To recover from our Friday night of flamenco and pitchers at La Carboneria, my friends and I hopped a bus out of Sevilla to the beach in Huelva . We wandered around a bit, stopping by a beachfront cafe where we were witness to a chubby boy showering and peeing in public at what we believed to be too old an age. To 'cleanse' my brain of those images, we sat on the beach a bit and I tried not to stare at topless sunbathers. I guess it wasn't really staring as it was just having my eyes open. We'd somehow selected a spot with boobs in every direction.
Our last day in Spain was spent trying to stay out of the 100 degree heat. While Dan and Yasmin explored La Giralda, I took refuge in the shade, scribbling project notes into my notebook, listening to the chatter of backpackers, and watching the brides, tourists, gypsies, and pretty girls walk by.
I never did have my glass of tinto de verano but I was happy to fulfill cravings of tortilla Espana, horchata, and iberica. After munching on the last of many bocadillo sandwiches, it was off to England where we met 45 degree temperatures and rainy skies. Early the next morning, London bid me farewell with a sunnier day. The only 'cloud' was an hour sitting on the plane as we waited for Air Force One to land at Heathrow. The Americans groaned when we heard President Bush was the one keeping us from going home to Washington DC.
Holiday Road
My friends Dan and Yasmin needed a little holiday so we're going to visit one of my favorite cities in Spain: Seville. We're catching a plane in a couple of hours but I wanted to give you a sneak peek at another quick project I cut tonight for a Tic Tac contest.
http://www.mintertainment.com/videos/video/Falling_for_Tic_Tacs
Don't forget to Digg my other video per the instructions below!
Labels: England
Oh man, I'm watching this WWDC 2008 Keynote... how could you not want an iPhone? Doesn't Apple know I don't have any money?
I created a video for the flipforbudget.com contest. The video with the most "diggs" wins a prize. Here is how you can help...
UPDATE: Some dude beat me by 12 Diggs.
Labels: England
I spent my weekend in places like St. Albans, Clapham, Croydon, Greenwich, and get this "London". I'm definitely not in East San Jo. It was a hot day in London yesterday as I roamed the city, working on a project. That's right, I'm working on projects! You don't know how important that is for me right now. I went from Tower Bridge to Big Ben to the London Eye to Buckingham/St James Park to the National Gallery to the Natural History to the Victoria & Albert to the British Museum to Greenwich... and boy is my Oyster Card tired. (that's a London tube joke- I can make bad inside jokes internationally, that's how talented I am)
An exciting part was seeing my girls Carlien, Steph, and Amy. Weird not being in Thailand or Oz with them. I have to finish my project right now and then it's back off to London for the night. Later this week, maybe I'll chime in from another favorite spot of mine on the big ole planet.
Then it's home again! Homecoming (mp3)
Labels: England
My cousin IM'd me the other day and asked if I was still in England having the time of my life. I laughed maniacally in my head. I'm sort of doing what I was doing in the US, catching up with old friends and looking for ways to help them around their houses. In my spare time I peruse blogs and become saddened by bleak news or discouraged by the seemingly more talented individuals around the planet. Constantly I'm questioning my purpose. I wonder about what defines us and why having a definition even matters. The soap bubble that is societal pressure is creeping up around me and it freaks me out man.
I think, wow, look how far I've come but feel that I've gotten nowhere. Somewhere, there's Anonymous laughing his butt off. I want to hide away from everyone and I want to burst out and blow them all the way. I want to have the last laugh. Manic. Maniacal.
I'm going to London for the weekend. Then I'm slipping off to somplace warm next week. Before California, I'm going to hop over to another great American city. Every now and then I like to forget that I've become the malcontent. I think of how I've drifted through Los Angeles, New York, and London in the last month. How romantic. I'm like one of those old ladies from that Sex and the City movie. Except I have only five wardrobe changes and barely enough money left to make a sandwich. I'm off to take some photos.
I'll Never Forget You (mp3)
Labels: England
I've been in a bit of a gloom lately. I've pieced together some sort of plan for the next few months, though some extremely important details are missing. I'm sure things will fair well but I know there will be a lot of stomach aches involved for a while before I get to the 'well' portion of this next journey. What makes it extremely difficult to stay driven is knowing that I'll ultimately be alone again. I've done it before and I'll do it again. But it's never been the way I wanted to do it.
Anyhow, don't read into any of that. The important piece of information is that I'll be back in the USA on June 16.
American Boy (mp3)
Labels: England
I've been bummin' around England for the last week. I checked out the Telectroscope, a crazy art piece that allowed me to see my friends at the Brooklyn bridge from London's Tower bridge in real time. It's hard to describe but basically think of someone setting up an elaborate video conference without voice capabilities. The hype was big enough that NBC in New York shot some footage of me in London from Brooklyn while the local British news shot some footage of me waving to my friends in Brooklyn from London.
As with New York, I've been trying to save cash and to enjoy the company of old friends. I've been continuing my crusade to assist people with tasks around the house including computer repairs, hanging curtains, varnishing floors, hanging mirrors, and repairing electrical switches. In return, they feed me.
Things haven't been as cheery as I would have liked here but what can you expect, it's rainy old England. I have no idea what my next move is but I'll keep you posted every now and then. You never know where I'll pop up.
Labels: England
I'm in England! And my head is about to explode. (That's not necessarily a bad thing)
Labels: England
Yes, I now hold two American passports. Kinda neat. Had a weird day at the US Embassy, which had visitors evacuated to a nearby park or something. It was actually harder to get out of the place than to get in to pick up my passport. Otherwise, it was a sunny day in London. I wish I had the dough to do some exploring but I settled for a walk through St. James park and a lunch of sandwiches I made from groceries I bought at Tesco.
Some disappointing travel news, I may have to give up on going to Iran. Seems that the only way to do it is to have a hired guide with me everyday at a cost of $110/day. Not in the budget. Oh, and there's the whole issue of them detaining American citizens and the US moving warships into the Persian Gulf. Why can't we all just get along like good little countries?
I'm going to have to make some major adjustments to my travel plans in late July. Maybe I'll throw some more Africa and Eastern Europe into the mix. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to get back to Paris. Miss ya Val! I may you as early as Thursday.
Labels: England
I'm back in Colchester, desperately trying to get all sorts of administrative things together on the net (if anyone cares, I'm killing one of my old servers, filmgen1.nfshost.com... I don't think that should effect anyone but my wallet) so I can run out to London while it's actually not pouring rain outside.
I left the Netherlands without having really met anyone but it was a good long weekend of reflection and the whatnot. Killing time in Rotterdam was a bit hard on a Sunday night. For those of you keen to the whole YouTube impostor story, the guy erased his account from YouTube so I didn't have contact info.
The Netherlands Montage, YouTube
5/27/07 Scribblings in my Moleskine from the lobby of the Westin Hotel, Rotterdam:
I was in a big city with no map and no direction. I asked myself how I got here. Why was I here even? Someone called Rotterdam, the New York of the Netherlands and immediately I started to agree as far as ethnic diversity went. The crowds were less touristy on the metro and thuggish teens looked like they wanted to mug me and maybe bust a rhyme about it afterwards. But it's a safe place. The architecture seemed modern and European, whatever that's supposed to mean.
On the advice of a couchsurfer, I checked out the cube houses of Blaak Street, the Oude Haven area, and I walked the Erasmus Bridge. After a chicken sandwich and frites, I decided to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 3 at the Pathe theater I came across. They've got ads before their films, too and there was one that killed me. It was about a sexy girl and a guy who could barely hold on to her. I have to find it. (I found it here at wefashion.com, go to the Touch Me Campaign link on the left) It's rare to find a film that seems to be something straight out of my head. The magic of the moving image.
When Pirates started I became a bit sad. There was the familiarity of being in a cozy movie theater and watching an American popcorn movie but there was also this sensation that I was so far away from home. The obvious was that there were Dutch subtitles and everyone around me conversing in Dutch (not during the film, thankfully). I don't know, I feel so disconnected. There were times when I felt disconnected from friends and people back home but now, I was physically separated from them. And I was culturally separated from those currently around me. ::sigh:: I've got 7 more hours to kill and all I want is to curl up in one of the hotel beds in this Westin.
The Netherlands is the second country where I haven't really spoken to anyone. Four days of walking with my thoughts takes a toll on my mood. I knew there would be more days like this and I'll pull through, no problem. But if I don't get some of this down on paper, I may just hit a bottle. I really can't afford the luxury of imbibing... I checked my bank account today and it's incredible how much cash Western Europe has burned. I'm really starting to worry about making it through seven more months. Holy God! Seven more months!? It feels like a jail sentence or time serving a tour of duty in my head. Days of solitude make me forget why I'm doing this.
If you've got someone close, give him or her a hug. If you know someone that has no one, call 'em or pay 'em a visit. Me, I can't be helped just yet. But worry not, I'm never alone as long as I got me.
The mark of a the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. - Wilhelm Stekel [Catcher in the Rye]
More Moleskine scribblings from Fashion Cafe Bar in Colchester, 5/28/07:
Sure people'll miss you when you're gone but life goes on. Unless you have some sort of strong bond or tie... whatever you want to call it. Then, when you leave, life becomes unbearable without you for an unspecified duration. You can't leave when there's that sort of relationship. If you do, it's going to be almost equally as tough on both ends. I didn't have that. And now I'm here, wanting that.
Labels: England, Netherlands, Videos
Yasmin and I went out to a 'crazy hat' party at the White Hart Pub in the Kennington area of London over the weekend. We met a great bunch of successful young British people who all had been places and were going places. Unfortunately I was being the ultra quiet American most of the evening. I did get into random rants about the merits of animated feature films, the future of recycling, and the dumping of significant others for world travel. Yasmin lost her feathers by the end of the evening but I woke up on someone's couch the next day with my bullfighter's cap at my side. We'd planned to head to Oxford for the day but after missing our bus, we spent some time at the British Museum instead. I sleepily made my way through Greek ruins, Asian artifacts, and Egyptian mummies and gazed at the Rosetta Stone before shoving off back toColchester to recover.
My new itinerary for this week has me in Edinburgh, Scotland on Monday afternoon, Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday, and Krakow, Poland Saturday morning. I'll be staying in hostels for the first time on this leg of the trip. Most of these places I'll share rooms with 8-12 people, maybe with one bathroom ensuite. And Dan and Yasmin keep wondering why I won't leave Colchester.
-the Quiet American
Labels: England
The other day I met Dan and Yasmin for lunch at a pub in Colchester. My friend Shilpa
had pledged to fill my stomach with steak but I had to try the "Giant Yorkshire with bangers (sausage), mash, peas, and gravy". I'd always thought that Yorkshire pudding was some sort of mushy bread pudding or something but it's basically a fluffy popover. This meal featured a 'giant Yorkshire' which turned out to be so large that they serve the meat and potatoes inside. It was another substantial meal (I also ordered breaded mushrooms to start). I almost skipped dinner, this thing filled me up so much. Hungrytime in the UK.
Smile more, mumble less.
Think less, do more.
The other day the words "approaching happiness" kept going through my head. It was as if I had finally escaped whatever was getting me down. I don't think I was running away from it, just trying to tackle issues by taking another look at them. Sometimes you have to get outside of the bubble and look in to see where the weaknesses are.
And then I hopped on to Myspace. For some reason, it brought me back to LA in an instant. I cringed a little. Self-judgement sentencing me to unhappiness all over again. I get excited though... knowing that these feelings can be dredged up by seeing a few photos or even a few names. I get excited over where I'll be a year from now. Things will be different, things will be the same.
Life goes on with or without you.
Labels: England
I've been sitting here in Colchester for two days trying to figure out where to head next. It's a very strange sensation having the freedom to do whatever I want. Problem is, I don't know what I want to do.
I'm thinking Scotland, Ireland, Poland, Czech Rep., Germany, Holland, and back to London to pick up my passport before Spain. Sounds exciting enough. Let's see if I can actually get it all arranged.
By the way, I haven't been taking many photos or videos lately. I haven't gotten into the groove yet. If there's something you'd like to see, leave me a comment.
I'm thinking Scotland, Ireland, Poland, Czech Rep., Germany, Holland, and back to London to pick up my passport before Spain. Sounds exciting enough. Let's see if I can actually get it all arranged.
By the way, I haven't been taking many photos or videos lately. I haven't gotten into the groove yet. If there's something you'd like to see, leave me a comment.
Labels: England
I headed into London today to see if I could get an Iranian travel visa. I spent 3 hours in line for nothing. They told me it would take 14 days which would mean my passport would be unavailable... basically, I'd be stuck in England where everything costs twice as much as the U.S. Afterwards, I jammed over to the American embassy to see if I could get a second passport. They say only 21% of Americans have a passport. Well, in 10-15 days, I will have TWO passports. I wish I had done this earlier. If I had two passports, I could travel on one while applying for visas on the other. This is usually only available for people traveling on business but a young dude traveling all over the place for 8 months also seems to qualify.
I'm gonna sleep now.
I'm gonna sleep now.
Labels: England
Great friends, delicious food, ridiculous fun... I'm having a blast in London. I've been staying in Colchester with Yasmin and Dan, who've been taking very good care of me. When I arrived, we headed to a Brazilian chiaroscuro to fill up on meats on skewers, yucca, vegetable rice, cheesy bread balls, and loads of other eats. Their friends Flor and Simon soon joined us and we headed to Curve Bar for salsa night.
When I got to London, I was still in 'foreign land' mode. I kind of forgot that people speak English here. Every now and then I still feel like I have to speak slowly so people can understand what I'm saying. Then again, there are words and phrases that I use here that amuse and confuse people. Ex. It's flatmates, not roommates. It's the boot in the reat of the car, not a trunk. And it's vodka with ice, not vodka on the rocks (yelling 'vodka rocks' may get you a bottle of Corona in a loud bar)
The next morning we had croissants, scrambled eggs, and juice before heading out to Bromley to drop off the car. We grabbed lunch at Miso where I had some yummy Udon and duck. I'm so glad I set up FeedTony.com before I left. London's hideously expensive. Imagine all of the prices being comparable to the United States. That is, A plate of noodles is priced at say, 7£ which is fine here. In reality, it's $14 US dollars. That 6£ drink, not bad... except that it's $12 in the US. HUGE thanks to my brothers and Y for helping me stay fed this past week in London and Paris.
London's a great city with a cool mixture of modern architecture and buildings that are centuries old. Again, everywhere I pass through is like being in a film, from lush green countrysides to the posh streets of London. It's a transportation of mind and body that doesn't always register. I find myself spacing out sometimes. I keep thinking 'where am I, what am I doing here?'
The five of us strolled along the river Thames for a bit before finding a pub that served up some great steak and stilton pie. I amazed my British buddies by polishing off every bit of the heavy meal. We wandered around the streets a bit, hunting for a particular night club that we didn't know the name of. We finally found it and after a few drinks hit the crowded dance floor. Lots of bootie shaking going on.
A few lovely ladies caught my attention on the dance floor but I still wasn't ballsy enough to say hello even though Simon claimed my American accent would get me somewhere. I was having enough fun with our own ladies and couldn't be bothered anyhow. Besides, what's a Tony adventure somewhere without a ten minute crush that goes nowhere?
After we'd sweat ourselves out enough it was time to head to an Arab joint for some tea and late night eats. I snacked on an Egyptian dessert while the others passed around the Shisha and gobbled up lamb shawarma. It was a smoky atmosphere of Arab Londoners sobering up after clubbing or celebrating their birthdays with a five minute serenade blasting from the restaurant's PA system.
Finally, we rode the infamous 'night bus' back to Bromley. It was a quieter night on the double-decker bus, with only one fight below us, but I was fine not having to witness anyone vomiting in the aisles.
I was told stories of the unpredictability of the London night bus. The Tube stops running around midnight so intoxicated revellers have to hop a night bus to get back home. The rides can be filled with angry drunks, fist fights, and vomiting. Or you may end up dropped off far from your intended destination and having to hoof it home. Whatever the case, it beats drinking and driving!
When I got to London, I was still in 'foreign land' mode. I kind of forgot that people speak English here. Every now and then I still feel like I have to speak slowly so people can understand what I'm saying. Then again, there are words and phrases that I use here that amuse and confuse people. Ex. It's flatmates, not roommates. It's the boot in the reat of the car, not a trunk. And it's vodka with ice, not vodka on the rocks (yelling 'vodka rocks' may get you a bottle of Corona in a loud bar)
The next morning we had croissants, scrambled eggs, and juice before heading out to Bromley to drop off the car. We grabbed lunch at Miso where I had some yummy Udon and duck. I'm so glad I set up FeedTony.com before I left. London's hideously expensive. Imagine all of the prices being comparable to the United States. That is, A plate of noodles is priced at say, 7£ which is fine here. In reality, it's $14 US dollars. That 6£ drink, not bad... except that it's $12 in the US. HUGE thanks to my brothers and Y for helping me stay fed this past week in London and Paris.
London's a great city with a cool mixture of modern architecture and buildings that are centuries old. Again, everywhere I pass through is like being in a film, from lush green countrysides to the posh streets of London. It's a transportation of mind and body that doesn't always register. I find myself spacing out sometimes. I keep thinking 'where am I, what am I doing here?'
The five of us strolled along the river Thames for a bit before finding a pub that served up some great steak and stilton pie. I amazed my British buddies by polishing off every bit of the heavy meal. We wandered around the streets a bit, hunting for a particular night club that we didn't know the name of. We finally found it and after a few drinks hit the crowded dance floor. Lots of bootie shaking going on.
A few lovely ladies caught my attention on the dance floor but I still wasn't ballsy enough to say hello even though Simon claimed my American accent would get me somewhere. I was having enough fun with our own ladies and couldn't be bothered anyhow. Besides, what's a Tony adventure somewhere without a ten minute crush that goes nowhere?
After we'd sweat ourselves out enough it was time to head to an Arab joint for some tea and late night eats. I snacked on an Egyptian dessert while the others passed around the Shisha and gobbled up lamb shawarma. It was a smoky atmosphere of Arab Londoners sobering up after clubbing or celebrating their birthdays with a five minute serenade blasting from the restaurant's PA system.
Finally, we rode the infamous 'night bus' back to Bromley. It was a quieter night on the double-decker bus, with only one fight below us, but I was fine not having to witness anyone vomiting in the aisles.
I was told stories of the unpredictability of the London night bus. The Tube stops running around midnight so intoxicated revellers have to hop a night bus to get back home. The rides can be filled with angry drunks, fist fights, and vomiting. Or you may end up dropped off far from your intended destination and having to hoof it home. Whatever the case, it beats drinking and driving!
After a stroll along the river in London, we popped into a pub that served a great selection of meat pies. My brother sent some funds my way through FeedTony.com and I had a substantial British meal of Steak and Stilton (cheese) Pie served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, all covered in gravy. I had a nice pint of Guinness to wash it down. Thanks bro, I needed the 'foundation' for a night in London at the club.
For lunch, we went to a noodle house in Bromley, England called Miso. Thanks to my friend Yadira's generous contribution to FeedTony.com, I had a delicious plate of Duck with Udon noodles, a cup of tea, and fried shredded chicken. My mouth is watering just thinking about it again.
Y, I hope you had a great time at the wedding! Talk to you soon.
I made it to London. I'm staying with good friends in Colchester. Don't hate. (Pisco, Perroni, Morgan Spice, Brahma, Tiger, Cherry Vodka, Rum Sour, Honey Pepper Vodka, Laphroaig)
Labels: England
