The trip of a life time

I have decided.

I'll pack and leave. Drang Nach Osten!!

First Canterbury, from there to Dover, Calais and then cross through France stopping only for a couple of days in Cluny. The Alps are next.
I should be there by beginning of September: a nice season for a quick deviation in Valais before crossing the Alps.
After that is should be relatively smooth all the way to Rome, where I can expect a mild beginning of fall.
Not sure for how long to stop there. I've been there already and I am afraid that after walking alone for 1,400km I might actually lose the ability of being around people. Better move on, move south-east and reach the coast as soon as possible. Now, here is the point: will there be a boat to take me to the next stage of my trip?
I fear not.
I might have to make a stop in Greece, and from there to Nicosia, before I can finally board on some kind of ship that would take me to Jafo.
Waste of time... never liked traveling by sea: I get sick after 10 min. But there is no way around it. I will never dare to cross the Balkans.

10 days by sea won't be the best experience ever, but it won't kill me.
Once in Jafo I will have to look for a way to make it further east.
Jerusalem has changed, and there won't be any caravan to meet me at the suk ready to head towards Baghdad. The silk road has been shut for too long.
The southern way is closed.
Yerevan and Baku are now my destinations. I can only barely imagine what will expect me afterward. Uncharted lands, unknown people...
Samarkand is a kimera, but at least a realistic one... but by then it will be winter.
Not sure if I should head back before Christmas time or continue and see how long it can still take me to reach the Catai...

Sunflowers

Strange encounters...

I didn't know that Saturday was the Gay Pride day in London.

The honest truth is that certain kinds of provocations and exhibition of almost naked bodies in a urban context -- homosexuality has nothing to do with this-- always make me slightly uncomfortable, and since the Notting Hill Carnival experience two years ago, I always tend to avoid mass parades and carnivals in London.

As I said, I accidentally bumped into the parade, or rather the gathering in Baker Street prior to it. I took a few pictures while I was there, and the whole things suggested a couple of considerations.

1) Less people that I would have thought, in terms of participants as well as audience. It is not that there are less gay, or less proud ones... Maybe most of them have found better ways to fight for their rights and recognition.

2) Super commercial event. Only amnesty international was there to remind that homosexuality is still considered a crime punishable by prison or death in a number of countries (except probably Iran where homosexuality does not exist... anymore).
Other than that, Selfridges et al. took the unmissable chance to address the wealthy and spoiled community of gay Londoners who already crowd their alleys during sales season.
Actually, I must say that the commercialization of the Gay Pride hardly surprises me.
The average level of "political awareness" in this country is to its lowest ever. Once achieved the right to marry, adopt or have babies and be granted equal employment opportunities, why should the (want-to-be-seen part of the) gay community differentiate itself from the rest of the country and take a step further?
Here is why the Gay Pride in London is nothing else but a carnival in pink with very little taste and meaning.

Here are a few pics I took: no viados etc, but people (let alone the Scottish preacher that knocked down the Brazilian athlete at Athens marathon in 2004.)

Looking fwd to today

It takes weeks to get something organised in London... people are busy, working, travelling.

People can't believe me when I say that it can take months to meet someone.

A friend a very quant friend, has estimated that taken 52 weekends a year, he barely manages to save more than a couple per month to meet with friends. And if there are different groups of friends, it becomes realistically impossible to meet as often as one would like to.

This is why, a little get-together can become a real struggle sometimes.
I guess the secret is to just go on your plans, organise, and then wait and see who wants and can make it.

Looking fwd to see you all and pictures later today!!

This is London....

Love films...

I just found out that I have watched over 80 movies out of the Top 100 IMDb list. It is not a matter of quantity but quality.
I agree with most of the rankings there and I am glad to see that so many people love movies like Sunset Boulevard, Casablanca or Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo.

Glad also to see Gran Torino featuring in there (the best movie I have seen last year) as well as Das Leben der Anderen...

I love movies capable of condensing the strongest emotions in the world in 180 minutes, or bringing memories and forgotten stories back to life.
I found myself wondering if I will ever be able to write a script for a movie... that would be interesting...

I need ideas.

Lunch break

Here is the cheerful thought of the day.

La vita non fa schifo...

It's late and I should sleep... and tomorrow I should find the strength to get up and start a new day.

Now, I can't surrender to the idea that life sucks. For sure there have been better times, but can the current situation make us conclude that there is nothing more to hope for?

On the contrary, unhappiness and unrest are the proof that we know that there is a lot more and it is this profound awareness that prompts my soul towards something I know it does exist though at the moment it is just a vague sensation and an occasional perception...

Life does not suck and tomorrow I'll look for more proofs.