Travel

Since our stay in Vegas was rather short, we selected some things we failed to do last time. For me, shooting a gun was definitely on that list. Although I’m not that big on gun culture - seems to me that if you live by the gun, you’re more likely to die by the gun - it’s still a thrill holding such a powerful weapon. We headed to Vegas’s most popular shooting range: The Gun Store. At the entrance, I got to pick a gun and a target to point it at. The heavy Desert Eagle became my weapon of choice to blow a zombie’s head off. Being guided to the shooting range by a professional, he ensured that I didn’t shoot my foot, and helped me land five headshots. ...

After a strenuous drive from Los Angeles to San Diego, we took advantage of the mild climate to unwind at San Diego’s Aquatica. Being the 4th of July, we joined the festivities and watched the fireworks from the car. Sadly we didn’t get to see a redo of last year’s spectacle, when San Diego accidentally launched all its fireworks in 30 seconds. Next we headed for Joshua Tree National Park. With temperatures flirting with 100°F (38°C), we took on one small hike and drove up to two viewpoints; Skull Rock and Key’s View. Driving through cities of the plain in the California desert, we stopped in Barstow for some Mexican food and Corona, to finally faceplant in our pillows. ...

After exploring the USA’s West Coast two years ago, we felt like we had to pay a second visit to fill in some blanks. We left Antwerp Sunday 7AM to touch down 25 hours later in LAX, after an eight hour cross-Atlantic flight to Newark and a six hour overlay waiting for a connecting flight. We were welcomed by a rental car salesman who strongly advised us to upgrade to a bigger SUV which would give us tinted windows since it’s gonna be hot, you know. After politely blowing him off, we drove off to our first hotel. Arriving at an airport motel, we got to check off the clichés with a lost empty beer bottle in the room, and us playing ‘the stained carpet is lava’. ...

The girlfriend, me and another couple, returned from a short weekend at the French Opal Coast yesterday evening. Although we only planned this trip a week in advance, we still failed to anticipate how erratic the weather can be in October; setting up camp in the dark, on a sloughy underground, with a soft drizzle on your back, isn’t my idea of fun after a long day at work. The next morning, with destination Cape Blanc Nez, we drove over coastal routes between vast green fields, towards clearer skies. Passing white cliffs of clay and untouched beaches, we eventually halted at the obelisk commemorating the Dover Patrol for a while. Here you can clearly see the English coast on the other side of the canal; no wonder this spot was strategically ideal to safeguard the canal during World War I. Differing from the main route, we discovered the ramshackle remainder of a bunker. I think it’s fascinating how quickly something what once played an important role in our history, can lose its prestige, and be seen for what it is: a massive block of concrete. ...

With this last post, our trip to Italy has come to an end. We have spent these last few days practicing several indispensable tourist activities: testing the ice cold lake water, to wriggle between other sunbathers on the packed beach right after, exuberant eating and drinking, reading novels, and sauntering between prullaria shops. Fortuitously, one of our last evenings here was upgraded by fireworks over an already moonlit Lake Garda. This outlying location gave the fireworks show an extra notch. With each firework rocket, the pitch dark beach was illuminated for a few seconds. With each bang, the sound echoed over the mountains, making the water ripple to strand in the pebble beach eventually. ...

After Venice on Wednesday, we decided to stay in Torbole for a relaxing hike yesterday. As it turned out, the hiking trail that was described in the brochures as suitable for all and with a duration of 1h20, in reality took us 2h30 and sour calves to complete. The views of the lake’s valley and its school of windsurfers defying the wind were worth the sweat though. Arriving at the endpoint, and discovering that we had to wait over an hour for the bus to take us back, we stumbled upon one of the best hidden lake side terraces we’ve seen yet. ...

Yesterday we cruised along the eastern coastline of Lake Garda. Plan A was to visit Malcesine and take the cableway up to the top of Monte Baldo, but since the line at the ticket center resembled one of a Justin Bieber concert, we skipped the cableway. Maybe we’ll give it another try later this week, but then earlier in the day. We continued our journey along the coast, passing past several genuinely picturesque villages. We stopped in Garda for an elaborate lake side lunch, before continuing to our last destination that day, Sirmione. There we visited the medieval castello Scaligero and after climbing the numerous steps inside the castle, we rewarded ourselves with an oversized typical Italian gelato. ...

After 14 hours and 34 minutes in the car, driving 1148km, over the German autobahn, swerving Austrian roads, and the Italian autostrade, defying overwhelming hail storms, roadwork and miles long tunnel congestions, we arrived at Torbole, Italy. Torbole is a small village, nestled between the mountains, right at the edge of Lake Garda. While the lakeside view is astonishing, you have to pick the right time to truly experience it. In the daytime, the village is overwhelmed by tourists; miles long rows of cars queue to enter the village, pizzerias and ristorantes on every corner, Germans galore. This doesn’t take away that this location is a great launching point to visit other places in northern Italy though. ...

The girlfriend and I returned from our West Coast roadtrip yesterday morning. We found this trip to be an unforgettable experience, which made us even more hungry for future travels. This blog will return to business as usual, with mainly technical content and opinions. Here is an overview of our posts exploring the West Coast: If you’re going to San Francisco Yosemite skyscrapers Sands of Nevada Rusty Rocks From Glen to Grand Edge of eternity Fear and loathing in Las Vegas City of fallen angels ...

After seeing the celebrities at Madame Tussaud’s in Las Vegas, we went for the real deal. Turns out Hollywood is a lot less glamourous than we expected. The Walk of Fame isn’t a lot different from any other gray sidewalk, paved with long-forgotten stars. The famous Hollywood sign isn’t even lit a night, making the contrast with Beverly Hills at the other side of town even bigger. Maybe there’s another side to Hollywood that we haven’t seen, since we only stayed for two days, one of which at the Universal Studios. Here we took a sneak peek behind the scenes of movies like The Fast and the Furious, Jaws and Jurassic Park. We also drove through Wisteria Lane and other generic-built shooting sets. ...