A lot has happened over the past couple of months, so I’m splitting this up into 3 parts, to give each aspect its due. And milk this for a few more posts.

1) The destination highlights

2) Logistics & financials

3) The goals and what’s next

I’ve been to 5 countries in the past two months – England, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Spain. Exploring each of them has been wonderful, but here are the parts that stand above the rest.

My favorite destinations

Seriously, if you're going to spend an afternoon reading in the park, isn't this a good one?

Paris. It’s still the peak of my travel love. This time I was able to spend time enjoying the culture and environment like a local, albeit for a couple of weeks. In addition to leisurely visiting parks and relaxing in many of the beautiful plazas of the city, I indulged in summer activities like watching films under the stars at the Parc du Villettes. Staying in a lovely flat away from the city center enriched the experience tremendously, and is something I hope to repeat at other destinations.

Belgium. I didn’t spend nearly enough time in Bruges and Antwerp – both of them were beautiful cities I knew little about before I rode in. Missing out on Brussels along the way gives me ample reason to return to the land of Tin Tin.

Bretagne and the Celtic Festival. There are a lot of established cycling routes in France, but a solo ride down the coast of Bretagne introduced me to an entirely new region of the country – coastal towns, ancient family farms and a huge Celtic festival in Lorient were the pinnacle of my attempt to see parts of the nation that were off the beaten path for most (foreign) travelers. I loved every minute of it.

Valencia, Spain. Aside from Paris, this was my favorite city along the way. A fascinating history, outstanding architecture (old and new) and a surprisingly strong flow of other travelers, even before La Tomatina kicked off.

The Parts I Haven’t Been Quite As Enamored With

Madrid, Spain. As cities go, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. It had kind of a harsh, gloomy quality to it. There were certainly aspects I enjoyed, but the city center was filled with Cash for Gold hawkers (dozens of them), grabby hookers (I’m not kidding, several of them tried to grab my arm and pull me along with them – god knows where) and gambling halls. Madrid’s Museo del Prado boasts one of the largest collections of artwork in the world, but much of it was room after room of portraits that meant little to me. Seeing Hieronymous Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” was the only real highlight. That guy did some seriously messed up work, hundreds of years before Salvador Dali.

Amsterdam. I found the city and the people lovely throughout the Netherlands, but the tone of the place at night was just a bit much for me. I honestly love the openness about sex and weed, and it’s wonderful that there’s an understanding that people can responsibly partake in whatever activities they’d like. Those particular pursuits just weren’t my cup of tea, though, so after the first couple of nights of exploring and people watching, I generally ended up calling it a night early.

What I’m enjoying

Staying put for a while. That’s a bit of a travel oxymoron, but I’m really enjoying getting to know a town by spending a minimum of a week in the same place. The first couple of days are spent walking around, visiting the “required” sites and getting a feel for the place. Then I settle in, head to local cafes, sit in parks, read, write and just relax.

It’s a delicate balance because I also want to see a lot of towns and destinations that are off the beaten path. For example, I could have spent two weeks in Paris, followed by a train to Bordeaux and spent two weeks there, but I would have missed out on visits to Brest, Lorient, Quimper, Vannes and Nantes. The trip wouldn’t have been the same without them.

Not a view you get on a train.

Cycling through small towns. It gets my adrenaline going as well as sparking up the exploration nodes of my brain. Even on rainy mornings, the quiet pedaling through the empty hills and valleys of France, Belgium and the Netherlands have been an irreplaceable facet of the journey.

A wealth of cultural events I didn’t even know about. I certainly knew about the Tour de France and planned some of my trip around it, but watching the World Cup Finals with thousands of people in the town plaza of Lille, France had an indescribable energy to it (especially since Lille is pretty much equidistant between The Netherlands and Spain, the two competitors). Seeing the finale of the Tall Boat Races in Antwerp was an unexpected pleasure but little flea markets, regional celebrations and sporting events pop up everywhere if you look around a bit.

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Next up: How are the logistics and finances shaping up?

Caution: Marge Simpson Riding Train

1920s Railway Laborer Ahead

The street may be called Pispot, but I hear it’s actually a shithole.

Is this called Rue de la Vignette because the buildings are made up of short stories?

Donk: Please watch your head.

And the award for Random Attraction of the Year goes to: The Canada Museum in the middle of a small town in Belgium

Isn’t a double negative grammatically incorrect? I can only interpret this as “End of the Zone you can do nothing in.”

Apparently parking meters accept poker chips in this area.

Watch for Spontaneous Xanadu Re-enactments

Sorry, I didn’t get any good photos of the guy who apparently died during his visit to the red light district (yes, DURING). But it was definitely interesting to watch the hullaballoo.

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Bikes were parked everywhere. The most in any one place was near the train station. This is about 1/3rd of a multi-level parking structure and bike parking area. Regardless of all the bikes, I was actually not comfortable riding around town. The way cars, bikes and trains cross paths, it’s like those old silent movies where the getaway car crosses the tracks milliseconds before the train rams it.

Bike parking by the train station.

Yes, yes. You’re comfortable with your sexuality. We get it. You don’t have to keep beating it to death. So to speak.

Nationaal Monument at Dam

I would estimate that 30% of bikes in Amsterdam are discarded and forgotten.

Bike or unique planter?

I thought it was cool that houseboats were apparently permanently moored by the canals.

Houseboats

Is there even room for a Dalmation in this car? I hope the hook n ladder truck is a bit larger.

Fire department vehicle

In case you were curious how furniture gets to the 5th floor with those tiny little staircases.

A "ladder-vator"

And finally… I’m more terrified by what this sign might mean than anything else I’ve seen in Europe.

DNA spray - WTF??

Not every random thought deserves to have its own blog post. Here are some of the things that popped into my head while I was in Amsterdam.

• Do you think somewhere in the Netherlands there’s a community of Dutch Pennsylvanians? All wearing Steelers jerseys and eating cheese steak?
• They don’t seem to realize it, but the marketing folks for Cool Ranch Doritos are missing a natural opportunity to sponsor the entire city of Amsterdam.
• Amsterdam trivia: a licensed prostitute has to pay 19% sales tax and 30-35% income tax on the fee she gets from a client. There’s a joke in there about getting screwed 3 times for the same money, but I can’t quite get to it.
• Trying to figure out signs in Dutch is like sorting through furniture names at Ikea.
• In trying to speak an approximation of Dutch, I think I just asked someone for directions to the “Al Franken House.”
• You’d think that with the gigantic queue in front of the Anne Frank house, the Germans would have known something was up.
• I’m torn between two worlds. For the hell of it, I joined a pub crawl in Amsterdam with a bunch of twenty-somethings but I also think I’m starting to develop that crusty white gunk old people get on the sides of their mouths.
• On the pub crawl I feel a little like “Ken, Lonnie, I’d like you to meet … Mohammed, Jugdish, Sidney and Clayton. Grab a seat and make yourself at home, okay?”
• There’s an Amsterdam Club called “More Than a Woman.” I don’t want to think too hard about what that means, but I’m guessing it’s not a Bee Gees theme bar.
• My hotel bath tub in Amsterdam is some bizarre funnel shape so the only way to shower without falling over is to pose like Captain Morgan. One foot by the drain and one on the ledge above.
• The Diamond Museum should give out free samples like they did on the Heineken tour.
• I’d really like to have someone’s ear to complain about the long lines at the Van Gogh museum.
• I haven’t eaten much in Amsterdam since I realized everything is cooked in Dutch ovens.

That said, it was pretty cool.

On a night out in Amsterdam, I met a couple guys who worked for the US military. Unlike 95% of the crowd at the clubs, these guys were close to my age. They’re stationed in the Netherlands working for Nato, with their families still back in the States.

While we talked, I learned about a very cool drinking trick called the Statue of Liberty. It was completely new to me, although I may have to show it off at parties eventually.

• Order a shot of Sambuca, in a glass large enough to dip your fingers into the liquid.
• Dip your first two fingers into the Sambuca, coating them. Sambuca is a bit syrupy, so it’ll stick to them fairly well. Keep your fingers pointed down so that the liquid doesn’t run down your hand and arm.
• Using a candle or other available flame, ignite the Sambuca on your fingers. The flame will burn the alcohol, but not your fingers (as long as you don’t take too long).
• Hold your fingers in the air like the Statue of Liberty while you down the shot with your other hand.
• Put your fingers out by shaking them before permanent damage occurs.
• Collect accolades and admiration.

Do I have to tell you once again NOT to do this?

A few more alterations and updates to my plan based on how things have gone so far:

Communication:

Lesson #1: AT&T Sucks

My iPhone works when I have a wifi network in range, but I miss pulling up information and posting updates on the fly. Fuck AT&T. The fact that you can’t have an iPhone unlocked for use on other networks even after you’ve completed your contract is absurd.

With roaming data charges set at $20 for 1Mb, they’re dressing you like Jodie Foster and throwing you onto a pinball machine. Current hacker buzz is that there’s a software release to unlock my version of the iPhone in the next week or two, which will be a huge help.

Lesson #2: McDonald’s free wifi often makes them the cuisine of choice.

I’m sticking to my goals and eating local cuisine rather than a lot of fast food, but on a warm afternoon it’s great to grab a McFlurry and relax in an air conditioned environment while catching up on e-mail.

Lesson #3: Skype is a wonderful gift to the travel world.

I know, I didn’t just learn this but calling a friend in the US for 2 cents a minute? Amazing.

Transportation

Lesson #1: My navigation is excellent, my skills with my GPS? Not so much.

Two days in a row, I didn’t load my well planned route into my GPS. So, instead of settling in somewhere to find directions, I made it up as I went and followed my instincts. Let’s just say that I accidentally discovered that Belgium has some beautiful countryside & it’s impossible to tell when you have crossed the border from France. But eventually, I got to where I needed to be.

Lesson #2: Bicycles are not as easy to manage as I had hoped they might be

Coming from London, where they had secure underground parking, I had hoped I would meet similar facilities in France. Nope. Cycling is very common here, but primarily for short rides on cheap commuter bikes, which are then secured with locks the size and weight of a fire hydrant.

Most hotels and hostels will store the bike indoors for you, even if it’s in a storage room or utility closet. I don’t think my bike minds sharing a room with a mop bucket.

Lesson #3: Trains are not all bike friendly

Trains accept bicycles for some routes but not all, and I haven’t gotten the hang of which is which yet. While I’m planning on riding most of the trip, there are legs in which I’d like to take the train due to time considerations, or even on a day forecast for torrential downpours. On July 19th, for example, I don’t have time to ride from Amsterdam to Paris before I’m due there so I’ll be looking to hop a train, even if it means boxing up the bike as luggage (which seems the best alternative so far).

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Part 3 coming: Blogging and writing updates!