tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11214678446266350512011-04-21T12:09:02.951-07:00Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.comBlogger131100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-60531096136443604382008-11-15T22:31:00.000-08:002008-11-15T23:38:21.809-08:00

So...I got to admit, I didn't know much about Budapest before arrival. Just sounded like a cool place...old buildings, quaint streets, nice parks and gardens and less tourists than some other Eastern European cities. The city is broken up into two parts: Buda and Pest (pretty simple), split in two by the Danube river. It is a beautiful city, stunning in the morning and early evening with the

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-2643298334661503442008-11-13T19:19:00.000-08:002008-11-13T20:19:12.224-08:00

After Rome, I took a train to Venice. I arrived around twilight; long shadows, sun glimmering off the water, houses lit up in a warm glow...beautiful. It was the weekend and although it was October, it was crowded. With a poor map in hand, I made my way across the first canal toward one of the hostels. After about 30 minutes of walking through the streets, getting lost, listening to a wine

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-76185651188098423452008-10-17T00:22:00.000-07:002008-10-19T00:42:43.303-07:00

So...I spent three days in Barcelona after Paris. Very cool place with Gaudi architecture, great beaches and an awesome view of the city and coast from Montjuic. Plus, got to catch up with a former CMU student, Merry, which was a great bonus. I had been contemplating just doing a 4 month trip around Europe, since I was three weeks into the trip and just in Barcelona (after starting in London).

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-31256297253482600972008-10-14T08:34:00.000-07:002008-10-14T09:41:01.513-07:00

Every year, over 500,000 people gather in Paris for an all night party. Its called Nuit Blanche, an outdoor festival of sorts with all kinds of art installations, street acts, performances, etc....and it just so happened that I was in town when it took place this year. The atmosphere is electric with men, women and children lining the streets (eating, drinking, dancing). The many highlights

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-36804315546658452372008-09-30T16:22:00.001-07:002008-09-30T17:03:34.999-07:00

The Scottish and Irish coasts are amazing...beautiful, picturesque, like something out of a fairy tale. For the past five days or so, I have primarily spent my time in these remote areas, visiting the Isles of Mull and Iona in Scotland and the the Northern coast of Ireland near the Giant's Causeway. Iona was incredible; with morning and evening worship services, beautiful white sand beaches and

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-59386980753065139202008-09-22T14:00:00.000-07:002008-09-22T14:14:09.501-07:00

I used think there were two routes to travel, one that takes you to beautiful places (mountains, ocean, cities), the other that take you to beautiful people (people you know, trust, love). I would tend to pick people over places any day of the week, visiting places that have people you want to see and develop deeper relationships.These past couple days, a third route travel route emerged. I was

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-44192660129168107762008-09-19T17:54:00.000-07:002008-09-19T18:33:08.148-07:00

Yesterday I went to Westminster Abbey's Evensong. Magnificent. Traveling solo has actually not be too rough, but being in a space, a church with a couple hundred people worshipping in unison...well, it lifts the soul. It was also a fitting "end" to the day, making sense of all the things that had taken place up to that time. You know what I mean? When something seems to put everything into

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-69559776723967765902008-09-18T01:09:00.000-07:002008-09-18T01:34:10.873-07:00

Tolkein said "Not all who wander are lost", but I love getting "lost". I got in yesterday to London around noon. I had a little bit of trouble at customs because I was winging my lodging for the night. Took the Underground to Piccadilly Circus and managed to find my way to Piccadilly Hotel, a nice hostel close to a lot of the major sites. Then came the real fun.I set out to explore Trafalgar

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-73853431275521981912008-09-16T06:52:00.000-07:002008-09-16T07:13:09.942-07:00

Friends...Today is the day. In about four hours, 11am Pacific time, I board a US airways flight to London via Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. After so much planning and replanning, the time has finally arrived. I am filled with so many emotions: joy, sadness, excitement, etc. These emotions remind me of the blessings of friend and family both here in the States and abroad. And I am thankful.I

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-40471325460984531992008-09-10T18:00:00.000-07:002008-09-10T18:00:01.116-07:00

Planning what to bring on a four month trip around the world is no small feat, particularly when considering climate change (russia and singapore) and pack size (using a 35L bag, slightly larger than school backpack). So, after heading to REI (my second favorite outdoor store next to Exkursion in Pittsburgh) to pick up some last minute items for the trip, I decided to share with you my packing

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-76741095952960274342008-09-09T17:11:00.000-07:002008-09-09T17:45:47.494-07:00

Beside connecting and staying with friends and friends of friends throughout the trip, I became a member of Couchsurfing.com, a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit. Couchsurfing is a community of over 700,000 people around the world who have voluntarily offerred up their "couch" for the night (or multiple nights) for others in the

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-15065136471444447882008-09-03T14:44:00.000-07:002008-09-03T15:20:11.427-07:00

Around the World with Chris CookeView Larger MapSo, one of the things I've done is create a personal map on Google Maps, "Around the World with Chris Cooke"...pretty cool little feature. You can zoom in and out to different areas and see a little bit about my route and some of the places i am planning to visit.Basic Plan is this: Fly into London, travel around Europe (Western/Eastern Europe),

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1121467844626635051.post-73452208023436325272008-09-02T02:00:00.000-07:002008-09-02T02:00:00.958-07:00

Thanks so much for travelling with me around the world. Over the course of the next four months, I plan to travel over 30,000 miles around the world (plane, train, boat, car, etc). This "solo" journey will take me from the US to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia/NZ. I'm excited about it...something I've wanted to do for a long time.I view you as essential travelers with me; people who can point

Chris Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14980224294424496791noreply@blogger.com5