Unfortunately I got a very late start with this blogging process, and because I want it to serve primarily as a way of documenting my experiences and thoughts, I am going to try to provide some condensed pictures and thoughts in an attempt to get caught up. If there are any more specific questions about my travel before I arrived at University, I would love to communicate via e-mail. Here goes. I left Boulder and my job at the bike shop on the 4th of August. I flew to London, England where I met my traveling companion Ashley. Then we flew to Stockholm, Sweden and took a train to my hometown for the year, Uppsala. We left the majority of our luggage in our rooms and packed lightly for the next stage of my first adventure in Europe. We took the train back to Stockholm where, after missing trains, busses and all other modes of transportation, we ended up walking around looking at the city all night. We finally got on a bus to the airport very early the following morning. At the airport, I started to get tired. Eventually we boarded the plain and I think it was perhaps ten or fifteen minutes into the flight when I cease to have any memory of it. I passed out. This was a sleep the likes of which I have never had. Anyway I woke up three hours later when we arrived in Rome, still incredibly groggy. We proceeded through the city to find a hostel. Once we did, I slept like the dead, and I think without this long awaited nap I may very well have died before my traveling experience even began. Got to go to class, stay tuned for the next installment of pre-Uppsala adventures.