Madrid, Spain (Europe)

Hi, this was the 17th of 34 countries in the World tour and the last stop before I go home from the around the world ticket . The first time I was here I was with my dad in Lloret de Mar and we went to Barcelona. This time I was in the capital city, Madrid.

My shuttle was booked for 5:55am to take me to the airport for the 8:55am flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. Of course I got up late and the reception rung my phone at 6:30am so I run around packing everything in my suitcase as I intended to stay up and pack my things but fell asleep. Half of my clothes were in the wardrobe and I totally forgot them so when I got to Chicago I rung the Hilton Hotel in Universal City in Los Angeles and they said they would only send it to England with Fed Ex which would cost about £120. When I asked them just to box it up and send it in the normal post they refused. I told them where to go, I left nothing valuable which was good and I could buy a whole new set of clothes with what they wanted.

I got to Madrid, Spain at 7am and in the airport looked for the ticket desk for Iberia airlines. I found it and booked tickets to Lisbon, Portugal and Copenhagen, Denmark. I also booked hotels for one night in both locations, I booked the same hotel as I had been in before in Lisbon but a different hotel in Copenhagen. For the rest of the day I had a walk around the city looking in shops and looking at places I could go the following day. After all this I got back to the hotel and went to sleep as I had not had any sleep for a day at least.

On Wednesday I went around the city seeing the various buildings in the city using the metro to get about and that was about it really. I noticed a lot of prostitutes and offered me there services which I politely refused.

On Thursday I went to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium which is the home of Real Madrid. Tour tour allowed in different stands of the stadium, in the dugouts and in the visiting teams dressing room. The stadium was easy to get to as the metro took you right outside the stadium.

After this I went to Lisbon, Portugal and Copenhagen, Denmark to revisit and over the next 2 weeks I will be trying to arrange a day trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands and a night in Tallinn, Estonia. As well as that I will have 2 night breaks in Edinburgh, Scotland and Cardiff, Wales. In between will be Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and I will end it all in Cayo Guillermo, Cuba and hopefully I can get on the Access course for next year at my local college. Still a lot to do and keep myself occupied with.

26 Cities in 16 Countries in 4 Continents
21 Flights and 40,500 Miles Flown on 8 Airlines
1 Man around the World in 68 days

Next will be Edinburgh, Scotland for 2 nights on the 14th March 2008.

Take care.

Robert

Copenhagen, Denmark (Europe)

Hi, this was the 12th country in the 34 country World tour. I went here the day after Julie Lambert's leaving do but unlike Lisbon and the Sound of Music singalong I managed to get out of bed the morning after. Must of been all the singing.

I managed to book a cheap hotel next to the Central Railway Station and I was very lucky as when I arrived the hotel was turning people away as they were fully booked. The first thing I did was go to the tourist information centre to book a tour and it was closed. They shut at 4pm, they must think nobody arrives after 4pm. As they were shut and it was getting dark I decided to head back to the hotel for some sleep and get up early and try to get around as many places as I can with the time I had left.

I woke up at 6am and had my breakfast in the hotel as it was included in the price. The first place I went to was the City Square and the City Hall. Then on to Tivoli Gardens where I remember I had lots of fun the last time I was in Copenhagen going on all the rides. Unfortunately I went when it was out of season and it will not open back up until the 17th April 2008. Next thing I did was go to the train station and get a 24 hour S-Train ticket so I can go where ever I want. I took the train to Osterport Station and walked the Little Mermaid statue which comes from the Little Mermaid book written by the Danish author Hans C. Andersen. I then walked down to the Amalienborg Palace which is made up of 4 palaces and is like the Buckingham Palace of Denmark. I walked from there to the side of the water to look at the Opera House which was a gift from the largest container ship operator in the World, Maersk. After that I walked to the Rosenborg Castle which is like the Tower of London as it is a museum and holds the crown jewels. After that I jumped on the train and went to Enghave Station which is next to the Carlsberg Brewery. I took pictures of the stone elephants and walked around the outside. Then I got back on the train and went back to Copenhagen Central Station and walked up to Christiansborg Palace which is owned by the state and is the only building in the World to hold the 3 supreme powers, legislative, executive and judicial.

After running about I then got the train back to the airport and went back to Madrid. There is no pictures as I forgot my camera and took all my pictures on a disposable camera. If I have worked with you I will of sent plenty of pictures around before.

Take care.

Robert

Lisbon, Portugal (Europe)

Hi, this was the 9th country in the 34 country World tour. This is the first city that I have gone back to and I didn't know whether I would be bored or not. I even booked the same hotel as I was in before. There was only one difference from last time and that was I didn't go to a Sound Of Music singalong the night before, sleep in, miss my flight and have to wait 8 hours in Schiphol airport.

I got to Lisbon around midday and it was a cloudy day but got warmer as the day went on. I went straight out and walked down past Marques de Pombal to Restaurdores and Rossio Square which is right near the bottom of Lisbon. I then went on to Comercio Square. In all these places there are great monuments and as you go round Lisbon on every roundabout nearly there is a statue or monument. After going to the bottom of Lisbon I went right towards the 25 April Bridge which some would say is an immitation of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. Next to the bridge there is Christ is King (Cristo Rei) Statue which looks like an immitation of the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro. Next I went on to the Discovery Monument which shows the great explorers such as Vasco de Gama and it iscelebrating the century of explorers in Portugal. After the Discovery Monument is the Belem Tower which was built to commemorate the expeditions of Vasco de Gama but has become one of the main attrations of Lisbon. After this I crossed the road to have a look around the beautiful grounds of the Jeronimos Monastry which are so clean and tidy. After this I made my way back to the hotel. I thought I would try and take a short cut, not a wise idea. The short cut took me through Campo de Ourique which looked to be the poorest part of Lisbon and didn't look to be the safest part of the city. I was glad when I was back in the centre of the city.

The next day I took the Metro to the Gare do Oriente which is a train station built for the Expo `98 in Lisbon. From there I went on to the Vasco de Gama Tower but couldn't go up it as it is closed on a Sunday. The cable car was open though so I took that past the International Fair Centres, Atlantic Pavilion which hosts concerts and the Oceanarium. I had a look around and then went back to the hotel to catch the bus to the airport and back to Madrid. I had a couple of good days in Lisbon and it was well worth going back.

Next I will be going to Copenhagen, Denmark.

Take care.

Robert

Los Angeles, United States of America (North America)

Hi, this was the 8th country in the 34 country World tour when I went to New York with my good friend Karl. I went to Los Angeles, the home of Hollywood.

The first thing I did when I got to the airport was look to buy tickets to Mexico City and New Orleans. In the end I bought tickets to Mexico City and decided not to go to New Orleans because of the cost. Later on in the week I then decided that I should go to New Orleans and bought some tickets and accommodation. I spent all of my second day in Los Angeles in the airport trying to buy tickets.

After I had got there and searched for tickets, I then focused my attention on getting to the Academy Awards Ceremony which was being carried out at the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. After I had got to my hotel and sorted myself out, I caught the subway down to Hollywood/Vine and walked up to the barriers stopping people from getting any where near the stars. That is as far as I got. I could see the Kodak Theatre in the distance with the big golden statues outside but I got no where near any one famous.

On Tuesday I went to Universal Studios to have a look around and see what it was all about. The studios is split into 2 sections the city walk and the theme park. The city walk is where all the shops and restaurants are and the theme park has rides and the studio tour. I went around the shops first and what caught my eye was a restaurant based from the film Forest Gump when his friend Bubba wants to own a shrimp company. This shop is called Bubba Gump's Shrimp Corporation. After looking around the shops I went into the theme park which is excellent. The first thing I went on was the studio tour and they took you around the sets of some famous films such as Jaws and Psycho, then took you to some more recent programmes set such as Desperate Housewives. Indiana Jones is coming out soon and some of the scenes will be done in Universal Studios. They also took you into certain studios and then set off a seen where the roof caves in and big lorries come through. You went through a part about Jurassic Park and got quite wet. All in all a great day out and well worth a look if you are in the area.

For the next three days I was in Mexico and decided when I get back I must look around Hollywood Boulevard and take a look at some of the names in the walk of fame. I got the metro to Hollywood/Highland which is right next to the Kodak Theatre. For an hour or so I just walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard trying to recognise some names. The first name that I knew was the singer Kenny Rogers. Outside the Kodak theatre seemed to be the most recent names such as Forest Whitaker who won Best Actor 2007 for The Last King Of Scotland. After that I decided to try and find where I could view the famous Hollywood sign on the hill. They directed me to the mall at the side of the Kodak Theatre and told me to go on the walkway on the 4th floor and I should be able to see it. I was very disappointed when I got up there as the mist had come down and you could see nothing of the sign so I decided to go to the cinema and see a movie and then go back and see if there were any improvement. I went to the Chinese Theatre and watched Michael Clayton. After that I went back and was pleased to find that I could actually see the sign even though there was mist around it. After that I took the metro back to my hotel.

The next day I went to New Orleans for a night just to get a taste of what it was like there. I got there about 7pm and decided to go straight out onto Bourbon Street to see what it was like and it was buzzing. Bars every where, loud music and bands playing, some bars had a jazz band and they were playing some low key music. Something for everybody could be found. I went into several bars, listened to different types of music and had a really good time. After a couple of hours I felt tired and went to bed. The next morning I got up at 6:30am for my breakfast and to go for a walk in the day light whilst I was still there. I went to the Cafe du Monde which is supposed to do the best coffee and beignet in New Orleans so I went and it was lovely. I also went on the street car along the Mississippi River, the longest river in USA. I walked around Jackson Square and down Bourbon and Canal Street before checking out and heading for the airport. New Orleans has some very nice people and a very lively night life and I really enjoyed being there and seeing people have a good time. I would definitely advice people to come through this city or stay there for this is a really nice city and a great place to go out and have a good time. I didn't see any trouble just people having some fun.

I go back to Europe and spend next week in Madrid before heading back to my home. Still a lot to do and I plan to go to Tallinn,Estonia and Copenhagen, Denmark and Lisbon, Portugal all next week if I can book everything.

Take care.

Robert

Mexico City, Mexico (North America)

Hi, the 32nd in the revised 34 country World tour brings me to a place I hadn't really planned to go. I planned to go to Vancouver, Canada by train from Los Angeles but a man I met, from Vancouver Island, in Hong Kong advised me to stay well clear as the weather was really bad and suggested Mexico City.

About two weeks ago I emailed the Mexico City Hostel just to see if I could book some where in advance other wise I probably would not of come with the things people were telling me about violence and kidnappings. Usually places want a deposit or credit card details but a woman called Paulina emailed back to say that she had reserved me a room so now it was just trying to book some tickets to get there. When I got to Los Angeles airport I went to the American Airlines desk and asked how much it would be, they told me a price but said to ask the Mexicana counter and see the price there. The price was more expensive so I booked with American Airlines but the flight was actually run by Mexicana.

I got to Mexico City and the hostel said they offered a taxi service so I thought I would use that instead of being conned or kidnapped by the local taxis. I rung the hostel and they sent the taxi which cost about 4 pounds which is 100 pesos. The hostel it self was just about 100 yards from the centre of Mexico City so for half a day I walked around the centre taking photos and arranging what I was going to for the rest of my stay. I booked a tour to the Mexican pyramids. It was fine walking around and there looked to be a big police presence in the centre.

On Thursday I woke up really early and called into the 24 hour cafe at 3 o clock in the morning for some tortillo wraps. I went to San Juan Teotihuacan to go and see the Mexican pyramids which lasted 9 hours. On the way we stopped to have a look at the Square of the Three Cultures which has three buildings which represent the three periodsof Mexican history which are pre-Columbian, Spanish colonial and the mestizo which means Europeans and Amerindian people living together in a Latin American country. It also has remains of Aztec temples and commemerates the Tlatelolco massacre in which 300 people were killed. We next stopped at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadulupe which was built on boggy land so you could see that it was sinking in the ground. As well as the old building they have built a new building as well which is very nice inside. It is the most important church in Mexico and millions of people flock for the feast on the 12th December. The churches denomination is Catholic. After seeing the church we went to see some of the biggest pyramids in the World. Mexico has the biggest, by volume, pyramid in the World with the Great Pyramid being second and the pyramid that I climbed in San Juan Teotihuacan, which is the Pyramid of the Sun, being third. It lies on the Avenue of Death inbetween the Pyramid of the Moon and the Ciudadela. It took some doing but I reached the top and there were some fantastic views of the city and nature.

On Friday I got my Mexicana afternoon flight to LA and got the shuttle back to my hotel. Next flight I will be taking will be to New Orleans and I shall be staying there for one night before coming back to LA and then going on to Madrid, Spain, connecting at O'Hare (Chicago) airport. The last stop of the around the World ticket.

Take care.

Robert

Auckland, New Zealand (Oceania)

Hi, the 31st country of the 33 country World tour and the last new country of the around the World trek as the next two countries are the USA and Spain which I have been to. I come to the country that brings me to the closest I am ever going to get at being around the other side of the World. New Zealand lies just west of the International Date Line.

The only thing I really knew about Auckland is that they had a big tower called the Sky Tower so I decided that this would be the place where I would rest, save some money and relax. I have big plans for Los Angeles and I am knackered so time to get my thoughts together and rest.

On Monday I went to the Sky Tower and went right up to the Sky Deck and saw all of Auckland and that was about all I did apart from going to a Japanese restaurant and eating some weird and wonderful food. Did a bit of shopping and walked about a bit but nothing major. I lost AU$600 at the hotel in Sydney so I rung them up and they said it would cost me AU$110 to send them to my hotel in Auckland so I asked for the codes of the cheques rung American Express and claimed them back from a bank in Auckland with no cost.

Next will be Los Angeles where I hope to get flights to New Orleans and Mexico City but might just do New Orleans depending on how I feel and the availibility. I emailed a good hostel in Mexico City and reserved a room for two nights and they actually emailed back to confirm so thats promising. I will ask at the hotel reception and ask to book a night in New Orleans or go there and find some where but I have asked other hotels before and I got the feeling they couldn't be bothered. See what happens It's coming to an end now with only 2 weeks,book some other jaunts when I get back home.

Take care.

Robert

Sydney, Australia (Oceania)

Hi, this is the 30th of 33 countries in the World tour. It brings me to the continent of Oceania and the one of the most recognised city in the World. There is so much to see, do and enjoy.

I got to Sydney at 6:25am on the overnight plane from Singapore which was good as I had the rest of the day to go book tickets and get a general feel of the city. My hotel was on the same street as the Bridge Climb offices so I went there first and booked a ticket for Tuesday. Next I went to the Circular Quay to see if I could book tickets for the Taronga Zoo and they said I would have to come on the day and buy a ticket. I then went to the Sydney Opera House and booked a tour of the Opera House for Wednesday. Next I went to the Sydney Tower to book a ticket and they had a deal running for Sydney Tower, Sydney Aquarium and the Wildlife World which aren’t far from each other so I booked that and the ticket lasted 3 months so I could go any day I wanted up to when I leave for New Zealand which was good. As I was walking back to my hotel I saw a sign for Sta Travel and I had heard they were quite cheap for tours and I wanted to go to Canberra. I booked a tour for Saturday. All I needed to do now was go to each place, Bridge Climb on Tuesday, Sydney Opera House on Wednesday, Sydney Tower and the Aquarium and Wildlife World on Thursday, if the Wildlife World was no good then I would of gone to Taronga Zoo on Friday, Canberra on Saturday and fly to New Zealand on Sunday.

I started my tour of Sydney on the Harbour Bridge. It lasted 3 and a half hours but was worth it. The only disappointment was that they would not let you take a camera with you so I did not get any pictures but bought the pictures that they took. First of all you got changed into these overalls which were quite comfortable. They put a radio on you so that the guide could talk to you as you go up and you had to be attached on to a cable which ran from the bottom to the top and back down again so that you didn’t get lost. You climbed all the way to the top of the Harbour Bridge on one side and then went down the other side. There were some great views of Sydney and the Opera House and the whole experience of walking up one of the most famous bridges in the World was fantastic.

After being on one of the most famous bridges in the World on Wednesday I went for a tour of one of the most famous buildings in the World, Sydney Opera House. We went around the theatres and concert halls and the guide told us all about how the Opera House was built. The Sydney Opera House is two buildings in one, the exterior made of concrete and designed by Jorn Utzon, the interior is made of granite and wood and designed by Peter Hall after Jorn Utzon resigned. The Opera House looks white but is actually made up of cream tiles stuck on the outside of the building. The building is meant to symbolise the harbour in its shape and colour. The Sydney Opera House was opened in 1973 by Elizabeth II, still the Queen of Australia and her head is on the five Australian dollar note. They are currently refurbishing the Opera House and Jorn Utzon has come back and designed the changes. After the tour I felt I had to see a show so I booked tickets to see the Vertical Hour, it was a bit boring but it was good just being there.

On Thursday I relaxed in the hotel and went to the local pub for a tiger prawn pizza which was nice and that was about it.

On Friday I used my ticket and went to the Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife World and the Sydney Tower. The Wildlife World was good and I got my picture taken at the side of a Koala Bear which was nice. Wildlife World was quite small but had spiders and all kinds of venomous animals. Sydney Aquarium was a bit boring but I think aquariums often are. The Tower was good as you could see all of Sydney but the most famous sights were covered by buildings so it was hard to see them. After all that then I went to the Circular Quay and got a boat to Taronga Zoo. The Zoo was very big and had all sorts of animals in it, nice to walk around and very interesting.

On Saturday I went on a tour of Canberra from Central Station at 7:20am. A man turned up in a car and there were only three of us so the tour was better. We went to Canberra and it took us about 3 hours to get there. We first went to the National Museum which was split into 3 sections, land, nation and people. It was quite interesting to see the history of Australia and learn about the Aborigines and what the government did to them. After that we headed for Parliament House and I could not believe how open everything was and how you could go in the Houses of Parliament with out too much hassle. It was good to see and compare the Parliament to the Parliament in Britain and there are some definite similarities. Next we went around the embassies and consulates and you could see from the outside that the buildings were designed to represent the country that had the embassy or consulate. Next we went to the Australian War Memorial which was very interesting and they had light and sound shows to show what war was like. At 5pm when the Memorial closes a man plays lament on the bagpipes at the closing ceremony. We then went back to Sydney and I got a train from the station to my hotel.

Sydney was superb and I really enjoyed my stay here. Next for me is Auckland, New Zealand and I want to have a rest because I am tired not feeling good so I had better get myself fit for my plans for Los Angeles.

Take care.

Robert