Journal by Bruce Walters

Mele, It was very nice to meet you & your daughter in London. I think that is great that you two travel together. (me too) .....London was my favorite city because of the connection with the USA (historical), the fashion, music, night clubs, and the people. The people were friendly and open minded. There were people there from all around the world, which was a pleasant suprise.

Amsterdam was unique with its canals and old city, trams, drugs and prostitution. I liked it but the weather is cold and raining much of the time. Paris was very beautiful. Art is everywhere—museum after museum. I got the 5 day museum pass (240F) and was able to climb to the top of some monuments as well (Arc DeTriumph). The most romantic city in the world. Women were very open and friendly to me, I only wish I could speak more than my ten words of French.

Italia was my favorite country by far because of the high quality of product. Fashion is the best in Milano (& Paris); the crafts are the best in Firenze (jewelry, leather, art, wood, mental, etc.) and Lago di Como, Cinque Terre & Capri are the pretiest water & mountainous terrain that I have experienced (along w/Hawaii, of course). Roma is great for history, Vatican, Piazzas with fountains & back streets. I really liked Napoli which many travelers overlook. I see why--the people are a little aggressive (1/3 unemployment = crime). I took a 3 hr. free bus which brought me by the port & high mountains!! I went to Venizia for 7 hours on a Sunday with rain so it wasn't as good as it could have been. It was too touristic for me. The people are nice and the food was great and inexpensive everywhere. I want to go back to Firenze to study Italian and work.

Espana is very nice as well. Barcelona is a party town—young and modern. Granada is historic—I met 6 So. Americans who I hung out with for 2 days. We spoke Spanish—so I learned a lot. I went by the Castad d Sal for a day—didn't get to Morocco. Madrid was nice but I missed bull fighting season by a couple of weeks. I really liked Valencia because it is on the beach. It's also a historic city and has a modern reconstruction movement. So I went back there for 10 days to study Spanish. I had a private tutor for 2 hrs a day and we covered a lot of ground. I stayed in their housing with 5 other students. We had a kitchen & TV for only $10/day. I had to leave because I had no money left and my ticket was only good for 90 days. Take Care and Thanks for everything, Bruce Walters of LA

It was great meeting you too, after so many phone calls during your planning phase. Thanks to Renee for referring you to TERC And I really appreciate your candid sharing of your impressions and experiences. Bruce sent TERC a copy of his itinerary if anyone wants to look it over for ideas.  Mele