September 20 - September 22

The views along the Mediterranean made the train ride seem shorter since we could watch the cliffs, nice beach homes and many small coastal cities. I had been to the French Riviera over a decade ago with my parents. I was kind of young to remember everything but Jessie's and my first stop while walking around Nice was the exact beach my family and I had visited. I looked at the view of the nearby cliffs and the stony beach and I remembered it all.

We had another sunny day of weather so we walked around the beachfront and pedestrian malls. It was, not surprisingly, expensive to eat but we managed to find a cheap pizza place when we needed to. I was looking forward to the morning already when we would rent a car and drive to the stages of the Monte-Carlo Rally and the Principality of Monaco.

The next morning I got up early and was waiting at the Sixt car rental agency door when it opened. The online booking had quoted me a tiny Smart Fourtwo car as my example but I have learned not to take these literally. Happily, I not only got the Smart I have been longing to drive for years but it was a convertible! As girly as it sounds, the car made me grin every kilometre and putting the top down made me feel like a millionaire that buys the most practical convertible around. These cars have a turbocharged (tiny 3-cylinder) rear-mounted engine, manual sequential (very slow) shifting gear box, digital gear display, rear wheel drive and a very short wheelbase. In my mind, all the ingredients for a rally car, but 2/3 scale and 1/3 speed. Driving the Col de Torini stage in the Alps above Monte-Carlo was probably the best non-racetrack driving experience I've ever had. The Smart would downshift like a rally car and the engine got noisier and noisier the harder I drove it. Towards the top of one of the passess I noticed the gauge was 8/10 of the way to overheating and I think the driving caused some exhuast leakage somehow. Some of the hairpin turns were so tight even small European hatchbacks had to cross into oncoming lanes. The switchbacks were the best I have ever experienced since they were steeped in motorsport history and afforded excellent natural scenery. Anyway, if it wasn't for the lame stability/traction control I would have left some tire skid marks but I was probably going fast enough anyway. The elevation was over 1500 metres and there seemed to be many hikers and trails for me to explore on another trip (just an excuse to drive there again).

We drove back down the mountains into the Principality itself for sight seeing and swimming. Not content with even the standard convertible, most of the Smart cars in Monaco were the faster Brabus versions but I liked our white convertible just fine for easy parking and manouverability. Going into the city we were "forced" into taking the streets that make up the Formula One circuit every year. I could recognize the finish line straightaway, corners and pit lane from countless video game laps and TV broadcasts. Disappointingly, the "racetrack" portion of town was congested with tourists, locals and preparation for the 18th annual Monaco Yacht Show. We parked our car among the Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris and Porsches and walked up the steep hills to the centre harbour and casinos. We admired the Casino and I went inside to conjure up scenes of James Bond battling it out with villians at the various tables and games. It was pretty nice inside but not as nice as the cars outside. Besides the typical Ferraris and Bentleys you would expect to see, there were participant cars of the RoyalRace.de drive. This is similar to Gumball 3000 if anyone is familiar with that.

Jessie and I decided to spring for more parking and swim at the beautiful Monaco beach. We could see many mega-yachts from our vantage point as we swam amongst big silver fish and tiny minnow-looking things. There was a guy on a jet ski skimming the water for jellyfish and sea weed. After I made a full lap of the F1 circuit on foot we headed back to Nice, returned the car and started planning for the Spanish leg of our trip.

September 18 - September 19

For our first Eurail train trip we took the overnight train to Venice. The train was pretty nice and we followed a route past the enormous Lake Balaton through Slovakia and Croatia with stops to check passports every few hours. We didn't sleep all that well but when we arrived in Venice we were ready for exploring the canals. First, there were tons of tourists like us but ones that came over on cruise ships. Second, there were pigeons everywhere creeping Jessie out. The canals and boats were great fun to explore and see, however, and we even managed to find a resonably priced place to eat. I would love to live here for a week so I could take a boat everywhere. I am convinced that the best low speed powerboat operaters live here; I saw the long and narrow taxi boats (not the gondolas) being twisted and spun around tight corners everywhere. New here is a marketing campaign for "Villians of James Bond" watches so I snapped a pick o the Jaws one. This one is for you, Steve.

Our hotel/hostel was good. It was conveniently across the Grand Canal from the train station and we had a good view of the former. Tomorrow, my overdue return to France!

September 14 - September 17

We took our EasyJet flight to Budapest, Hungary and started the short journey from the airport to the city centre. I had been to Budapest once before but I had not seent he outskirts which are what you might expect of a former Soviet Bloc city. The scary looking communist projects gave way to American style strip malls and then the metro line startion. Upon arrival to the station and downtown areas we realized the bus used for the airport run was probably the nicest in town, a new Volvo. All the other buses we saw were 1980s vintage electric Ikarus models which I loved. At the metro station we managed to communicate with an older lady and she told us what ticket we needed for the train. After passing the validation machines and several armed guards we guessed what direction our train should be coming from and headed downtown.

We were conveniently dropped off near a hostel that I had stayed before but I was in for a surprise. I stayed with 4 friends in a dorm-style room earlier this year but this time Jessie and I were put into a former law office suite. There was fine wood work, art and furniture everywhere and the kitchen and bathroom looked like they were out of a home magazine. It was a nice surprise for 2 nights of relaxation and a break from normal hostels.

We met for a walking tour the next morning after guessing on some good breakfast foods at a local grocery. We learned that Budapest was home to the first underground metro in contenental Europe. It was built for a 19th century worlds fair and we took a ride on it from downtown to the Turkish baths.

We learned a lot about the city's history and I got to see a lot of what I missed the first trip. Chief among which was the House of Terror. It sounds like a bad roller coaster ride at Disney but was is actually the notorius location of Nazi and Soviet headquarters for over 50 years. Located on the nicest road in Budapest, it was converted to a museum to teach and recall all the horrific tortures, executions, spying and interrogations that took place under the rule of these two groups of facists. Great learning experience and I loved the military tank parked in a pool of black water and the official limo.

September 4 - September 13

We have become a little museum-ed out despite excellent places to see here in the capital. Among my favourite museums are the Imperial War Museum, Science Museum, and Royal Maritime Museum. After seeing so many of these good ones, I think Jessie and I were a little tired of walking around looking at signs and exhibits so the Tate Modern art museum and British Museum were not well liked. I think the art museum would have been boring to me anyway, since I do not understand or appreciate it. It seems like much of it is arbitrarily designed and superflous in nature as if someone with zero talent or even computer design program set on random could create it. The War, Science and Maritime museums, on the other hand, fascinated me and I loved their displays.

One of my favourite things to do with Jessie is walk around the posher neighbourhoods in London. Chelsea, Notting Hill, Holland Park and Hyde Park are all great since I am able to admire the nice houses and cars and even see some cool car dealerships. My favoruite among which is the block of BMW stores on Park Lane including BMW motorrad (motorcycle), Mini and the BMW armoured car division. In the latter dealership there was a display of a bulletproof door that had been shot as well as a tire that can function even after a puncture. Hyde Park was also temporary home to Jessie's uncle and aunt with whom we enjoyed a great dinner, dessert and walk.

I took a day trip to Greenwich which is sort of part of London but feels like a separate village. I rode again on the Docklands Light Rail which is always fun for me. It is home of the Prime Meridian which was created there, rather arbitraily, by the Royal Observatory as part of a system to help ancient mariners navigate. There was a tiled line in the ground and a laser beam to denote this landmark, as well as an atomic clock to help Europe keep time. While in Greenwich, I also visit the Royal Martime Museum, Queen Anne's palace home, the painted chapel, painted hall and the Maritime College. The entire park, campus and compund that are part of the village are great to look at and a nice addition to the nearby market. On the way back I walked through a foot tunnel under the River Thames, past the launch site for the Leviathan ship and up the Isle of Dogs to the Canary Wharf and DLR. Greenwich turned out to be my second favourite London locales, second only the the nice wealthy and car heaven neighbourhoods listed above.

Also in Hyde Park we enjoyed a pedal boat rental on the Serpentine pond. It was hard work on our legs but a scenic part of the city. For our 6 month anniversary we splurged on a ride on the London Eye (the big ferris wheel). Apart from a couple making out in the 25-passenger capsule it was good times.

Quick shout-out to London Metro Police for using BMW sedans and station wagon (saloon and estate) marked and unmarked police cruisers. Good job.

Today we will head over to Camden Market (which we heard is weird but cool) and enjoy some drinks with some of our housemates.

Due to some changes with our Air India flight bookings, we are now going to be traveling to the southern part of Europe earlier than expected. We are flying Monday to Budapest and from there following the Mediterranean via Venice, Cinqueterra, Monaco, Nice, Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon before heading north to Paris. Upon returning to London, we will fly to Helsinki for the Scandinavian, German and Dutch part of the trip. Sounds crazy, right? I doubt everything will work out without a hitch but it should be proper fun anyway. Wish us luck

August 25 - September 3

Not too much traveling to report here. We have moved into a new house in London. We are living in the Leyton neighbourhood of east London in a house with some South Africans. The photo of the brown house with the Jeep Cherokee (aka Liberty in the USA) in front of it.

We have been traveling on the underground tube most of the time and visiting the tourist sites close to city centre. My new favourite public transit line is the Docklands Light Rail. It is an automated train line that runs across and near the Thames River and right through the centre of Canary Wharf (like the Wall St. area of south Manhattan). I like how there is no conductor/driver needed and there is lots to see out the windows while travelling above ground. I could probably ride it a few more times just for fun before I got bored!

I won't bother typing the sites we have visited but if you look at a list of the 25 sites tourists should see in London we have probably been there. Many of the places, however, charge admission fees so on our budget trip it means gleaning knowledge from eavesdropping and sign reading outside.

We were struck by the gorgeous housing in Notting Hill and Chelsea. Every third house seemed like a rich footballer's home or embassy. I, of course, was ogling all of the awesome Bentleys, Mercedes-Benz and Porsches around.

The children's interactive exhibits at the Science Museum kept us entertained for hours...good show!

Nothing to exciting for now, but I am off to bed.

Foreign Couple spotted on Isle of Man

August 22 - August 24

The Isle of Man is a small tax-haven in the middle of the Irish Sea. It is part of the UK but it seems to follow their own law when they wish, since it is so isolated anyway. We set off on our Steam Packet ferry catamaran and arrived late at night to see the coastline of Douglas lit up and full of motorcycle fans. There was a cycle race this weekend on the island; the Isle has been known for its friendliness to motorsports for over a century but I swear this had NOTHING to do with me wanting to visit ;). With the hotels and bars full of racing fans, whitewashed sea side buildings and curving bay promenade I was immediately comparing it to the principality of Monaco, also long having been on my list of places to visit. Anyways we tiredly checked into our hotel and
I looked forward to my day exploring the island and motorsport attractions.

We rented our crappiest and smallest car ever, a Chevy Matiz, and visited the start/finish line grandstands, pits and paddock of the circuit. Lots of fast looking cycles, historic looking signage and cool souvenirs. We took two laps around the 40 mile island road circuit (not closed off for practice until later) and I enjoyed every minute of it in our glorified golf cart Chevy. Many motorcycles passed us but I was too busy taking in all the turns, sights and roads to care. Castletown, Ramsey and Douglas were all awesome places to enjoy the sea and motorcycles. I will have to return again some day because 1 day was not enough. There is a car rally earlier in the season and Jessie read that there are several island racing championships in which visitors and particpants can partake. Awesome Awesome Awesome place to race and visit to see the landscapes. One day I want to live here and just race all year around the island.