29 August 2008

For Your Information...

Signs amuse me. Warning signs, informative signs, traffic signs. For some, no words are needed. For others, some sentiments just don't quite translate. And so, for your entertainment, I present the signs that I enjoyed the most.


In a hostel bathroom in Milan, Italy. In the end, we left the staff behind the reception desk.



In the Paris metro. I think this happens if you fly kites in the tunnels.



In The Netherlands, the signs are sympathetic that you have to put up with 4km of roadwork. Then they are relieved with you that it's nearly over.



Found this in London... it might be advertising the new camel-zebra crossbreed.


I love finding humor on the streets. These five signs are by no means the only humorous ones, but it does make me wonder which American signs European travelers find strange or funny.


26 August 2008

News from the front

I'm home! Or, as the English like to tease us, "back in the Colonies." Pictures and stories will be coming forthwith, though it will take a little time to edit 1500+ pics. Surprisingly, I have no jetlag, even though it's midnight London time. I leave you with wisdom:

Easy Ways to Recognize American Tourists in Europe (according to my European friends)

1. Baseball hats
2. Tennis shoes (applies only to mainland Europe, loads of people wear trainers in the U.K.)
3. White sport socks
4. They are the only bicyclists in Holland wearing helmets

You have been warned. They're on to us!

08 August 2008

Checking in

Sali* from Geneva/Geneve/Genf!

It's been a crazy busy tiring week, but totally awesome. Language immersion/culture shock, mastering train and bus schedules, paying money to climb stairs, eating lots of cheese, seeing almost the entire country of "terra incognito" by train...

Countries so far: Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein (and I have the passport stamp to prove it!)

*Hi, to all of you who don't speak Swiss-German. The other useful German I've learned besides travel words is all thanks to my fantastic roommate. These words are "hilfe, bitte!" and I'm sure you can all guess what that means. :)

01 August 2008

A Lesson in Packing Light

I'm admittedly terrible at packing. If I'm told to "pack light," I usually end up with four pairs of shoes for a weekend. This is preparedness, not to be confused with high-maintenance.

And now I find myself stuffing nearly four weeks of stuff into my hiking backpack as I prepare for a month of crazy adventures. Ha. Hahahahaha.

It isn't pretty. I have no idea what I'm doing, so I clutch my passport and map every ten seconds to make sure I still have them, and hope for the best. I'm not taking my laptop because that would be just too awkward, but I might be able to check in now and then anyway. We've got a booking in Zermatt, Switzerland (near the Matterhorn) on Monday night, and I hear they have internet. =)

Flight out: tomorrow, PDX, 8.45 am. Oh yay. Here's hoping I get to sit next to a cute boy and not someone who snores for the 11-hour flight.