good-BYE! max

well max has moved on from this stage in our lives and i expect that he is back in the great states by now - enjoying the comfort of good-old southern Indiana - i am now in a new place just south of London called Tilford - I have landed a little job through connections as a gardener on this amazing little farm - i will have to post pictures tomorrow -

the past week in Canterbury was amazing - Peter and Sally were so nice to us and fattened us back up to the pre-trip level - one meal a day + walking everywhere had dropped a good bit of weight for us but in Canterbury breakfast was mandatory!

Here are Max and Peter and Sally as we all enjoyed a game of Boules, which is the french version of Bocce Ball - Max won every time but i was always a close second -

Despite there more mature age we had a hard time keeping up with there sight seeing schedule - we got a great trip down to Dover again but this time we got to walk along the top of the cliffs - it is difficult to see the actual grandure and depth in a photo but the water is probably a hundred yards down in this one - a ten or twelve second stone's throw -

+Opposite the cliffs are wheat fields that stretch over hills into the distance - the sky was perfect on the day we went - it looks like something out of a movie -

We also went in town to Canterbury's catherdral and were absolutely amazed at the scale of it - by far the most amazing building i've seen in all of europe -

For the next couple of days i will be working here - the internet is fast and i hope to post some more photos as they come in -and before i forget i had a request to post the full list of countries we have traveled through so i will do that before i retire for tonight -

England: London, Dover >

France: Calais, Lille, Paris, Pau, Toulousse >

Spain: Barcelona >

Italy: Civitavecchia, Rome, Venice > Hungary:

Budapest >

Germany: Munich, Frankfurt >

Netherlands: Amsterdam >

Switzerland: Bern >

Italy: Milan, Verona, Bologna, Rome, Pisa >

France: Paris, Lille >

England: London, Canterbury, Tilford

England is so old!

Well we made it in late last night and have rested up quite comfortably here in Canterbury in southeast England - we are set to see the area for the next couple of days enjoying the hospitality of Peter and Sally which are friends of my Dad's -

today we went up to the coast and enjoyed the cool air and the warm hand-pulled beer at a pub called Old Neptune which has been flooded and hit by ice burgs many times in its long history - that probably explains the floor and bar slanting downward 5 or 7 inches from one end to the other - normally it would just feel that way drinking at a bar but there you can get it just looking at the beer-

tomorrow we have tentative plans to ride bikes out and about but the weather doesn't look too keen - so maybe we will just watch the tele and enjoy tea (they really drink tea, its crazy!) and the cricket too! we are watching a match right now and have absolutely no idea what is going on-

well, long live the queen! we'll post some pictures when we have them -

living easy,
josh and max

The first final stretch

Me and Max have had a great time back at the Fort - our days were filled with beach trips and good food - and our nights were filled with meeting new crazy people and becoming friends with the world of squatter\traveller\grafitti artist\DJs and more - but all good things must come to an end and now we are headed north back to London through Pisa, Milan and Paris - The final days will be spent touring the south of England with some friends of my dads friends-


Pisa!



Here is a sideways picture of me at the famous tower - i dont know how to make it ride side up but oh well - we are just here in passing but we had to see the big leaning thing!





Trains!
We will be on trains for the next twenty four hours and here is Max in his special seat on every train - doesnt he look happy?!



Leaving Italy!



It has been good to us - other than the mosquitos - and the landscape is amazing as we head out - whole fields of sunflowers and giant mountains in the distance - we are sad to leave but ready for a new climate, good tour of England and some soft places to lay our heads -

much love to everyone at home - and will someone tell me what happened with Brad and Angelina!?!? we keep seeing pictures everywhere but we cant read the headlines!

Love,
Josh and Max

Rome Sweet Rome

We have ventured back across the middle of Europe - this time through switzerland - our trip of three days was difficult because of set-backs with trains and the like but we got to see the swiss alps - in fact we took a nap on the side of a mountain near the train station in Bern - the weather was perfect and the scenery was jaw-dropping - but now our hearts have led us back to Rome - where we know the city and the people give us free housing for work - in fact today we got free lunch because we cleaned up everything from last night -

i am relaxing in the dorm right now and i think max is asleep - the air is cool inside the tunnels and on top of the good temperature, we showered for the first time since Munich - whew! we really needed that -

Here is max at his favorite knife store we found in Munich, Germany! We bought lots of knifes to bring home on the plane ride!

This was the post card view we saw as we fell asleep on benches - the faint but enormous Alps in the background -

And here is one of a billboard for my brothers who i miss dearly but share a similar sense of humor- That cat wants that sushi!

More word to come soon as internet is free here - much love to home -

josh and max

Venice - it truly lived up to all the hype! clearly max and i are having a great time in the photo below- the streets really are water and the confusing nervous-sytem of hundreds of canals were great fun to get lost in - we slept on the street for the first time so far in venice - it was a great night for it and it sure beat spending 60 euros - i would suggest it also for those with back problems - that nice firm surface is refreshing! this cathedral was the backdrop for a Elton John they were setting up for - me and max wanted to stay and sing sing along to Tiny Dancer, but we figured we could do without -













We are now in Munich - we stayed here last night at a giant campground with campfires and about 200 other campy, happy, nerdy, americans that we had no interest in talking with - after the centro sociale nothing really can be that cool -

a detour-hassel through budapest was anything but enjoyable - we tried to meet people and get help but we just ended up with some moody hungarian that listened to korn and wanted us to pay for her drinks so we pulled the plug on that before it got started, slept at the train station and got to germany as fast as we could -

Now for the big plan we will head to amsterdam, belgium, switzerland and then back to rome where we know how to get around and live very cheaply - and we miss darcie - we plan to spend my birthday there in rome and throw a huge international party via webcast to the states! but there is no funding for that so maybe that isnt possible-

we are happy and full of doener kebab right now, the weather is beautiful and we miss home terribly - while we walk and talk we fantasize about meatloaf and mashed potatoes and seeing our good old friends and family back home -

home, home on the range where the deer and antelope play, where seldom is heard a discouragin word (in any language) and the skies are not cloudy all day -

When In Rome

This is Jaque, Darcie, me, and Jaimè. They work all day long making wicked jewelry. Except for Darcie of course. She just follows us around and chews on bottles. Darcie also has inspired our idea for a childrens novel called °Goldie: the little dog that loved everybody, except for other dogs, except for her mother that she played with all day and remained curiously overweight because her owner was away in Russia°

This is me in front of the °Coloseo°. If you look closely you can see the Pope visiting Rome on vacation.

Max and Phil talking about the 14 stone mastiff that attacked him when he and his father visited a friends house, and how the boyfriend of the freinds daughter was named Trevor and the dog bit his hand and shoulder and then he ran away and then later a trusted dog pyshcologist said that the dog had to be destroyed because it would kill someone, while the Latin Americans handcraft materials are spread out on the new mattress!

And here is Justo and Max on the ferry. What a great shot of that new Casio watch too!

For the next couple of days we will be in travel mode again from Rome all the way to Budapest - Which should be at least 12 hours of travel and the internet is very hard to use in Hungary because the keyboards arent translated at all. So i will post again once we arrive in germany -

Happy Fourth of July! Somebody get drunk and buy fireworks for me!

josh and max

Forte Prenestino

Phil - with a few of the tunnels in the background -

This is the entrance to the fort, complete with moat and bridge-




In the video we see max, the sleeping south americans, the dog who has adopted us named darcy, and one of the open common areas with the mechanic shop in it - it may be alittle shocking because of all the art on the walls but everyone we have met has been very generous, interested about where we come from and kind hearted - Phil has been our foot in the door but working with them today has earned us a bit of respect -



The Italian language is fast and beautiful and it is funny to hear Phil tell stories, that we know in English, in Italian to other people and you can pick out enough words to know which part he is telling - everyone is always kissing cheeks and saying chow, chow - it is very welcoming - Tonight we will eat with everyone and talk to more people with phil translating when their english runs out - there is a shop nearby that sell fresh fruit and bread - we will go their to get food for breakfast and lunch because we will mostly try to get out early because the heat becomes unbareble in the sun around noon - we will snap a few photos with the big sights and then head back because the tourist traps are alot more like real traps late at night -