My Monster Euro-Trip.

[paddington]

I'd imagine urban foxes eat mostly stuff from bins, rats, pets. A good few of them where I live, an they all seem to come to my front lawn to have noisey 2 am sex parties.

Some rabbits as well, lots of ducks, and geese which had to be culled a few years back.

[James Arryn]

I saw an episode of Whitechapel where they said London is full of foxes, which blew my mind.

Update from Bristol:

Had given up some on Southwest coast walk, which was sad as what I did see was beautiful. But accommodations options seemed booked a lot and hiking leaves little room for adjustment, so had headed back n. to Bristol with another plan. But first night at this hostel I met 2 girls...one German, one Swiss...who were, independent of each other, heading down that way, and we all really hit it off, and one has a car and the other a tent.

So new plan, same as the old plan, heading back down tomorrow and will combine hiking, camping, and driving all the way dow to Land's End and maybe scilly islands. Gonna be awesome.

Meanwhile Bristol is cool, and so is hostel, but shower pressure was very...subtle?

[Alex.]

I'd imagine urban foxes eat mostly stuff from bins, rats, pets. A good few of them where I live, an they all seem to come to my front lawn to have noisey 2 am sex parties.

Some rabbits as well, lots of ducks, and geese which had to be culled a few years back.

[williamjm]

I see foxes in Glasgow all the time. I'm pretty sure there is one whose primary residence is somewhere on or near the university campus, there's some more near my flat, and last week I saw one roaming the tracks as my train was pulling into Glasgow Central. Any time I walk home at night, there is a good chance that I'll see one. I think I see foxes around here more than any other wild critter except birds. I can't recall ever seeing a squirrel or anything like you'd expect to see in an urban area.. but maybe the foxes eat them?

When I was at University in Edinburgh there often seemed to be foxes wandering around the campus at night. Plenty of squirrels as well, it's a bit surprising if there aren't any in Glasgow.

I saw an episode of Whitechapel where they said London is full of foxes, which blew my mind.

Apparently there are large flocks of parakeets in some parts of London, which seems very bizarre.

[Fragile Bird]

James, I don't know how much news you are seeing, but there has been some very nasty flooding in parts of Germany and the Czech Republic. Three feet or more of water (ie a metre) in a lot of towns. The flooding will be gone by the time you get there, but there's a lot of serious damage that will take months to clean up and cheap accommodation might be hard to find (on the basis that most will be in smaller buildings where the ground floors and basements got flooded out). Check things out in advance.

Or maybe boarders can tell you the places to avoid.

[Alex.]

Apparently there are large flocks of parakeets in some parts of London, which seems very bizarre.

They were an old gift from some monarch or other and live around Kew/Putney as far as I know. They went a bit out of control and bred wildly so there are now loads and loads of them around. It's kid of cool seeing them fly overhead but also confusing.

[Myrddin]

Update from Bristol:

Had given up some on Southwest coast walk, which was sad as what I did see was beautiful. But accommodations options seemed booked a lot and hiking leaves little room for adjustment, so had headed back n. to Bristol with another plan. But first night at this hostel I met 2 girls...one German, one Swiss...who were, independent of each other, heading down that way, and we all really hit it off, and one has a car and the other a tent.

So new plan, same as the old plan, heading back down tomorrow and will combine hiking, camping, and driving all the way dow to Land's End and maybe scilly islands. Gonna be awesome.

:thumbsup:

Dartmoor was great to hike around (buy a Ordinance Survey map!). I started at the Ivybridge trail head and did a nice loop. And the cliffs of Land's End (all of Cornwall, really) are magnificent.

[James Arryn]

James, I don't know how much news you are seeing, but there has been some very nasty flooding in parts of Germany and the Czech Republic. Three feet or more of water (ie a metre) in a lot of towns. The flooding will be gone by the time you get there, but there's a lot of serious damage that will take months to clean up and cheap accommodation might be hard to find (on the basis that most will be in smaller buildings where the ground floors and basements got flooded out). Check things out in advance.

Or maybe boarders can tell you the places to avoid.

Gah! No, had not heard at all. Thanks for the head's up. Will try to find out. no one here (hostel) That I have asked knows about it. Would Appreciate any details anyone has.

Cheers, FB

Edit: got in touch with some friends in the area, apparently it's really bad. Might alter trip a lot, but oh, well, all good. Irony being my term for being adaptable when travelling is to move like water. Never thought it would be so literal.

[King Tyrion I]

Over here, the sun's shining and no flood to worry about.

Thought I'd give you an update, James.

[deleted01]

How long you in this part of England James? I'm heading up to London tomorrow until Tuesday, but keen for some kind of meet if you're still around then.

The weather's lush at the moment so it's the perfect time to be in Cornwall. Land's End is amazing! Hope you have a great time :D

[Myrddin]

*pokes James*

Dude. It's been a week since your last confession update. I can't live vicariously under these circumstances. :)

[Buckwheat]

:o Has James gone missing or is he solely without Internet connection then?

[baxus]

i'm an optimist and choose to believe he has better things to do than inform us of his whereabouts and actions ;)

[James Arryn]

Lol, here's a confession for you. I have previously tried TWICE to give a semi-inhebriahted update, only to realize after hitting submit that I was not signed in, but having to run once and sleep once, didn't follow-through.

Anyways, am doing great, though dog tired. Supposed to got to a Latin music thing in a few hors, but am honestly considering bailing. Not a teen anymore, it would seem.

Okay, quick recap...SW England is gorgeous x 25, at least when the weather is as great as it was for me. my 2 new friends and I did great together, with L ( Swiss girl) and I being more laid back, and Y (German) kicking our butts into action fairly often. We hit Dunster, Porlock Weir, lynmouth, Clovely...am forgetting some...Tintagel, Port Isaac, and Bodmin. We found a couple b&b's with family rooms that slept 3, but mostly L and I camped in the tent and Y got a room. Camping was awesome except for one night when a windstorm turned it into a percussion instrument. Didn't sleep all that much, L would generously break out her weed in the tent at night ( th Y does not imbibe) and Y would be 'organizing' us at what seems like dawn.

L and I were going to hit Guernsey 2gether, but things got a bit tense whe she wanted us to take a break from hard-core German schedule and camp for a few days and let Y do her thing than catch up...not tha, both were cool with it, but Y also invited me to go along, and I decided to head out rather than insult either of my 2 wonderful new friends. L and I will reconnect in Switzerland on my way through, and travel together, as her bf like my gf only a has 3 weeks but we have months free. Just got a Skype for her that she hits Guernsey 2moro, kinda regretting not going, but to travel is to move on without that, so we're good. A few more specific/long adventures I will recap when I have longer, but highlight of that leg: many Looong bikes along the coast or into Exmoor, a near head-on collision, finding that reggae and the Lumineers were just about the only songs we all knew the words to sing to, a mad dash through Tintagel at dusk, trying to find Y a room, literally swinging and missing on 14 places before a room was found right next to the damned campsite where we should have sorted looking...German GPS turning Acthung from a warning to a soporific. by virtue of repeated hearing, the Jackdaw mafia at Lynmouth, buying a guy whose card was declined a drink at a pub only to regret it later when he appeared legless, having an old guy on a bus be all 'you must think this is pretty small...(no)...oh, sure, you must be thinking we're out of another century (history-freak me dissapointed no, but beginning to see where this was going) and, after a while being the target for recriminations against WWII U.S. soldiers (for which I am 0-3) and their big city attitoood, I kinda turned him around by pointing out those rude Yanks were probably also scared kids trying to bond with each other and remember home...and eventually him getting that I am from another country entirely, and several generations too late...he ended up giving me directions and telling me what pub to drink in, so yay for transit diplomacy...met several nice people, one couple from St. Alban's in particular who walked us out of being very lost on a hike...a b&b couple who had literally seen the world with him as a flight crew engineer...a near run in with a deadly adder that turned out to be a hose, only after my manly-yet girlish screaming had altered everyone to them imminent danger...an absolutely stunning road-out detour that lead us to the highlight photo OP of the trip...being invited to be an extra in some Brit TV show but having to decline due to Teutonic timelines...more later.

Since then a quick night in Exeter...wanted more, but nothing was open and booked London hostel before finding anything, damn...and now London for a couple. But have made many new friends in London, almost entirely Australians. 2 girls in particular who are literally Ghost World, Aussie version and I had a blast, doing ghost and pub walks, discovering sandwich places, and making plans for the future. Both are from Melbourne, and travelling for months more, and we overlap a lot, so will reconnect there, as might 1/2 of Ghostworld.

Ok, so, London...just yeah. Food scene reminds me some of Toronto...native stuff is ok but heavy and fat-laden, but access to a lot of good stuff from elsewhere...and it's kinda dirty, but everywhere you walk there's history, there's legend, there's atmophere. Just magic. People are great, but I keep making friends with foreigners. Today's new friend was a Czeck girl from Brno, but she's loved here for 5 years. Yesterday were 2 Spanish girls from Barcelona and Madrid respectively, and this awesome old Argentinian gaucho cum law student cum merchant navy cum world traveller cum London bar owner. There's a story there.

Also, 2 days ago, walked from hostel (Paddington near Marleybone) to Edgware, over to Baker St., down to Oxford Circus, over more to LF St, 5)3! down and back to Hyde Park, then completing loop back here. But the story of that trip were these 3 wonderful guys I asked for direction along the way...one was from Kuwait, one from U.A.E., and one whose motherland I forget, but Persian Gulf, anyways...had lost my way and asked for directions to Baker Street..they slapped me on the back and said 'come with us!' and lead me down some side streets and through short-cuts...only one knew the way, the other 2 only here for 2 months, and we were talking about their part of the world's history, Canada, and so forth, and then we got to their destination and the guy who knew the way pointed me in the right direction, we all exchanged warm handshakes and smiles and I thanked them again, and headed down...putting headphones on. Literally 4 or 5 blocks later a hand grabs my shoulder from behind...they had been running after me, realizing only after they went inside and. compared notes ( the one who knows London ironically had the worst English) that they had sent me the wrong way down the wrong street, and had been hollering my name until finally they caught me..and THEY were apologetic. Just incredible. So they insisted on walking me to exactly where I was going, laughing and joking and invited me in for some food, after I got to see where 221B Baker St never was. But as much as that fulfilled a childhood ambition, the memory of the day is those 3 amazing guys, and their wonderful kindness.

I find that I preconceive trips about places, but they invariably become about people.

Have yet to either have a curry or fish and chips, but the week is young. Next stop Paris for a week, but not until Tuesday or Wednesday. For now, it's Latin or light's out, except as I wrote this 2 Italian Guys have invited me to go down to Piccadilly to cruise for girls. As flattered as I am that 22 year old guys want me for a wingman, I had to decline...lol. Managed a bar in Little Italy in Toronto a while back, and have seen Italian cruising, and it's just...well, words fail. There general philosophy is that if you ask 100 girls out ( euphemism) and only have a 1% success rate, that's you set for the night. lol. It might have been a trip to actually tag along, but I am bushed and if able to rise, have plans...but, wow, seeing the Hey Baby run from the inside might have been a memory, at least.

Okay, gotta run. Drac, went through your town on train, but as had had no

wifi, couldn't set anything up. :( We must find a way. Raj, I am smi-tube wise now, except I keep forgetting they need tIcket on the way out, too...and really keep forgetting to get an oyster, damnit.

LT...Meunster still on possible but interested. Bax, If Istanbul happens, I will almost certainly be hitting you up.

FB, everyone else, hope to stay in touch better from here on out, excepting mountain hiking phases in Switzerland.

London Calling it a night.

[Theda Baratheon]

Glad you enjoyed the South West! The weather has been surprisingly beautiful lately.

[deleted01]

Aw James, no worries! Just glad you could get on and give us an update! You're crazy, meeting all these new people and having wild times. I could never be that brave, I'm too suspicious of everyone :laugh:

Sounds like you saw more of Cornwall than I have! I keep meaning to go to Tintagel. How was it? :)

Edit: Yeah the weather has been lush.. until today. Very strong winds, torrential rain. When it rains in the SW, it bleddy pours! :lol:

[Theda Baratheon]

OOh, you back from London Drac? We should meet up at some point.

I have super bad sunburn from last week! I NEVER go into the sun and the first time I decide to act normal and wear a bathing suit in public on an actual beach THIS HAPPENS. Never again. It's the vampire's life for me.

I'm also admiring how you're meeting all these new people, James. I think I get along with most people but I'm sure most of them think I'm slightly bonkers.

[Buckwheat]

Lol, here's a confession for you. I have previously tried TWICE to give a semi-inhebriahted update, only to realize after hitting submit that I was not signed in, but having to run once and sleep once, didn't follow-through.

That is enough! It appears you are having a wonderful time! :D

London Calling it a night.

Good night and have a lot of fun on your journey as it follows!

[deleted01]

OOh, you back from London Drac? We should meet up at some point.

I have super bad sunburn from last week! I NEVER go into the sun and the first time I decide to act normal and wear a bathing suit in public on an actual beach THIS HAPPENS. Never again. It's the vampire's life for me.

I have serious driver's arm, from driving up to London last Thursday. Luckily it's not the arm I just had a tattoo done on, but still, mismatched arms ftw! :lol:

Yeeees I've been back for a few days, been working all the damn time though. I shall message you at some point when I know I'm free, try to organise something. And this meet would be open to everyone in the SW of course, though I don't think there are many of us!

[Theda Baratheon]

I have serious driver's arm, from driving up to London last Thursday. Luckily it's not the arm I just had a tattoo done on, but still, mismatched arms ftw! :lol:

Yeeees I've been back for a few days, been working all the damn time though. I shall message you at some point when I know I'm free, try to organise something. And this meet would be open to everyone in the SW of course, though I don't think there are many of us!

Sounds good to me! Yeah, would be great if there were some more south westerners here :P