Dear reader,

 

 

Even though I only saw her for 1 second - seeing Kate has prompted me to once again turn to this blog and spill my proverbial guts. I was driving home from work as I always do and finally - as I had feared for quite a while - she drove out of her work. Her boyfriend was in the car with her.... they did not see me, but I certainly saw her. I can't really explain what I felt. Just a hollow void opening up inside me. I'm pretty depressing and negative most of the time so to feel a black hole opening up and sucking even those emotions up and leaving nothing but emptiness is quite terrifying.

 

So it's October. School soon finishes and with it my contract with the teaching company I am with. I couldn't be happier. Why you ask? Because I am going to Europe next year.

 

Yes. It is not a dream but now a stark reality. I am going to Europe. Although I sometimes wonder on the reasons I go - perhaps to run away from problems such as "what are you going to do with the rest of your life Chad?" and "are you going to grow up and get over Kate anytime soon Chad?". Whatever the reasons I couldn't be more thrilled about leaving this country of Australia and experiencing a part of the world that has had such a turbulant past. I am hoping (probably niavely) for some sort of inspiration to direct my life. I am hoping that I meet people that will open me up to socializing and optimism again. Hoping that find an activity that I would want to pursue as a job. Hoping that I can find that part in my heart to reignite the interest in life and in living. In being happy and carefree and the ability to forgive and forget and to move on and get on with life.

 

I haven't decided what month to go but it's looking like April - just after Easter - or early May. I hope (gee I'm doing alot of hoping) that I'm able to stay for a minimum of 6 months.

 

My first country will be Turkey. I plan on landing in Istanbul and spending about 2 weeks there alone. I'll go see the Aya Sofia, Topkapi Palace, The Blue Mosque, The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, the city walls and of course - the covered bazaar. Although I'm sure I could see all of these things in less than 2 weeks I'm sure the culture shock and overwhelming aura that is Istanbul will crush me and force me to rebuild what I think of myself.

From there I'll go to Ankara, the Capital of Turkey and spend the night there looking at what is left of Roman Ankara before moving onto the main reason I'm going to Turkey - Cappadocia. I'll probably end up spending a week here exploring the incredible landscape that has been carved out by the many different cultures and elements that have shaped it over the thousands of years of it's exsistance. If I can afford it I'll take a hot air balloon ride over the landscape.

 

After my time here I'll head south to Antalya - for the reason of the ancient roman Aspendos Theatre. Once finished there I'll head west towards Ephesus and look at the many Greek temples built in the ancient city and then catch a boat through the Greek Islands.

 

I haven't quite figured out which Islands to visit so I don't know how long I'll spend there, but I will of course end up in Athens. I've heard alot of bad things about the Greek capital so I wont stay long - just enough time to see The Acropolis, the Parthenon, The Erechtheion, The Theatre of Dionysus and the Roman Forum. After that my time in Greece will be finished and I'll be heading towards Naples in Italy.

 

After eating Pizza in Naples and seeing Pompeii and Herculaneum I'll head North to Rome (for obvious reasons) then Florence - the birthplace of Niccolo Machiavelli - then to Pisa. I estimate that my time in Italy will be around a month - probably the same as Greece (I'm hoping). Essentially I'll be hitting all of the major artistic and religious sites in Italy at possibly the busiest time of the year (June-July).

 

From Pisa I'm not too sure where to go - there are a few options. There is a tripe through Bologna to get to the legendary city of Venice and cutting across to Milan. Although this is a viable option I'm not too sure if there's that much to see (that I want to) in those cities. The other option is to catch a boat from Pisa or Livorno and sail to the French owned island of Corsica - the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Although the trip to Corsica would be exciting (maybe stopping at Elba - the first island that Napopleon was exiled to) I'm worried I might miss quite a lot in the North of Italy just for one island - so I'm still researching and weighing it up. Either way I will end up in southern France - namely Marseille. From here I'll travel through the Southern France country side visiting Toulouse and Bayonne. I don't think I'll spend much time in France because I will have to hurry to Spain for what will the longest and I hope the most exciting stay in Europe.

 

Something about Spain has captured my imagination. I've never really thought about it much but after doing all the research and looking at all the interesting stuff that I wanted to do or see Spain ended up being the biggest winner. It's becoming less of a focal reason but the Fiesta de San Fermin has been the core reason I wanted to visit Spain - and more importantly to see the Encirro or possibly participate in it. So my first stop in Spain will be Pamplona. If I am too late for this it is of no consquence - because encirro's happen all year round in every villege and city in Spain. So I will travel either to Pamplona for the Fiesta or keep farthest north Spain and visit San Sebastian and Bilbao. It is from here I will do the Camino De Santiago - the Medieval Pilgram route to Santiago de Compostela - the supposed resting place of St. James the Apostle. I will be walking the entire length from which ever city - either Pamplona or Bilbao. I will see and explore the Northern provinces of Spain and see the cities and villeges that encapulate Spain. After what could be a 3-4 week trek I'll rest in Santiago for a while and move directly south in Portugal and explore the cities of Porto and then the capital Lisbon before continuing South getting to Seville, then Cordoba and Granada. Depending on time I'll then either head to Toledo and Madrid and then east to Bunol for La Tomatina - the tomato throwing festival. Then I'll head north to the city of Barcelona and fly back home.

 

So far - that's the plan. I don't know how much money I'll need or have so I don't know how long or how feasible this trip really is. I guess if there's still money I'll head towards Paris where I'll see all the sites and then either fly back home or continue into Germany or England. My time in Spain will probably be around 2 months.

 

So far the Aussie dollar is doing pretty well against the overseas currencies (at the time of this writing the aussie dollar is 0.93 cents of the Greenback and 0.62 euro) so hopefully I can see my money go further. I am praying to God - assuming he/she is even there - that this trip will allow me to open my eyes and reinvigorate my life and give me some kind of direction. I'm hoping that maybe I can find a job in one of the countries (which reminds me - because of my father I can get a UK passport which allows me to work in just about any European country - fuck yeah!). I am hoping beyond what is possible that I can stay longer than 6 months so that I do not have to come back to my life here. Besides my loving mother, father and sister there is nothing for me here. So unless I can find some sort of answer in Europe I'm in alot of trouble.

 

Who cares for now - I'm going to Europe.

 

 

 

 

Regards,

 

Chad