Next Stop: Berlin

I know, I know. I just got here!

But I wanted to make sure I had a room and a flight to Berlin. Figure I'll go from one end to the other. I'm leaving here on the 2nd and stay three nights in Berlin. Then off to Amsterdam I guess or a few places in Germany.

I can't wait till tomorrow. A ton of stuff to see and do here.

Kel

Lisbon!!!

I just landed and got my room in Lisbon. This place is frigin Great! The room is great! I'm so hungry though, got to go eat. Pics to follow tomorrow.

Kel

Reminder: To see photos, follow link "Pictures" on the left. No, the "other" left (right).

To Be Or Not To Be...

...connected to the Internet? That is the frigin Question!

I'm staying one more day here in London. My Internet is about to expire and I'm thinking I should just let it go and wait till Lisbon to see how I get access and how much it will cost there. So for now, You'll have to look through what I've posted so far for pictures. When I get access again, I'm sure I'll have a ton more to put up.

I also wanted to say thank you to Heidi and Isabelle for having coffee with me the other night. They are fellow Couchsurfers and took the time to meet with me and have coffee. We talked a about a lot of things and agreed on everything but how well my tan looks.

Ok, I'm off to start my day. Take care everyone.

Kel

The Best Part of...

... being spontaneous is that you never know what is going to happen next. The worst part of being spontaneous is you never know what is going to happen next.

I went to get my train ticket today to Lisbon. Sold out. The earliest I could get there was Sat night. I need to be there Thursday night. Crap! Now what do I do? A CS (Couch Surfer) told be about Ryan Air. I looked but they don't go to Lisbon. Then the receptionist down stairs (who is from Spain) told me about Easy Jet. So I looked it up and got a one way ticket to Lisbon! I get there Thurs at 8pm. Perfect! The only problem is it cost me another $240 to stay another night in London. Oh Well right?

Kel

London Day 2

I decided to take the train to Lisbon. It seems I would not be saving as much as if I would take the plane. Seems there is no cheep flight to Lisbon. I can get to Madrid but I would be getting there at 10pm at night. Then I have to take the train anyway overnight (that's the only train to Lisbon). So air fare plus lodging will save me a few dollars but I still get there the same time. I like the train because I can see so much more of the country side along the way to Madrid. It may cost me a little more but the adventure might be worth it (both positive and negative).

I'm off to spend a rain free day in London. Pics to follow. After tomorrow it might be a few days before my next post. Wifi access is not like the states here and cost 2x as much when you do find it. I'll continue to take pictures and when I get acess to wifi, post my journey and pics.

Take care all,
Kel

Travel Light

SDC10030, originally uploaded by Navykel.

So, my attempt to post pictures is kicking my ass. I trying to figure out how to embed the java script side bar widget so that I get that cool thing that has pictures rotating around. But.... haven't figured it out yet so I can only post one at a time per-post. Not going to work but for now this will work.

This is everything that I brought for a whole month!

Take note of the link to the right that will take you to my pictures on Flickr. Until I figure out the flash widget, that will have to do.

Kel

London

Just wanted to drop a note that I made to London. Lots to talk about but need to go eat. Got some pics of the party before I left. Will try and get them posted today or tomorrow.

Take care all,

Kel

T- 3 Days

T minus 3 Days and counting.

Not much to post today. I'm getting a lot of feedback and help from people. I have a contact in London and northern Spain already. Haven't heard from anyone from Lisbon yet. It seems Monday is a Holiday in London so I'm looking forward to hanging with people who normally have to work.

Still not sure what I'm doing after Lisbon. I'd like to travel long the Southern Coast of Europe but I am open to where fate may take me.

Kel

T- 6 Days

Tee minus 6 days and counting. I’m starting to get excited. I got a back pack this weekend. Took it home and found out my notebook is going to be a problem. Seems desktop replacements don’t travel well in backpacks. Oh, it will fit but it’s like… 50 lbs. Just Kidding (JK). It’s around 15 I think. So I’m going to buy a light weight notebook and take it with me. I want one to help with traveling, blogging, email and watch my money.

So far it looks like I’ll spend two days in London then hit the train to Lisbon. There is an event I’m going to there and will have a chance to meet a lot of people. I’m hopping someone will let me crash at their place. Thanks April, I registered with the Couchsurfers and have tried to hook up but the short notice may not work for me. I’ll keep trying.

Not sure yet what I’ll do after Lisbon. I’d like to go to the south of Spain and work my way up to the South of France. Whatever I do or where ever I go, I’ll post daily here with pics for everyone to follow along.

Kel

Update: Found this site that has great travel tips.

Europe T-8 Days

Eight Days before I’m off to Europe. Yep, I’m off to Europe for a month. It sounded like a good idea on Tuesday. I got in impulsive thought, followed up with a request at work, got approved to take the time off, followed that up with a non-refundable two way ticket to London. The hangover is starting to kick in as I look for places to aahhhh…. sleep? OMG! I’m so screwed! I’m going tomorrow to get a back pack and sleeping bag. If I have to, I can find a camp-ground or two. I can’t believe how weak the dollar had become. I feel like a citizen of a third world country trying to go away for awhile. I look at hotels in some of the places I want to go and think, “I’m so screwed…” I’m looking at Amsterdam and I can’t find anything for under $100 a night.

So, any help from friends or fans I will take into consideration. I’d like to avoid places that have a high degree of getting robbed. But who knows, that might be a part of the adventure right?

Kel

Carol’s Birthday

Today is/was Carol’s birthday. She would have been 46. Knowing her she would have been very very happy to have another birthday but would not have been happy at all at being 46.

In other news, for the first time in 6 years my cholesterol has finally lowered to normal levels. Carol was always trying to get it to go down for me. Diets and stuff. But it never did. I went and had blood work done to see how it is doing. I guess losing weight and exercise has helped. When I found out I was so happy but then was sad that I had no one to share it with who would really care. I’m sure people are like “Oh yeah! That’s good news.” But I know that Carol would have been giggly happy about it. I miss having someone to share moments like that with.

I’ve had friends send me private emails and have with tact and compassion, reminded me of my situation and that some things are best to leave as fantasy and some things are best to keep in your life because they provide a means to aahhhh… eat?

So for now, I’ll just dream.

Kel

Dreams Part 3

I have been thinking a lot lately about dreams. Not the kind that have me wearing women’s underwear riding backwards on a donkey with clown makeup on smoking a cigarette then wake up and worry that means I might start smoking again. No, I’m talking about dreams of what I want to do in life.

What do I want to do in life? My dream before was to enjoy each and every day with Carol. That dream has ended and it’s time to move on.

I have something that I have been thinking about. I have always had this dream and kept it very private. I have only shared it with a few people, Carol being one of them. It would mean a radical change in life and life style. It is very scary and full of uncertainty. But if I get a chance, it would be something that would present each and every day with wonderment and joy. The risks are very high and the chance of failure almost certain. But the rewards are more about self fulfillment than money.

So Navykel Blog Fans, What do you have to say about this? Be conservative and take the easy way out in life, or take the leap with eyes wide open?

Kel

The loss of a Good Friend

While working at Azusa, I I had the opportunity to meet and become friends with David. He was as much as a smart ass as I am. We had to work on a project together and despite the rough edges, we got along great. He was always some I could talk to about anything. He always supported me and encouraged me to do my best.

I will miss you David.