Goodbye Slovenia

Tomorrow we are leaving for Prague. My time here in Slovenia has been amazing. The only bad thing I can say is that you do not drink a lot of their beer. IT WILL give you a hangover in the morning. I know from experience. The last couple of days have been eventful. On Wednesday we drove about 90 min away to a valley. We biked about 10 kilometers and hiked up to this waterfall for a picnic. The pictures are from the waterfall. Last night we went to a rest stop, I guess is what you would call it, and played frisbee, rocked out to our instruments, and got drunk. It was a good time. So far Slovenia has been everything I have hoped for and more. If they had a bluegrass music scene I would be here in a heartbeat. The other picture is of the day we went to an old mercury mine in Idriaj.

Slovenia Part 2

The last three days here in Slovenia have been amazing. On Saturday we went to Slovenia's only national park. It was awesome. We did a little cave exploring and hiking. The first set of pictures are from there. I loved the cave. Yesterday we went to the capital of Slovenia, Ljubjana. We just walked around the city center and visited a castle. Today was one of the best days so far. The morning didn't start out so well because of some news but the rest of the day was great. First we went to a castle that was built into the mountain. Underneath there are miles and miles of caves. The castle dates back to 1300s. After that we went to the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. We went to the Skocjanske caves. WOW! They don't allow pictures so here is a link to some. I'm really thinking about getting into some sort of career involving caves. That is if I ever have a career again. The power behind them are amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes. Tomorrow we are heading to the northeast part of Slovenia for a few days. We decided to leave on Saturday. Next stop is Prague, then Berlin, then Amsterdam. KC is leaving the 19th of September. I haven't decided where to go next. It is going to be either Athens or Barcelona.
Skocjanske Caves

Slovenia Part 1

We arrived to Slovenia on Thursday night. KC's friend Tajeda picked us up along with her friend Julie in Mestre, Italy. Yesterday they took us around Slovenia to do some sightseeing. For those of you who don't know where Slovenia is, it is to the right of Italy, below Austria and above Croatia. It reminds me of Colorado but more trees. I loved every minute yesterday. It was the best day I have had so far in Europe. We went to Slovenia's only national park. We did a little cave exploring while we were there. I really enjoyed that and I hope to do it more in the future. That is were most of these pictures were taken. The pictures of the mountains are the Julian Alps. Last night we went to a music gathering with a bunch of their friends. KC got to show off his skills. I was surprised at how well he played. Im actually proud of the way he played and the fact he didn't make us look like idiots. If you enjoy mountains and come to Europe I would suggest you stop here. You won't be dissapointed.

Jim Morrison

We had to check out The Lizard Kings grave before we left Paris. It wasnt anything special. Here are a few pics.

Italy

We got to Italy on Tuesday night. The airport was Venice-Treviso which is in Treviso about 19 km north. We decided to stay there instead of heading right to Venice. That was a good idea. Rather than a hostel we stayed at a bed and breakfast. This place was great and cheap. The couple that ran it were really nice AND they spoke English. I have a few pics of it on here. We were going to stay there last night but they didnt have room. That was a good thing becauase they had an apartment in Venice we could stay at. It was only 50 Euros too. Venice is great. The buildings are really amazing. The only bad thing is there isnt much of a nightlife and its got to be the easiest city to get lost in. Everything looks exactly the same. We walked around last night for about 3 hours trying to find this one bar. When we get there it sucked. Oh well I guess. Tonight we are heading to Slovenia. KC knows a girl there and her and her friend are driving here to pick us up. I cant wait to see some mountains!! I am glad to be on the water here in Venice again. Ciao Oh and we went to Jim Morrisons grave too.

Even More Pics

These pictures are of Paris.

Pictures

Here are more pics from Inis Mor. I distant scenery is from the airplane over France. One is a picture from our hostel and a pic of the Cathedral de Notre Dame. KC is playing while we were waiting for the ferry back to Galway.

Pictures

Here are some pictures from the last 4 days. Most are of Inis Mor near Galway. There are also some from Paris.

PARIS

FIRST OF ALL THE REASON WHY IM TYPING IN CAPS IS BECAUSE IM ON A FRENCH KEYBOARD AND THE BUTTONS ARE NOT IN THE USUAL PLACE. WE ARRIVED IN PARIS YESTERDAY. THE NIGHT BEFORE WE "SLEPT" IN THE DUBLIN AIRPORT. I ONLY GOT ABOUT AN HOUR SLEEP AND THEN 20 MINUTES ON THE PLANE. IT WAS PRETTY INTENSE GETTING OFF THE BUS AND NOT KNOWING WHERE TO GO. LUCKILY MY HIGH SCHOOL FRENCH CAME BACK TO ME. IT ONLY TOOK ABOUT 45 MIN TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE THE METRO AND GET TO OUR HOSTEL. AFTER WE GOT SETTLED IN WE TOOK THE METRO TO THE CATHEDRAL DE NOTRE DAME. THAT PLACE IS AMAZING. WE THEN WALKED FOR WHAT SEEMED FOREVER BUT ONLY TOOK 45 MINUTES TO THE EIFFEL TOWER. WE HAD TO WAIT INLINE TO GET TO THE ELEVATOR FOR 1 HOUR THEN WHEN WE MADE IT TO THE SECOND LEVEL IT WAS ANOTHER 20 MINUTE WAIT TO THE OBSERVATORY LEVEL. IT WAS WORTH IT THOUGH BECAUSE THE VIEWS WERE SPECTACULAR. WE WALKED TO THE CHAMPS ELYSEES AND THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE FOR DINNER. THATS WERE THE STEROTYPE OF THE FRENCH BEING ASSHOLES CAME INTO PLAY. WE FINALLY DECIDED ON A PLACE TO EAT AND WE GOT A SPOT RIGHT AWAY. WELL THEY WERE TAKING ORDERS AND ALREADY BRINGING THE FOOD FOR THE TABLES NEXT TO US WITHOUT EVEN AWKNOWLEDGING US. WE DECIDED TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF IT. AS WE WALK OUT THE WAITER WHO SAT US DOWN SAYS,"MERCI, AU REVOIR". KC WAS PRETTY UPSET BUT IT DIDNT REALLY BOTHER ME. TODAY WE GOT UP AND WENT TO THE LOUVRE. ITS CRAZY SEEING ALL OF THE PRICELESS ARTWORKS. THE HIGHLIGHTS WERE OF COURSE THE MONA LISA. THE VENICE DE MIO, AND LOUIS XV CORONATION CROWN. TOMORROW NIGHT WE ARE OFF TO VENICE. I BOUGHT A USB ADAPTER FOR MY MEMORY CARD BUT THIS COMPUTERS USB DOESNT WORK. I HOPE TO HAVE SOME PICS SOON. MAYBE I CAN FIND ANOTHER CAFE. AU REVOIR.

Galway-Inis Mor

We just got back to Galway today. Last night we took a ferry to the biggest island in the chain called Aran Islands. It was pretty crazy place. There are stone fences everywhere. We biked and hiked all day long. We must have biked at least 10 miles and walked about half that. The previous day we spent here in Galway. I like Galway better than Dublin. This city is more artsy and way smaller. The people are more likely to talk to you than in Dublin. We met a couple of local Galway chaps and went pub hopping with them. I wish I could post some pictures but this computer doesnt have a memory card slot and I forgot my usb cable. DOH! So we are here in Galway for another 3.5 hours. The bus to Dublin airport takes about 4 hours. We are hoping to stay in the airport tonight and not get kicked out since the flight leaves at 7. Cheers!

Dublin

We got to Dublin yesterday. I was only going on a few hours sleep from partying the night before and jet lag. Dublin is pretty crazy. Its funny because you always here about Europeans taking their time. Thats not the case here. Maybe when they eat but as far as walking and driving are concerned, they would rather run you over than go around. Yesterday we must have walked about 8 miles easily. We went to the Guiness brewery. That was sweet. It was interesting to see the history behind such a great drink. Then last night we played our first "gig". It was on Grafton St. Its a closed street only open to walkers with tons of shops and bars. I will admit I was pretty nervous so I had to get a few Guinesses in me. That loosened me right up. We probably made about 3 Euros for 30 minutes of playing. I had a good time. Since Dublin is so expensive we are thinking about cancelling our last night, tomorrow night, and going to another city on the way to Gallway. Gallway is on the other side of Ireland. Here are a few pics from yesterdays journey. Cheers!

So Long Jefferson, Iowa

The time has come for me to leave the corn fields and the heat of the Hawkeye state. I'm off to Ashland, MO where KC is from. We are staying in St. Louis Saturday night since we are flying from there to Chicago on Sunday. I hope its awhile before I return here.

Moving Day....Almost

Its 11:26 PM and I am getting up in less than 5 hours. Wow! I can't believe tomorrow has almost come. My parents and I finished packing about an hour ago. After that KC and I had to get some last minute practicing in since we wont be able to play until we get to Dublin. A lot of things have happened in the last year to get to this point. At the time I wish I could have stopped them from happening but now Im sort of glad things turned out the way they did. Don't get me wrong, Im sure I would be just as happy if they didn't but that was out of my power. As I go to bed I leave you with this.......you never know what tomorrow will bring. It could be a day just like anyother or it could be the day getting you closer to a new beginning and a new life.