From the beginning of my travel, one of the biggest things I hoped to accomplish, was to find the resting place of my Great Grandfather. I knew he died in Normandy, France in World War One. I figured a good place to start my was in the middle of Normandy. Doing no research beforehand, I picked Caen. Caen is a beautiful place. 1 Caen I spend a few weeks there doing research and visiting historical sites and cities near by.

For about a year, I had been excitedly waiting for the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed. I bought the tickets about 10 months before the date of the Festival. After selling off my possessions, this was the only thing I was nervous about travelling with. Everything else, I can live without or replace. When the day came, I was happier than a butcher’s dog. Flying into London was a bit of an event.

For the past couple of years, I have been using Google Maps to keep track of the places I’ve traveled to. I thought it might be fun to share this map with others so that they can see where I’ve been. There is still far too much unpinned area for my taste. I hope to change that sooner than later. There is no rhyme or reason as to why some of the smaller places have made the map, other than I felt like it.

Update: (17/10/2017) I am no longer using Dr. Scholl’s Gel Insoles. I will actively be avoiding them going forward. They have a design flaw. A rubber ring in the heel becomes pronounced when the gel starts failing. As it happens gradually, it’s not immediately noticeable. It caused me pain and aggravated my plantar fasciitis. As a traveller, the most important piece of equipment is my shoes. I only have the one pair, so I wear them everyday.

Going back almost a year, I had been wanting to spend time sleeping on a beach in Greece. After spending weeks in rainy Paris waiting for my state medical examination, I wanted this so much more. Once the exam was complete, I found flying to Naxos Island incredibly expensive. Almost 500€ one way. I wanted to get there, but I wasn’t going to swallow almost twice what my two week stay was costing.

HAI! I went to this art place in Paris that a good friend told me about. It was cool. There was some stuff I didn’t understand, though. Like this. or like this. Dis, too. What dis? All jokes, aside, there were some pretty cool pieces. Here are a couple I liked. Of course there where many more, but I didn’t get pictures of everything I liked. 🙂 Postscript: This was an email I sent to a couple friends.

I’ve done my fair share of backpacking and travel. As I’ve wandered I’ve picked up tricks and figured some things out the hard way. Here are a few that might be useful to other fellow travellers, in no particular order. Front pockets. Carry your important possessions in your front pockets. Wallet, wireless phone, passport, etc. When you get into a crowded area, put your hands in your pockets as you are walking.