Sailing on Skateboards

I haven’t been able to get out on the water in a while and the conditions haven’t exactly been ideal. However, this recent feature by TIME Magazine could provide an alternative sport when the waves are choppy and the wind isn’t cooperating. Grab a longboard and a sail. Take a look below at how brothers Billy and Nick Smith use wind and a customized sporting sail to carve concrete at new speeds. This is truly innovative and it actually looks pretty sick!

The Sporting Sail: Speed, Wind and Skateboards, posted with vodpod

Click the title link ABOVE because apparently WordPress has a problem with certain video hosts and I’m too poor to pay for premium.

Musing in March

March gave way to the first nice weather we’ve seen after a severely over-snowed winter. Temperatures sporadically reached to the 70s and Spring could be seen in the not-so-distant future. It was almost like an end to the past few dreadful months, which continually disappointed with no swell and blistering cold snow storms.

It left time to think and snap some decent photos… which made me think about getting some waterproof housing for my camera since you can only shoot one angle from the shore. In any case, March wasn’t too disappointing.

Though I wouldn’t say March was the Holy Grail of winter/early Spring swell, it left us with a few days of small clean waves and one day of madness. Have a look at some of the shots below, documenting the month.

Everything has an ending

My journey has ended. I know most of you are probably disappointed in the complete lack of detail and blogging throughout my trip. Honestly, I think that may have been the entire point.

I survived a grueling, 2.5 week journey throughout seven countries and 15 cities. With blisters on the soles of my feet, swelled ankles, frizzy hair, bags under my eyes and enough sweat to drown Seattle, I scoured Europe in hopes of finding myself and incomparable experiences. And I think I uncovered both.

I had no time to update while abroad. And looking back, I find it kind of pathetic that I actually thought I would have time to write about what I’d done. If I spent time writing about what I’d done, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been too exciting.

However, I can tell you this: I ate snails and tried pork knuckle. I drank more wine, beer, champagne cider, liquor and water than any alcoholic could dream of. I drank moonshine with snake venom in it (they called it Death Water). I stayed in a sixteenth century French chateau, but I got bed bugs (don’t worry, I’m cured now). The most amount of sleep I got in a night was about four hours. I only straightened my hair three times the entire trip. I can tell the difference between an Australian and Kiwi (New Zealand) accent. I ate Nutella for breaky almost every day. I rode on a gondola. I was the first girl to finish a stein (1 liter of beer) at a Bavarian beer hall. I bought a camera speaking only French. I helped someone climb through his cabin window in his underwear because he was locked out (*cough* TIM *cough*). My cab driver in Amsterdam was a creepy, homophobic, Russian mobster. I got locked in the Louvre for 20 minutes. I CLIMBED up the Eiffel Tower (yes, we did take the stairs). I went to an authentic Parisian cabaret. I gambled at the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco and drank a Dom Perignon bellini. I made 50 new, life-long friends from all over the world and had the most amazing experience of my life.

Rough start, Awesome finish

Updates will come more often as I am currently now able to go on the internet in cafes.

The flight was brutal. Listen up Virgin Airlines! Get more comfortable seats perhaps a bit less cramped. That might make passengers less irritable on a 6.5 hour international flight. I also chipped a tooth. Onlu me clearly.

The start with Contiki went well. London is amazing, and more fascinating than NYC. Covent Garden > Soho. Best shopping definitely.

Pub last night was great Update later because time is running out

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Today is the day, finally! I’m heading to JFK around 2 p.m. for my flight at 6 p.m. I finished packing and, for once, I don’t think I forgot anything. I even packed a Tide pen. I’m ready for anything.

I’ll be landing in Heathrow Airport in London. Can’t wait to see Big Ben and to drink yummy English breakfast tea. I’ll be arriving in London at about 6:35 a.m. UK time. Let’s hope the plane doesn’t crash and I don’t die. I guess if I don’t make any new posts in a week, consider me dead.

I even packed light! In fact, my suitcase is only 30 lbs!!! And I thought I could never pack under 44 lbs. Thank God for light summer clothes lol. Anyways, wish me luck. I will try to update as often as possible via internet cafes because I was unable to get the Blackberry World Edition from Verizon. As my Dad put it, “You’re getting the cheapest phone because I already pay an arm and a leg for your bill now.” I understand that since my phone is 6x the price of his and, yes, he still pays for it.

The global rental phone I got is heinous though. It flips…. who uses those anymore??? I don’t even know how to text on it without my full keyboard. I have to use… dear I say it… T9Word!!!!! Ugh horrible, I miss my Blackberry already. How sick is that?

Here’s to putting off the “real person” job search for another three weeks

ICEBARRRRR

T-minus 9 days until I’m off to the promised land…. or Europe. But at this point, anything is better than America (at least for a vacation).

Since my flight will get into London at about 6:35 am, Mallory and I will have the whole day to do whatever we want. We’ve already booked afternoon tea and we’re thinking about a hop-on, hop-off bus tour. However, that night we clearly want to go out. Then, I stumbled upon this gem of a bar (or maybe someone told me about it). The ABSOLUT ICEBAR in London.

Click that link for a fun guide to the bar.

Glasses. Chairs. Walls. All made from ice. In fact, guests can only indulge for 40 minutes at a time. Probably to keep the temperature steady and make sure not too much ice melts. With a temperature of -5 degrees Celcius (28 degrees Farenheit) all year round, the ICEBAR gives guests designer thermal cloaks with fur hoods to keep them warm during a visit. I suggest wearing jeans to this bar, ladies.

The website says “Everything inside is made out of crystal clear ice harvested especially from the frozen Torne River in Jukkasjarvi, Northern Sweden.” The city may sound familiar if you’ve seen James Bond’s “Die Another Day” where he visits the Ice Hotel. Same place.

Average cocktails run you about £8 or £9, which is about $13 bucks. Some might say that’s outrageous. I say that’s normal coming from Long Island, NY.

But, how awesome does this place look!? I’m so excited to go there! Have you been? Share your ICEBAR experience in a comment below!

Tea Time

Say hello to finger sandwiches, chocolates in the shape of London monuments and delectable traditional English teas.
Click here to view the menu and gallery!

And as a bonus, if you book before 1pm, it’s only £25 and only £5 extra for a glass of champagne. I may have to be rolled out of this place.

Hello!

This is a travel blog. Here you will read about the hysterically asinine tomfoolery of a group of international 20-somethings on a European tour. OK, so there might be some deeply insightful posts and a bit of educational information, but it’s mostly fun crap. Feel free to laugh, cry and share with your friends.

Check out the pages on the side for additional information! ——>