Sunday, March 14, 2010

Pre-Trip in Oxford

9th week of Hilary Term has begun, which in Oxford lingo means only finals and papers stand between me and our 4-week long spring vacation. I'm lucky enough to have only one final paper - 5,000 words on the philosophical "problems" of consciousness and I'm home free.

I've decided to forgo the traditional "I'm a college student studying abroad in Europe" vacation in favor of the more adventurous, relatively expense free option. In my room I have a RyanAir confirmation printout of a one-way ticket to Lisbon, Portugal. No checked bags. 1 checked bike. I'll be joined by Dale, a fellow WEPO-ite (Williams Exeter Programme in Oxford), for the entire journey and the two of us will be meeting Amy and Bianca (also Williams) in Biarritz, France about half-way through the trip. Me and the ladies for 4 weeks, should be interesting.

As far as accomodations go we have a hostel booked in Lisbon, a hostel booked in Bilbao for two nights, and a campsite in Biarritz. The other 20+ days we'll be tenting wherever we see fit. Beaches along the ocean, the yards of generous strangers, general patches of shrubbery... the plan is not to have a plan.

Here is my best estimate of our route




I'm assuming there will be internet cafes along the road so hopefully I can post pictures and stories to let family/friends know that I am alive and well. Can't wait!

MBG

2 comments:

  1. Good luck finishing up your studies. I'm sure your bike trip will be great. Joan and I cycled a route something like that a long time ago, starting at Biarritz (thus, sans Spain) and I remember it as wonderful. Looking forward to your blog posts from the road.

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  2. Very cool. Sounds like a great opportunity. I'm curious, is that a touring bike? I'm going to be out there this summer myself, mostly in the UK- Spain and France are on a future list. Hey listen, I know that we haven't talked in a very long time and that for a while we weren't even cordial to one another, but I have put all of that petty HS bs in the past where it belongs. I hope that our paths will eventually cross one day. Good luck on this and all future adventures! Fellow traveler, Ben Hall.

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