Dear Diary,

It has been two months since my last post. Please excuse this breach in correspondence. Internet access has been infrequent and used primarily as a vehicle for booking hostels and looking up train timetables.

With the aid of Europe's infinitely superior public transport system I have been volleyed across the South of France, hustled through Northern Spain, and jostled from city to Portuguese city. I have watched the sun set in Bordeaux and Burgos, Bayonne and Logrono, Pamplona, St Jean Pied de Port, Roncesvalles, Leon, Santiago, Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Afeiro and Sevilla.

There is too much to write about. Catching up would be a monstrous task. In lieu of words, I am posting a few select pictures.

Berit

BAR-celona

Estoy enamorado de esto ciudad. The most romantic place I have ever been. Eating continuously excellent food. Met an Australian guy who tried to convince me to do a line of coke off of his credit card in the bathroom of a bar in the Gothic District. Leaving Barcelona today to catch a 24 hour to St Jean Pied de Port. Left my travel adaptor on Aegina. Achçççhhç! Much harder to find in Espana. Less phone talk. Fewer pictures.

Euro-Venture

On principle, I dislike travel blogs. They seem rather self-important to me. However, I have promised several people who I think might actually care that I would keep one. So, against my better judgment I will. I will try not to be too long-winded and only write about interesting things, but I cannot make any promises.

Sasha and I are in Athens right now having just returned from Aegina on the ferry this afternoon. We are leaving Greece tonight for Barcelona. We spent our first few days puttering around Athens. Mostly sweating, drinking lots of water and looking at really old archaeological ruins. It is too too hot in the city (33 c according to the weather widget at this computer) and the ruins are all roped off to avoid tourist wear and tear, so in the afternoons we bused it to the beach and had delicious greek food and cheap wine in little beach towns like Glifadda.

We met a really nice Slovakian architect named Lukas at the bus stop and toted him along with us one day. He spent the last year studying abroad in Athens and reccommended the island of Aegina as a good close place to escape for the weekend.

Spent the past few days there in a cheap hotel one block from the beach after meeting up with sasha's friend. A few highlights: 1. We rented scooters in Aghia Marina -- the village where we were staying -- for only 10 euro/dayand busted ALL over the island. Visited a gorgeous Greek orthodox church, some ruins, every village on the island, got lost countless times, traced and retraced our routes. It was decidedly one of the best days of my life.

the island was relatively empty-- supposedly they are having a bad tourist season and everything was really cheap. especially food. restaurants were deserted but ADORABLE and delicious. Ate delicious seafood (swordfish souvlaki, octopus, sardines, herrings, calamari, plenty of Greek salad, etc etc) scrumptious pocket pastries and baklava. The part of the beach in town is very touristy, but it doesnt take long to escape the countless hordes of european vacationers and on the scooters we wound up in some very remote places.

Last night I went for a walk along the coast while everyone else was showering and came upon a horde of local young greek men riding their horses into the water. a little further along the coast I came upon a little cove where someone was obviously squatting. A few grocery bags were hanging from the tree branches, and a little blue duffel bag was perched on the beach. I was standing on a rock overhang at the edge trying to decide whether or not I should walk through what was obviously someone's little beach home, when i happened to look down and realize there was a naked man crouched over a fire right below the rock where I was standing. I was so shocked that I banged up my toe when I turned around to go. It's now swollen and a little black and blue. Hopefully it will improve before we start the camino. I'm hoping it is just jammed. Hiking 20 km/day with a broken toe could prove difficult.

My Cinematic Debut

The U.S. Military Drops More Than Just the Ball

Here's an interesting investigatory look into the practice of planting "drop weapons" on Iraqi civilian casualties by American soldiers. Soldiers supposedly confiscate excess weapons from civilians (who are allowed one per household by the U.S. Government), horde them in their vehicles, and then strategically place them in the hands of dead innocents in order to portray them as "insurgents" (thus deserving of their fate).

On a side note, I would love to hear the working definition of an insurgent as defined by the U.S. military.

I can't say I find the contents of this video shocking to any extent (a sad thing to be sure), I do have to commend the American News Project, which at least seems to have its talons firmly entrenched in the soft hide of investigative journalism.

Bravo. Maybe the New York Times reporters should take a few notes?

Deme Mis Tacos!

My beloved Los Angeles taco trucks are under fire, and, under no circumstances do I intend to let them go down without a fight.

A new law would prohibit them from parking in any one spot for longer than an hour without receiving a $1000 fine. Thank GOODNESS someone has stepped up to combat this madness. A pair of ex-Oxy roommates currently living in Highland Park have created www.saveourtacotrucks.org to mobilize taco truck lovers across LA. They have even declared May 1st taco truck night.

I will be visiting my own personal favorite-- Leo's on Eagle Rock Blvd in approximately 10 minutes to demonstrate my own solidarity with the movement. 'Ain't no one gets between me and my quesadilla de pollo con guacamole y limon. Especially not Antonio. It's ok for him to sleep around with Latinas, but when Angelenos try to buy a late-night snack from one, he gets his panties all in a twist? That boy's mama needs to smack some values into him.

I'll Let You Borrow My Panda if You Come to the Olympics

I'm sorry. This is too rich. In the midst of all the Olympic-torch-tibet-mania, this just in. According to an article today on the LA Times website,

Japan’s oldest giant panda, Ling Ling, a longtime star at Tokyo’s largest zoo and a symbol of friendship with China, died today of heart failure, zookeepers said.

Another Reuters article postulated that this could be an important chance for China's President Hu Jintao to practice panda diplomacy (perhaps some form of black and white loan?), when he visits Japan later this week.

I'm sorry. Did I miss something? I think perhaps Mr. Jintao might want to focus on a few more pressing issues of diplomacy involving men in red robes. Human rights abuses, anyone?