Chicago Travel and Adventure Show Review

A few weeks ago, I got an email from the people putting on the Travel and Adventure Show inviting me to attend this year's show for free. Because the price was right, I decided to attend, figuring that information gathered could prove useful for planning future ADVENTURING opportunities, also figuring that this would be a great opportunity to gaze into the future of the Travel and Adventure marriage.

I send my condolences to all of those poor saps that spent the $15 on the ticket and the $13 to park, because that show was a dud. There was no excitement in any of the booths. It might as well have been an insurance and actuarial convention. It was as if the entire show was sponsored by Nyquil or Ambien. I would have thought that the guy handing out 'Visit South Africa' sales literature would have been more amped than the lady from the 'Southeastern Wisconsin Board of Tourism', but that was not the case.

I was hoping to get information to help plan future trips to Europe and China, but anything good was few and far between. I should have expected it because the purpose of a show like this is to make money and generate sales, and not to present honest and or useful information. The only information I found relating to China was trips arranged by Trafalgar, with costs that accosted the soul.

Through this misinformation gathering, I learned what I always had known.

1. Plan your own trip

2. Beware of phonies

No one that is under 65 should ever leave the planning of their trips or adventures to 'experts'.

1. Planning a trip is half of the fun

2. When you get there you will know what to expect

3. When you get home, you will be able to tell someone where you have been and what you experienced.

4. It will save you a shitload of cash(Euros, Lbs, rupees, yen, dollas, shillings, dabloons, skrilla)

Now a word about shyster travel companies. As far as I know, I have never been taken advantage of by a travel company. Women, yes. Travel shysters, no.

1. Travel shysters are a bunch of phonies that only want your money. You will float down the Yangtze river in a semi-water tight tour bus, and probably won't see anything remotely cool. And they will rape you(r wallet) Plan your own trip.

Chicago Travel and Adventure Show

Highlights:

1.There was a camel there. I took a picture of his toe, and put it on my Facebook page. Don't you hate it when a Camel tracks dirt onto your carpet?

2. If anyone knows famed travel writer and personality, Rick Steves, they know that he may or may not be gay. He is ambiguous. Not that there is anything wrong with that, he just has some unique mannerisms. Anyway, his brochure that he was handing out promoting h

is tour company had the title 'Rick Steves: Europe through the back door'. That is some seriously funny stuff that made me cry with delight. You would think that someone would have caught that before he had one million copies made.

Lowlights

1. Being there.

Feast your eyes below with Rick Steves' back door review, and the camel-toe.

Euro Trip Day six: Florence/Firenze

A view of Florence from Piazza Michaelangelo

9-17-09 Florence

The following is an excerpt from my travel journal which I kept on my trip through Europe.

"Woke up at 10 to 10, checkout is at 10. I had to hustle to pack up my things. Got out in time, and walked to Termini to catch a train. I also tried to get my train arrangements for Venice to Munich, but the ticket guy said it was sold out, even sleeper cars. Shit! I am in trouble. So I just get on my train, and brainstorm on the way. I discover that I can get a night train from Venice, Florence or Bologna, and worst case, I could go on an earlier train and either attempt to find a hostel, or sleep in a park. That is all for now...

At the Florence train station I talked to the ticket lady, and she initially said that it was full, then said I could go, I would just have to pay an additional 45 Euro to upgrade to a sleeper car. I had no other options, so I went with that. At least now I know I will get there, and will be able to rest, relax and sleep. As I write this now, I am in hostel, b. It is a very nice and scenic viewing spot for the city of Florence. The views from here are absolutely spectacular. I love the vibe of Florence, it is very similar to Naples in that respect. The people here are very friendly, and were helpful when I got lost. Also, the women here are super hot.

Although there are tourists here, it seems a lot less touristy than Rome. When I got here, my hostel I guess was full, so I was handed off to another one. No problem. The accomodations look good enough.

I struck off through the city through a slight rain. I saw the museum with 'David' in it, but the line was way long. No time for lines with only one day here. Then went to see the copy/fake 'David'. What's the big deal, I look better than him. Just kidding, it was really cool. The piazza where the fake Davis is located has some really awesome statues in it. I sat down near them, and examined them from every angle. Some of my favorites so far.

Saw a few nice churches, the Duomo, and a few piazzas. Then got really F---ing lost, I mean, I was off the map that I had of Florence... but I saw some nice scenery--a winding road with massive and beautiful villas. The people helped me get back to where I wanted to be. Apparently my accent is alright, because when I ask for directions, they answer me in Italian even if they know English, as they don't know that I am American. Now I will strike off back toward the hostel.

later that night, I walked through the streets of Florence to the 'David' copy. I stopped at a produce market for an apple to eat in the Piazza. I felt really safe except when I walked down a really dark, dirty, and littered street that was loaded with maybe 50 gypsies. At that moment, I knew that all eyes were on me and if shit went down, my only defense would be flighty feet, and a single flying apple. Luckily nothing happened, and I hada great night time stroll. When I walked back to the hostel, I avoided Gypsy Lane. Florence is nice, I would like to go back there at some point."

On top: Man fighting a Centaur

Bottom: Fake David

Eurotrip Day 1. Naples, Italy

View from my room in Naples

The following entry is an excerpt written directly from my travel journal Day one in Europe:

Roma-Napoli 9-12-09

"When I landed, I already had my bag(I had not checked it, which saved my skin). I pretty easily managed to find the Leonardo Express train to Rome's Termini Station. From there, I had a little difficulty finding the booth to validate my Railpass. Once validated + ticket bought, I hopped a bullet train to Naples. When I got there, I decided to walk from the Napoli Central Station to the hostel(La Controra Flashpackers Hostel) because Google Maps said it was 3Km 30 mins. It was not 30 mins, very hilly, and got slightly lost, but all the Napoli people I met were very friendly + helpful, although a part of the city I walked through was covered in graffiti, and looked post-apocalyptic, like 'Mad Max'. The area where I stayed was much nicer. Immediately after arriving at the hostel, I met several nice people that I will tour Naples and the surrounding towns with. There are a lot of Germans here.

Observation: Naples is loud, people honk horns constantly,

As I write this, horns are honking.

-Traffic in Naples stops for NO ONE!

No such thing as crosswalks. "

Later this first night, I drank a bit of wine with the new friends that I had made, and a few of us decided to hop a few buses to get to an Italian rap concert in the city's main square. We took a jug of wine with us, and had a great time. The Italian language is a romance language. Italian rap music is not a romance language, and sounds pretty gross, but to me, life is about having new experiences, and a rap concert in Naples was a new one for me.

Below is my new North Face Terra 60 backpack on my room's balcony in Naples.

The Flight from Hell

On my trip through Europe, probably the most miserable times were related to time spent at airports, and in my flight to Rome. Although I usually have a great time at airports, people watching and reading, this time was different, I felt like I was on 'The Amazing Race'.

My flight was intended to leave O'Hare Airport in Chicago at 1:50 PM. I was then supposed to have a 1 hour layover in Philadelphia before embarking to Rome. I decided that I did not want to take any risks in missing my flight, so I left my house in the city around 9:30, which was almost pathetically early. I took a bus and the El, and made it to the airport around 10:15. I checked into my Us Air flight, did not check my bag(which was super clutch thinking on my part, and crucial for my trip), and zipped through security. I was reading a book at my gate by 10:45, which was about 3 hours before the flight was supposed to board.

I waited patiently reading my extremely boring book(about an old geezer walking the Appalachian Trail), and about 30 minutes before the flight was about to board, they changed the time on the screen to say that the flight was delayed an hour and a half. Therefore, I would be unable to make my connection, and would have to spend the night in the Philly Airport, and delay my trip. I stormed the desk and sweet talked the lady into booking me onto an Al Italia, which was direct. I was pretty happy about this, as I took a tram from terminal three to terminal five.

When I got to my new terminal to check in, I was told that I would be flying standby on the Al Italia flight, and that the flight was full. The lady at this booth recommended that I go back to US Air and demand to speak to a manager. She also said that I should hurry because 2 other people from my original flight would be quickly on my tail. The race was on! Back on the tram to terminal three.

Back at US Air, I talked to a manager, and told her to get me on a flight to Rome that day. She was able to book me in a confirmed seat on an American Airlines direct flight to Rome, leaving at 6 PM. She said it was the last seat on the last plane leaving for Rome that day. I had made it, I had won my mini Amazing Race.

So I waited for a few more hours, and eventually, it was time for me to board my plane. I was completely ready to leave Chicago, I had been at O'Hare Airport for nearly seven hours, and had eaten three meals there. I walked triumphantly down the aisle with my North Face Terra 60 backpack that I had thought ahead not to check. I walked further and further through the fuselage of the plane for what felt like miles, and as I neared my seat.....Oh Shit... This can't be true....A huge fat man was sitting immediately next to me. What rotten luck.

I not-so-delicately smashed my pack into the overhead compartment, and took my assigned seat in the way back of the plane in the absolute middle seat, sandwiched between the gargantuan man, and a know it all cougar.

For the next nine hours or so, the obese man's enormous arm and elbow were touching my chest. The heat controls didn't work in the plane, and it was hot as Hades in the back of the plane---The man was sweating on me the entire flight. I almost was brave enough to take a picture to document him eating a wheel of cheese during the flight, but I chickened out. The in-flight movie was 'Mama Mia' which sucked, but was only made better by the fact that the sound system did not work in my section, so I did not have to listen to Pierce Brosnan sing. Unfortunately, my reading light didn't work either, so I had nothing to do except think about the amazing adventure that lay before me, as I try to ignore the beads of sweat(not mine) rolling down my right sleeve.

European Trip to be continued....

Next Stage...Naples, Italy.

Europe Trip

About a week and a half ago, I got back to Chicago from my adventure in Europe. On my trip, I toured through Italy alone, then met with friends in Munich for Oktoberfest, we went to Austria for a brief climb of a mountain, and finished off the trip in Prague, Czech republic. Then I had a 14 hour layover in Dublin on my way back home. Getting myself out of my comfort zone while traveling alone, as well as the great party atmosphere of Oktoberfest, combined to make this the best trip of my life. I will continue to post more detailed accounts of my trip, country by country in the coming days.

Euro Pack on the Way: North Face Terra 60

Before embarking on my trip to Europe, I needed to get my backpack situation locked down. Looking at my inventory of camping gear, I realized that between my K2 external frame pack and my overly large internal frame pack, the job was not going to get done. So the past few weeks, I have been doing research on what backpack I want to buy for my trip to Europe. I have solicited advice from well traveled friends. One of the recommendations that I gained from them was that the Eagle Creek Truist 55L was a great pack for Europe. I looked into this option, because it is specifically designed for international travel. Unfortunately, the price point was higher than I wanted to spend at a firm $200 everywhere.

I did more research and found that both REI and North Face had models that would get the job done and that would be suitable for trips abroad, as w

ell as trips into the wild. I decided that I wanted the North Face Terra 60.

On a walk from Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood to the Loop two weekends ago, I stopped at 2 Uncle Dan's outdoor stores, the Lincoln Park REI store and a Sports Authority.

Uncle's Dan's Southport: $125.00

REI Lincoln Park: $149.00

Uncle Dan's Lincoln Park: Did not see an available Terra 60

Sports Authority: $149.00

I followed up with some price checking, a few days later, I ran(by foot) a few miles to my neighborhood Moosejaw store, where the Terra 60 would have to be special ordered and where the sales woman tried to up sell me into more expensive packs I didn't want. When I convinced her that the only pack I was interested in was the Terra 60, she looked it up in their computer system. When she told me the price($149), I told her that it was cheaper at Uncle Dan's. She thought I was an idiot and said well that is because Moosejaw has access to different colors than them.

I said, "What Color do you have?"

She said, "...Well....well...what color were you looking for?"

I then told her that the backpack comes in green, greenish, blue, blueish, and black, and that they are identical, and that there should not be a pricing difference. At this point she realized that I had educated myself and that her sinister tactics would prove fruitless.

Yesterday, I ran(by foot) to my local Uncle Dan's on Southport, and ordered a Large Blueish North Face Terra 60, and it should arrive at the store either today or tomorrow. Their sales associate also mentioned that their store has a price match policy that applies to other stores, but not online sales.

The terra 60 will be mine soon enough.

10 days until aira non-ferma, 11 days until Italia terra firma.

Coming Soon: A New Contributor

Lately I have been relatively adventureless. I have been focusing on trying to move into a new apartment in Chicago, and have been saving my resources for the Euro Adventuring I will be doing in a little under a month.

My other contributors Brian and Jeff have had no dry spell in the adventure department, but what they are lacking is the limited effort and time it takes to write a summary of their most recent activity.

In an effort to add to both the quality and quantity of posts, my friend Brandon will soon begin contributing to the Adventuring Blog.

He is currently high atop of Machu Pichu in Peru gathering up adventures that he can bestow upon the blog here.

In addition, I will begin posting as to the final preparation for my trip to Europe.

International Travel Update

I am still working out the details of my trip to Europe. This much I know: my friends and I will be in Munich(Munchen) Germany for 4 days of Oktoberfest, followed by a few days in Austria, and I think 3 or 4 days in Prague, Czech Republic. Because I wanted to experience a little more, and be less rushed, I decided that I would extend my vacation a little bit earlier, and do a weeklong solo Eurotrip before meeting up with them in Munich. I was about to pull the trigger on some airfare to Berlin before I realized that I might like to see Naples Italy or Rome instead. So, now I am on the verge of another decision, and will probably seek out some advice from fellow travelers, and then pull the trigger on that sometime this week.

If anyone has any advice on what I should be doing on my solo international expedition, send me an email with your input. Adventuringblog@gmail.com