Gullible returns

My time is coming to an end.
I am sitting in London's Heathrow airport, awaiting my connection to Seattle. I have been up since 5am, it is now 2pm, London time, and I have 9 1/2 hours of travel left before I arrive in Seattle at 4:30 in the afternoon. I am tired. Michelle and I had an incredible week in Paris and a great day in Budapest, now a city illuminated by warm sunlight and full of green parks and tree-lined streets, unlike the snow-covered landscape I left in March.
I am a little too worn out to write and be creative, so I've decided to just quote my most recent journal entry, finished just several hours ago:

'...I am going home! How can it be over? Wasn't I just on China Air, forcing down noodle soup, heading to India? My backpack is dirtier, my shoes smell worse and my hair is longer...what else has changed? In my first entry on this journey [in my journal] I asked myself, 'why am I doing this?' and accepted that the answer would come in time. Well...has it?...'
I then go into a long description of my trip with Michelle to Paris, as I was too busy for any entries during our trip. Throughout the description, I highlight my favorite parts of that week: Picnicing on the lawn of the eiffel tower on our first day. All of night 3 - dinner at the Leo le Lion restaraunt and sharing a bottle of champaigne in front of the eiffel tower, watching it burst into an array of flasing lights that lasted for 10 minutes at the stroke of midnight. During a day trip to Eperney, the capitol of the champagne region, we took a long walk into the hills of grape vines and sat for a long while, talking and overlooking the small town and surrounding region. ...just a few of the highlights of a great trip.
'So...what was the purpose of this trip?...maybe the question still needs time to reveal its answers, or perhaps there is no answer - but, at least for now, I feel I have an idea.'
In the past, my first serious relationship for me came to an end when I spent a summer outside of Bainbridge and the state of Washington, doing a summer program with other kids my age. I was blown away by all the likenesses I shared with such a wide variety of individuals from all over the country. My perspective on the relationship changed and it soon ended. I was also, I should add, a much more selfish person at this point in my life, which also factored into the decision. Now, while together with Michelle, I have travelled around the globe, to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd world. The experiences, those both lonely and not, and the people I met only led me to grow into my love for her more and more. It has broadened my perspective of our relationship in an entirely new light.
Perhaps I also gained a strong, educated world perspective and an overall view of wants, needs and happiness and how those elements do not have to feed off of one another. Maybe this perspective is what I needed to guede me through law school and stay true to my values.
Whatever it has done for me, it's affects are and will continue to be positive. I am happy I made the choice to travel as long as I did and must remind myself to travel throughout my life. It's incredable how meeting and interacting with individuals from around the globe can reveal so much about who you are, put your troubles into wonderful perspective and allow you a fresh ground from which to plant your feet and face your future.

I have enjoyed this writing this blog tremendously. I thank you for reading it and hope you have enjoyed it as well. I plan to continue this blog, most likely less frequently, for a long while to come. For the time being, however: 10-4. Out.

Not enough TIME!

Michelle and I are loving our time together in Paris...but realizing it's hardly enough. So far we've had relaxed days that consisted of long walks, picnic on the eiffel tower lawn and romantic dinners...we've also had days packed full of sights - 6 1/2 hours in museums, some abc's (another bloody cathedral, another bloody church...) and been attacked by flocks of pigeons. The city is beautiful, we just wish we had more time to enjoy it together. I want, I want, I want...I've got to realize (and Michelle is sure to remind me) that we are lucky enough to be here together as it is. She's absolutely right. We're very fortunate to have these week together...so, I'm going to stop wasting time on this blog and go enjoy it!

The days

Yesterday:
woke up at 8:30 and ate my free breakfast at the hostel. Rented the same wetsuit and board as the day before and walked to the beach. Surfed chest high, glassy waves in ideal conditions until I couldn't move my arms. Peeled off my wetsuit and basked in the sunlight on a long sandy beach for an hour and a half. Surfed again. Went to town to use the internet and post office. At the bus stop, I gave an old lady my seat and she gave me some candy. It was a good day.
Today:
Got the last ticket on a crowded, early train to Paris. Checked into our "nice" hotel that is decrepid and cramped. In 45 minutes I meet Michelle, which means in 45 minutes today is about to be 10 times better than yesterday.

pictures...my second try...

ARGH!!! I'm sorry, the pictures are not uploading onto the blog...I've been trying for 40 minutes and my time at the cafe is now over. More to follow...

Biarritz

After another cloudy day in San Sebastian, the highlight of which was a two hour surf I had in fairly lousy conditions, Mike, Kevin and I parted ways as they headed to Paris and I went just across the border into Biarritz, France, for the ''best surfing in Europe.'' On the train north, out the window I caught glimpses of overhead waves peeling in perfect order onto the beaches south of Biarritz. I was suddenly very anxious for my three days in the town. I checked into a hostel north of town that is a 15 minute walk from the beach and rents wetsuits and surfboards. I immediately ran down to the beach and had a look at the surf. As I was walking down the wind was picking up and as soon as I got to the beach the light of day went away as a thick, black cloud moved overhead. Thunder roared and the rain came pouring down. In my sprint back to the hostel, I got turned around in the curvy streets and wound up hitch-hiking back to the hostel. Today I got a decent surf in, though the wind was still on pretty strong. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to die and it should be pretty good. Wednsday morning I head to Paris to meet Michelle. Despite the escape of surfing, I find myself thinking constantly about our upcoming trip...I'm excited, to say the least. Speaking of Michelle, I'm going to try now to post some pictures of our time together in Greece and any others I can manage to get on as well. Sorry these pic.s have taken so long to get on here...that is assuming that I get them to work on this stubborn blog system. 10-4 out.

Winding down...

So, last I wrote Mike, Kevin and I were enjoying a great hostel in Nice, France. In Nice we met up with Andrew and Lisa, two Australians we met in Cinque Terre, another Australin named Ayal, and a girl from Seattle, Molly, who coincidentally is best friends with my second cousin, Reeves Kitchell...small world. Anyhow, the sites in and around Nice, Monacco, Cannes..., were alright, but the little group we had formed was made the trip - it was nice getting to know a large group of people and made visits to the beach and other sights a lot of fun. Our next stop was Barcelona. Andrew and Lisa had the same itnerary, so we travelled on an overnight train together and got booked at the same hostel on Las Ramblas, the ´´happening´´ city center of Barcelona.
Barcelona was great. I absolutely loved the city. Got up early (relatively early) one day and just walked through its small streets, discovering hidden plazas and exploring the Barcelona cathedral. Mike, Kevin and I spent the second half of that same day at the beach...time very well spent, I might add. The beach was beautiful and my ten euro thai massage that I got while laying on my beach mat was even better. These Thai women just walk around all day giving massages to the masses of beach goers...they must make a killing. Best 10 euro I ever spent. That night we joined Andrew for a Spanish cooking class. We made some tapas, a chicken paella and all the sangria we could drink. For the class, we had a whole restaraunt to ourselves, a very friendly teacher and relaxed atmosphere...oh yeah, and incredible food. Not a bad way to spend, or rather to start, a night. Most of the next day the five of us spent walking around the city, visiting Gaudi´s numerous sights and architectural wonders. Parc Guell, Gaudi´s failed attempt to create a community for the affluent on a hillside overlooking the city, had a paticularly Dr. Seuss feel to it with its bizzar mosaics and curvy structures. At the end of our stay in Barcelona, Mike, Kevin and I said goodbye to our new friends and jumped on a train bound for Algeciras, the main port town to Morocco.
We all expected Morocco to be heavily influenced by its european neighbors. On the contrary, it felt more like India than any other place I´ve visted since. In Tangiers I occaisionally got a whiff of a smell that reminded me of India, however, the bad smells in Tangiers were comperable only to the nicest in Chennai or Port Blair. Tangiers was heavily oriented towards tourists though, and the Western ideals that had rubbed off on the city clashed strongly with its Muslim way of life and made it a rather undesirable place. After several hours in the city, we jumped on a bus for Asilah, to spend several days on ´paradise beach.´
As we exited the bus in Asilah, we were greeted by a young Moroccan who spoke good English. He wanted to show us to the local hostel and, though we were all apprehentious about the situation, we did not have lodging, nor did we even know where to look, so we followed. Soon we were in the back of a truck, now accompanied by the young Moroccan´s brother Abdul as well, heading to a different hostel, 20 meters from Paradise Beach. The hostel was not a hostel, but an extra room in a family´s house, 20 meters some how turned into a 20 minute walk to a beach that was not, in fact, Paradise beach...but what did we expect? The room, however, was very nice, the beach very beautiful and the walk to it through green pastures full of grazing sheep was even more spectacular - so we were content and took the room...and, after much insistance on their part, tipped our ´guides´ a healthy amount. Everyone was very friendly though, always filling our glass full of the delicious Moroccan tea. Our room included three meals a day cooked by our hosts, Muhamed´s, wife. Delicous meals served on a large, communal plate, full of vegetables and meats gathered fresh from within a stones throw of our abode. In the mornings it was a plate of fresh eggs with Moroccan spice. Our two days in the tiny little village was relaxing, to say the least. Unfortunately we were now into the month of May, which means are time travelling was rapidly running out. Thus, we were not able to explore the mountains of Morocco´s interior and made a group decision to return to the first world...a decision I somewhat regret.
Several more night trains have situated us in San Sebastian, Spain. Our plan was to spend our last 5 days relaxing on the beach (is anyone noticing a trend here?), building up nice tans for our return to the states. Of course, that would require sunshine, of which there is none currently in San Sebastian and is not forcasted until the day after our departure...but what could we expect? I did, however, discover a little surfing beach today and a spot to rent gear, so I will be rather content the next several days, even without the sun.
From San Sebastian Kevin and Mike will return to Amsterdam and Frakfurt respectively for their flights home. I, on the other hand, will take a train to Paris to meet Michelle on the 10th and spend our last week of travel together in the city of love. There is no better way I could imagine finishing such an incredible adventure. It has been well over a month since I last saw Michelle and I am constantly thinking about her and our upcoming trip. Although it is good to enjoy the moment, which I do, it is also healthy to look forward with excitment to the future. Although I am dissapointed that my world travels are coming to a close, I have so much to look forward to in my future career and my life with Michelle. ...but that´s getting a little ahead of myself - for now, I am enjoying the company of two of my best friends and anxiously awaiting an incredible week alone with my lover. I hope that all is well with everyone back home. 10-4 out.