Dave Spencer Barcelona....a film by Woody Allen

This guy keeps showing up everywhere.

The thoughts of getting back to a warm and sunny climate made us both excited to get off the plane in Barcelona. The bus ride into town only helped to fuel the excitement. To top it all off, we found the hostel we were staying at without any problems! Well we thought we found it. Turns out that we had booked another one that was across town. When we finally got there we discovered that they couldn't reserve a room for Saturday and the whole town was booked. Why you might ask? We have no idea.

Spaniards can't seem to finish a church...

We went ahead and enjoyed the city over the next few days. I dragged Dave to some churches and after that we decided that a beach visit is in order. We finally reached the beach clear after walking across the city and were amazed by the amazing view in front of us, then we looked at the water. Turns out modesty is not something the Spaniards worry about. Topless sun bathing is more common than not. I am not sure how those Spanish guys worked that out, but well done.

Fun fact: All this sand was imported from the Sahara.

For the first few days we had our room at the hostel to ourselves, then we came back to find two more bags. I looked at Dave and said, "Man I hope these people are fun." They walked in right after as if they were on cue. They introduced themselves and we found out they were Irish and I knew then we were going to have a great time. Turns out that they had nine other friends staying there and they were gracious enough to let Dave and myself hangout with them. The two in our room also couldn't find a place to stay Saturday night so at the very least there were now four homeless friends, rather than just two. On our night of homelessness we decided, like any reasonable person, that the best thing to do was go out until closing time.

Brooooooo

Three of the guys in the group were nice enough to let us homeless folk sleep in their room that night. The following morning we checked back in and breathed a sigh of relief. We spent the next few days hanging out with our new friends and having a blast seeing the city. We ate lunch in front of the Sagrada Familia, which is the most amazing church. Each side is a different architectural style. It blew us away.

Yet another unfinished church.

After almost a week in Barcelona we said goodbye and flew off to Switzerland. You will hear about how Switzerland took all our money later.

All "Seine"s point to Paris

A childlike wonder

After a restful 8hr bus ride from London we arrived in Paris. We only got confused about 20 times finding out hostel, so we are getting better. Like any self respecting man we ran to the Louve jumping with excitement the next morning. I had heard alot of talk about the size of the Louve, but I was still not prepared for just how much they had there. Obviously we visited the more popular pieces.

If you look closely you can see Tom Hanks with a bad haircut in the background

"I'm kind of a big deal"

I'm your Venus, I'm your fire! Your desire!

I could write about the Louve for the whole post, but there is a lot more to cover. Upon leaving the Louve we noticed the Arc de Triomphe. It didn't seem that far so we decided to walk over and get some pictures. Turns out Paris is quite flat and that it was a brisk 5 miles away or so.


A normal person would call it a day after that, but not us. We figured that the Eiffel tower shouldn't be far so we started to walking towards it.

Another couple of miles later we were there. It was a bit surreal to sit there and look up at the very tower you see in movies or ads all the time.

The most famous phallus in France!

Upon arriving home we found out the internet was out and living up to Victor Hugo's quote, "To err is human. To loaf is Parisian" It stayed broken the entire time we were there. So blame the French for the blog being delayed.

The next day we decided to embrace the culture and went to cafe for coffee and a croissant. With the coffee, croissant, scarf and Norte Dame in view, I could swear Pepe le Pew was right around the corner. We finished our coffee and headed to Norte Dame. At the point we have visited a good deal of churches, but nothing like this. The stained glass and vaulted ceilings were captivating.

God showed up!

The church had set out chairs and played soft choral music. We sat down and took in all the church had to offer. After leaving the holy church we decided to the only real thing to do is go see the Moulin Rouge.

Boobs and stuff.

It was a pretty quick view of Paris, but we were ready to head to the sun and beaches of Barcelona. That is a different post though. Till next time.

A Much Needed Bath

So can Red Bull.

Okay, A few things first. I know it has been awhile since the last update, but time and internet are becoming an increasingly rare thing. Our hostel in Paris (wait for it, you will hear about Paris soon) decided to lie about their Wi-Fi access.

We temporary left London for Bath. It was a short ride west of London where we got to see some country side and as always....more sheep.

"This is the song that never ends..."

Bath is pretty well known for being the home of Jane Austen. Yeah, that's right, eat your heart girls. On a slightly more masculine note, it is also close to Stonehenge. Our hostel provided a free ride to Stonehenge and being the thrifty fellows we are, we took them up on it.

New construction site for a strip mall.

I never thought a couple of rocks would interest me so much. There is a kinda mystical feeling about the stones. We found out from our guide that Bath is essentially the Roswell of England, so I suppose the mystical feeling is appropriate.

Get off your cell phone.

Our time in Bath would best be described as relaxing. It is hard not to be relaxed when you can casually walk to a park and have a river gently running across rocks.






After leaving Bath we returned to London to meet up with our friend Sebastian. You will hear more about him in good time. One last description. There was a guy in front of us on the bus home from a night out in London. He entertained me for the better part of an hour. He sat down and I noticed he was listening to Whitney Houston and we was into it. He waved his arms around and really felt her music. I couldn't tell what else he was listening to, but I have to assume it was the Burlesque soundtrack. Oh, and his pants were tight enough that he could probably match the highest note of his favorite diva. With that I leave you. Enjoy.

Tank crossing is a serious issue in rural England.

Foggy London Town

'Ello Guvnah!

As you may have noticed it has been a few days since the last post. The reason being that once you get into London there is so much to do and see that most other things get ignored. Every time you turn a corner a new building or monument is there that you have to stop and admire.

London Eye

Waldo shops at Sainsbury.

We started with the world famous Westminster Abbey (home to remains of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, among many others.) I am trying not to take the Lord's name in vain in attempting to describe it. The painstaking craftsmanship put into all of the sculptures and architecture is amazing. They told us that no pictures were allowed, but being the good Seifert that I am I may have taken a couple while security wasn't looking.

Westminster Abbey

We decided to walk through central London after that and ended up in Trafalgar square. Now I am going to give you a little world news. London had a protest over Libya and Government spending and some of the protesters decided to get creative.

Wanna be a balla

We walked along the south bank of the Thames river taking in sights on our way to the Tate Modern Art Museum. I can usually get behind most art, but modern art still escapes me. That being said i have to give it to the artists that thought of something that....interesting.

Millions of individually hand painted porcelain sunflower seeds.

Later on we met up with a friend of Dave's from school named Sebastian.  He's currently studying in London and showed us around his favorite part of town - Camden Town.  It's a semi-hidden marketplace that sells anything and everything imaginable.   The best way I can describe it is if a whole load of hippies embraced capitalism.  

Hippies in their natural environment

We left for Bath yesterday and will be returning to London soon. The bus here was amazing. We got to stretch out and lean back. Not quite the case of the 9 hour bus ride to London from Edinburgh. Take a look of what was going on for about 4hrs straight below. WARNING: it is a bunch of drunk Scottish guys cursing like sailors.

The Hangover with Kilts

I have heard some crazy bachelor stories in my day, but we should hang our American heads in shame based on what you can see every 5 minutes here. I don't expect to see so many cross dressed guys until Amsterdam. A bachelor party back home is maybe ten guys, not so in Scotland. The bachelor must invite every guy he has ever met. A group of around 30 guys will be out essentially heckling the groom relentlessly.

One afternoon I decided to visit the scotch distillery here and walked into the sight of a groom in a clear plastic tuxedo in his underwear.

PG courtesy of the bar

I'm pretty sure they were all drunk too and considering this was around noon, it must have started in the morning.... or possibly the night before. Either way, impressive.

The next day as Dave and myself sat on the square we joked about dressing the groom in a flowing dress. About thirty seconds after that we were blessed with this gem.

Searching for his glass slipper

Several minutes after that...

Trust me, it's better blurry

And again...

Superbald

Point of the story: NEVER have a Scottish best man.

Oh, and we are leaving on a night bus to London later tonight. Nothing says comfort like a packed 9 hour bus ride.

The Last Hanging in Scotland

Bah

So we are staying in a hostel that is located just below the Edinburgh castle. There is a market just up the road that has a lot of nice pubs and such. We noticed though that the pubs had some interesting names and there was a strange platform right outside (that we jumped around on.) A new friend Thomas later informed us that this square is famous as the place of the last public hanging in Scotland. Kinda killed our buzz.

People are dying to hang out here

After a night out the only real feasible thing is to climb a mountain to go to the castle. The castle is amazing, it towers over the city as a reminder of times past. You could really feel the history as you walked around it. We joined in on a tour to get some history lessons. As I was up there I was sure it was the best view of the city...
 

From the top of the castle

I was wrong. Earlier today we had one of the guys here, Ben, drop us off so we could climb Arthur's Seat. He said it was a 15min hike. What a friggin liar. Check it out below.

Spence relaxing on the hill

"15 minute hike"

While it was a pain to climb, it did give a breathtaking view of the city. We sat on the edge of one of the hills for a while just taking in the city. It was up there we decided to stay for at least a couple more days. Between the friendly people and the historic yet youthful city, it was an easy call.

Enjoying the first and last sunny day in Scotland

Before the hike we visited Rosslyn Chapel. It was a bit pricy to get out there and see it, but in my opinion well worth it. I could talk forever about the detail stonework and the history of the chapel, but for the sake of time I will just say it blew me away.


I guess all I can really say is that I understand Sharon's obsession with Scotland and with the way things are going I will be right there with her.

For Those About to Rock, We Salute You

"Slappa da bass"

We saw this bad ass at the Botanical gardens near Queen University. In attempts to get into the slower pace of life here we lounged around the garden for a long time. Probably creeped out some of the locals, but what are you gonna do? It is strange to me to see some much greenery even in the winter. If I lived there I think i could easily visit there daily.

Earlier in the day we went for a city hall tour. The architecture and history behind the building was just amazing to me. As the guide pointed out a number of times, the Titanic was built in the Belfast shipyards and they had a number of artifacts from the ship. While being amazed by all the history is well and good, we have to have some fun too.

We also came across our second leprechaun sighting of the trip...AND we got pictures. Not only was he (it?) on our tour, but later that night while we were at the pub he came hopping in like any leprechaun worth his weight.

A Baby GAP spokesperson.

Speaking of pubs, I've had a question asked about the beer and whiskey. The beer is surprisingly cold when dispensed through the taps and the whiskey is great. When I ordered a whiskey and coke the bartender asked me if I wanted coke and i must have given him a look that said "stop asking stupid questions" because he immediately put in in the glass.

One of the more famous (read: expensive) pubs in Belfast.

While we were roaming around the streets we noticed a lot of people looking up and yelling. As any reasonable person would, we assumed there was a jumper, but actually people were repelling down a hotel. Why, we don't know, but it is the Irish and I don't think the needs reasons to do anything.

Who needs mountains when you have a hotel?

As of now, we are on a ferry leaving Ireland and heading to Scotland. One country down, 16 to go. Well this post is getting a bit long and I am dangerously close to a ranting stage so I'm signing off. To all those reading, rock on.

"The sea was angry that day; like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli." - George Constanza