London U.K. -> Lincoln U.K. November 10th

Day two in the U.K. 

We woke up at around 9:30, I was really hungover from all the wine the night before. Cranky and feeling bad, we headed out of the hostel to find some breakfast and coffee. With our packs on our backs, we walked until we found a small shop with good breakfast options and coffee. I got a yogurt, granola and berry parfait. We hung out for a bit while I slowly ate my breakfast. I ordered a second Americano and we headed out. We went to the Tate Museum and browsed the wonderful art collection in this world famous gallery. 

"A weeping woman" -Pablo Picasso 

Salvador Dali

After spending a few hours there and viewing the many works, including Picasso, Dali and Warhol, we headed to the famous Kings Cross Station, well known from the Harry Potter movies.

Platform 9 3/4 in London's Kings Cross Station

We bought are very overpriced train tickets (the first of many mistakes to come) and said goodbye to London. The train took us through the country side. The day was rainy, yet the low sun illuminated the fields and the farms with a heavenly glow, followed by a beautiful misty pink sunset. 

We got into Lincoln around 7pm. Lincoln is a small, very old city. We walked a few miles from the train station to the bed and breakfast, which went up a high grade cobblestone road called "steep road" very fitting! While walking, we passed by beautiful buildings with a vast array of shops, restaurants and pubs. We passed the very old city wall as well as a very old, large church which is situated at the top of a hill- the highest point in Lincoln, giving it the illusion of being the tallest building.

When we got to the b&b, we were greeted with the upmost hospitality. The sweet lady showed us our beautiful room, which was very affordable. I changed my clothes, washed up and prepared to go out for food and drink. We walked to a pub near by, which was nearly empty. We ordered our beers, which I must say we're not very good. In England, they like to cellar cool their beers, which I think makes it flat and taste terrible. The bartender poured my beer with out even tilting the cup, making half the beer foam. I'm not even a bartender, just a seasoned beer drinker, yet I know how to pour a beer better. 

After slugging our beers, I ordered some delicious potato skins and a cheap bottle of wine. Halfway through the bottle of wine, we were joined by some brits who were celebrating a girls 18th birthday. They all came up to talk to us Americans. I was told my accent was "cool", before this I never thought I had an accent! One of the members of the group, a member of the LGBT community, was hitting on me furiously. It always seems to be the 40+ year old men that fancy me. It took me a while to understand what was going on. When he asked me if my penis was circumcised, I though nothing of it. 

It wasn't until the 18 year old girls mother offered to buy us shots, that I knew. 

He said "I'll get ya a shot, a cum shot." Feeling a little tipsy by now, I can't say I wasn't flattered, yet I was slightly disturbed.

The mother brought back the Jager Bombs. This was my first Jager Bomb ever. We slammed them and prepared to leave. They invited us to bar crawl with them and reluctantly I accepted. I didn't want to be hungover the following morning, but I was having a blast and wasn't thinking of the future.

We headed to the next pub, which was down steep hill. I got one more Jager bomb, then drank water the rest of the time at the bar. By this time I'm hammered. I want to mingle, though. So we go to another bar. I buy the birthday girl a drink and dance a little. Crazy mama rips her shirt and walks around showing everyone her cleavage. They invite us to another bar, but this one has a dress code. At this point I'm out of cash so I try and take money out of the ATM, declined. I try another, declined. I try and order a drink at the bar for cash back, declined. I can't go to the bar because there is a cover. I also didn't get to say good bye to these people ive been having a grand time with. Drunk and mad, hannah and I leave our new friends and walk up steep hill back to the b&b. Looking back, though. I think my bank account was protecting me from myself. If I drank anymore i would have been sick all the next day. 

Moral of the story, don't try to keep up with Brits. They sure can drink.

London, U.K. November 9th, 2016

Wednesday, November 9th

London, UK

I reached the airport groggy and jet lagged. I only got two hours of sleep and was fairly tired when the plane landed in Gatwick Airport. I took a 1 hour train ride south to London. When I got to London and got out of the "tube" or the "underground", as they call the subway in London, I was greeted by a man with a "free hugs" sign. It was the day after the election, the results had come out and it appeared trump had won. We talked and he revealed he was Swedish born and had lived in the states for a good while. We hugged, talked about the election then went our separate ways. It seems as if a Donald Trump presidency was as big of a surprise to me as it was the rest of the world. As I walked I saw newspapers and overheard conversations all focused on the election in America. I never thought that American affairs made such a difference, but in reality it affects the whole world.

I walked to the hostel, safestay Holland Park, which was located in a beautiful and wealthy part of London. After hanging out for half an hour I met up with my friends and new travel mates, Sarah and Hannah, whom I had previously known in Denali, Alaska. Here we were, together again 5 months later and 7 thousand miles away from the 49th state. 

After putting my things away and freshining up, we went on a walk around London. We walked over to buckingham palace and enjoyed the splendor of the queens palace. Although, it makes me sad to see homeless people in the streets yet a family lives in this huge palace with servents, butlers, chefs and all the other luxuries the queen has never went without. The palace was a very obvious symbol of monarchy, as well as a beautiful statement of fine architecture. We walked from there down a cobble stone road to a large complex of old buildings with large pillars and expansive grounds, yet I forgot what it was. Next we headed to Big Ben and the British Parliment along the Thames River. What a beaut! That was one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen! The constructors of Big Ben spared no expense nor did they spare detail. It was absolutely stunning. Next we headed to the eye. We wanted to go on, but it was 25£ per person. A little out of our budget, so instead we headed to the nearest pub. After drinking a beer we walked up the street and found a pub with happy hour! Here we bought two bottles of wine, drank them, got drunk and left. Next we took the underground to a grocery store near the hostel and bought some food and another bottle of wine. Hannah and I sucked down the bottle of wine and after being awake for nearly 30 hours, I finally fell asleep. 

New York City November 6th- November 8th

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Day 1:

November 6th, buffalo to New York City

Long train ride, just under ten hours

I planned on staying at the hostel but I ended up crashing at my friends place. 

I Rolled into town at 6:45 PM with a ravenous hunger from not eating much. I found a Thai place right across the street and got some noodles and saki. Then, I took an Uber to toms place on the east side. After a 20 minute ride through horrendous traffic I got to his street. It took me a few to find his house since I ended up looking on the wrong street. I found his place, dropped my things off and then we went to east village and got some of the best ice cream I've ever had. After we walked back to his house I left and headed a mile and a half through union and washington square parks to Greenwich village. There, I went to a rock club called cafe wah, famous for hosting acts such as Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. Next, I went to an old bar called the Fat Black Pussy cat. The bar was also a hangout for beatniks such as Kerouac and Ginsberg. Here I drank a few beers and started feeling drunk, so I took the long walk back to the apartment near east village.

Day 2

Monday, November 7th: NYC

I woke up late at around 10am, Tom and I went and got coffee and bagels at a local bagel joint. Then I headed to REI to buy a new pack for the upcoming trip the following day. I spent about an hour there looking and inspecting packs. I finally decided to get a 40 liter osprey pack, meant for international backpacking. After leaving REI I headed towards Greenwich Village and got coffee at the 90 year old Cafe Reggio, right next to Cafe Wah? And once a popular hang out for musicians and beatniks alike. Also the home of americas first cappuccino. Naturally, I got a cappuccino and it was delicious. After leaving the cafe I headed back to Toms, packed my new bag and sent some things home that didn't fit in the pack. Next, I headed to Union Square to meet up with a friend I met in Alaska who was visiting from Portland, Oregon. We ended up walking to Greenwich village (big surprise, right?) and went to a bar for happy hour, which was right next to the bar I went to the previous night, the Fat Black Pussycat. There we ate the most bomb extra crispy tater tots with gravy (to dip, of course) while I sipped on a blue moon. 

Next I headed back towards union square to get dinner with my cousin who lives in Manhattan. We ended up getting some delicious sushi. She got a large bento box while I got saki and a rainbow roll, as I usually do. The rainbow roll was topped with salmon caviar. 

After that, the fun began. My friend whom I was staying with and I headed to a bills bar 15 blocks from his apartment. There was a inflatable bills player out front and the place was filled to the brim with bills fans. We got wings, we drank a few pitchers of beer, we chanted the bills song and got rowdy with our fellow buffalonians. The game started out strong, with an amazing first play that led to a touchdown. Yet it ended like bills games usually  do. We left disappointed yet drunk. That helped quell the pain of another disappointing bills game. 

Day 3:

Election Day/Europe day!

The day started as I figured. Late and slightly hung over. Getting out of bed was tough, yet I woke up at 10:30. I left and got coffee around the corner, came back and began organizing my things. I relaxed and took my time, not leaving until around 2pm. I walked around most of the day with my pack on, preparing my back and legs for Europe as well as getting a feel for my fully loaded new bag. I walked up to Times Square, went to radio city music hall, saw Michael strahan in the middle of Times Square reporting on the election and had to make my way through the mob of people there for the ABC news election coverage. I went to a rooftop bar, hoping for happy hour yet I ended up paying 20 bucks for a drink! After leaving I went to Olive Garden (I know, I know. Who goes to NY and gets Olive Garden? Well all the other Italian restaurants were a little to booshy and out of my budget.) after eating my dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with a glass of red wine, I headed to the airport on the train. On the train, which was mostly empty, some homeless fella was I kid you not scraping the ashy fungus off his feet. The whole train car smelled like the grossest feet you ever did smell + underwear that hasn't been washed in a month and worn everyday. Poor bastard.

I got to the airport at 8, checked in, had a couple beers and boarded the airplane. The flight lasted about 6 hours, I left at 11:30 and landed In London at 10:30 AM. 

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Why I am blogging again, what I am doing and my observations of a foreign land.

After two years of silence, I have decided to start blogging again. The reason for this change of heart? Well, I am currently backpacking Europe and I feel the only way to truly document this trip for both my own records and for friends and families enjoyment is to blog about it.

I've been here for about 10 days and have already visited 3 countries including the UK, Ireland and France. My itinerary for the next few months includes Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Malta, Southern France, Spain and Morocco. 

Some things I have noticed thus far about Europe:

1) The roads are much smaller and windy.

2) In the U.K. I am convinced there is no speed limit

3) The people are very friendly and welcoming to Americans 

4) There is much cultural diversity and a more accepting, cultured outlook on the world here than there is in America (im looking at you, Trump)

5) Brits love the American accent, before now I never thought I had an accent.

6) Pizza is a universal language

7) They eat more burgers and fries in Europe I feel more than we do in America

8) they pretty much have the same stuff over here we have in America, but there is more refined and higher quality. Example: A McDonald's burger here cost nearly the same as it does in America but it uses real meat, instead of the pink slime crap they feed us in the states. Also, the processed food is much better since they ban substitutes such as high fructose corn syrup.

9) It is impossible to find basic drip coffee, yet espresso is everywhere and anywhere

10) The Irish drink more than Buffalonians do, but that's a given.

That's all I got for now, but I'm sure I will add to the list as this trip progresses. 

Throughout the coming weeks, I will be using this blog as a journal of sorts. I will most likely blog day to day. If I am too busy, i will blog about the specific country I'm in. 

Thank you for reading and I can't wait to enjoy and share this journey with you!