The Route (thus far...)

After 'why are you so handsome?' the next question I get a lot of is 'so, where in Europe are you going?' I assume that the first question is rhetorical... or sarcastic. Either way, it's best not to look behind the curtain. Once you know why something is the way that it is, the magic is gone. Just enjoy it for what it is, ladies. Wait, what were we talking about, again? Oh, right. Sorry, I guess this blog is going to my head. My sexy, sexy head.

Ahem.

So, my loosely based travel plans are as follows - keeping in mind that much of it is subject to change until I actually book some accommodations. Or if there are any changes that might be made to Dennis and Stacey's plans. Or Steph's plans. Or Jen's plans.

Basically, I fly into Toronto at 6am on July 27th. Why Toronto, you ask, when we have a perfectly good international hub right here in Edmonton? Well, for one, even with an additional flight to Toronto, it's still $100 cheaper overall. And secondly, one of my favorite people in the world lives in Toronto. But seeing that Chris Bosh will probably be in Texas for the summer, I guess visiting my sister will have to do. See what I did there? I made you think I was talking about... ah, never mind, my humour is probably too smart for most people to understand anyways.

So after a day and a half hanging with the B Dot, I'll fly into merry olde London, England on the morning of the 29th. Then I'll make my way to the motorcycle hire agency, unload a boat-load of £'s on them, and hopefully meet up with Dennis and Stacy. Across the channel, through Paris, down the West coast, through Spain, along the Mediterranean back through France, Italy, up through Switzerland, Germany, to the Czech Republic (hopefully meeting up with Dennis and Stacey again) then North to meet up with Kenni in Denmark and over to Amsterdam, then Belgium, back through France (with Steph) and finishing the loop back off in London.

I know what you're thinking; why such a short, boring trip? Well, I like to aim low. Keep it simple. And cheap. It's just how I do.

(The side trip to Denmark is subject to me hearing back from Kenni, and the last leg through France is subject to Steph and her French host's approval and/or better suggestions.)

Fan Mail

Well, the emails have been flooding in, so I'll try to answer as many questions as I can from 'the fans'.

Sholly Scarlett of Tennessee, USA asks:

you blog is awesome. When are you leaving?

Me blog is awesome Sholly, thanks for noticing. In regards to your question, I depart the great city of Edmonton on July 27th, returning on September 1st.


Danica Smith of Gem, Alberta writes:

I enjoyed your first blog entry. Are you taking your helmet-cam with you on your journey?

To those wondering about the helmet-cam to which she refers, I direct your attention to this footage shot for the brilliant documentary Short Way 'Cross.



Although that was just a poor excuse to test the video capabilities of this blog and plug Short Way, to answer your question, yes, I do intend to take the helmet cam with me on the trip.

So, thank you to everyone that took the time to write in. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them in the comments section below each entry. I'll try to answer each as time permits, but based on the sheer volume of fan mail that I receive, it might prove an impossibility.

Sigh...

Ok, so, I feel like a bit of a hypocrite. Mostly because I feel that people who aren't very interesting shouldn't pretend that they are by posting the monotony of their lives under the guise of worthy reading. And yet here I am. The epitome of uninteresting - with a shinny new blog for all to enjoy. God, that was pretentious, wasn't it? I need to ditch my holier than thou, too cool for school attitude, me thinks. Why can't this just be fun?

It can.

Ok, fresh start. New mantra. Blogs are awesome.

So, my whole reason for being here is to document my trip to Europe this summer. But Travis, you say, it isn't even summer at all, and yet you're already blogging. Astute observation, my friend. Allow me to hit you with a haymaker of justification: First and foremost, a trip doesn't begin with the flight out of Edmonton. There's a swack-load of preparation to be done, and quite frankly, I haven't done nearly enough of it. Dennis and (mostly) Stacey have put me in a world of shame with their trip planning prowess, and, much like my spread in Playgirl magazine, I like to share my shame with the world.

So, assuming I ever update this thing again, my intentions will be to bring you along for the wild ride that is Trip Preparation 2009. If that doesn't sound interesting to you, well, tough shit. There's going to be a surprize quiz at the end of the week, and if you fail to score 80% or higher your friendship card will be revoked. And, to those of you still navigating away from this page as we speak, don't feel too bad, I probably wouldn't read this crap either. Plus, I wasn't a very good friend to begin with. You're probably better off.