Some of the best and maybe worst...

So, today will probably be my last post prior to arriving home on Sunday afternoon. I thought I would brainstorm some of the best things about my Europe experience before I head to Epsom. Of course you can ask me about anything but here some I thought about this morning....

Transportation/Lodging

Metro System - Vienna
Airport - Dublin
Taxi - Antwerp
Hotel - Cocoon (Munich)
Airline - Lufthansa (On time, free beer and wine, decent food)

Food

Food - Lyon
Restaurant - Hackerhaus (Munich)
Meal - Bangers and Mash at the Lotts in Dublin
Beer - Leffe Blonde (and its not close)
Dessert - Dame Blanche (Het Pomphuis)
Lunch - Het Pomphuis (Belgium)
Breakfast - Garfunkels (London)
Irish Pub - Charlie P's (Vienna)
Wine - Châteaux Talbot (France)
Cocktail - Cocktail Roland Garros at the French Open
Chocolate - Vienna

Cities/Sights/Culture

Dressed - Paris
American Friendly - Munich (without speaking English)
Shopping - London
Weather - Majorca
Bar - Harleys (Prague)
Song - Barbara Streisand
Most Expensive - London
Most Dangerous - Paris (the young thieves there are so annoying)
Park - Prater (Vienna)
Church - Melk, Austria
Historical Sight - Westminster Abbey

Odd Specifics

$34 for a Burrito and Beer in Paris
$27 for 100ml of sunscreen in Paris
$2 for great red wine in several places

Luggage

Too Little: Socks, Cell Phone Data Plan
Too Much: American Money, Golf Shirts, Sweaters, Adapters
Life Savers: Back Pack, Travel Wallet, iPhone, Suit Compartment

Be Thankful

Be thankful for your health and well being. After using public transportation exclusively on this trip, its amazing to me the courage and determination of some of those less fortunate. Through disabilities and blindness, people persevere everyday to navigate and get to where they need to be. Sometimes I complain about lugging 70 pounds of luggage through the metros. Then i need to look no further than the young girl struggling with every step at snails pace. The public transport system can be hard for anyone, I cant imagine doing it disabled. Its very humbling how many people in the world struggle with the very simplest things we take for granted. I hope cities abroad continue to renovate all their public facilities to become more accessible.

Almost to the finish...

Hello All,

Sorry I have not been posting as much in the past few days. I have been on the move quite a bit. In Majorca there was no internet, now in London, there is internet at gold prices. So today I anted up and got the internet in my room. I need to check train schedules, places to go, racing forms, all kinds of things. But, hopefully to your likes, the first thing I am doing is blogging.

The big two nine in Majorca.

Majorca was awesome, but wow, was I not totally out of gas when I left there. Fifteen hour days in the sun with pints of San Miguel can take it out of you. Plus water had to be purchased, making dehydration more of an issue. Also, have you ever noticed the weird lower leg muscles that absolutely kill you after walking several hours on the beach? I didnt even know some of those muscle groups existed. Oh well, I am uncertain if doing a tropical vacation by yourself is worth it, my feeling now is that it would be much better shared with someone else. More so than any of my destinations thus far.

Bangers and Mash with Guinness, Meal of  the Trip??

So I left the island on Tuesday only to fly to another island, Ireland. I only had an afternoon there in between flights but found it pretty cool. It was a typical cloudy and cool day. My mission was to have a Guinness and local food. I did just that in The Lotts Pub. The "Bangers and Mash" I had there was one of the best meals I have had thus far on my trip. Warning, its not for everyone. Also very neat in Dublin is the level of interest in horses, horse racing is everywhere. Even the cab driver spoke of Tabor and Magnier, Sadlers Wells, etc. Very nice and welcoming after having zero in common with most in Majorca.

Big Ben from my subway exit at Westminster.

Now I am in London. Great city. I really like it. It reminds me of American big cities in way. But not really. The architecture is totally different, but I guess because it has a river (Thames) running through the city and that there are some rather large financial building that look very American. The history here is flat out incredible! I spend hours yesterday inside Westminster Abbey, that is a must for anyone at all interested in history. Buckingham Palace was simply a landmark in my mind. Things are a tad bit expensive as now 1 pound is $1.63. A rate like that can put a hit on you if you dont watch it, that steal on lunch for 5.95 just cost you about 10 american dollars. Thats scary going straight into the two largest days of English racing at Epsom, but glass half full, the winnings will be compounded by the rates.

 Well, I am going to go. Ironically, I didnt pay the high hotel room cost and internet costs to use them all day. I must get out and see more.