Posting might commence in the future.

My experience in Venice was spectacular it had beautiful low key entertainment; singers, cello, opera and fashion shows, some of the best food, and kind people.

A couple Irish dudes and I did run into a minor problem with one of the locals that was about our age, but he ended up apologizing in the end and all was good.

One of the greatest parts was that it is on an island, or better a series of small islands, which means you can get lost but not too lost.

Oh by the way, when the locals say take a street here or there they mean that slim ally close by.

Don’t get too frustrated when you are lost because about the time you would start to get a little frustrated you would see something farmiliar and find yourself again. Be open to wandering, even at night, everything is well lit and the streets are safe. Some of the best times I had were under all of the street lamps and the light shining off of the water. People stay up late and are more then willing to help you find where you are trying to go, just ask.

At times I thought the people were giving me wrong directions because I did not find what they were describing, but then I though; you know it doesn’t really matter, I am in Venice walking the cobble stone walkways and beautiful bridges what do I have to complain about I will get there eventually.

I would suggest waking up early and walking around, once about 10:00 hits all the tourists come out and it can get a bit crowded. I would also suggest eating a seafood pizza, super yum.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpja1ZG-bU4

Please don’t sink Venice, we love you.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia entry on Venice

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCgJhmNBbJE

This video is a bit long and includes some music.

I have been to Athens, Pili, Mykonos, Syros, and Kos; ok so that is barely any of the 80 some islands but still, they are all different.

Pili is a small village based very much around agriculture and is pretty self sufficient. You only want to live there if you have a family or are building one and have some other means of income. Internet barely works. The people are amazing and very happy, they make all of there own products, you really understand how a village works when there.

The cheese they make is special to their village, you can not get the same flavors anywhere else and I ate loads of it, actuall I even recieved cheese as a gift.

There is a hotel there and a Hostel type of place for tourists, but it is pretty much a hidden paradice for locals from Athens and the outlying area. One of the benefits to Pili is that there is a bridge to the island, so you can get there by car and it is only about two hours out of Athens.

Mykonos is a big party, and beautiful with white buildings built into the mountainside, shops and merchants and restaurants right on the seawall. People are nice and do not seem to be burnt out by the tourism that is one of the main stays to there survival in the summer months. I would suggest renting a scooter but make sure and be careful, go slow, there is a lot of gravel.

Syros, is a really cool dusty color, again with buildings built right into the landscape. Syros has more marble then I have scene anywhere so far. Marble is on buildings and runs from curb to curb on the streets, absolutely beautiful. Syros seems to be the place to go for a calmer vacation, although right no the water, it does not seem like a beach party island.

Kos, a beach party  island, different then Mykonos but similar in many ways. Kos has a very nice bike path that runs along the water and shops. I would rather head to Mykonos then Kos… but that is just me, Kos seems to only have beaches on it that are accessible through a restaurants or resort. If you are looking for a free beach area you can find it you just have to move town the beach quite a ways. When I was there it was pretty windy, but great for wind surfers!

I am at a crux and can’t decide where to go next on my travels. Do I go to the UK? Portugal or Spain?!

There is a voter on the right column of my blog. Please vote where I should go and also please leave a comment on the  blog post as to why I should go there.

The link: http://www.theronmc.com/?p=92/

Also, I have from today to the 26th to travel, I want to be in Paris on the the 27th.

After voting has finished I will then refine my destination.

Thanks for the help,

Theron

PS please excuse the mess, I am still refining the blog.

I try to have one or two meals that are traditional in each area, some more if the area is known for certain types of foods. Like when I was in Italy, there was no way I could not eat a lot of the amazing food.

This might sound a bit boring but is also how I eat at home.

On my travels I carry one food item with me, it is very light, never spoils and can be eaten many ways; dry, with milk or water hot or cold, what is it? You might have guessed, oatmeal!

Yes, oatmeal can be eaten many ways, cold or hot, dry even if you are starved. It does not take up that much room in your pack and is very cheap and healthy for you too.

I usually have a bowl in the morning to start my day off right, maybe with a fruit but most times I eat the oatmeal in the morning and about two hours later find myself walking by a fruit stand and pick something up, this way I get two meals out of  the six I eat out of my day and not just one. To see the bennefits to eating more, smaller meals a day go to this blog post by Mykim Tran and see what I am talking about.

This is just one of the things you can do when you are traveling to stay healthy and eat well. Please go to my post on the benefits of doing this.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwSgReEx0_Q

About an hour before I entered Rome by train I remembered that it was known for it’s theft and professional thieves.

First step, take everything out of your pockets and if you have a money belt or something similar, use it.

I move everything from my pockets into my backpack and put nothing in the outside pockets, yes everything; money, passport even the things you need right after you get off the train or whatever you mode of transport is. If you have a lock, use it to lock your zipper together. If not — like me — find something that will keep those sticky hands out. I brought extra Velcro straps, the kind you use to keep electrical cords tied up. I am glad I brought these because they have many purposes, but you can use anything, string, a bracelet.
Make your bag look as unappealing as possible, wrap something around the zipper ends, tape even. If it is not easy for a thief to get into then they will choose an easier target. It might be a pain to un-tape your bag every five minutes, but it is better than not having your things at all.
Think like the thief, if I was a thief I would look for not only a confused person — because we are all confused when traveling in a foreign country — but one that can’t control themselves and there things. A person that has items hanging off their bags or multiple bags and a lot to keep track of; maybe you are paying attention to a friend or your kids. Keep things tight and buckled down.

As a traveler you are a prime target.

The first place you will get robbed is where it is most packed for example right when everyone is trying to get off the train or during rush hour on a bus.

I was chatting with a couple other travelers, they had a better outcome then most when it comes to theft. While in transit on a bus looked down in front of her to see a hand in her camera bag, yes it was in front of her slung over her shoulder, because it was so crowded she thought it was her sisters hand. Her eyes followed from the hand to the elbow to some random person. She stopped the encounter but could not even really see the person. By the next stop the invader was gone, fortunately, her camera was not.

Try to put yourself next to a wall, if your backpack is on lean against the wall with you pack, if your pack is off or a bag with rollers put it between your legs. As a traveler your home is in those bags, think of it as your home, you would not leave your home unlocked and unattended.
Thieves travel in at least parties of two — a lot of times one taller one shorter and can be anyone, not just suspicious looking people. These are “professionals” you might even see them carrying a travel book. Here is a great post on European thieves by Rick Steves. If you are carrying money, passport, phone in your pockets and are riding a bus for example, put all the goods in one pocket and hold on with the other hand, keeping your free hand in the pocket with the goodies and holding on with the other hand. When in a pinch I have even put my passport and money in my travel book and put the book under my arm or held tightly in my hand, this is not common behavior and is unnoticeable to prying eyes.

The thieves do not want you to know they are stealing and most times will not grab but try for things unnoticeable to you.

I have not been robbed, yet, but have been in proximity to it two times now.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsfCylkKoH4

Italians are great in my experience. Remember I am traveling by myself and using mainly my wits and iPhone to get around (using the iPhone internationally). Lets just say I am lost until if find the right place to be.

It took me quite a bit of roaming around in the 80 degree weather to find my place; well actually to not find my place. The Hotel Greko (link) was exatly what is expected for $20 a night. I have been sleeping in shared dormitory type of rooms this does two things for solo travelers one it is the cheapest way to travel when on a budged and two it helps you to instantly meet new and exciting travelers, which is what I am all about.

Back to great Italians… While roaming and asking directions to people that do not speak the same language I walked by a pet store asking yet again another person where the Hotel Greko was. This was the best case of physical communication I have experienced in my life. Almost instantly the two workers in the pet store tried to help me, looking in maps and local directories. After not finding the place on the map — I thoughtfully renamed Milan the lost city because even locals were looking at maps to find there way home it seemed — one of the guys at the store just ran away and I looked at him with surprise like where are you going. As he was walking away he glanced back and made the motion of him steering a car.

My new savior came back with car keys and motioned for me to follow, we got to his smart car and took off. This was an exhilarating experience. I had never in my life felt like I was in a roller coaster while in a car until this day. As we sped along he had to stop and ask directions three times and make two u-turns — even the local had no idea where these streets were.

He did get me to my destination and it was down an off shoot to an alley, who would have guessed to look there. I did like the people I met so much that I stayed three days.

Chris, Angie and I downing some gilato

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmhviwXjW1o

I did finally find my place, the Hotel Greco, it took much asking of the locals and looking repeatedly at maps, I could not even find it when it was pinpointed on my phone’s GPS.

More on GPS and using the iPhone here.

Here are some random pictures from beautiful Milan, the Cathedral was amazing.