Beginnings.

Well, here in London the sun sets just as in any other country, and tonight I find myself both exhausted and exhilirated after a long day of travel and two days of getting lost in London. My journey is well on its way and the transition from home to afar couldn't have gone better and London has been fresh and new, but for the sake of this blog, before revisting the first two days abroad, I had best start with the story of how I actually ended up abroad...

A few months ago, getting bored with the everyday things of school and work - who doesn't? - I . I had just graduated with my AA from the CC and knew where I wanted to pursue the rest of my college education. But I also realized I was in the perfect time in my life for an adventure - a grand escapement; a fresh experience; a Great Sojourn.

So, without hesitation, I pulled the trigger.

My friend Tim Erickson had also been balancing the rift between stages in life and, after coercing him perhaps just a little, he glady hopped aboard my Adventure Train. Together we set about planning what will, in the end, take 3 months to accomplish. Here is our master plan:

Starting in London, we are to traverse the whole of Europe on the Eurail train. From London we travel by Eurostar to Paris, where we hope to enjoy some good food and much history. From Paris to Rennes - a city west of Paris where Tim has family. From Rennes we move down by train to Barcelona, Spain, which rests near the Meditteranean Sea. Then, taking a ferry we will sail to Italy, where we will spend a good week or so exploring places of history and discovering the secrets of the many famous Italian cities. Next we journey to Swizterland, where a visit to the Alps will be my number one destination. We continue on through Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, stopping wherever we feel, and will eventually end up in perhaps what I think may always be my favorite country, Norway. We will be there about two weeks, reuniting with old friends and hopefully making new ones.

From Norway we are to fly to Roanoke, Virginia, where we will begin what has always been a dream of mine (since being inspired by the famous Kelly Gorman) - hiking the Appalachian Mountains. Tim and I have been researching and purchasing hiking equipment for the past two months and I feel that we are completely ready for this challenge (except for not being in the best of shape?) We will, from Roanoke, hike about 750 miles to Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania on the Appalachian Trail. I will hopefully be blogging throughout the entirety of my trip, although while hiking it might be tough

So, although we have only spent one night of our many on our trip, I feel like I am well on my way. The weekend prior to leaving was spent (sick most of the time) in Minneapolis filming a wedding and making some final preparations for our trip.

The 8-hour flight from MSP to London went very well. There were very few people on the plane, and most were sleeping, so me and Tim watched a few movies, read and tried to sleep. When we got to London, Artemis Tankas, an old exchange student of Tims picked us up and brought us to where we are now - the International Dorms for King's College London. She is kindly letting us take over her room and is rooming with one of her friends, leaving me and Tim in our own International dorm room.

Our first day was a tired one spent walking around London. We ate a two different restaraunts - an "English diner" and a place that specialized in chicken. Both were good, and surprisingly paid for by our host. Having friends in different places definately has its perks...

Today, after sleeping 13 hours straight last night, we were at the British National Museum, which was really big and awesome. We spent 4 hours there but barely covered half of the museum. Huge exhibits from ancient Egypt and 14th century Britain kept us very entertained. The rest of the night was spent walking around enjoying the sights and eating at a at "Pizza Express" a very good pizza place.

So, that's it for the first update. Hopefully I will be able to write more soon! Hope all is well back home!

Oh and another thing I've found, is that it seems it would be easy to get hit by a car here in London, so I hope I make it through the next few days...