At WR's request, here is an ever-so-brief ruwndown of my thoughts of travelling Europe:

The first few days I spent were in Rome. I was absolutely blown away - being an ethnocentric American, I was constantly amazed when people would make statements like "oh, you know that wall you're leaning on, that was erected in 5 A.D." I got to see the spot where Caesar was cremated, The Colosseum, The Pantheon, The Forum, and all the other amazing spots. The city guide was awful, but our crew made the most of it. I don't think I could possibly rank favorites among the sites. I threw a coin in the Trevi fountain, and drank water from the fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps, which comes from an aqueduct constructed early in the first century.

I spent a day in Siena (in the Tuscan region), which was probably my favorite of the cities, just because it is what I picture old-style Italy to be like: fewer tourist attractions, cobblestone streets, oooold brick buildings and the whole nine. I met a clerk at a wine shop there who moved to Italy from Petaluma (which is roughly 50 miles from SF at most).

Florence is quite possibly the most confusing city I've ever been in - every street looks exactly the same once you get outside the areas of churches and museums. I climbed the Duomo (something like 500 steps), which disagreed greatly with my tempermental knees. Got to see the statue of David among other artistic visits.

Italians are some of the warmest, most inviting people I have met, but consider anyone over 5% body fat to be out of shape. Honestly, one kid on the trip who is about 5'6 and 125 got called "cortissimo" which is roughly translated to fatass when he was trying to buy a belt from an Italian street vendor. Now you can guess why I didn't buy any clothes while I was there. I drank a lot of absinthe, which was both delicious and 140 proof. If only the US would allow it...

After Italy, we went into France, which somewhat underwhelmed me. A major part is the fact that I'm not big on consumer goods or general fashion, so all that stuff doesn't necessarily appeal to me. I walked the Champs de Elysses, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which was breathtaking, took a boat tour down the river Siene, and spent a few hours kicking around the Louvre. I got to see Mona Lisa in person, which everyone should do at least once in their life -- I have NEVER seen a picture that did it justice. The last evening I went up to Montmarte, which took my breath away (for about the 500th time on the trip), and I had my little "French moment" of sitting in a cafe in Montmarte, with all sorts of street artists working away, sipping on a French beer and reading Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast".

In general, I had a blast, and by the end of the trip started to SMELL like a frenchman. I look forward to going back some day. Apparently ice is one modern amenity that Europeans have yet to discover, but that just compelled me to drink more wine and beer than anything else.

Phew... and that was the brief version.
~B~

what, no PBR?

welcome back, Bill.

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

SurfBandBill
The last evening I went up to Montmarte, which took my breath away (for about the 500th time on the trip), and I had my little "French moment" of sitting in a cafe in Montmarte, with all sorts of street artists working away, sipping on a French beer and reading Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast".

~B~

HA!!!! Do you get extra credit points for that one in your Hemingway class?

That was incredible, Bill. Thank you for sharing that with us.

-K

"Turn the knob to 10 and break it off!" -Baja Marty

Sadly, no PBR to be had throughout all of Europe, though for some reason, Corona seems incredibly popular over there (I even saw one stand selling Corona flavored Gelato).

Absinthe was awesome - a slightly different buzz than just straight-up alcohol, but I didn't see any green faeries, nor did I feel any major compelling desire to lop off any body parts.

Kyle - the school is doing a trip to Spain next year, and depending on the status of my employment, I might be doing that too. I'll kind of have to see where I am in the next couple of months before I make the call on that one.

The Hemingway reading was actually school-connected, as I'm about to start on a research paper examining Paris as a literary hub, with a specific focus on the American Expatriate movement.

~B~

SurfBandBill
The Hemingway reading was actually school-connected, as I'm about to start on a research paper examining Paris as a literary hub, with a specific focus on the American Expatriate movement.

~B~

I'm telling ya, I wasn't big on all the literary criticism I had to do, but for some odd reason, I loved those Hemingway short stories!

That research paper actually sounds fun.

-K

"Turn the knob to 10 and break it off!" -Baja Marty

Yeah yeah yeah!!! So how were the guitar stores? Did you
score any cool instruments? Catch any surf bands? Bruno
and the Wet-Tones? Bradipos IV??? What kind of picks do
they use over there? Flatwounds or roundwounds? Details
on their brewskis? C'mon, Bill: give us some useful infor-
mation!!! &^$$%&^&%$%*((!!!

Wuv,

Bob

Bob

Sounds awesome, Bill. I'd love more than anything to visit both Italy and France. I've never been overseas before, and that's right where I'd start. The history of Rome fascinates me.

Did you take any pictures that you'd care to share?

Bill, 2 things,
1st you said erected , huh huh huh

2nd was there opium in your Absinthe ?

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Thanks for the Booze lesson Bill.
Isn't Laudanum an opiate itself.

on a semi related note you going to go to the Forbidden Island anniversary party on Sun.? Meshuggah Beach party and others are playing,
2 pm till?? I was gonna come up, but not now, Can't afford it.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Jeff(bigtikidude)