Rob's Travels

Hi everyone,

My last entry was just before leaving Central America for Spain. I arrived in Madrid two and a half weeks ago, and met up with some BC friends, Ruben and Gabi, as planned. The museums and archtitecture were impressive, especially the Prado and Reina Sofia museums and the Royal Palace. The nights out were fun, but the schedule took some getting used to... while I was in Costa Rica 7:30 am meant waking up to surf; in Madrid 7:30 am meant time to go home and sleep.

Next I headed to Lisbon, Portugal, where I stayed with my friend Justin, a BC alum who is doing research there. Lisbon is also a beautiful city. I climbed one of the hills leading up to a medieval castle, which offered some incredible views of the city and the river.

Two train rides later I was in Barcelona, where I saw the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. Barcelona has some very unique sights, like Gaudi's apartment building and park, the Sagrada Familia church, and (I don't know the actual name of) the bullet-shaped building which lit up at night in flourescent blues and reds. The weather in Barcelona was also amazing, and I got some real use out of the skateboard that I've had strapped to my backpack for the entire journey.

While I was in Paris last week I managed to see pretty much all of the major landmarks, the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triumphe, and Jim Morrison's grave.

Now I am in Den Haag, the Netherlands, at my aunt and uncle's house. The city is very nice and very Dutch... everybody gets around by bike and people eat french fries with mayonaise. Den Haag is also a convenient 40-minute train ride from Amsterdam, where I had a very interesting day trip yesterday.

Tomorrow I plan on heading to Germany, first to Berlin, then to wherever my heart, wallet, or Eurail pass can take me.

Peace,
Rob