Well folks we finally made it out of Ontario (in case you didn't get that from the title). It was long, it was strenuous, it was worth it. The hell with everyone saying you should cut through the states because it's faster, since when was a road trip about getting

Day 2 of the Lunchbox Shuttle to Vancouver

Well believe it or not we were awake on time but somehow still got off to a slow start. The first bad sign was when I broke the elevator. I don't fully believe it was my fault but since I did push the button to take us to the wrong floor I guess I must shoulder some of the blame. I've never seriously considered the idea of

The S & S Lunchbox Shuttle - Destination: Vancouver - Day 1

As some of you may know our departure time was 6am, we wanted to start the trip with optimistic goals. But like most people, we had to face reality

Last Day in Ireland

     Before the Sexually Deranged Cat Wrangler has a chance to impose more rules upon us we get up early and hit the road. First step to getting to Slaehead: back out of the parking space. Brandi had a few problems with this. After the 3rd attempt we finally mount

Irish Road Trip

     The day starts with a bit of confusion on Brandi's part. Which side does the car operate from? And the transmission may take a small beating, but we got full coverage so let's F this mother up. While it provided me with a bit of a laugh Uncle Rob took the first shift behind the wheel, although I did catch him on the wrong side

Next Stop... Dublin

So naturally the most entertaining person (me) sits in the front seat of the cab and offers an amazing 2.5 minutes of conversation before passing out. When I wake from my slumber I hate life, "Damn that bouncy castle. I've made up my mind, I hate the person that

Return to Scotland

It was a long, strenuous and non profitable four weeks back with IPG. Got screwed around and just didn't see any motivation from them to get this Canada idea off the ground. Maybe for the best, now I don't have to worry about it and it's one less distraction from my real goals. But, finally made it back to Scotland where my

The Last Leg

So as promised this past week was ridiculous. I know I left Berlin as a bit of a cliffhanger but to be honest that was just to keep you reading. Berlin included some kewl sight seeing, Inglorious Basterds (sic movie by the way) and a pub crawl that left me drunk off 1 euro Jager shots and in

Amster - DAMN

So after surviving Okoberfest I was off to Bruges for a couple days where our little travel family from June re-united. We thought these couple days would be a bit of a rest period before Amsterdam… I was wrong. We found a bar with over 300 different types of beer

The Rematch: Scottie Baker vs Munich (Oktoberfest)

     Last time I wrote there was still the uncertainty of where I would be sleeping on the Friday night… I know everyone must have been worried but it’s okay, I managed to get a bed. So, as you know I won the first round of the rematch; partially due to my jet lag still wearing off, but regardless I won.

Round 2 (Wednesday): 

Running with the Bulls

        Now I realize it’s been a couple week since I did the run but it’s not something you easily forget.  So John, Anastasia and I take a nap to prepare us for the crazy 14 hours to come………. Now that we’re well rested we catch the last bus to Pamplona, which was a free-for-all mosh pit.  Upon arriving we were awe struck

San Sabastian

       So the entire backpack adventure was based around being here for the Running of the Bulls… but that’s a whole other story, hahaha I’ll keep you waiting, for now: San Sabastian.  It was a bit shit that once we got there everyone was scattered all over the town in different hostels.  Oh well, I stayed at Olga’s where I met John from Milwaukee and Anastasia from Stockholm. 

The Amazing Evasion

       As mentioned earlier: a pool table, internet and a vending machine full of 1 euro beer is what brought this together.  We thought it would be a fun challenge to see how many buttons we can get sold out, “I know you’re all probably shaking your head at me right now, but I know for a fact if any of you: Sherwin, Junes, Blackman, Zack, Matt, B, Johhny-Marc, Woodzy, Onya, Pam, Brandi, J, Mikie, Robbie, Judd, Houtby, Barks, Polgs, Tutty, Pisan… hell this list could go forever, you know who you are and you know if you were there

Madrid

My time in Madrid was a bit scattered.  First we met up with the 2 Kiwi girls, Linda and Andie, who we’ve randomly seen in the last couple cities.  Here we also added another Aussie: Mark.  Since we arrived so late that day we grabbed some dinner at a tiny nearby restaurant, “Finally some good value for your money, only the third meal that I haven’t been able to finish.”

Cinque Terre

     All I can say about this place is that it’s magnificent.  It’s a place I’d never heard of but after reading about it and hearing other people rave about it I had to stop there.   The only problem is that 2 days was not nearly enough time.  Here I met a bunch more Aussie, “Surprise surprise, you guys really are everywhere, I’m starting to wonder who’s actually living in Australia” , Janey, Kate, Phil, Lauren, Pete & Michelle. 

     Where we stayed wasn’t even really a hostel; you went to reception and then they took small groups of us and put us all in different

Number 2

     So the march down the hill has begun and I need to use the washroom. So I quicken my pace and almost begin my second roll down the hill. It's hopeless, I accept the fact that I'm not going to make it to a washroom and I veer off into a forest area leaving my stuff with a kewl Aussie dude named Angus. As I scramble through the trees to find cover

Cheese Rolling

Here's the breakdown, basically a bunch of people (drunk, crazy or both) take their spot on the starting line at the top of Cooper's Hill.  They release a wheel of cheese and the first person down the hill to catch it wins.  If you're wondering why it's not called 'Cheese Chasing' it's because everyone ends up rolling down the hill...

Camel Ride

So finally my long anticipated camel ride has arrived.  Sherwin I don't care what you say going for a camel ride in Egypt is not the same as seeing one at the zoo, it's way kewler.  Anyway, we get off the bus and there's a whole herd of camels just chilling out and one person snaps a photo.  Instantly a guy jumps up and starts saying, (and there's a lot of this in the tourist areas) "Money, money, money" and following us asking everyone.  "Dude are you kidding you didn't do shit, all you did was say the same word 3 times fast, I have dogs that can do better tricks."  But no one gave him money which is good.  There were other people who we did give money to because they actually did something like take pictures for you or dress you up, stuff like that.

Back to the point.  Camels, a lot bigger than I thought, and when they growl they are mean looking Mofos (yes I've just brought that word back from Grade 8).  My second surprise was the big Canada flag they had hanging at the stable.  On that note the group I traveled with were from all over: Jamaica, Spain, Vietnam, Brazil, U.S. and China, and our guides had some quirky associations/jingles for some of us.

Spanish - Ola ola Coca Cola..........?

Canadian - No woman no cry Canada Dry, Canada Forever

Doesn't make much sense but sounds good, and it was still one up on the Americans 

Americans - Howdy howdy, Hi ho Silver Yeeeeeehaaaaaawwww

     Okay, still trying to get back to the point.  So the camel ride was relaxing, they took us out into the desert where we had a distant view of the pyramids and were able to just chill out and watch the sunset which was just astonishing.  Now on the way back things got a bit more interesting, for me at least.  Half way back my camel decided he had had enough and he was done work for the day.  So he started pulling at the other two camels we were tied to and running into the other groups of camels causing a big camel jam. It was kind of like being trapped in Madusa's hair except surrounded by angry camel heads instead of snakes.  I repeat, "Mean looking Mofos"  So after the camel jam and attempted run away, the guide has to come and separate us from the group and have to walk back alone with the guide.  Reminds me of getting in trouble in elementary school then having to walk with the teacher during recess, "Ugh, this is so humiliating."

Cardydd

So I traveled to Cardiff  for 4 days to see my cousins and get a much needed break from London.  It was a good start to the month and ranks right up there with Edinburgh.  My first night there I didn't do much, just had some drinks and got to know my cousins.

Day 2:  My cousin Matthew took me around Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Castle and showed me the house my Grandpa grew up in and where the sweet shop my Nana used to own was, along with the pubs and other places they would hang out. That night would be our drunken adventure

Edinburgh

This city was by far the best part of Scotland.  How often can you walk out your front door and be greeted by a castle.  It was definitely an awesome city, how can it not be with a with a castle in the middle of it.  That being said