#182 Reunited with Tim
01 July 2013 // Potters Bar, England
Been nearly a year since I’d last seen Tim! Feels a bit strange to have the tables turned with him hosting me in the UK instead, but it’s great to be reunited.
#183 St. Alban’s Cathedral
02 July 2013 // St. Albans, England
Tim took me on a day trip to St. Albans, a neat town centre not too far from Potters Bar. Had a good look around the shops, the pond, the park, and the quirky cathedral.
#184 Cambridge
03 July 2013 // Cambridge, England
Spent the day exploring Cambridge, its many campuses, museums, streams, and classic streets. Then watched a little Wimbledon at a small, local pub.
#185 An English 4th of July
04 July 2013 // Potters Bar, England
They do have 4th of July in England, just like the old riddle says. This is my second 4th of July spent outside the US, but England is far more ironic than Italy.
#186 Trivia Night
05 July 2013 // Potters Bar, England
Got to compete at a Trivia Night in Cockfosters. While I wasn’t much help for most of the British Pop Culture questions, Tim and I put together a solid tag team for “music” and “flags of the world.”
#187 Big Ben
06 July 2013 // London, England
Spent the day out in London, exploring some of the classic sights with Deanna. It was a good day.
#188 Sensational Southall
07 July 2013 // Southall, England
Got to spend a day in Deanna‘s territory of Southall. It’s like a whole ‘nother country over there from the rest of England.
#189 Kings Cross
08 July 2013 // London, England
This is what Heaven looks like, according to J.K. Rowling. It was part of one crazy travel day into Africa.
#190 Reunited with Nathalie
09 July 2013 // Fez, Morocco
What do you do after a long bus ride to reunite with your cousin in Morocco you haven’t seen in a year and a half?
When it’s 48º outside (that’s 118º F!) you sit on ice packs all afternoon!
#191 The Old Medina
10 July 2013 // Fez, Morocco
Nathalie took me out to the old Medina, which was all kinds of chaos during Ramadan. But we did find a few awesome viewpoints and a great rooftop terrace of a café.
#192 Ahermoumou
11 July 2013 // Ahermoumou, Morocco
Nathalie, Luis, and I got to get out of Fez and do some walking in the smaller, cooler, and more hilly Ahermoumou. When we got lost, a Berber man with a donkey took us in for a feast.
#193 Cous Cous
12 July 2013 // Fez, Morocco
For dinner, our Moroccan friends prepared an amazing cous cous platter which we ate family style before heading on a stroll around town.
#194 Moroccan Flats
13 July 2013 // Fez, Morocco
Had a pretty easygoing last day in Morocco. Laundry took just an hour to dry in the crazy heat.
#195 Last Day in Fes
14 July 2013 // Fez, Morocco
On my last night in Fes, Nathalie‘s tutor and friend Ghali took us out for a night of proper tajine and shisha. He also bought me this awesome cup from the Medina, which is supposedly medicinal.
#196 Stonehenge
15 July 2013 // Amesbury, England
This was quite the sight. Had an awesome road trip over on the way to Bournemouth.
#197 Durdle Door
16 July 2013 // Dorset, England
This easily makes a very short list of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. Such a gorgeous road trip along the English South Coast.
#198 Royal Air Force Museum
17 July 2013 // London, England
Got to check out the planes on display at the Royal Air Force museum- a pretty impressive collection of old and modern aircrafts
#199 Norwegian Mountain Climbing
18 July 2013 // Oslo, Norway
Reunited with Eirik for the first time in over a year. What’s one of the first things we do? Climb up this “rock climbing” tent structure at a gas station for the super slide.
#200 Grimstad
19 July 2013 // Grimstad, Norway
Went biking with Eirik to an awesome lake behind his house for swimming, then got to check out the hometown of Grimstad. Great views all over Norway.
#201 Nature Walk up Ravnedalen
20 July 2013 // Kristiansand, England
After exploring Kristiansand, Eirik led me on a nature walk through the woods up Ravnedalen which offered a phenomenal view from the top.
#202 Stuck at Oslo
21 July 2013 // Oslo, Norway
Due to ambiguous explanations about my bus pass, I missed my ride to Copenhagen. Had to ride back and forth from Grimstad, but Norway is not a bad place to get stuck.
#203 Groos
22 July 2013 // Grimstad, Norway
For my last night in Norway, Eirik took me out to one of the good swim and sunset spots around Grimstad- Groos.
#204 Copenhagen
23 July 2013 // Copenhagen, Denmark
After a long day of literally traveling all the way through Denmark, I was rewarded with a wonderful night of exploring Copenhagen thanks to my new bud, Bruce!
#205 Visiting Malmö
24 July 2013 // Malmö, Sweden
Crossed the bridge from Denmark into Malmö, Sweden to reunite with my friend Habib, who I met three years ago at the Vatican. Got treated to a nice tour of the city.
#206 A Travel Day Off
25 July 2013 // Hamburg, Germany
After all of the bus and train rides I’d been on since Norway, I decided staying completely put for a day would be nice, so I camped out at a hostel and took things very easy.
#207 A Rainy Ride
26 July 2013 // Hamburg, Germany
Paul took me out to ride with Critical Mass through Hamburg. Along the way, the rain started to come down real heavily, but we biked through it anyways, which was a blast.
#208 Hamburg
27 July 2013 // Hamburg, Germany
Had an awesome full day exploring Hamburg thanks to Pa Ul! Got to see a lot sailing down the Elbe.
#209 Belgian Respect
28 July 2013 // Brussels, Belgium
Made it to Brussels after a long overnight ride from Hamburg. Took my chances with the city in the hopes that I could quickly find a ticket to London… I did, and only needed to spend a couple hours at the terminal!
#210 Holiday Club
29 July 2013 // Southall, England
Had a great opportunity to help out at Holiday Club at St. George’s in Southall. These kids are fun!
#211 Southall Canal
30 July 2013 // Southall, England
Went on a little walk with Dee to buy some British snacks- various cadbury bars, cheese, cumberland crisps, and a scotch egg. Solid lazy day.
#212 Doodh Patti
31 July 2013 // Southall, England
Deanna and I were treated out to an amazing Afghan meal by Tim and Rachel on her team. This tea was amazing.