopped for a drink in a small bar next to the water (hahahahaha, it's ALL next to the water!) and Giuliano got in touch with some people we were going to meet up with all of which I had met in Shanghai.  We first met with Francesca who is such a wonderful person and we grabbed a quick prosecco.  We talked about our lives the past few years and it was wonderful to see her again.  A little while later, we met up with Chiara and Marco, two more wonderful Italians I had met in Shanghai and the group was all set.

Francesca has been living near Venice for quite some time, so she led us on to a wonderful little restaurant where we got some small dishes to share and some more prosecco.  Afterward, we headed out in search of a fun crowd and we landed at several different small, yet really awesome bars.  We had wine at a few, micro crafts at one and we ended at a cocktail bar which made one of the best old fashions I've ever had.  It was actually made by the owner and I had to tell him how delighted I was with it.  We all sat by the canals sipping our drinks and reminiscing about China.  I had a pretty good impression of answering the phone in a Chinese subway which got the whole crew laughing.  Late into the evening, we parted ways which was sad but we were all so glad to have gotten together again.  We headed back to Giuliano's mom's house and hit the hay.

After Giuliano and I ate some wonderful homemade lunch the next day, we hit the road to visit some cities on our way back to Milan.  We hit a nice small town called, Feltre where there was a really cool village sale going on with so many people and so many things!  We walked around for a bit, sampled a local craft brew and then hit the road towards one of the highlights of my trip, the city of Fonzaso.

Fonzaso is the city where my great grandfather on my father's side was born.  He lived there until immigrating to the USA through Ellis Island in 1915.  My late Uncle Rick as well as my cousin, Alicia have been and it was such a cool little town.  There wasn't much to it and I only saw 2 bars/cafes, a supermarket and a church.  However, the church had been there since the 1800s and so as cheesy as it was, I went up to the church bell tower and put my hand on it hoping that Great Granddad had done the same at some point during his life there.  I felt a good connection with the town and I was so surprised at how reminiscent it was to Grand Junction, CO where he eventually settled.  There was a nice river flowing behind the town with a mountain right behind it and it felt like I was going fishing in a stream in Grand Junction.  It was a beautiful and quaint little town and I'm really glad I got to see it.

Once we had walked for a bit and had a quick rest at a cafe, we hit the road for Bassano del Grappa which is a town well known for its grappa.  We took a stroll through the city and walked across a relatively well-known bridge where there was a shootout during WWII and some of the bullet holes are still there to see.  We had a drink that was known as a, "half and half" which was half grappa and half soda of an unusual flavor.  It was pretty tasty and Giuliano decided to buy a bottle of grappa to take to a dinner we were going to have that week.  We headed back to Milan with one stop near a lake town for some Roman-style pizza (really, really thin crust), then finished the journey and crashed pretty hard from an exhausting weekend.

Giuliano had to return to work the following morning, so I was left to my own devices.  My first decision of the day was to sleep in a bit which was a fine decision if I don't say so myself!  I went for a walk with my guitar on my back and hit a lot of the spots Giuliano had shown me to see if I could do a bit of busking.  After using my rusty Italian, a police officer told me it was illegal to play in most spots, so I just continued to walk around.  I grabbed some food, did some people watching and then met Giuliano at home.  We went out for pizza again that night, but it was Neapolitan which has a bit thicker crust and it was delicious.  We headed back to Giuliano's and called it an early night.

The next day, I slept in and then Giuliano took half a day off and we went to the World Expo in Milan.  I had been to the world expo in Shanghai in 2010, so I thought it fitting to continue the trend.  We hit a bunch of pavilions and saw some really cool stuff.  It was all about sustainability and food so it was quite interesting to see everyone's ideas and contributions to the worlds agricultural endeavors.  Overall, Giuliano and I agreed the best pavilion was Poland, not only because a beautiful Polish girl talked us into going in, but they had awesome fresh-pressed apple juice from Polish apples, delicious Polish cake and an awesome animated video about the history of Poland.  Basically, Poland has been plagued by war ever since the 10th century but it is such a resilient country that it always rebuilds itself.  It has the fastest growing economy of any Eastern European country which really shows a lot of progress from the 1940s.

The Italian and American pavilions were a bit of a let down, but we had fun none-the-less and we had to run home with a quick trip to the supermarket to grab some bottles of wine for a dinner we had planned that night at Paolo's place.

Paolo wanted to show off his prowess as a barbecue master and he definitely proved his skills.  He grilled some bread for us to make bruschetta, then he grilled sausages, pork, chicken and his masterpiece, fresh mozzarella wrapped in speck (which is almost bacon-like dried, cured ham).  It was absolutely marvelous.  We had several glasses of wine as I became more acquainted with Giuliano's and Paulo's friends that also joined us.  After some fruit for dessert, I was goaded into playing a couple tunes to entertain and then we all called it a night.  It was so wonderful to have all of these awesome experiences with locals and I realize how fortunate I am to have friends in great places.

The next day, Giuliano worked and I was left to my own vices once again.  I took a really easy stroll, got some grub and then hung out in a cafe across the street from Giuliano's house as I tried to talk with the server in Italian which resulted in a half-decent conversation.  Giuliano came to pick me up around 6 with Paolo and we headed out for Bologna, Italy which was two hours away.  Paolo and Giuliano used to live there and it's where another wonderful acquaintance from China currently lives.  Her name is Alessia and she was such a great friend to me in Shanghai.  She was always helping me out when I hit hard times, and she is just a sweetheart.  Seeing her was absolutely uplifting.

We headed to the top of the highest hill of the city where a table was waiting for us at a family owned restaurant.  As per usual, I didn't order jack squat, I just had i miei amici order everything and as per usual, it was fantastic.  First came a bottle of house red wine followed by a plate full of dried meats, a plate of fresh cheeses and baskets full of fried bread.  The bread reminded me of a huge sopapilla and I watched as Paolo did the honors and showed me how it was done.  First, you grab a hunk of bread, snag some of the dried meat to throw on top then add a piece of cheese and consume.  Needless to say, when you have fried bread, meat and cheese, you can't go wrong and it was absolutely phenomenal.  We ate and ate and ate with some smattering of conversation between bites.  Once it was all just about done and I couldn't stand to even look at another bite, Paolo ordered another plateful of meat and a basket of bread.  I had to order an amaro and about five minutes later, I felt like I could eat again, so I had some more against my better judgement.  When all was said and done, we had done some damage and we were all fat and happy.

Paolo introduced me to a walnut flavored amaro which was one of the best I had the whole trip.  We finished up with some café and more amaro then had to call it a night as all three of my Italian friends had work in the morning and I had to catch a train to Paris where I would stay for one night and then head back to the states.  On the way back to Milan, Paolo picked some rocking tunes that we all sang along to at the top of our lungs to keep us awake.  As we got back around 1:30 am, I had the sinking realization that my trip was over and I again had to leave friends whom I admire greatly and will miss until we see each other the next time.

The road to getting home was a long one and after an amazing yet exhausting six weeks away, I was so happy to sleep in my own bed and see my friends and family that I had left behind in Denver.  I have written too much here so I will end this segment of my story, but be on the lookout for one more blog about my final thoughts and what I really came away with from this journey.

To all of you who followed my trip, I thank you so much.  I only hope that you could live vicariously through my posts and see how lucky I am to have such great friends in such amazing places on this planet.

Ci vidiamo presto.

Tony G

Prague and a Hot BudaPest

Yerno Pivo Prossim! (One beer please)

  The train from Berlin to Prague had a broken a/c unit so it was a warm ride to say the least. However, I had packed some cold beers and insulated them well in my backpack with my hoodie and they were a welcomed relief. There was a nice woman who sat next to me on the train and we got talking through our commiseration of the hot train. Her name is Anna and she is from Melbourne, Australia. She is on a quite long Eurotrip and we compared notes on places we'd been to and where we were planning on going.

We both had similar mindsets about traveling so at the end of the journey, we exchanged info so we could meet in the city and explore it together. I found my hostel with ease and checked in. I was quite anxious and nervous because it was my first time ever staying in a hostel but as soon as I walked into the room, I was met with smiling faces and words of welcome.  After I locked up my stuff and took a much-needed shower, a few of my roommates, Connor, Duvonte, Ryan and Eisuke all joined me for a couple pints at the hostel bar as I taught them Toepen, the Dutch card game I learned from Folkert. They were quite good after a few rounds and we decided to go get a proper meal.

We got a recommendation from the hostel on a good place to eat and headed out. We grabbed a table amidst a room full of clapping patrons with an accordion player leading the charge. We ordered liters of Pilsner Urquell, the nation's most popular beer. Over mugs of beer, we told our stories of where we were from, where we had been and where we were going. I had recently been in contact with an old middle school acquaintance who spent a lot of time in Prague and she gave me some wonderful tips on things to eat and drink. I ordered Veprova as per her suggestion which was a few different types of roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut. A few of the guys followed suit and it was amazingly delicious, especially the sauerkraut. When the food arrived, apparently Eisuke had either a miscommunication with the server or wasn't paying enough attention to the menu because they placed an entire roast pig in front of him. We couldn't control our laughter and we kept giving him grief but he put down a lot of it and shared it with us.

photo credit to Ryan Shearer

As we had about 10 pounds of leftovers being packed up in to go containers, we talked about what to do in the evening and decided on a bar to get some beers. Anna reached out to me about meeting up to experience the nightlife so after a few beers with the guys, I headed out to the old town area to see what I could get into.

As I was looking for a WiFi hot spot to connect to, I made a comment to a night concierge at a boutique hotel that it was HOT! He agreed with me and asked me where I was from. After our formalities, I told him I was just looking for WiFi to stay in contact with a friend and he invited me into the hotel to use their WiFi. He asked me to sit down so I could relax and he poured me a beer to boot! His name is Richard and he was so incredibly nice. He started telling me the recent history of the Czech Republic and it was fascinating to hear about as there was so much information I was completely oblivious to about the recent events of the country.

Anna met me in the hotel lobby and the three of us chatted for another half hour or more which was a wonderful experience. Once we said our goodbyes, Anna and I headed out to explore. Soon after, she jumped into a conversation she overheard and by chance it was between a few young people who lived in Prague. They said they were going to a local hot spot and so we followed suit. We ended up in a bar/club which had decent drinks, music and a dance floor. We tore it up for several hours and then one of the local transplants told us not to get tired because we were going to watch the sunrise on a boat. We got another drink and kept the party going.

Around 5am, a group of 6 of us took off and started walking for the river. There was a party boat that was open and we all hopped on and kept the party rolling. We all talked and had some drinks and before we knew it, the sun was rising over the rustic city of Prague. What a sight it was! At 7:30 am or so, I was ready to sleep where I stood so I took a quick cab back to the hostel and called it quits.

I awoke around noon along with all of the others who had had a crazy night as well, and we contemplated a daily agenda. I headed out for an espresso and lunch to get back in the game. I went to a restaurant and ordered another recommended dish, svickova which consisted of beef in a creamy vegetable sauce with bread dumplings and cranberry sauce. It was so tasty but probably not the best dish for the amazingly hot and humid weather. However, a couple of cold pints did pretty well to wash it down and keep me cool on the hot day.

I went to meet up with Anna for another round of sightseeing and I hopped on a subway to reach old town. The escalators to get to the subway must have been 4-5 stories in height and it gave me an incredible sense of vertigo. I had to hold onto the handrail and the journey down honestly took at least 60 seconds. After Anna and I met up, we walked to the old town square to see the buildings as well as the Charles Bridge. We had a good time walking around and then I headed back to hang with the fellas. I grabbed a dinner of gulas which is beef stew in a dark sauce with dumplings, red onions and spicy peppers. It was an array of flavors that awakened the palette and left a burning sensation on my tongue.

Back at the hostel, we played a couple rounds of Toepen and then went to the room to hang for a few. I got my guitar out and started jamming a couple songs for the fun of it. My roommates were enjoying it so I played on and because it was so hot in the room, I moved to sitting on the windowsill which faced a street. As I jammed a few more, several groups of people walked by and because I was on the second floor, they stopped to listen and record and say hi. It was fun and we met a few people staying in the hostel.  We decided to head out for a few drinks and take it easy... little did we know what was coming up.

We were in a bar enjoying some Krusovice beer and Toepen when the bartender came up and asked us if we wanted to do a, "happy trolley" shot. Once he explained it, we only ordered two; one for Ryan and one for the rest of us to try.

A few minutes later, the bartender comes back with two miniature red wagons each holding four shot glasses filled with a variety of shots of different colors. The first was black, followed by gold, blue and finally red. "The way it works," he said is to "drink one shot when we stop drumming on the table." With the rules clearly laid out, he started drumming on the table and we followed suit. Bam! He slapped the table one last time and Ryan downed the first shot. Digga Digga Digga came the sounds of us beating the table again until the abrupt stop came and Ryan downed another shot. After two more rounds, the shot glasses were empty and Ryan sat there, wide-eyed and a hand on his chest.

In order, he had just done a shot of Jaeger, tequila, vodka-caracao, and 70% absinthe in 30 seconds. We were astonished. The rest of us just sipped at the shots to try them and even just a sip of the absinthe made my chest light on fire. The bartenders were amazed at how staunch and resolute Ryan was after taking them all. We took off with Ryan standing on his own and headed back to sleep in anticipation of our departures the next day.

I have to say that all of my apprehensions and anxiety disappeared after this first time in a hostel and I had a new appreciation for the experience. We exchanged goodbyes as quick as we had said hellos and with that, we all went our separate ways with memories that will live on forever. I headed to the train station, made friends with two really nice Scots, and chatted and read my way through the seven hour train ride to Budapest.

It's funny how being in a certain situation can make you feel like you've known people your whole life. I experienced it in China and it was very similar in Prague.

I'm just going to quickly mention Budapest here. It was dreadfully hot and humid when I got in after a seven hour train ride and the hostel was not quite as nice as the one in Prague. I could barely do anything the first night as I was so tired and the humidity doesn't let the heat disappear with the sun. When I awoke the next day, I decided to switch to an apartment for only about 25 dollars more than the hostel and I had it all to myself.

I walked around the city checking out the castle, the parliament, some parks, bridges and a beautiful river splitting the city into two sides. It took me maybe four or five hours to get around most of the city and the views were stunning, it was just unbearably hot and humid. I feel like I probably missed out on a couple of things as I had not researched it beforehand and I didn't have much insider knowledge. If I make it back in the future, I'll definitely have to spend more time there with someone who knows what's what. I was glad to be on a train to Milan the next day and even though it took 16 hours, it was a good time and I met some friendly people.

My blog about Italy will hopefully be up soon!

Good relationships are everything.

Tony G

Mr Gorbachev! The remainder of your wall is a reminder to us all

Hallo!

Berlin was honestly one of the coolest cities I've seen yet. Right when I got in, it was extremely easy to navigate the train station as well as the trams. I got to my friend Maddie's place which is a really really awesome flat that her fiancé, Jens (pronounced, Yence) rents. It was located right in between an ice cream shop and a restaurant and I almost missed it because it's just a door that leads to a staircase with the flats.

I'd met Jens before when he was in Colorado visiting and he is such a nice guy. Maddie ran out to meet a friend and Jens and I hit a beer garden. We got some good pints to start and then I went in for a bratwurst which was absolutely delicious. We went for another pint or two and I grabbed another bratwurst as well since I hadn't eaten much during the train ride in.

After the beer garden, we went to a smaller bar with a big selection of beers and they actually had a really good one I like, Duchese De Bourgogne, on tap. After another beer or two, Jens took me to a bar where they sell micro brews which is becoming quite popular as of late in Berlin. I saw that Stone brewing is opening up a brewery just outside Berlin next year as well. Should be great for the beer culture to introduce their hoppy stuff.

We ran into a couple of Jens' friends at the joint and I met them. They were cool people and shortly after, Maddie met up with us there to haverify a drink. After a beer or two, we went home and hit the hay.

I awoke to Jens' roommate, Johannes greeting me and he was a super nice guy. Maddie and Jens had breakfast plans, so I got a recommendation on a cafe and headed out. I met an interesting American who owned the cafe and he and I chatted a bit as I sipped my coffee. When it was time to settle up, he gave me a free chilled coffee shot which was really cool of him.

I headed out in search of a baked good to fill my stomach and I found a bakery so I walked in. I started looking at what they have and a lady walked in to peruse as well. I motioned for her to go in front of me and she said something back in German. I just smiled and nodded, then she looked around for another 10 seconds and left. The clerk behind the desk said something in German I can only imagine was about her walking in without leaving with a baked good, so I just smiled and nodded. I then picked out what I wanted and said, "eine bitte" (one please). He grabbed it said how much it was and I gave him the money, then he said something else and I felt the only thing to do was smile and nod; it'll get you places.

That day, Maddie took me out to see the city and it was an incredible place to see. We first went to a memorial that was strongly recommended to me by several people. It's a memorial for all of the people of the Jewish faith who perished during the second world war. It is a site to see and something that you can't really get the whole experience with unless you walk through it. There are large stones placed all over in rows and columns and they get larger or smaller as you walk through and they sometimes tower over you. The light scheme plays into it along with the acoustics and everything. Maddie described it well saying that it's really subject to interpretation which I completely agree with.

Underneath the memorial is a museum where they have a time line throughout the war and what was happening along with snippets from diaries, journals and post cards or letters. It was a heavy experience but the purpose is very clear: we as humans can't let this happen again. One fact that surprised me is that 50% of the perished were from Poland. I had no idea it was that drastic. When we left, we saw the Brandenburg gate and then hopped on the metro.

We decided that we needed to get a drink and we found a place that has a dish Maddie introduced me too which is green papaya salad. It had shaved green papaya, shrimp, lettuce, sprouts and other things with a spicy kick. It was served cold which was great to beat the heat with. We also grabbed some delicious ice cream afterward which also helped. We headed out to check out some sites and I tried a Czech Budweiser which was actually amazingly different and quite a lot better than the Budweiser back home.

We went down to Kreuzberg and checked out some remaining columns of the Berlin Wall called the East Berlin Gallery. Some artists had been commissioned to paint murals on them and some were truly great but unfortunately, all of them had been defaced in one way or another with writing which was a bummer.  There a nice river there as well and Maddie and I sat on some grass near it and just enjoyed the view of a well-known bridge.

We grabbed a kebab dinner and I had some falafel. I forgot to mention that while walking home from the bar on the first night, we stopped for a "Duner kebab" and I got this thing that was essentially a chicken gyro wrapped in a pizza not pita bread. Some of the flavors in that were unlike any I had ever tried in my entire life. It honestly blew my mind and that has got to be some of the best food I've ever had.

After our dinner, we went to a bar which is modeled after an American dive bar. It didn't quite feel like a dive bar, but it had a good vibe and we were digging it. I asked if they ever have musicians play there and they said they sometimes do, but not often. I sensed an opportunity but was feeling coy, so my new friend, Igor that I met through Jens went up and asked if I could play a set. They agreed to it so we went back to get the guitar and then when I got back, they just told me to stand on a table and play so I obliged them.  It was a lot of fun and people who walked by would see me and have such an inquisitive look.

I played for about 30 minutes and then the staff put the music back on and I talked with a few people at the bar who had been singing along and clapping. It truly was a great time and I played my heart out. I'm really digging this whole musician thing.

We headed home before too long and I awoke to a nice breakfast. It was time to say my goodbyes as I was leaving for Prague that afternoon so I headed out but felt happy because Maddie will be back in Denver when I get back, and Jens will be following as well. They are both great people and I was so happy to have them to take me around in Berlin.

I'm currently on a train to Budapest from Prague so I'm getting behind on my blog entries. I must be having fun or something. Hope your 4th was splendid!

Tchuss

Tony G

Amsterdamn! It's Hot!

Huy!

Arriving in Amsterdam was just what the soul needed. After a night outside with an early morning start and a long wait for a ride to Amsterdam, walking into a sandwich shop and being warmly greeted and joked about with by a funny waitress was exactly what I needed to get my head back on straight.

Sean and I got some sandwiches as well as a Heineken and we felt much better after our long day. By this time, we already needed to get going to meet up with my old buddy Folkert that I met several years ago. We were online gaming friends and then seven years ago, my family went to visit Amsterdam since one of my sisters was studying in a city nearby. I met up with Folkert and he and I have been in contact ever since. Here's a picture of us 7 years ago.

I think we have both changed a little bit since then...

After a quick shower, Folkert, his girlfriend Else, Sean and myself all went to get some dinner at one of their favorite Indonesian joints. You get some really good Indonesian food in the Netherlands because of colonization in the past and such.  We all ordered a dish which comes with about eight different varieties so that you can try several flavors, and it was absolutely wonderful. We washed it down with some cold beer then we set out to their local park which has some bars in it. We found a seat and started drinking some local beers which are becoming more and more popular, and we also stuck with good old fashioned Heineken which is always great.

They sometimes have live music at the bar we went to but that night, they just had a DJ. However, he was laying down some sweet remixes of good songs and everybody hopped on the dance floor and got grooving. Sean and I needed no further motivation so we got up there with Else and started shakin' it juse lIke in the days of old. We had a lot of fun but then realized how tired we were and so we called it a night. 

The next day, Else and Folkert treated us to a wonderful Dutch breakfast of sandwiches and of course, stroopwafel. Afterward, we met up with my friend, Tina from Shanghai. She is Shanghainese and showed me around the city and introduced me to great local cuisine while I was living in Shanghai. She is currently studying in the Hague and she wanted to see Amsterdam. With Folkert as our guide, the five of us went for a stroll around the city center with Folkert pointing out things about the canals, pictures above doors and hooks at the top of houses. He used to live right near one of the main canals which seemed like an amazing place to live. We all jumped on a canal cruise and it was just like I remember seven years ago and was quite scenic.

We went out for some bitter ballin which is like a fried ball filled with ground meat and wheat or something of the sort. I'm not really sure but it was fried and delicious with mustard and beer washes it down quite nicely so it doesn't really matter. After the appetizer, we went to get some food at a local place where they make dishes that "your Dutch grandmother would be proud of" said Folkert and Else. We had a dish called stammpot which is basically mashed potatoes mixed with andive, bacon and spices served with gravy and either meatball or sausage on the side. It was delicious!

We went to a beer bar after dinner and then took a, "cheeky goosey gander" as Sean would say around the red light district. Looked a lot like it did seven years ago... anyway, we called it a night shortly after and headed home for some rest before a big Sunday at the beach.

We took a drive out to the beach to meet up with some friends of Else's and on the way, we took a small detour to go to the windmills. It was pretty neat to see them all and Folkert as well as Else admitted to never actually going there, so it was cool to experience something new with the Netherland natives. We just looked around for a bit then headed out to the beach passing the tulip fields, but unfortunately they had already all been cut and taken so we just saw a few remnants.

The beach was nice and it was good to see the North Sea. The water was too cold to go in, but that didn't stop us from having a good time on the beach and we had brought beer and a guitar. I gave a little impromptu concert and we all chatted and had a nice relaxing day. We went and had pannenkoeken for dinner then drove back and learned how to play this awesome card game named, "Toepen." It's kind of like hearts in a way where you try to win tricks based on suits, but you can up the ante by saying, "toep" when you have a strong hand or are bluffing. This makes your opponents think about whether or not to continue at higher stakes or bow out. It's lots of fun and I will definitely be teaching it to my friends back home.

After sleeping in, Sean and I got up, hit a coffeeshop and then went to a park armed with munchies, beer and a guitar. We just laid out and chilled for several hours in the hot sun and did some people watching and guitar playing. We headed back to Folkert and Else's place for dinner then later, met up with a friend who by chance was also in Amsterdam at that time. Sean and I knew Cat from our Shanghai days and I ran into her in Miami awhile back, but it's always good to see her. Here's a picture of the three of us from Shanghai and then in Amsterdam. I did my best to recreate it.

Oh how time changes us.

On our final day in Amsterdam, Sean and I went to the sky lounge in the local Hilton and got a few pints with Cat. The view is glorious and even though it was a bit expensive, sitting in comfy chairs with great friends, great views and good pints was all worth it.  Cat took off to get ready for her new job she started this week and Sean and I grabbed a bite to eat before hitting the road back home. Sean had a bus scheduled that night, but due to a strike in Calais, it was cancelled so he had to catch a flight in the morning. He got home safe to his family though, so that's wonderful. He and I had a killer time hanging together and we can't wait for the reunion of the Unlikely Trio in Denver, 2017.

I took a train down to the Hague where Tina lives and she showed me around the main city center along with the Parliament building which is cool because when I worked for CCAI, we always had to follow Hague regulations and so it was fun to be in the place where they made all that legislation.

Tina and I met up with one of her friends, grabbed some takeout and headed for the beach. The sun was setting as we ate and drank and chatted. I took out the guitar again and Tina's friend played it a bit. She had a lovely voice and her guitar playing complimented it very nicely. She passed the guitar to me and I played the first song that came to my mind and people around started clapping and saying encouraging things so I played a few more. Some people sang along, some moved closer and others moved their heads or feet to it. It was really, really encouraging and it reaffirms my feelings that I bring happiness to all types of people through music. The sunset was really something else as well.

Tina let me crash at her place and the next morning I caught a few trains in succession to Berlin. I didn't have a seat the whole time, but it was nothing compared to the 18 hour ride in China with a no-seat ticket haha. I met some cool people who were also sitting in the compartments between cars and we bonded through commiseration. It was fun though and only lasted two hours or so.

I'm currently in Berlin staying with a friend from DCIS Montello and the weather out here is phenomenal. I leave tomorrow but I'll make a short blog post about it when I leave.

Enjoy the 4th of July weekend my friends and family. I'll be on a train drinking a beer and humming the Star Spangled Banner.

Doei!

Tony G

Paris, the City of Louvre

Bonjour mon ami!

My French is absolutely terrible but I did the best I could while in the land of wine and cheese.

Right when I arrived, Adrien was waiting for me at the train station. Some of you may or may not remember him from some Chinese blogs ~3 years ago. He is an amazingly nice guy and his hospitality was nothing less than fit for a king. Less than 30 minutes after arriving in France, he had me drinking beer and wine, eating baguettes, cheese, foie gras, meat spreads and dry sausage. It was stupendous! They call it an Aperitif which is like a "light" eating and drinking session before you move onto a main meal.

After eating, Adrien, myself and his buddy Pierre headed out for an adventure I'd never dreamed of undertaking. We put on some clothes we didn't mind getting dirty and packed bags full of snacks and wine. We headed off with a torch, some headlights and high spirits. We got to a park and there was a manhole there which Adrien promptly lifted up and said, "get down there, Tony!" I promptly obliged him and before you knew it, I was 15 feet below the streets of Paris.

When we all got down and had a second to get everything in order, Adrien said, "welcome to the catacombs of Paris." I shit you not, I was going to be an average of 40 feet underneath the city for the next 10 hours. We trudged through the catacombs using maps that people have made in the past and it was an entire complex of tunnels, rooms and big open spaces. It was quite surreal to be underneath the city but we ran into so many other people who were down there to party and just enjoy a different sort of life. It was something I'll never forget.

We even hit a part that used to be a German bunker during WWII which was really awesome to see. As you can probably tell, there was graffiti all over every wall possible in the catacombs. It was a bit scary yet exciting to be underground for 10 hours without natural light, being able to see the sky or an easy way out every 10 feet, but we made it to the surface and made our way home for a nice shower and much deserved rest.

The next day, our buddy, Sean got into town from Poland and the Unlikely Trio as we have dubbed ourselves was reunited. We couldn't believe that after meeting in China we were standing together in Adrien's apartment in Paris three years later. We wasted no time and headed to a park loaded with beer and some heavy lead balls which are used for the game, pétanque. It's much like bocce ball or lawn bowling where you throw a small ball, then take turns trying to get your ball closest to it. It was a blast and with great weather, good friends and beer, it was hard to beat.

We continued the party the rest of the day and hit the town at night. We headed home to sleep after some dancing and drinking and awoke to a beautiful Sunday with a full plate.

We hit an amazing lunch with Adrien's family after a nice stroll through the concorde and the area where the Louvre is and seeing some other sights along the way. I had led Adrien's family on a couple tours in Shanghai when they were out to visit, and they had met Sean there as well, so it was a nice reunion. The food and wine were so good and at the end of the meal, we drank this alcohol called calvados which was a liqueur made in Normandy which is 55% and has the effect of creating what's referred to as a "Normand hole" which makes more room in your stomach to continue eating. It was quite a weird sensation feeling it go through your system, but after a couple minutes, I could've set back to eating.

After Adrien's family gathering, we went over to visit the family of Zay, Adrien's girlfriend. She is Tunisian and French so her family was throwing around Arabic and French as we drank champagne and enjoyed baclava. Most of them spoke English as well so we chatted a bit and had fun talking about music and making jokes about China and France.

Afterward, we headed out to the Arc De Triumph which was only a few minutes from the apartment. This thing is absolutely huge! I was blown away by its size after only seeing it in pictures. We got a ticket to climb to the top of it via stairs and headed up. The views were great and you could see the biggest sights as well as smaller landmarks. Adrien pointed out a lot of areas and truth be told, he said that neither he nor Zay had ever been to the top of the Arc before. He was happy that they could do it for the first time with us. 

That night was a music festival that happens every year on June 21st where bands rock out in the streets til late in the evening. We went and checked it out and Sean and I danced and drank until 5am listening to all the bands and DJs. After finding our way back, we passed out and awoke to a day of exploring. 

Sean and I hit Note Dame which was quite vast and very interesting considering it was essentially under construction from the 12th century to the 19th century with improvements constantly being made and adding to the structure.  The statues were great and some of the pieces of art were great. It was very quiet and as we exited, we took a look around the grounds and really relished in the glory of such an ancient yet amazing building.

We decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower so we just started walking towards it as you can see it from quite a ways away. When we got there, it was another thing that I never imagined would be as big as it actually was. It was gigantic! The sheer size was so impressive and we just stared at it for hours.  We headed back and got some good grub with Adrien and took an easy night in with some movies and beers. 

The next day, Sean and I hit the Louvre which was cool just looking at the building. Once we got inside, we checked out some Egyptian artifacts, Napolean-Era furniture and decorations then moved onto the paintings. Once we got to the paintings, Sean and I threw our headphones in and jammed to our own music and walked through the galleries. It was a magical experience as it added an audio component to the visual component of the artwork. There were some really nice pieces and with the music on in the background, it was really, really cool.

For dinner that night, Adrien and Zay made us one of Adrien's favorite dishes called, raclette. It consists of slicing cheese into 1/2 cm slices or so then putting it in a trowel-shaped iron dish and you put it under a melter which is below a griddle. While you wait for your cheese to melt, you put bacon and mushrooms on the grill to cook and then once it's all good to go, you put the bacon and mushrooms on your plate with some small, cooked potatoes then you pour the melted cheese over it. It was delicious. We ate so much it was unreal and Adrien just kept going and going! He's a champion.

That night after dinner, Adrien surprised us with our favorite Chinese game, Shaizi which I know I've mentioned in my past blogs. We grabbed a sack of beers and the dice and headed towards the Eiffel Tower again. We played dice in front of a lit up Eiffel Tower and every so often, it would flash lights and people would go crazy. We had so much fun, it felt like old times in Shanghai.

We proceeded to the town of Lille the next day which is a bit northwest of Paris. It was Adrien's old college town and actually, he had to defend his Masters thesis since he had neglected it for a few years before. As Sean and I just hung out in a common room, he crushed it and then we proceeded to go out and drink some good Belgian beers in celebration and played more dice.  Adrien had to catch a train home that night and Sean and I more or less camped outside (long story short, a hostel that said would have rooms for us didn't so we slept in a crappy spot outside of it) and then had a long wait for a ride to Amsterdam the next day.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed spending time with Adrien, Zay and both their families but I've got to say, Paris wasn't really my kind of city. The food and wine were devine, but it wasn't for me.  I look forward to my time in Amsterdam as well as Prague which people have talked up so much and look forward to other unknown circumstances that await me.

Until I see you again, enjoy your wonderful week.

Tony G

Walking the Royal Mile With a Great (pseudo) Scot

Hiya!

Greetings from Edinburgh, Scotland. Lesson number one: how to properly pronounce Edinburgh from the wisdom of Ross Henderson.

Let's start by saying, "bread and butter." Good! Now go ahead and take out the 'br' from "bread." Excellent! Now we're going to remove the 'er' from "butter" to make it, "buttah." Now say it all together quickly, "'ead and buttah." Perfect! Great job!

As soon as I got here, Ross started treating me like his own brother. His wife, Becca was in Paris so we had some time to hang as just the guys.  We got back to his place, snarfed a pizza and drank a brew or two but unfortunately it was quite late and time to hit the hay.

However, I woke up to some coffee, toast, eggs and bacon from Ross which was awesome! What a swell pal, right? We started planning out the day and it quickly became apparent that we wanted to play some music, and we wanted to do it for a crowd. We grabbed some instruments and headed for the Royal Mile which is a long stretch of road with shops and restaurants and a lot of foot traffic. Looking up or down the Royal Mile is a stunning view each way.

We looked around for a good spot and we found a high cathedral wall with pillars sticking out about nine feet apart (or just under 3 meters for you metric peeps). We nestled in and Ross took out what is called a Cajòn which is a box that you sit on that is a drum with different sounds depending on where you hit it.  It is amazing! As soon as I started a song on guitar and Ross jumped in, we both had the chills and our synergy was unstoppable. We took turns switching between guitar, cajòn and singing lead and harmonies. We played for three hours without even realizing it.  We had so much fun and we even made about 35£ which is around $54 or so.  We did the same thing on the second day and made over 40£! It was so much fun, I can see Ross and I doing it on 16th mall in Denver when we both get back. Funny side note, Ross started singing impromptu things about people as they walked by and I would harmonize. We had a lot of good laughs singing about people walking and texting or weeding the flowers in front of their shop.

Monday night after busking, we went to an open mic that Ross used to frequent in the years past at a place called Binkies. We met up with his good friend Cam who is an amazing musician and who runs the sound. We chatted a bit and Ross signed us up for time slots. He went first and did some great songs accompanied by Cam on the cajòn and then it was my turn. I played three originals and had Ross accompany me on two of them. It was definitely a memorable time.

On Tuesday we laid low and got an amazing shawarma with tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, onions, garlic sauce, chili and chicken. It was absolutely delicious. We also had haggis which consists of sheep lung, pork fat and cow liver. It's amazingly good, especially with some mashed potatoes.  Becca got in that night and I made some stir fry for dinner. Then we watched the Game of Thrones season finale and called it a night.

The next day, Ross and I went to Leith which is really close to Edinburgh and we had some good pints of beer and drams of whisky along the way. In Scotland, the birthplace of Scotch, they just call it, "whisky" with no 'e' at the end.  We had Aberlour cask single malt which was insanely delicious.  This certain bottle isn't sold in the states which is disappointing but I'm glad I had some out here. Later on, we stopped in a bar that used to be a bank and the half pints were exactly half the cost of a full pint, so we ordered two half pints of different beers at a time so we could try a big variety. We had some good ones and some not-so-good ones but it was well worth it.

That evening we did two awesome things. First, we went to the oldest pub in Edinburgh which was fun and then we hit up a well-known monument at night for some pictures and a view. At the pub, we played an older version of bowling which was entertaining and we had some great pints. The place was called Sheep Heid Inn.  Pretty sure it's named after a sheep's head because there were a few hanging on the walls. They had a good beer selection and Becca was quite happy with the wine as well.

As we left the Sheep Heid Inn, Ross suggested we take a walk past Duddingston Loch so we could get a good night time view of the castle and city. I'm sure glad he suggested this because it was quite the view. We walked up a ridge in between the well-known Arthur's Seat and the Craig.  We could see much of the city as well as the Edinburgh Castle. The wizard school Hogwarts from Harry Potter was created in the image of the castle. It's very medieval and scary looking. It's awesome. Ross snagged a good picture of my silhouette against the fading twilight.

In fact, huge shout out to Ross who took all of these pictures and he did a brilliant job. He has such a creative mind.

After the walk, we hit the hay and he and Becca left the next morning for a wedding in Spain leaving me with a day by myself in Edinburgh before heading off to Paris. I got some errands out of the way in the morning then showered up and hit the Royal Mile again to do some more busking. It definitely wasn't even close to as fun without Ross, but a nice lady from Tokyo came up and asked if I could play an original so she record it which I obliged by playing a One Way Ride tune called, Heart of Stone. A large group of Chinese people walked by during a break and I heard them speaking Mandarin so asked them where they were from which stopped a couple of them in their tracks and people started asking the Chinese tour guide why I could speak Chinese, but none of them stayed to chat.

I used the money I made to get a traditional Scottish Haggis dish called Haggis, Neeps and Tatties with Whisky Sauce. Basically it was haggis with mashed turnips (reminds me of the taste of spaghetti squash), mashed potatoes and a nice whisky sauce and it was all delicious but so rich! I headed back to Ross and Becca's to finish getting ready for my early early flight on Friday.

I'll definitely miss Scotland, but not so much when Ross and I jam out in the 16th Street mall.  My next stop is Paris with my buds Adrien and Sean so until then, bon voyage!

My Goodness, My Guinness!... Is Gone!

How are ye? Alright ya?

That's what I heard everytime I walked into a pub in Dublin and sat down. I loved interaction with people in Dublin and the Guinness was outstanding. Right when I arrived, it was about 11 in the morning and I only slept about 2 hours on the plane but I knew I had to keep going. I got off a bus and was met but my wonderful friend, Steph who put my bags in her office so I could go out and travel.

My first stop was the Jameson distillery which was quite nice.  It was pretty interesting to learn the whole process and at the end, we got to taste Jameson against the once-distilled taste of Jack Daniels and the twice-distilled Johnny Walker Black Label. Jameson is distilled three times which is why it's so smooth they said. I also tried a special 12 year distillery reserve they had and it wasn't bad.

I actually lied up above, my first stop was actually the first pub i saw for a pint of Guinness.   I just walked in and had to get one!  I hit a huge wall around 4 or so and went to a pub to wait for my buddy, Tommy.  He got to the pub and I was almost drifting off with a Guinness in my hand. We walked to his place which was an awesome little house his sister owns. It was absolutely perfect: Living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and nice little garden area to hang clothes. Absolutely beautiful and everything one needs.  I hopped in the shower then caught a second wind so Tommy took me to the park to show me Hurling. Basically, lacrosse is for sissies compared to hurling, look it up.  No protective gear minus a helmut, they use wooden axe-like sticks and hit hard; I learned first-hand.

The next day, I went to the Guinness Storehouse and poured a pint which was cool.  I went to sky bar which has a 360° view of Dublin which was beautiful. I asked one of the bartenders where the best place for a pint of Guinness was and went there to drink and write a bit before meeting up with Tommy.

After work, we went to some horse races which was great! The basics go like this: get a pint, go check out the horses, look at the odds, think about a bet and how to bet it, place the bet, hit the stands and watch the horses run the race, curse or cheer depending on your bet, then do it all over again every half hour.  Needless to say, it was awesome even though I never won a bet. Tommy is the one in the back center.

I had met a bunch of Tommy's work friends at the races and the next night we all went out again and I met several more. What great people they all are. We all got along so well and I met Adam DeVine's doppelganger which was hilarious. Looked exactly like him and he and I had a ball. We got home late Friday night and then around half eleven on Saturday (11:30), Tommy and I went out for a last pint before he headed off to his home town and I headed to the airport. It was short and sweet and unforgettable.

I could definitely see myself living in Dublin and I hear that musicians do well there. It's a simple life and that is the best life in my opinion. Another city may call my name while I'm out here, but there's something about Dublin that calls to me... must be the water they put in the Guinness.

I'm in Edinburgh now and I'll be checking in during the week. Enjoy that beautiful weather my friends.

Tony G

Simple Chatter Can Take You Several Kilometers

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

I'm sitting in the Toronto airport at the moment and I arrived from Nawleans this morning. I woke up this morning, took a shower and headed out from my couch surfers house. Couch surfing is so awesome as a free service and I would recommend it to anyone traveling on a budget. I'll even write you a recommendation on the site (thanks for mine, Linda)!

On the flight to Toronto I sat next to this nice Japanese gentleman, Jim Bei. We chatted a bit then he passed out and I just chilled for the relatively short flight. When he woke up, we chatted a bit more and walked to customs together. We parted ways and I started looking for a train to get into the city so my ~8 hour layover wouldn't be so boring.

As I was looking at train prices which were a bit too much, I ran into Jim Bei getting ready to go to his car. I chatted him up about alternative means to get around, and he offered me a ride downtown! I gladly accepted and he spent the next hour or so with me in his car showing me around. Then as he got ready to drop me off, he handed me a subway token and told me how to get back to the airport. What a guy! It was unexpected but fun and it just goes to show a smile and polite banter are a recipe for good, old-fashioned human interaction.

See you when I land in Dublin!

Southern Hospitality

Hey y'all!

It's been 2.5 years since my last blog post and I feel like that's far too long! I finally have something to write about so I wanted to reach out and setup my next few weeks for everyone.

I started off in New Orleans with my brother and two cousins and we had a blast. The food has been wonderful, the locals are so nice and our hotel was great. We even ran into some friends of ours who were down here.  Even though it's been a bit hot and muggy, it has been a wonderful time. I slept on my first ever couch surfing couch last night and the guy I'm staying with, Josh has been awesome and so welcoming. He's recommended a few places to go while he's at work and I'm looking forward to seeing what locals do here.

As for the weeks to come, I am going to be on a trip of a lifetime hitting several countries and meeting up with friends from my days in China. I will start in Dublin, move on to Edinburgh, skip through London on my way to Paris before floating to Amsterdam, hop to Berlin, coast to Prague and Budapest, zip over to Bucharest and then make my way to Italy to see as much as I can.  I can't wait for this adventure and I can't wait for you all to experience it with me.

My blog posts are going to be relatively short because I'm writing them on a tablet which is not the easiest thing to do.  I'll do my best to get some pictures and have you live vicariously through me. Make sure to leave comments, email me or message me when you can. I really enjoy feedback.

I'll be missing you all back home but I'll be back on July 17th and can't wait to catch up with you then.

Buh bye!

Tony G.