Fun in the Sun

We pulled into Barcelona Sants train station right at midnight on the 2nd of May. After 14 hours of riding in passenger cars from Brussels to Paris to Pegnana to Port Bou and ultimately Barcelona we were exhausted. We made the taxi ride to Equity Point Hostel and pretty much went straight to bed.

Sunday ended up blessing us with gorgeous weather. A full sunny day with temperatures topping out in the high 60s and low 70s couldn't have been better spent than on the sand of a Spanish beach.

We had a dinner of Spanish Paella and spent the evening walking around the city looking at the local markets and vendors.

Unfortunate today has been much less pleasant. We awoke this morning to find the city victim to a torrential down pour and relatively cool temperatures. Although I'd much rather be relaxing on the beach reading in the sun, its still nice just sitting in the hostel's cafe taking it easy with no real concerns.

Yesterday morning we bought an overnight train ticket to Milan on May 6th. We don't plan on spending much time there, but instead plan to jump onto a connector and make our way to Rome and the Vatican.

As for now, I'm going to continue doing nothing, which is exactly what I want to do.

All good; all the time,

Thomas

Loaded Up and Headed Out

Tomorrow morning marks the beginning of my final European excursion. With exams all finished, my lease run up, and bags packed, its all a-board for Barcelona, Spain!

The past two weeks were rough. We had our final round of testing followed by finals that ultimately determined our academic standing for the semester. Ensuing many late nights of studying, multiple upon multiple pots of coffee, and last minute cram sessions we finally finished. The sophomore year of my college career has come to a close and with it, the beginning of summer.

Brittany Hall, Charlie Sipple, Andrew Blayton, and I all head out early tomorrow morning for the white beaches of Barcelona, Spain. We're meeting up with a fellow Clemson student, Brittany Clinton, who spent her semester studying Cantonal in Barcelona. A practical native of the city, she'll be a great asset to our vacation in Espana.

Where we go from there is still a bit of a mystery. Due to complications from the Icelandic Volcano we still aren't sure of our following travel arrangements. We will hopefully find means of transportation to take us south to the Italian boot, however, if all else fails we may be making an early departure back to the United States of American from Barcelona.

I'll do my best to keep the world posted now that my time is a bit freer due to lack of school work. Keep an eye out for soon to come pictures of Spanish beaches, and Mediterranean sun.

All good, all the time,

Thomas

Problems of Volcanic Proportions and Nature

With over a week of delays and backlogs, Europe is now full of tens of thousands of stranded travelers which has ultimately cost airline companies over 1.7 billion dollars. Is the worst of the trouble over or yet still to come?

I've mentioned my intentions to spend the two weeks following the conclusion of the academic semester traveling through Spain and Italy before returning to the states, however the recent volcanic activity in Iceland that has sent the European travel infrastructure into a tizzy is presenting some unforeseen obstacles. I've spent the past five days visiting the Brussels Midi train station in attempts to purchase railway tickets and reservations for my planned travels. Regardless of my attempts, the backlog of travelers in the airports has put considerable strain on the railway systems and to be quite honest, they are inept at handling this influx of demand. There is such a high demand for tickets that train stations have been unable to handle any booking outside of the current working day. Yesterday was the first opportunity they've given travelers to begin buying advance tickets. By the time I reached the booking counter, the train schedule I wanted was already over booked and unavailable. The railway worker ultimately helped us find an alternate route but not without serious layovers and rail changes.

Train stations throughout Europe have been experiencing this increase in volume of travelers. The result has not only strained staff and availability, but also strained the railway network and servers. We are unable to book any connections or trains outside of the current country network. This means that although we're trying to travel through Italy, we're unable to book lodging accommodations because we cannot guarantee where we'll be or when we'll be there.

On top of this obstacle, seismologists have reported increased seismic activity in the region and are concerned about the possibility of renewed volcanic activity, and which could re-cripple European airspace travel.

So where does this leave myself and fellow comrades?

We really just aren't sure. We are currently deliberating and toying with the idea of an early return home. With flights booked and paid for currently set to fly out of Venice on the 13th of May we question the possibility of if we could even get to Italy on time and by reasonable manner.

As of now I have no answers, only questions. I'll do my best to let every one know what happens when I can.

All good; all the time,

Thomas

Gran Canaria

Two full days of sun, fun, and relaxation. That's been our experience thus far in the La Isla de Gran Canarias. With not a cloud in sight, the fun continues!

Our hostel is the remake of an older hotel that was bought out, renovated (somewhat), and then put back on the market as short term apartments or rentable overnight rooms. Its nothing terrible and perfectly suitable for a group of college males on a tight budget. The building is about a five minute walk from the surf and that is by no means a hassle in my book. Just being out side, walking around in the sun and the warm air is a luxury I've hard far too little of recently.

We've spent the majority of the past two days just relaxing in the sand. Its a darker blend of sand than back home but just as fine and just as clean. Off in the distance you can see the volcanic mountains covered in lush tropical vegetation. Although ominous thunderheads linger in the distance, they've yet to interfere with our glorious take of the sun.

I'm sure you've all seen the old Bud Light commercials featuring "True American Heros". It was generally something along the lines of an extremely overweight male with skin so pale it rivaled Carrot Top. This 'American Hero' would be wearing an all too revealing speedo and the narrator would spout something similar to "If you've got it, flaunt it...and you're definitely got it." This mentality is shared and employed by a good portion of the locals as they take to the nudist sections. Trust me on this one, if you ever visit the Canaries...just steer clear of this area. In the interest of you own mental preservation, stay away.

An odd fact about the island dwellers...they do not like sea food. Let me clarify that statement. They live on an island, surrounded by tropical ocean, and choose not to eat sea food. I can't comprehend it, but was truly amazed with how difficult it was to find a sea food restaurant.

I've got to run now, but tomorrow we head back to Brussels. Regardless of our flight in the mid afternoon, I will still get in a few hours of sun light on the beach for one last time.

All good; all the time,

Thomas

Canary Islands; Paradise at Last

Its 4:30am and I hear the buzzer of my alarm ringing as I gradually arise from a sleep induced coma. Despite my general disdain towards being awoken for any reason aside of Christmas morning, I crawled out of bed (literally crawled) and mashed the start button on the coffee maker. While propping myself up against the living room table a sleepy sideways grin slid across my face...because on this morning, we're setting off for the Canary Islands.

Our plane lifted off from Charleroi Sud at 7:40am on a cold crisp morning. After spending four hours in the air listening to screaming infants triangulate my position and a Robert Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond) look alike flight attendant who couldn't speak a word of audible English to save his life, I was happy when the plane touched down in the sunny Canary Islands. A step onto the tarmac was essentially a rebirth from cold dismal Belgian climate. After instantly shedding my jacket, vest, overshirt, undershirt, scarf, and hat we jumped in a cab, and made our way to 'Playa de Palms' beach and hostel.

We checked in, dropped our bags, threw on some swim trunks, and made a mad dash for the beach. The sun was shinning, the air was warm, and it was humid (reminds me of home sweet home in Dixieland). I considered myself to be in paradise at this point. I'd been longing to be someplace remotely warm and sunny for weeks now and the time had finally come. Although you really don't appreciate it on a regular basis, the sun plays a major factor in a person's overall well being (as I've learned).

I crashed on a deserted stretch of sad and ended up sleeping in the sun for a couple hours. A perfect start to a great vacation.

Internet here is a bit dodgy but I'll do my best to update my happenings when I can. Wishing everyone the best!

All good; all the time,

Thomas