Canadian Adventures The world is a giant book, if you don't travel you're only reading the first page!

Hod' yaal bake-in, That is Hungarian for don't harass me! I know, I know that I have been slack but I have been a busy boy. My 4 week jaunt in Europe was an amazing time and way to much happened to go into all the gory details but some of the key events are: * Went to London for Phil's wedding and Rino and I had so much fun that we decided to crash another one nearby, a German wedding where we danced with the oldies, joined a conga line and drank. Phil's big day was alot of fun with a beautiful ceremony in Edgeware followed by a reception at a stereotypical English manor. We drunk, danced and ran amuk, finishing up in the spa at 3 in the morning! * Hung out with Rino in Croatia and went to a bar where we were the oldest in there by 15 years!! I kidd you not, the average age was 14 and that's partly because Rino and I dragged the average up. We couldn't belive how many young ones were boozing and smoking...........safe to say that we left very quickly!! We actually met some very cool aussie girls from Sydney and had a couple of meals with them and beers in a 14th century castle, pretty surreal. They can keep the pebble beaches to themselves though, even if they are very spectacular. * Had a Turkish Bath in a centuries old bathouse in Hungary, surrounded by Italian girls and Sweedish guys speaking English and trying to hit on Japanese girls, not to mention every other glamorous European imaginable. Buda and Pest are actually two cities seperated by the Danube River and very different. Buda is the historic old town with the most humungous castle and cool cobblestone streets. Pest is the more modern part of the city and has a very trendy, underground vibe. The hostel I stayed in here was dodgy as, but I met some cool guys and drunk shots of some horrific Hungarian spirt whose name alludes me, but whose disgusting taste I will take to the grave! * Hung out with a Brazillian girl in Athens and managed to get ourselves on Greek Television!! We were intervied for the news about the heat wave in Athens (46 degrees that day) and the working conditions for staff at the Acropolis (mind blowing place by the way!!). Athens was quite dirty and extremely hot, but walking round the birthplace of civilisation is inspiring and sobering at the same time. Being a huge sports fan it was pretty special visiting the various sites of the Pantheaic, 1896 and 2004 Olympic Games. * Caught the overcrowded ferry out to the islands where I had a 3 day bender in Ios. I caught up with my friend Liana (Greek girl I met in Thailand) and she took me to some very cool bars, got me inside for free and managed to secure us free booze (mostly shooters of Amaretto) all night. It's a hard life! Ios is like an oasis in the desert, with beautiful beaches, bars that don't crank until 2in the morning and awesome, cheap food! The best bar is one called Harmony that overlooks the bay with hammocks out the front and a very cool guy playing alternative accoustic music inside. * Sat on a black sand volcanic beach in Santorini with some cool Aussies and a couple of Canadian girls, surrounded by more topless women on one beach than I have seen in my entire life! Went swimming in water where the bottom is slippery smooth volcanic rock, just watching people enter the water and slip over is entertaining enough on it's own! Had dinner with the girls in a traditional Greek restaurant and did a bit of people watching against a backdrop of sheer volcanic cliffs. * Went to the communist museum in Prague and was blown away by the turbulent history this city has had. The best part of Prague is the free walking tour that you can do through the city, guided by an EXTREMELY gorgeous local. It was interesting learning about Gollum, Stalin and visiting the John Lennon wall. Prague also has the world's biggest castle and a city that was barely touched by either of the world wars meaning that its maintained its medieval charm. The cheap beer is also a winner, as is the authentic Absinthe which I purchased for 10 bucks! * Finished up back in London where I caught up with Scotty Davis and his heavily pregnant wife Bernie. It was great to catch up with such a great mate and he took me to Windsor Castle, though unfortunately Lizzy didn't wanna see me :-( Well that's it for the first leg of my summer holidays. More adventures to come in the remaining five weeks..........god I love the Canadian school system!! Take care and keep smiling, Ben.