Free Spirits On A Budget

To Justin

2006-07-18T05:45:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to say the trip is coming near an end and we wish Justin could have came, sorry about Pete. By the way we have literally 1000 pictures to post but no wireless, we saw one wifi zone and it was in a restaurant far from our hostel and we don't know if it's a hotspot that you have to sign up for either. Bottom line we get home thursday and expect the following week or two to showcase tons and tons of pictures. I've had a great time and so has Mark and today we go to Versailles(spelling?) I only know it for the treaty and Mark told me bout it helping bankrupt France and I also know Marie Antoinette was kidnapped from there and then beheaded. What I don't know is what it looks like and I refuse to look, I much rather see it for my first time in person than on a pic online. I imagine I will get there and immediately recognize it from history books and such though. Wish us luck and thanks to everyone for reading. Anyway who cannot figure out how to post Rick Coxson has a hotline open 24 hours a day for any enquiries.

MK3

"O Cowards, here she is. Pour out into her stations"

2006-07-16T05:14:00.000-04:00

We left Dijon yesterday and arrived safely in Paris. We didn't have a hostel booked, so I unsheathed my Lonely Planet travel book. The first hostel we called had open beds. After we got situated in the room, we basically wandered the city, not committing ourselves to any attractions. Today we plan on the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower and maybe Morrison's grave. Hopefully pictures will appear shortly.

Courage--
MCX

PS- Mathis wants everyone to know the receptionist has a mammoth bossom

Veni vidi vici

2006-07-13T05:31:00.000-04:00

It's about 1130am here in Venice, and we've booked our next destination in Dijon, France. It's a nice little stop on the way to Paris; plus they have a mustard museum. There's no wireless around here, and there probably won't be in Dijon, so no new pictures until we're in Paris. But you have my permission to gouge yourself on sweets and cigarettes and whatever may constitute your vice to get you through the interim. A la France.

PPS

2006-07-12T06:31:00.000-04:00

I found it ''''''''''''''''

Vienna to Venice

2006-07-12T06:27:00.000-04:00

Were in Venice right now, and things are pretty pretty pretty pretty decent. All Im going to say right now is that one of us ended up in the canal last night, and it wasnt exactly that persons plan to be in the canal. Ill also say that this person has a full beard. Thats all for now.

PS- I cant find the apostrophe on this renegade italian keyboard.

Mark

Prague

2006-07-08T11:12:00.000-04:00

We have gone beyond the old iron curtain, and we are seeing Prague in all of it's un-bombed splendor. After a little trouble with trains from Dresden, we arrived here about 6pm yesterday. Someone was handing out hostel info on the train, so we snapped that up and proceeded to find the hostel when we arrived. Try to imagine, if you can, an old gymnasium/basketball-court stuffed with 100 bunkbeds and lockers. Once you can comprehend that idea, you can understand our sleeping situation. It's actually pretty cool and chummy though, and, considering it's only 200 crowns (about 7 euros), there's nowhere I'd rather be.

We slept for something like 11 hours last night after an exhausting journey, but today we've been walking the town and seeing the sights. I don't know the first thing about their language here, but everyone seems to have a working knowledge of English. That seems to be the case in most places. Dresdener's probably knew the least English because, as a girl in the public park put it, Dresden's really just a big village. It's also been my favorite location thus far. Anyways, apropos Prague (or Praha) and their crazy language, their informal hello is ahoj (pronounced ahoy). That's as far as I've gotten, but any peoples who greet their fellow countrymen as pirates are fine in my book.

What else, what else? It's all too much really. The pictures are hopefully translating a smidge of the experience, but so much is beyond transcription.

We have one more night here, and then we're off: probably to Vienna, but we're going to look at a map and decide for sure tonight. Hope all is well in Florida. I'll have a new appreciation for a lot of things upon returning, AC for sure--Ireland was chilly, London was balmy, but Germany and onwards has been plain hot. I'm of course waiting in pretentious anticipation for France. We got that titillating drive through the north, but we won't actually visit for a while.

If nothing else, by the end of this journey I'll be an expert on which cities have the prettiest girls. They're all going to be hard pressed to beat Dresden.

Courage--
Mark

Dresden Pics

2006-07-08T10:56:00.000-04:00

Here is a small lot of Dresden pics for you as an effort to keep you more visually updated, we barely have time to share the hundreds of pics, so here is dresden where we were at yesterday morning. Some prague pics in the next few days. And always expect some pics of places we've been but been to busy to show. On to some Dresden.

For JP and Adam





Half man half wolf, all beast



Me and my Dresden Doll Fina/Worst smile ever



Fina and Mike juggling flaming clubs at night in the park.







First time hookah for Mathis and Mark being the old pro





Architecture and water and statues and stuff

Off to Prague

2006-07-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

It seems that we cannot find a hostel in Prague online, meaning that we are taking a train there and wondering around till we find one, that or sleep on the streets, which I am not opposed to, its definately not as hot on the streets during summer.

Send A.C.

Dresden

2006-07-06T08:30:00.000-04:00

Ok so we stayed in Dresden last night and we are here again one more night, we decided to try and keep the pictures current so expect Dresden pics tomorrow, and we will slowly but surely keep posting older pics from England and Germany also. Keep checking back and feel free to leave comments.

The End of Sandycove (+huggybear)

2006-07-03T13:34:00.000-04:00

Rocking out at the train stop



Mark's ability to catch me at all the right moments.







Boats







S.S. Huggy Bear



For Anthony



The Cannon of No Consequence



Mr. Bojangles





Sandycove: Blemishes and all



The rest.

Sandycove Ireland

2006-07-01T15:00:00.000-04:00

Super Stylish Series

















The Gorgeous Scenery of Sandycove























Jesus Crossing?



I believe there is some more Sandycove but I will have to check on my computer tonight. Until then enjoy these symbols I can type on a German keyboard.
ö ä ü ß °

Berlin

2006-07-01T14:36:00.000-04:00

We are in Germany (deutchland) or Berlin to be exact, our first non-english speaking country. It's very strange to suddenly realize that you are the foreigner. We took a bus from London. We thought it was a train when we booked it. It may have been a hot and grueling 20 hour ride, but it was actually pretty awesome watching Europe unfold through the windows. At Dover we went through the Eurotunnel. Here's how this thing works. You drive your car into this strange little capsule and turn it off. Our bus driver did this, and then we we're waiting for 20 minutes or so. I couldn't understand what was the hold up. Finally I realized we actually were moving--our bus had pulled onto some kind of undersea boxcar and we were racketing along to the continent. And then, France! We pulled up in Calais and drove on through Lille, then into Belguim, then Netherlands, across Germany, and finally into Berlin.

We're staying in a very nice and well equipped hostel called the Generator. It's almost 9pm here, so we'll probably take it easy tonight and stay around the hostel, maybe do laundry. That's all for now. I can't wait for tomorrow when we actually advance on the heart of Berlin!

-MCX

London

2006-06-28T18:43:00.000-04:00

Night 4 in London with one more to go. Friday we take the train to Berlin. It was about half as much as a plane, and by taking the train we also get to experience the landscape and thrill of the ride. All has been well: we've been doing the tourist thing by day and the dipsomaniac thing by night. We met John the apostle tonight at a heavy metal bar called the Intrepid Fox. It's funny how many peripatetic madmen are stumbling about Europe, hitting one big metropolis after another. John is just one of many lost disciples digging the night.

We moved into a new room tonight that consists of six giant cubbies. To say the least, it's the manifestation of my dream from elementary school. It's also reminiscent of Honey I Shrunk the Kids when they all climb in the lego piece.

Traveling with Mathis has been pretty great. He's teaching me to be impatient. But now I've got to go, what do you think I do, sit around and write blogs all night? Yeesh.

-MCX

Last of Dublin

2006-06-27T11:10:00.000-04:00

Next photos are Sandycove in Ireland these are the final photos of Dublin.
Oh and thanks to Yo and Yan our French friends for the comment. Glad to see you too are a fan of Silent Bob.

More Dublin

2006-06-26T11:14:00.000-04:00

Almost done with Dublin pics, a few more though then some Birmingham. Keep checking.

DUBLIN PHOTOS

2006-06-25T06:54:00.000-04:00

These are pics of Dublin uploaded a few days ago but never posted. On our way to our London hostel that hopefully has a WI-FI connection. Then you can see Birmingham and the first batch of London pics.

Seacrest Out.

The Green Devil

2006-06-24T16:02:00.000-04:00

So we spent last night in Northampton but sadly never met Alan Moore. But we did on the other hand get to try our first ever shots of Absinthe, the drink of legends like Van Gogh, Hemingway, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Wilde, etc... We have had no internet service and right now we are at an internet cafe and can't use my laptop that has all the photo uploads, I think our hostel tomorrow night might have wireless internet but be assured that as soon as we have your gonna get to see the rest of Dublin and a bit of Birmingham.

-MK3

p.s.
We're in London, bitches.

Late update

2006-06-23T07:33:00.000-04:00

Written earlier for post.

So, we arrived in Birmingham England today at about 7:45 AM, we then took a train to the city centre and had to find the tourism centre and find a place to stay. We used the Internet at a coffee shop right outside of the train station but all the hostels were booked so guess where we are staying? That’s right a pub, we are sleeping in a flat up above the pub and there is a great view from the roof. Walking around today I had a genuine feeling of contentment, looking at this beautiful city and all the beautiful architecture built by God’s finest creation. Interesting enough Darwin is on the 10-pound bill here opposite of the Queen, who of course the prayer “God save the Queen” refers to. Not that Darwin’s teachings are necessarily anti-Christian I mean he did show us microevolution which is documented today, but enough of that. We are back at the pub upstairs about to rest and do some reading, all the internet connections up here are Starbucks Tmobile hotspots that you have to pay to use so in the morning we will wander back to the coffee shop we used earlier today and post this entry along with some pictures. Ta.

-MK3

One thing no body warned me about, the only truly hazardous thing in Europe, is the terrible sparkling water. I’ve purchased it twice by accident, and it’s misery in a bottle. It was surely created by some spiteful misanthrope. Birmingham has a decent city center--a very posh and modern mall surrounded by multiple Starbucks—but beyond that I’ve only seen businessmen and hotels. In the morning we’ll probably check the tourism center for interesting sites and then eventually mosey out of town.

-MCX

UPDATE we are in a coffe lounge in Birmingham looking for a place to stay in Northhampton so we are off very soon. Expect a few pictures, still of Dublin, but eventually you will see the fabulous Birmingham pics.

On The Move

2006-06-21T15:57:00.000-04:00

Written earlier to be posted

On the Move

I write this from the dart on the way to Sandycove. It’s where the James Joyce museum is located, and our souls are leaping! We can see the ocean. The museum was built in an old tower on the coast. We were kicked out of the Ashfield House, so tonight we stay in Paddy’s Palace, which isn’t far, and we wake up early for a plane to Birmingham. The ferry across to Holyhead was 120E, whereas the flight is about 40. Plus, from Birmingham it’s a quick ride on the M1 to London, and of course there is the unpredisposessing blur on the M1 halfway through--Northampton! Alan Moore will surely meet us for a séance or beer.

And Mathis may or may not be turning into a reptile.

-Mark

























I went off with my hands in my torn coat pockets ;
My overcoat too was becoming ideal ;
I travelled beneath the sky, Muse! and I was your vassal ;
Oh dear me! what marvellous loves I dreamed of !
My only pair of breeches had a big whole in them.
– Stargazing Tom Thumb, I sowed rhymes along my way.
My tavern was at the Sign of the Great Bear.
– My stars in the sky rustled softly.

And I listened to them, sitting on the road-sides
On those pleasant September evenings while I felt drops
Of dew on my forehead like vigorous wine ;

And while, rhyming among the fantastical shadows,
I plucked like the strings of a lyre the elastics
Of my tattered boots, one foot close to my heart !

-Rimbaud

Enjoy

2006-06-21T05:25:00.000-04:00

Today

2006-06-21T05:06:00.000-04:00

I slowly opened my eyes, taking in the sweet Irish air and admiring the Irish sun which seldom comes out but is warm and welcoming when it does. Of course we love it here and we even decided to stay another night but it seems they are out of rooms for tonight so we will be kicked out. On this trip we have met some very cool cats, all of them from France. Maxime is the only one who's name I know how to spell but the other two are pronounced 'Yin' and 'Wan' very nice gents who took us out drinking and even bought me 2 shots. It was a great experience here and today we are going to the rocky coast of the ocean that James Joyce spoke about in his books so it will only get better but it seems that it is our last day here. We plan to board a ferry tonight at 9:00 tonight which is 5:00 your time and head off to Holyhead Whales to sleep and then off to England once we wake. Oh did I mention we found a wonderful site called photobucket which is very accomodating and makes the image posting 10 times easier plus they let us upload tons more a month. So Dublin has been conquered and we must move on but within the next hour there will be more pictures too enjoy.

-MK3

More pictures

2006-06-20T13:01:00.000-04:00

Ok so I am going to put up some pictures but not sure as too how many, we took 63 yesterday and about the same today. Here you are. Oh and you DO NOT need to sign up to post a comment.

Expect a batch tonight after I tool around with photobucket. May be a batch on the blog or maybe just another picture link. Ta.

More photos

2006-06-20T05:51:00.000-04:00

Our flickr account is full for the month so I will have to manually upload the rest of yesterdays images and todays later so expect more pictures tonight but it will probablly only be a handfull.

For those who are idiots

2006-06-19T17:35:00.000-04:00

Make sure once you click on the picture below you click on the view as slide show panel on the right. This will enable you to see all our photos at full size and let you pick which ones at the menu below.

DSC00640

2006-06-19T17:30:00.000-04:00

DSC00640, originally uploaded by Eurogasm.

Please click this for more images at our flickr account, the previous post was a fuckup and a betrayal to all the human race.

You wanted pictures?

2006-06-19T17:14:00.000-04:00

You got them. We are only gonna post a few here but by clicking them you will be taken to our flickr account where you can view them all, this is how it will work from now on, expect more pictures tomorrow.

-MK3

Break on Through

2006-06-18T13:09:00.000-04:00

If anyone has ever taken an overnight flight, especially one overseas, then you'll know the strange sensation. It's like cramping into a small, gloomy room for six hours--total blackness outside--and emerging into a alien landscape. Though, to be honest, I'm being melodramatic. Eventually, the plane catches up with the sun, and by the time we hit Ireland you could glimpse the craggy shore though a wispy layer of clouds. Thank God we arrived to a true Irish welcome: rain and cold. The transfer point in Shannon (central-west Ireland) was a rural area. All the green and yellow plots are neatly divided by a partition of shrubbery. Transfer went swimmingly, and now we are in Dublin.

Though Dublin could be compared in certain aspects to American cities, I really felt a culture shock. Everyone around us spoke a different language while we funneled onto bus 16A outside of the airport (1.7 E for the ride into central Dublin). We got off the bus saddled with bags and proceeded to wander Dublin in a zombified, hallucinatory daze looking for our hostel. We found it two hours later, feet from the original bus-stop.

Expect pictures

-Mark

New Irelanders

2006-06-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

We are now currently in Philadelphia and it’s 7:57 again, I’m not fucking kidding at all, what a coincidence!!!! Anyway we are less then 10 hours away from the beauty of Ireland and we couldn’t be more ready, you don’t believe me? Well here is the proof.

The airport

And us ready to leave it for Ireland.

-MK3

Anxiety

2006-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

So it is 7:57 in the am, also the plane we are traveling on HAHAHAHAHA. Anyway I leave at 8:45 to go on some last minute errands and then am going to try and catch a flick before jetting to my house to meet mark and then travel to the airport. I'm so fucking excited, you have no idea my friends, as a matter of fact I got home from hot tubbing tonight at 3:25 and then imported some songs and tried to organize my ipod for the trip and next thing I know I lay down at 6:15 and its light and I then realize I am not going to be able to fall asleep so I will stay awake until take off and sleep throughout both flights. Anyway that is all, I just wanted a pre-trip post.

-MK3