chicago: Day 3 Night 3. Last night in America

I woke up this morning fairly early. Around 10:30, i guess since i didnt think much about my plans in europe yesterday i had to make up for it today by pretty much spending the entire day on my computer trying to figure out routes and plans and sleeping and all that stuff. Iv been keeping in contact with Morganne and we have planned that we will meet up on October 20th in Florence. I finally pulled out the timetables for the euro rail, so thats what i have been looking at all day. Trying to get to London To Florence in about two weeks, while also not just blasting through a bunch of cities in the first month im in Europe. So Im flying into London on the 2nd. on the 6th i will go to Paris. On the 11th I will go to Tolouse, France. In Tolouse i will see To Kill on the 12th. From there i will go to Milan, Italy on the 15th. But in order for me to go to Milan i have to make a quick stop in Nice, France. QUICK, because Morganne and i will be going back there to actually spend time there. Then on the 20th I will make the move from Milan to Florence and meet up with Morganne.

So, it feels okay planning stuff out. It makes me feel a little bit more accomplished.

Im really thirsty though....

Chicago: Day 2 Night 2

Woke up this morning, talked with Stef for a bit while i waited for andrew to wake up. Pretty cool. Andrew woke up and we took the train downtown. We walked around for a bit, we ate at chipolet, that was awesome. Then we went and saw a movie, Burn After Reading. The movie was pretty good, it is the new Coen Brothers movie. After taking and waiting for the train fir an hour and a half we finaly get back home. Break for a little bit and then Stef and I rode to Jon T.'s house. Andrew let me barrow his bike. So i did get to ride a little bit here in Chicago. A bunch of us ended up going to the Empty Bottle to watch some bands play, it was free. It was an odd expiriance, iv never seen that kind of stuff on a stage before. The music was bad too. We ate at this place next to the empty bottle called BITE, it was pretty good, good vegan food. After the show everyone left and Stef and I rode back to the house. I enjoy her company, she is really nice.

Havent really thought about euro trip at all today. Iv talked to Stef about it alot, she just came back from there, she was more on the east side though, in poland and lithuania and latvia. But today was a rainy day, it was a good day off from thinking about the traveling. Well, except for the papers that arrived in my parents mailbox. Papers that i need in order to fly to europe. Well we got that figured out pretty quickly. They are sending them next day mail, they will arrive on Wensday in the morning. Tomarrow is Tuesday.

In chicago: Night 1.

Im in chicago, staying at Andrew/Zack/Stef's place and it feels okay, im getting anxious about leaving the states. Iv got three days here, killing time, spending money only on food. Im just waiting, hanging out now. Not riding my bike.

Lastnight was a fun lastnight in TC, it was Anthony's and Joanna's birthday party at Ians. I danced, laughed, and met some people. It was a good night. I woke up and ate breakfast with Anthony, he had sparkls all over his face, it was a good breakfast. I always enjoy my time with him.

My eyes are warm, im tired.

Im trying to come up with plans for when i start my moves in Europe, looking at different approaches and what not. Quality, not Quantity.

Pictures of my last week in the TC.

This is Matt, I live with him and i work with him, and his mom owns the house that we live in, she lives there too.
This is our friend Kevin, serenading matt with the Hot Keyz
This is lil' Sam, I work with him, friends with him, and friends with his bro!
This is the dining area of the cafe i work in. The cafe is called the Lake St. Cafe, we are located within Oryana Natural Foods Co-op.
This is Rachel, the girl that is taking my bedroom when i leave. I also work with her. She is crushin some celery right here.

Welp, there were more pictures but for some reason they arent uploading, they are pictures of the two concerts i went to this past week, Ratatat and Sigur Ros. I'll just have to up load them in the future.

Packaging bikes.

So, doesnt look like my bike will be able to be ridden in chicago. This here is a picture of me holding my bike, all packaged up, ready to fly. I was going to try and get some pictures of my bike to post on here before we packaged it up, but i was to busy, so this is what it looks like when it is ready to fly over the ocean. This is mega wrapped up. I thought i was going to take it to my dads work, take the pedals off, turn the handle bars and put it in a giant bag. Nope, this is what my dad said in the midst of the packaging frenzy, "We are making this thing gorilla proof". Well he must have forgotten a few things: Gorillas, as well as multiple other wierd things, arent allowd on planes, Gorillas arent exactly a species that you will find in the united kingdom, and most importantly, his son is not a gorilla. Now this is what i am going to have to deal with when i get off the plane, some how penetrate this industrial bag usually used to cover heavy machinary, and cut through industrial strength tape. Thankfully we were smart enough to stash a razor blade amongst this mess so i can cut through all of this packaging with ease, its just that razor blade is WITHIN the bag and the box that it is in is tapped shut. So, there is that cool stuff!

Im sitting in Serenity with my friend laura, im eating the last Avocado Classic for the next two and half months. I just got the news that i may be leaving tonight, not tomarrow. Well im ready now. Backpack is stuffed, bedroom is empty. Im good to go.

Stolen in europe.

So many people are talking to me about being careful with all my stuff, like its almost a garuntee that its going to get stolen. I dont understand, is it really that bad and scary in europe? They are people just like us, i dont see it any different than going to chicago or even detroit. Like its dangerous yeah, but i dont think it could any more dangerous than walking through downtown detroit, or riding my bike through south central chicago. I just dont understand why people are talking like iv got to be really careful or i die. Its not like im wearing an american flag attached to my back or anything.


I just feel that the reason why people are thinking like that and telling me these things is just becuase they are living out of fear and they are scared of the unkown, you know? Americans, in my opinion, generally live out of fear. Watching the news and hearing gossip and rumores, its never anything good, or its very rarely anything good, from the small stuff of like "I heard craig was cheating on his girlfriend" to the big stuff like terrorism. We, americans, are generally scared people. And more than likely, this isnt the first time you've heard a claim like this.

Well im not scared (Well i am, but) im trying to stray away from this generalization. Thats one reason why im doing this european trip. Just because it is an unknown place with a ton of people doesnt mean i need to be scared of it. And thats all it is. All it is is just a dark room and what im doing is turning on the light. Its not like a place where i will most likely die, no studies are showing me that Europe is a leading cause of death. But thats how it sounds when people here in america talk about it. All iv heard when i say im going there by myself is "be careful. your stuff might get stolen"
Well damn, cant you say that about us americans too, when ever we travel to another city here in america? Like is this what europeans tell each other when they are talking to someone travelling to america? Probably not, they probably talk about how we are scared people and how our government sucks.

So thats why im doing this, so im not a scared person, i dont live in fear. So im going to europe by myself. Im going to ride my bike, mind my own business and keep to myself. Just like how i act here in america, because there is no reason for me to act like NOT myself. And if someone wants to talk to me than i will talk to them. If i need to talk to someone than i will talk to someone. Its common human interaction, there should be no fear about it other than the fear in yourself.



Change subject:

iv got my camera up and running and in posting mode, but im still not that familiar with the way this blog works, ealier today i tried uploading a few pictures on here and tried typing a few things about them but it turned out to be more work than what i thought, so for now im just going to post pictures with very little words, leaving room for your imagination.

im on the home stretch for leaving home, iv started cleaning my bedroom. I cant think of anything more that i need to buy. All iv got to do now is visit with friends, see my mom and dad, pack up my bike, and everything in my bedroom and then head to chicago. Unfortunatly i wont have my bike in chicago. So thats too bad, but oh well, i'll only be there for three days and then i will be riding around London. There may be some changes in my travel plans and they may get a little crossy/windey, going to a couple cities more than once going places i wasnt planning on going in the first place. We will just have to see when i get there.

There are alot of things that we will have to see about when I get there.

Pre-europe traveling and thinking.

Iv got a week and a half before i get on the plane. But iv only got a week before i have to drive down to chicago. I feel like i should be preparing myself better and contributing more effort to get the list of ONE HUNDRED things done!

I have to be packed up and out of my room by saturday. Thats pretty much the numero uno deal, right there. Getting all of my garbage and clothes and books and stuff out of this room and finding a place to keep it. And also getting rid of all of these cd's iv got. Once i do that then my shelves will be cleared and the majority of my cleaning will be done. Iv already sold a box load of my cd's to Sound It Out Records downtown, but iv got probably another 4 boxes left for them. Its just they wont be able to afford to take them all this week, so i can only take one more to them pretty much and just keep the rest for when i get back. That way i will be able to get money when i get home because i will be BROKE. I can garuntee myself that one, i will not have money by the time i come home.

I have my rail pass now though, it came in the mail and my parents got it to me today. So i can look at that thing and get pumped, right? I can also look at the rail booklet that tells me the times and stuff for the trains. I also see that i will get a bed on the train. So thats good.

I baught a camera the other day, so now i can upload pictures and all that to this blog deal so you can see everything im doing. I used it for the first time lastnight, i went to grand rapids and saw Ratatat and Panther play. It was real good, i also got to see a bunch of people i wasnt expecting to see, like Pat and Jeff and Matt H. So thats pretty cool, Iv been able to see alot of people in the last couple weeks before i leave that i wanted to see.
Unfortunattly im doing some things on my computer right now and all the USB ports are taken so i cant upload those pictures yet, but when i do within the next couple days, this will be the first place they go...not myspace.

This coming week, along with the long list of ONE HUNDRED things, iv got a couple interuptions in the middle of it, besides work. Im driving to Detroit on tuesday to see Sigur Ros, for the third time. Thats another chance to use this camera. And then on Wensday, my only day off this week where im not driving to detroit i have to sit and endure as much pain as i can for at least one hour so i can get this tattoo done by the time i leave. Iv only got a little over a foot to go on it and we get about a foot done with every session its just this is also along the side of my upper torso, which you can ask anyone who has gotten a tattoo there, it is definatly very painfull. One of the top most painfull spots to get a tattoo on your body, and im going straight through with solid black ink. Yay, could be doing something a little more beneficial to my trip? Yes.

But, i have gotten my bike all figured out, with the whole transportation thing. And i got a really nice backpack, and a real nice tent and sleeping bag, and a nice camera, and a computer and ipod, and my passport and my plane ticket and rail pass. So i do have pretty much the necessities done. Meaning: If i could just get up and go now, than i would, easily. But i cant, i still have these other things to do.

Iv been thinking alot about my travels, as i should be. But im already thinking about when i come home. What it will be like when i come home. Iv travelled before, out of traverse city, but its been in more comfortable settings and situations. Not as much question asking. This time im leaving and it seems like im going to a completely different world, and when i come back this place just wont be the same, in my mind. Or it could be...like i see my changes being internal or external. My changes are actually inside of me, my mind and emotions and what not, they are inside. Or my changes could be just like an attatchment to me, to what i already have. I hope its that one, where they are just an attatchment to what i have. I probably have control over what they do to me. But i just keep thinking about the flight home and when i get back into traverse city. I will be arriving in the middle of the winter, its going to be crazy i think. Then i have a few days off from work and then i get back into it three days after i get home. Like i get back into my normal routine of now. Get up and go to work, hang out with friends and see people. That just seems really wierd after im gone for two and half months, travelling around on a train with nothing but a bag of clothes and a bike, for two and a half months. Then i just come home and get back into my so called "usuall". Thats just one of the deals you have to deal with when you travel, i guess.

I really just have no idea what to expect. I cant wait to meet the people, see the landscape, see the music, feel the emotions, and then come home and see the perspectives and tell the stories.

I dont know.

First Post of Many: Going to Europe.

This is a blog, welcome to blogging, Lance!

THIS is where i will post updates, words, stories, pictures, emotions, and stuff regarding my adventures in Europe. 

History:

I decided to travel to europe about a month ago. There was a lot wishy washy thought about it, some days i thought about going to Europe and other days i thought about going to costa rica, other days it was something else. I didnt really know where i wanted to go, travel to a different country, continent, city, where ever. I wasnt staying here in Traverse City, or even Michigan. I was leaving. The only thing that was certain was that my bike was coming with me. 

I took the semester off from college. I have been going to NMC now for the past two or three years, two and half years, or something. It all blends together, you know. I wasnt really accomplishing anything really at all. And the credits that i was getting were still questionable in their ability to transfer to another school. I kind of lost hope in that place. I took the semester off, so i had alot of time coming my way when the summer ended. I couldnt just sit around doing nothing. I had to do something, so the idea of traveling came up. First it was just like some where else in the States. Boston was pretty much the top choice, but the ambition just wasnt really there. I felt if i were to travel and since i had so much time to travel i should go somewhere big. So I played with the thought of going to Europe and all that. Possibly working on a farm. I was checking out that thing called WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Where you basically work on an organic farm for food and shelter. These farms are all over the world and i know a few people who have traveled through these farms. So i checked it out and all that, thought about going to Coasta Rica to harvest fruit and all that and be able to ride my bike in the rainforest, that would be pretty cool, right? Yeah, oh yeah, did i find a plane ticket? oh yeah, a cheap one. YES! For $150 i could have flown to Costa Rica. Lived, ate food, ride my bike, see beautiful settings and animals, all for really cheap. All i had to do was work 4 to 6 hours a day harvesting organic bananas or papaya, or some other really awsome fruit. 

Awesome Idea!

Then my friend Morganne came to Traverse City...

She is originally from TC, but she has been living in New York state for the past couple years. We were never really that good of friends before this visit, we were friends though. But when she was in Traverse City we were able to spend alot of time together and hang out much more than what we ever have done before. We became closer friends. Well guess where she has been planing on traveling to for the past few months, Europe. She's flying out there in september and back packing around untill novemeber. Sounds Great! She convinced me to go. That was the decision maker, hearing her talk about it and everything.

So i applied for my passport and got it in the mail about three weeks later at the begining of september. Now I have a passport, one step closer to getting out of this country. I felt really strongly about going to Europe but i was still toying with the idea of Costa Rica. Then one day i just gravitated to Europe, about september 10th i pretty much made the decision that i was going to Europe. October 1st was the expected date of departure and I stayed true to that. A few days ago i bought my ticket. Leaving Chicago and flying to London on October 1st. I will be there untill December 10th when i will leave out of london and fly back to chicago.

I decided that i am going to get a euro rail pass to travel ALL through europe, but still taking my bike to ride in the cities that i stop in. Everything is pretty much planned on the spot. Thanks to my friend John i may have places to stay in London, Rome, and Barcelona. Other people are telling me they could set me up with places to stay in other cities and im telling them it would be really awesome if they could but im really not worrying TOO much about it. I know i should be thinking about where i will be sleeping for the next two and half months, but im not. There are places i can stay, hostels, hotels, where ever. Im bringing a sleeping bag, i can sleep in a yard somewhere or something. Couches and carpeted floors are now luxeries to me. I definatly could have done better with my finances. Since this trip was planned pretty quickly i havent left myself with alot of time to save up money, and I still have alot of things to buy before I leave. So now i have a money problem, where ever im sleeping for the next two and half months better be CHEAP, cause i still need to eat, or what if i get a flat or something? Iv got to sustain myself while im there. But again, for some reason im not worrying too much about it. Is this wrong? I dont know why. I just feel im a smart person, if a problem comes up i will figure something out. Untill then though, I have to deal with some other things, i guess...

So here i am, going to europe on October 1st for a little over two months. Tacking a train, riding my bike. Meeting people, looking at stuff, experiencing and learning. Could have done better with the planning and all, but oh well. Its happening, I will remember this time for the rest of my life.

These are the cities i plan on traveling to (in this order, maybe):

London

Amsterdam

Berlin

Prague

Vienna

Athens

Naples

Rome

Milan

Nice

Barcelona

Valencia

Madrid

Lisbon

Paris

London

And everywhere in between, thats just a rough outline, i dont know dates of when i will be in these cities or if i will even make it to all of them, or if i take a different route. Right now i just plan on going in a big circle, if you were to map out all those cities in that order, thats what you would get, a circle. But i am down for changing the plans or whatever, like i said, everything is pretty much on the spot, in the moment. There is one thing I do know I will do, meet up with Morganne. At least in Barcelona for Dia De Los Muertos. So, thats the only plan. 

If you know of somewhere i should go, or try to go, or some where that is really beutiful or something, you should let me know. I guess thats another part of these blog things is that people can comment on them. 

Or if you know somewhere that i can stay in any of those cities or near those cities or in between those cities, let me know, I would appreciate it, and i will take anything!

So this is it, first post. DONE!

Oh, i would also like to thank Dennis from the Fixed Gear Gallery for helping me figure this blogging stuff out!