Chad Is Everywhere

When traveling in a new country you're lost. And without a sufficient map you can risk missing the whole point of the city. Well I wasn't going to let this be in Frankfurt. You see I only had just over a day to be going around Frankfurt. Not that Frankfurt is described as the centre of the world in the tourism market. In fact far from it. One of their main things in the city centre, a giant sign dedicated to the Euro. Wow! What this meant was I was committed. Committed to buying the 50 cent tourist map all in order to not miss the main tourist sights. Fankfurt's stature in the Tourism world did not though stop them from charging for their map. Hmmm, they mustn't like the tourists. Hit them up for everything. In the morning before finding the tourist information centre I actually achieved much more with not more than a simple colour hostel map without the dots of interest. I managed to stumble upon Country Fair in the main street. All I could think was heck Frankf...

Ask yourself If I were going around an art museum and I see an empty chair at the 'Ask Me' point what would I do? Damn right I'd take a seat and let people ask me questions. Heck it's no different to where-ever I am. People always ask me questions, and I'm always giving answers. They may not be right but they're still answers. As I figured, if they had of asked me something I didn't know, then I would have re-directed them to ask me about something about Sports. And if all else failed then they could of always asked another 2 questions. After all it was '3 for a dollar'. Truth though is that the above photo is staged. Not that it's half easy to guess. Still it made for a funny moment in the Chicago Art Museum.

Yes Big news. I'm no longer in the USA. Myself and Stumpy the Greyhound have completed our separation. And the customs officials have no more concern about letting me through just one more time. I'm gone from North America. On my way home. Or be it via Frankfurt, Europe. So yes you can still all hate me for the fact I'm still in a place where you'd love to be. Tomorrow, I fly to Athens for a week and a bit in Athens and the Greek Islands. Yes I needed the island holiday before I got home. It's a tough life this traveling.

I agree with Frank Sinatra. Chicago is my kind of town. Or well I think its my kind of place in the summer. I don't know whether I'd hold the same view if the winds of the Windy City were ice cold. How did I get to Chicago? I flew of course. There was just no way I was going to be able to handle a bus ride up from Miami. Flying was a benefit of having organized ahead. A cheap flight. Just how they should be. After getting into Chicago I barely had enough time to take a walk around before it was time to take advantage of the 'free' activities. Improv Comedy night. Don't ask me where I was that night. We had guides playing a quick game of let's disorientate the tourist. In going to the comedy I did get to pass by Wrigley Field. Next day was a free tour of the city. Not to be missed by me, the cheap lazy explorer. Of course no trip to Chicago was not complete without the obligatory trip out to get a photo at the holy site. So yes I've had a photo at the Michael...

There is not a better way than to lay on the beach to get over a horrendous bus ride. Miami, South Beach. Home to the rich and famous. And me too. Be it for only a few days. I had decided upon South Beach on the basis of there being no cheap accommodation in Memphis for the weekend with some big College Football tournament on. Yes there was a long bus ride getting to Miami, but in the end it was worth it. I had found white sand again. The only thing missing was waves. There ain't gonna be no surfing contest in Miami I can confirm. Aside from the beach Miami is well known for the Art Deco. A style to its own. This was different and enjoyable to see, but well it wasn't as profound as I thought it would be. Find of the first day had to be at lunch. The restaurant I stopped in at had a 'Grilled Dolphin Steak Sandwich'. Yes Dolphin my jaw dropped. Here I was thinking do I order 'Flipper' or not. Heck through all my university days when I worked at the resta...

Alrightee I know I say bad things when I'm tired but heck this time its deserved. My Dog Stumpy Buslines has outdone themselves for consistently poor service. I boarded a bus at New Orleans bound for Miami. I knew this trip to be ambitious from the start. 24hrs with 3 connections. Well bus started on time. In fact I commend the guy in New Orleans. He had his bus station running great. We left on time. But now I find myself in Mobile, Alabama. Stuck here for 5 hours all because they over booked the bus. You see the New Orleans bus terminated in Mobile at 10:30pm so we had to fully unboard. Then the next bus came in from Atlanta at 11pm. But it did not terminate. The other people on the bus were able to stay on the bus through re-boarding. It seems that 45 seats from Atlanta were taken through this re-board leaving only 10 seats for the 20 people coming from New Orleans going east. Now I was looking sweet having lined up at number 6 in the line after we got off. But then the bus dr...

New Orleans has always been a destination I've always wanted to get to. The whole Hurricane Katrina issue did originally put a halt on the idea of completing the idea on this trip. But then I got thinking that this would probably be my best chance. And I knew that the French Quarter, the main historical centre and party area of New Orleans, wasn't affected by the floods and storm surge. Getting to New Orleans has been an adventure. But the goal has been worth it. The French Quarter lived upto expectation. Although as a single traveler I didn't get into the drunken debauchery of Bourbon Street as much as others did. And before anyone asks no there was no flashing for beads done by anyone in the street. Although it could of happened I didn't see it. But anyway that partying on Bourbon Street is just a part of what makes New Orleans. What I was there for was the Jazz. And the history of it which is very interesting in itself. First day I arrived into New Orleans I ...

Just in case you weren't aware my mobile phone has died. I have just today replaced the handset but in the process have lost all the numbers. I do have a backup of some numbers which will allow me to manually enter most of them . But haven't been able to transfer automatically. The SIM card just isn't reading the numbers stored. Anyone able to send me an email with their number will make it easier for me.

Atlanta is inland, so has no beach. It's not the biggest, not the richest, and not the prettiest. So why was I stopping here. For the Coca Cola apparently. Or well that's the goal when you've just done another overnight bus ride with Stumpy. How could not want a real hit of sugar and caffeine to keep you going. Atlanta didn't start too well in my eyes. By the time I had reached the hostel I had been asked for money by not less than 5 people. And it's not like I had given them the chance to ask me for money. It was only a 50 metre walk to the train station from Greyhound, and then 1/2 a km to the hostel from the other end. If you measure poverty based on this measure then Atlanta's economy mustn't be looking too good. The hostel people were very welcoming. I arrived at 9am and by 10:30am I was checked in for the night. This allowed me a quick shower, and nap before heading out for downtown Atlanta, and the 'World of Coca Cola'. Obviously the marketing...

Here in the USA they have a big advertising campaign in all the Bus Stations for 'The New Greyhound'. Well my conclusion is that the new greyhound, his name is Stumpy. Or well that's what I call him. You see Stumpy can't run. There is no doubt that the person buying the greyhound was Mr Magoo cause this thing ain't gonna win seventh position even the maiden race at the Ipswich Dogs Track against a Labrador called Turtle. My decision is based on the follow recent trip examples. In Montreal I arrive at the bus station in time for the earlier 11:45am bus departing for New York. So just to be safe I decided to get on this bus and not go to lunch in Montreal and then catch the 4:15pm. With bags underneath the bus I got onto the bus only to find there was no seat. As per safety rule I was asked to get off the bus and wait for the next bus. Argh! Next bus, as I and the other 10 people waiting wasn't until the 4:15pm. No there wasn't no plan to add a bus. They sell ...