My Thoughts and Feelings About Traveling the World and the Different Types of Guinness I Drink

Ladies and Gents,

I drink one kind of Guinness: Draught. I would drink an Extra Stout, but I'd prefer Draught on tap, or out of a can; no bottles please. So, as to any questions of that, there is my answer. Oh, one extra bit. . . If offered, I love adding a shot of Bailey's to a Guinness. A true treat. . .

At this time in three weeks, I will be in England, probably asleep because it is 4:30am over there at the moment, but I will nonetheless be within the bounds of Britain. I will leave the U.S. of A. on Wednesday the 3rd at 3:30, and arrive in London on Thursday at 9:45am. I will return to the States on Wednesday, May 7th in the afternoon, four days before my sister changes her last name to Huldeen. When I get to London on Thursday I will attend a mandatory orientation, then tour the city for the remainder of the day and Friday. If my permits and visas permit, I will proceed to the last two days of Oktoberfest in Munich on the first Saturday and Sunday of October, and begin my job search in England/Wales on the following Monday. That is the tentative plan that will undoubtedly change a week from now. I can't wait for whatever awaits!!!
Am I scared/fearful/worried about anything over there? I fear that I will never want to come back to America, but I have so many people to come back to that I will surely return forever, only to wish that I lived in Britain still. Hopefully, I'll be able to see all of Europe that my young self wants to see before I return.
Do I have a job? No. I've been looking through the ads I have been provided with and most likely I will find my job the week after I arrive in London. Moreso, that will be a temporary job while I find something I really want. I'll probably be a server or bar back for a couple weeks to pay some bills and buy some food, then God-willing, I will be able to find something that I will really enjoy doing for the remainder of my time in Britain. I hope it is an au pair job, which is basically a nanny, because then I won't have to pay for food or lodging.
What do I want to do while I'm there? I have a 6-month work permit, so I will stay in the British Isles (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland) during those six months, traveling from place to place, and hopefully see all that I want to see on those islands before I have to leave. I also want to do a couple of other touristy things then, like see the Louvre, spend a weekend in Bordeaux, possibly a weekend skiing in the Swiss Alps, and maybe a small tour of Amsterdam. That way, with those items on the list taken care of, I won't have to spend time during my one-month tour of Western Europe doing them. Besides, I hear the Louvre is much more accessible (and cheaper) during a Wednesday in February than on a weekend in April or May. I mentioned a tour of Western Europe; allow me to take you through one of the many tentative plans to let you know what I'd like to do:
The majority of travel will be train (Eurail) and some flying (easyjet.com provides very cheap fare, e.g. London-Madrid one-way, £13.99, which is about $30. Not bad, and when it takes an hour and a half to fly rather than 10 by train, I'll take the flight. I want to sleep on beaches and in fields as much as I can; also on trains during night travels from city to city, as well as the occasionaly hostel so I can freshen up. As to where I want to go and why, here we go:
1. Fly: London-Madrid: Experience Spain.
2. Train: Madrid-Lisbon, Port.: Experience some of Portugal's capital and largest port.
3. Train: Lisbon-Gibralter: Cross the Strait of Gibralter
4. Ferry: Gibralter-Tanger: See a little from Jason Bourne's side of life
5. Train: Tanger-Casablanca: Why wouldn't I? "Here's lookin' at you kid. . . "
6. Casablanca-somewhere in the Western Sahara: Horseride in the Sahara, Hidalgo-style
7. Sahara-Tanger-Gibralter-Barcelona: Spend a couple days in Barcelona because I was told it is imperative!
8. Train: Barcelona-Marseille: See the Bastille (For AM)
9. Train: Marseille-Avignon: See some of Provence, have some wine
10. Train: Avignon-Milan: Do something Italian
11. Train: Milan-Pisa-Florence-Rome-Naples, stops on Isle of Elba (see Napoleon's exile home, visit Monte Cristo,
become Count of it): Tour of Italy, fall in love, who knows?
12. Train: Naples-Venice Through Tuscany: Buy a villa, beat up a gondola-er for not singing to me
13. (I want to make a trip to Mount Athos, if possible, so a plane to Athens and a ferry to Athos will do the trick. Here is
where that trip will take place)
14. Plane: Athens-Vienna: Yodel in the Alps, or Train: Venice-Bern/Zurich: Open a Swiss bank account, buy chocolate
and a watch
15. Train: Zurich-Vienna (if I didn't before) or -Munich: Drink liters of frothy weizens!!
16. Train: Munich-Prague: Take a picture to prove I've been to Czechoslovakia
17. Train: Prague-Berlin: Cross the wall that isn't there
18. Train: Berlin-Dortmund: Have a Dortmunder (a beer, not a person)
19. Train: Dortmund-Antwerp/Brussels: Buy a big diamond, have some of Brussel's sprouts
20. Train: Brussels-London: Say goodbye, have another Guinness or 12, and fly home.... (I'm sad just writing that)

So, that's the plan for right now, but it will be perfected and switched around for expense and time's sake. I'll keep you all posted. As for now, those are my thoughts and feelings. You are as updated as I am now. Please continue to pray for me that I'll be able to actually find a job and enjoy myself while I'm over there, as well as find churches that I can attend and stay in Communion with you all here at home. I will have my sweet new camera to take tons of pictures and videos, and I will have them blogged and you will be able to see all that I see.

Thanks for listening, and there you go...

C.M.