The gig is up!

Or not really. Yeah I ran across that blog (www.10d6.com) about 6 months ago and was bummed. Not because I wasn?t part of it, but because I got LA homesick. If there is one thing I don?t get enough of it is gaming with the guys. Or just acting like complete idiots.

I am still way out of it. Every monkey and their Uncle decided to call when I was sleeping. Son of a... But I am over that. Speaking of out of it, in Fiernze on the second day it Italy I got the worst dizzy spell. It was like when you get way too drunk and the buzz starts wearing off and the spins start. Aggggg.. Hours of that fine eve. It just came over me slowly and at first it was minor and euphoric and then it just got worse and worse. BLAH! Anyway...

Rudy: answers your questions about costs and what not. It is pretty expensive. Almost every place charges an entrance fee (Most cathedrals, museums, other indoor sites, and some outdoor sites). I think Aimey and I each spent 110 Euro on those fees. Plus the Euro is not favorable to the US dollar. ~1.22 to 1. Although you are not going to get better than 1.26 to 1 for a conversion rate. So 20% of your buying power is lost right there. If you go on the cheap, grocery stores and cheap restaurant food, it?s not too bad. Restaurants on the other hand tend to be expensive. On the up side the food is fucking awesome and really an integral part of the experience. Low end restaurant food is not usually very good. Hostels are not too bad priced, but you do have to give up certain liberties and they are more risky. Most hotels are 90-120 Euros a night. Trains are great and usually on time, but they cost. BTW the Euro is great. No more converting your money every time you go to a new country. Unless you go to da UK.

My Top 8 Europe/Travel Tips:
1. Always take the Eurostar if you can. The other trains stop too much. It costs more, but it often takes MUCH less time (Anywhere from 1/2 to 1/4 the time) and time is precious there.
2. Do your research. As I learned when I went with Eric, nothing is more frustrating than getting to a city and not knowing what to do. You spend too much time researching the books spontaneously instead of preparing before you get there. You don?t have to have an itinerary, just an idea of what you want to see. This time I was more prepared and I felt much more accomplished.
3. Get good walking shoes. IMPORTANT! Make sure they are broken in before you leave.
4. Digital camera. Digital cameras rule there. So much less of a hassle. Last time I took 190 photos and about 30% were crap (Bad exposure, bad composition, bad idea). This time I took 1028 photos (1.2 GBs) and about 20% are crap. I deleted the ones I didn?t like on the spot. I could re-shoot images if I got something wrong because I could look at it on the spot. Make sure you have tons of memory cards or a computer to load them on to. Make sure you have plenty of batteries. Batteries are expensive there, especially if you are in a tourist district. Batteries other than AA and AAA are hard to find. Rechargeable is a good idea if your camera eats batteries. Mine is a hog. Without the flash in the Duomo I burned through one fully charged set in 10 minutes and the batteries were too hot to handle (I figure about 150 degrees). I brought both Lithium one time use batteries and NiMH rechargeables. The lithium?s last longer but they cost. I ate through 20 dollars of Lithium batteries in no time flat. I found if I brought a pair of lithium along with my NiMH and used them only when I ran out of recharge juice it was a good back up. Film is nice but it is expensive and can be a deterrent of taking shots. The more shots you take the more likely you are to get a good shot.
5. Beware the Audio tours. They can sometimes really be superficial and expensive. Buy a book. They are usually a little more than an audio tour but they can make the experience more enjoyable. Especially in art museums when you are not well versed in the era and the history behind the works. A lot of the captions in Italy are only in Italian or not very informative.
6. Day trips to small towns from a base city are really cool. Both times I enjoyed all my day trips.
7. Melatonin is the shit. Unlike most sleep aiding supplements, this one helps promote REM sleep, unlike Unison or Alcamahall. If you want to minimize jet lag, it is bar none the best tool. It helps force your body to sleep when you want it to. Just set it up with the right amount of sleep on the plane so that you will be pretty tired the whole first day in your destination. Then take some an hour before bed and konk, you are out. Not having it was a real detriment to both Eric and I when we went. We got jet lagged and off schedule real bad. Just as a warning, your dreams are much more recallable and a little weird.
8. Drink lots o water on the plane, you feel less shitty when you get where you are going. Read: Bring a bottle of your own. On a long flight 1.5 liters should do.

Anyway that is enough for now...

Giznad

PS Someday I would love to go to Rome with Futbol. I think he would be great to go with since he knows so much about Roman history.