Oh.. This Crazy Nation...

Berlusconi survives, but Italy faces uncertain future....www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11994889

During my last few days in Italy, Roma experienced some of the worst rioting in years as the current Prime Minister
survived a victory in confidence votes in both houses of parliament. As an extremely unpopular leader this was a surprise to many.

Bologna... First Days...

Ok.. so... Its my second full day here in Bologna and lets just say I desperately need to get my Italian to start working for me. I have three Italian roommates and these people just talk soooo fast, it doesn't help that everyone in the street assumes I'm Italian. So far, my first word most frequently used over and over is 'scuzi'.
This city is absolutely beautiful. My apartment, although shared with four other people is very nice, and I can't complain based on other horror stories that I heard from other students today. It was our first day of class today and our professors are pretty hilarious. Awesome accents, and very good teachers so far. First class of Italian tomorrow. Sweet.

Here's some pictures so far from my first day as a tourist trekking around town.

This is the entrance to my apartment... it reminds me very much so of Eat.Pray.Love.

This is the view from my room.. we have a set of doors that walks out to a very small balcony. Although the buildings here are very old and worn down, its really, really pretty.

This is the view from our kitchen, another reference to a movie it reminds me of is Amelie. It looks upon a very little courtyard type of structure.

And this is our kitchen, with the smallest stove I've ever seen.

Just a picture of how most of the streets look like. The town is covered with these arcades, I believe are referred to as "Portici'. Bologna is covered overall by 38km worth of these arcs. Meaning even if it's raining I can walk my 12min to school and barely get rained on.

More portici.


This is not an illusion... I'm not sure what's going on with the Italian people, but they just don't seem to get their towers straight. These are the iconic towers of Bologna. I still have to go up there, you can see all of the city from there. In the past, the theory is, the towers used to belong to some of the richest families. There used to be alot more of these in the city but most of them were demolished, taken down or simply collapsed.

Statue of Neptune near the Piazzo Maggiore.

These things EVERYWHERE.

Polish Vodka Everywhere.


Piazza Maggiore is approx 4 min walk from my apartment. Its the city center. Yesterday was a Holiday in Bologna. It turns out every City in Italy has its own Holiday once a year. Every city here has a patron, who is celebrated. Bishop Petronius was the one who built the grand church at Piazza Maggiore, and yesterday was the Petronius Festival.

More Arcs.

How do you pack your life into a suitcase of 23kg?

So when I first started this blog it was June 2009 to reflect my need to get away from the day to day routine of traffic, work, and everything else.... now its over a year later.. and I am away. This last year has been so crazy and so random... we moved out... we worked some more... we traveled some more and got to see a lot of the West Coast and Western Canada...

Calgary... Banff... West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island...Vancouver in the Summer... Drive down to San Francisco... Mt. St. Helens, Washington... Oregon Sand Dunes...and California.

I just got to Bologna, Italy about a day ago and I'm still taking it all in. I will be studying here for 3 months before I head over to Ghent, Belgium and then Mumbai, India. Sitting here its 2.30 am as I'm fighting with my jet lag, I still have trouble truly believing this is actually happening.

Lets see how this goes...

I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless,

as it extends into the world around us,
it goes an equal distance into the world within. ~

West Coast Trail - June 2010 - Just an Update

Since I have not yet had the chance to put up an updated on WCT.. Let's just say it was breathtaking...A beautiful and challenging experience. Definitely recommend doing this at least once in your life, just make sure you are with the right team...

Be prepared for lots of ladders.. lots of rain... and lots of Mr. Noodles.
Here's just a few photos from the Coast:

Orientation Centre - The beginning

Ladders, ladders and more ladders

And more ladders...

The plant life is absolutely incredible...

The Coast at low tide...

Resting after having some burgers from the native burger place...
Packing up for the road.
Changes in scenery.Preparing Supper.

The guys trying to fly their McGyver Kite.

The first shower in four days was under this waterfall.

Beautifull Sunset ... and starfish below.

These bouyees signified the entrance and exit of trail onto beach route. People carved their names in them.

WCT - Preparation.. Struggles..

Time is flying and preparation is going slow... still need to get some key items hopefully this week;

- Shoes
- Tent
- Pack

Training; slow but better than nothing...
- Stairs - average 3 times a week
- Rock Climbing - Once at the Toronto Rock Climbing Academy
- Running - average 2 a week.

Time to pick up the pace!

WCT - Preparation Meeting #1

Ok, so last night took place our first group preparation meeting for our upcoming West Coast Trail venture. Attendance was successful with the exception of Mr. Misquith who let us down gravely.

The Agenda was as follows;
1. Research Discussion 2. Equipment (/ sharezies potential) 3. Agenda / What to expect on the trial (plan per day) 4. Tent Fitting (this will be an outdoor exercise where Raf, Rich,D and Adr play tetris to see if they will be able to fit into one 4-person tent.

I'm going to do some thinking out loud now, and combine some of the sources discussed to make a preliminary equipment list. Since we still have about two months we have time to be creative with this equipment and get some of these items used. Everyone should be as self sufficient as possible

Tent - still gotta figure that one out
Sleeping Bag - I think I already have a synthetic one
Sleeping Pad - more research required, could get a used one.
Hiking Boots - rubber soles preferred, water proof - $120
Gaiters - for your boots - only about $15 at MEC
Pack - need to do more research - probably looking into a 60 ltr for myself.
Stove - we have two stoves in the group
Fuel - have to look into situation closer to date
Food - need to do more research
Alcohol - mickey of spiced rum!! to keep me warm at night!
Water Canteen
Water Purifying tables - cheaper alternative than water purifiers
Head Lamp
Hiking Pole - getting more feedback that its a must for the trip, not willing to spend $70 on a stick, have to see other alternatives

Clothes - gotta stay dry
Options;
Rain jacket
Merino wool sweater
Sh-pants - unzippy ones
Wool Socks - many of them
Swim suits / sport undergarment for laaaadies

Other items;
Vaseline/Baby powder for feet
Tarp (for the group)
Rope (for the group)
Lighter
Garbage bags
Watch - required for tide tables
West Coast Trail Map -still to be provided
First Aid Kit - still need one more for the group
Degradable toilet paper ?

Other business on the Agenda;

• Camp Reservations - Matt to let us know closer to the date

• 4-Ppl Tent Trail - Attempted to pitch the tent in our living, but almost killed each other with the tent poles. Rich and Raf did a fitting using spooning position butt to butt, seems like there will be enough room, but a second trial is required.

Also, we all now know that Raf's pack can carry 90 pounds no proooblem!

Spring Time...A New Beginning

So... the last six months absolutely fleeeeew by. There's so many things I want to catch up on and talk about I don't even know where to start. It seems like my travel theme for the last year has been 'The West Coast'. Last summer we spent a week road ripping from Vancouver down to San Francisco. On the way climbing mountainous waterfalls in the BC-Rockies, driving by some out-of-this-world red woods and sandboarding down Oregon Sand Dunes. In January, we took a four day trip to Calgary - Banff, where we enjoyed some fresh powder in Lake Louise and Kicking Horse resort. And now, this June we are taking up a legendary journey, the changing mark of our lives, the behemoth of all missions, the trips of all trips.... drum roll.... the West Coast Trail! It is now April 29 and the training and preparation has began. I am hoping to keep you up to date with our step by step preparation. From equipment to getting into shape, we'll see how it goes! AAAAaaaadventure is out there!* (Source: Up)

And for now, here are some little reminders that Spring is in full gear..