Italy

When we first arrived in Bologna we dropped our bags and headed for the Tower of Aniselli (Bologna's tallest) which was located next door to our beautiful Auberge. Aniselli had a wonderful view of the town that you would never want to leave considering the tower was some 300m and the fact that it did not have its own elevator. That was enough to keep my legs in bed an extra couple hours the next morning.

This picture was taken in late July in Jesolo which is a peninsula just NW of Venice. Needless to say we spent much time on the beach. This pic is of me, and my good friends Masha, Trent, Jesse, Penny and Gail.

After having spent a few days beachside we moved on to the Northern part of Italy and visited Torbole, which is on the northern tip of Lake Garda-Italy's largest lake that you can see behind me.

England

Here are last summers pics in Jolly London.

Firstly, here is a look at the street that I lived on in London at the BUNAC hostel on 31 Store St.

While living in London I had the opportunity to take a boat tour on the River Thames. If you ever go to London, be sure not to miss it as it adds such a great perspective to the city. The boat can bring you to one of many destinations including Greenwich which serves as the Worlds International Mean Time Line. Basically this is the point in the world from which timezones keep their time. Also the clock which everyone sets their watchs to across the world rests inside the museum. On the way to Greenwich by boat we crossed under the Tower Bridge which has a large drawbridge and looks amazing from whatever angle you see it.

My good friend Paul from San Diego was kind enough to get me a gift that X-Mas even though we were all on a pretty tight budget. See if you can Guess what it was that I received from him. Amber and Teresa seemed quite impressed at my little get-up in this pic.

While in London, I worked at King's College London in accounts recievable. The pic shows my co-workers who were so kind as to put up with me for the 6 or so months I was with them. They are Alicia Vazquez, Margaret Mace, Kerry Clement(s-hehe), Helen Smith, Roy Scanlan, and off on hollies was Roy Webber who I am hoping will send me a pic so I can paste him in this one *hint hint Webber*. Thanks for the great experience and I wish you all the very best - I miss the 49's and all the sweeties!

Winter 97 in London was marvelous, very little bitter weather and hardly any rain. This pic was taken in February in Hyde Park. It was such a beautiful day for walking about around the Serpentine Lake.

A nice trip by bus from London is Leeds Castle that is best known as the home of King Henry VIII. The moat surrounding the castle is an impressive surrounding to an even more posh interior that has a ballroom, music hall and many finely furnished estate rooms. The grounds of the property are kept looking fit for a King. Here I am enjoying the sunny weather.

Before leaving for my travels I met up with some of our good friends at the Aussie Bar in Covent Garden. We had a few Oz beers, danced to many Oz songs and even met a few OZ people (ie//guy to the back right). With me is Brandy, Alice, Jane, and JJ. I was getting a bit sleepy by this point in the evening...

Suprisingly London has areas that are quite uninhabited, like the Richmond Gardens which is home to an array of wildlife such as birds and tonnes of wild deer.

Ireland

Having a birthday on St. Patricks Day was always great for me, but in 1998 it was extra special as I was able to spend it in Dublin. My friend KC (yellow hat character) and I woke early to take in the festivities which included several marching bands, floats, musical bands, and of course the odd downing of a pint of Guinness.

Scotland

Over my Christmas holidays I had the opportunity to go to Scotland and visit the highlands. Infested with viny, rocky, and sheep covered terrain, my friends Phil, Bill and I managed to work our way as far north as Inverness. This pic was taken near the Loch Ness, the reason for not showing the pic of us at the Loch Ness is because of the strange object that was in the background when we took the pic...ya ya right, I know...It was just a log or something else right???

After a lengthy trip from London to Glasgow Phil, Bill, Brad, and I were feeling a bit wacky, not to mention tired. You can see that we did not let it get us down too much.

Belgium

Over Easter break we had the fortune of discovering the small town of Brugge. It was founded in the 12th century and some of the original buildings are intact. Many canals, cobbled streets, and horse drawn carriages can be seen from the enormous Belfry Tower which rests in the center of the towns Market. One of my most highly recommended stops to make when in Western Europe.

Czech Republic

In early July I flew from London to Prague where I stayed for sometime. In the background you can see Prague Castle atop the hill. It is a truly beautiful city which boasts one of the worlds most popular crystal manufacterers known as Bohemian Crystal. Along with their fine Crystal they host all backpackers with delightfully low costs. For example a 500ml Dreher at a Pub costs only $.20, room for the night runs about $4-6, and a 3-course meal will cost about $5 with tax. With the extra money I took in an excellent concert-Phish!!!

When visiting Prague, one of the sights that you cannot miss is the Charles Bridge that is Prague´s most familiar monument. Charles Bridge was built by Bohemian king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1357 and for four hundred years was the only connection between the two halves of Prague.It is an impressive piece of medieval engineering, aligned between two Gothic gateways. Since its construction a wooden crucifix has stood on the bridge, swept off during the Hussite wars, than replaced by a bronze one. But the first sculpture wasn´t added until 1683, when St John of Nepomuk appeared. His statue was such a success that another 21 were added between 1698 and 1713, including work by Brokoff and Braun. Today 30 statues decorate the bridge. Despite just a few works being outstanding, set against Prague Castle, the effect is breathtaking.

The wildest thing I saw in my nine months had to be the Kostnice (cathedral) in Kutna Hora that houses the remains of some 40,000 human bodies that came as a result of a 16th century plague. The reason they decorate the cathedral today is that it is considered to be sacred because of holy sand that was brought there from Jerusalem. After the plague, residents from all over the country wanted to be buried in this parish, but it had no room for all the bodies so many were disgarded in a large hole in a field. When a new priest came along he decided that this was not a suitable spot for a dead person to lay the rest of their life. The Chandelier you see here uses of each bone in the human body at least once.

While I was in Prague, I was sitting by a bus stop waiting to go to Ceske Krumlov and a guy comes up to me and said "do you go to X?" Obviously he saw my backpack...anyway, he knew many of my good friends back in Nova Scotia. So Jay and I ended up going out with several other Canadians in a Cocktail Bar called "BarBar".

The day after going to Bar Bar we managed to tour around and visited the splendid Krumlov Gardens located on a hill high atop Ceske Krumlov.

Austria

After leaving Czech I moved on to Vienna which was much more expensive, but was quite beautiful which you can see from this pic at Belvedere Gardens. We walked for hours and still saw only a portion of this manificently landscaped park. If you are trying to figure out why I look rather peculiar in this pic it would help if you could read the sign-it says "Please keep off the grass!!" I could not resist.

Hungary

When in Hungary, I stayed near the Danube River in Budapest on the Buda side of the river. Budapest was the only city where I was confronted by a man looking to take all my belongings, but the thermal baths and breathtaking scenery made up for it twofold. This is a peak at the Danube and the buildings that lie on the Pest side of the river.

After seeing as much of Budapest as I could bear in the heat during August, I ventured south to the small town called Siofok which is home to Central Europe's largest body of freshwater, Lake Balaton. It is a popular tourist attraction for many German, and Austrian citizens because of the favorable exchange rate, increased temperature, and many beautiful women. Accomadation was very nice, passed 3 days here with a kind Hungarian family who rented out a private room within their home.

Croatia

When we left Bratislava we went on our way to Zagreb which is the capital city of Croatia. A bit leary about all of the internal problems that the country suffered in the early 1990's, I was pleasantly surprised by the cities restored beauty since the war. After spending a bit of time there, eating all the pizza I could (it was cheap) we continued south-west to Split. It is a beautiful coastal town situated on the Adriatic Sea. Here we spent lots of time on the beaches relaxing and soaking up sun. Another pic of me suffering along the coast. Gee, I miss that stuff!!!

Having grown tired of the coastal thing we decided it was time to head for a place somewhat different so we went to an island called Hvar where we stayed in a small town named after the island. It had very nice cafes along the water, rocky terrain covered in many variations of cactii, and some of the friendliest people I have ever met.

Leaving Hvar, I found myself in the fortress city of Dubrovnik. This beautiful Mediterranean city is the last city on the southernmost tip of Crotia nestled between the Dinaric Alps (border of Bosnia-Herzegovina) and the turquiose Adriatic Sea. Here you can find great food, sandy beaches and a group of locals who will meet you at the ferry when you arrive and beg you to stay at their Zimmer (rented room) for just a few dollars per night.

Wales

Here is one of the nicer surprises that I came across in Wales. These are waterfalls in Glyn Neath National Park.