Catchin' some rays down in AFRICA (theme music)

Two weeks ago Kim, Greg, and I spent a few days in Marrakech and Essouaria, Morocco. Before we could really get comfortable, there were a couple of things that we needed to learn... for example:

To not get hustled

I wouldn't say I was 'mugged' per say. But what did happen was I walked up to a snake charmer to take a picture,

and was immediately entangled in a cobra snake. "For good luck" the snake charmer said, "give just a little more, for good luck." Sure man, put a few spiders in my hair and I'll give you my whole wallet. Just to make sure I was satisfied with the value received from my 'donation' he offered to put a python around my sister's neck, "for free", he said. Take that Kim- pay back for the time you threw that boot at my head.

To master effective negotiations

Kim: "how much for the big blue plate?"
Shopkeep: "i give you good price, good price"
Kim: "how about 150 dirham?"
Shopkeep: "last price, what is your last price?"
Kim: "200"
Shopkeep: "okay, for good luck, it is a deal."
Greg: "So, 220 then?"

To navigate and travel

Where?

What?

How?

To indulge in the local delicacies

Hmmm, snails and no beer, my favourite!

And finally... To 'rock the kasbah'

Sallamu 'lekum

This is Tim's favorite guest blogger (writer, essayist, playwright, etc...) writing again on his blog--Greg (the strikingly handsome bloke in the picture below). And so, the London saga continues...

Kim, Tim and I heard London calling, and we answered her lustrious call. So we checked out Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Harrods department store, Abbey Road, British Museum, British Library and even went on a walking Beatles tour which was extremely dope.

On Thursday night the three of us went to a musical. Now, as a lot of people may know, I'm not the biggest fan of them (they never stick to the plot), but we ended up going to Monty Python's "Spamalot" which is based on the Holy Grail film. It was pretty good.

Here's a lovely picture of Tim and Kim at the Tower of London. It houses the English crown jewels (not to be confused with England's family jewels) and was a common place for prisoners. Pretty cool stuff.

For those of you who drink gin, here's a dashing picture of me and Kim with a Beefeater. Those guys are pretty sweet. I'm thinking about submitting a resume.
On Friday night, a big group of us were going to hit the town and drink delicious beer. But, it ended up just being me and Tim for a while (Kim didn't feel well, so she went home and watched college football, which I approved of). This is us at The Captain Kidd, which is where they hung pirates and whatnot (when will they learn?).


After a little while at the Kidd we decided to head back to Tim's neighborhood to have a 'Boys Night Out' with Curt and Chris. Oh, and of course with the lovely ladies of London...not.

Finally, this is just a picture of me and Tim "tapping out" with our Oyster Cards on the tube (subway). We got a picture because I really enjoy doing it. Well, that's it for me. Thanks everyone for all your support throughout this guest blogging time (you know who you are).

This is a first in Timmy C bloggin'. As many of you bloggin' faithful may know, Tim has been the sole contributor to the Timmy C blog. Well today, Tim's blog has experienced its own form of suffrage...he's allowing others to add to his family renowned blog. It's been a contested issue for some time, but since the Dems took back control of the House and Senate, Tim thought it was time. So, this is the Gregster.
When we got into London, Tim and I (and Kim) couldn't figure out what we wanted to do. So we thought for a minute and tried to figure out what we wanted to do.

Nothing was on our radar. I thought the city had some sites, but I guess I was wrong. There goes $700 on airfare.

Although, we did think this was a great photo op for Tim.

Then, like a shot out of the dark, we came to the conclusion that we both were fond of beer. So, we decided to be dudes and have a nice lager while Kim was hipper and had a nice tall glass of tap water on the rocks.

So, please stay tuned while the travels of Tim and Greg (and Kim) continue.

Howdy

It's been a little while, and for those few fans out there, I apologise. Truth is I just don't have too much to report. I'm in a routine, a good routine, but just a routine.

In mid-October I took a weekend trip to Amsterdam which, without going too much into detail, was a blast. What I will say is it was awesome having the Ryan and Sean along for the trip. "You call that Orange Mocha Chip Frappicinno?" Man, the folks in Amsterdam sure do have a different idea when it comes to coffee... Amsterdam is a really pretty city. Sure there's a 'sketchy' part in the center, but just on the other side of the river styx is a pleasant city with a lot to offer...Vincent Van Gogh- now there was a good man.

Shortly after my return from Amsterdam I turned 26 which made me feel old.

Last weekend I went to visit the Macperro in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg, sometimes refered to as the Everett of Europe, was a nice treat. Much like the heartbeat of Snohomish county, the best part about Luxembourg is it's location! Where else can you be a 25 minute drive from Trier, Germany...

And a 40 minute drive from Bastogne, Belgium... I have to say seeing Bastogne and some of the other towns in the Ardennes was very cool. So much history, to think of all the stories about the battle of the bulge and the 101st Airborne in WWII. Wow. The best part was out of nowhere, I asked Ryan to pull over so I could read a rodeside monument- and sure enough it was the very spot where the 506th spent that crisp December in '44.

One more thing- over the last few weeks/ months I've really started to feel at home in London. The first, I don't know, year I felt like a tourist. I guess now that I've been decked by a football hooligan and purchased my first pink shirt I can finally call myself a local.

"Move that giant cotton candy, "

Fox... Fox, Fox, FOX.

Okay, this is an admittedly a stupid post, but I just need a little vindication. A while ago I kept running into this gang of foxes that were prowling the streets near my house. The only problem, I'd see them in the late hours of the night when I was alone and nobody believed me. People started calling me crazy. It had been several months since my last sighting and I was starting to think, maybe I am crazy. And then in the garden behind my flat- boo yah. Say hello to my little friend.
Who's crazy now, crazy m?

Macperro in London!

I wish there were stories I could tell about this weekend, but unfortunately Ryan's visit to London was all too uneventful.

Easy there brawler, see you in Amsterdam.

Back in the USA

Last weekend I took a quick trip to Virginia to get a little taste of America... and it was great. Long story short, the highlight of the trip was hanging out with Mambels and Winners at the races...



... and other highlights, pong, DMB, and Target.

Thanks for a great weekend fellas.