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Closing Remarks:
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September 29, 2008:

After 6 straight months on the Appalachian Trail, then 8 full months traveling around the world... I think I've seen enough to last a lifetime!! I've learned a lot and come a long way. I'd like to thank everyone I met along the way!! All the friends I met and all of you who helped me out, thank you so much! You can always come visit me anytime. And I'd like to thank all of you who have been keeping up to date with my photo uploads, and thanks for commenting as well!

As for my future plans, now that school is done, and I've gathered ideas from around the world, its time I finally start my greatest dream and animate my epic story I've been writing for years! And eventually, I hope to build that castle I'm designing too. If you have any questions, feel free to email!

Aaron Granofsky
Aaywarrior@aol.com

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September 28:
Home

Completely done photo updates!! After 23,000 some photos, all of my best Appalachian Trail and World Travels pictures are up. I still have about 16,000 photos I didn't put online, so, if anyone wants any, just let me know. And if you see any spelling errors or broken links, please let me know as well.

 

September 27:
Home

Just finished Scotland photos. Still have 5 more days left to upload, which is Wales and southern England. Hopefully they'll all be done soon... so many photos to put up. It just takes sooo long! I took about 23,000 photos in all, and only have about 6,000 online, if even that much. Thats a lot of photos!

 

September 23:
Home

... I meant to update the day I got home... but, that didn't happen. So, here is most of England. I still have 11 more days of pictures to put up, which is Scotland, Wales and southern England. Probably in a few days or sooner I should have the last of them up. But its great to be home!

 

September 6:
Perth, Scotland

Finally up in Scotland now. Getting pretty accustomed to driving around, and the car has now become one of the best highlights of this entire trip!! It is so awesome to just drive anywhere, see anything, whenever, or wherever it is, and not have to rely on bus or train schedules. And car camping is FREE... so that makes up for the cost of renting a car. Anyway, put up another Ireland set of pictures. Tomorrow, I'm headed further north to the Scottish Highlands for a few more castles, then staring on my long Journey back to London with a detour through Wales... and I'll be home in 10 days!!

 

September 2:
York, England

Been driving around England a few days now with my rental car. SOOO scary driving on the wrong side of these narrow roads, with the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car! Getting used to it now. There are sooo many castles up here, and I have free reign to all of them with a car. No more trains and buses for me. Car camping is cheap and has far more freedom to go places. As is, I think I'll be in Scotland in a few days, then headed down to Wales. Only 2 weeks left of this epic journey!

 

August 20:
Kork, Ireland

Mostly done France now. Have Loire vally complete and Paris now. Hopefully I'll have the last of France, and then Spain done shortly. But, I'm about to leave Ireland soon, so I'll still be far behind on the picture count.

 

August 18:
Kork, Ireland

Arrived in Dublin, and have been traveling around Ireland for a day or so now. Very cold wet and rainy. I think I may be renting a car when I get to Great Britain in a few more days. As for pictures, I have from Germany thru to my first week in France. Still a lot more to come, probably in another day or two.

 

August 16:
Madrid, Spain

Wow, its been soooo long since I've last updated. And I thought Germany didn't have internet... France was completely devoid of it. Or maybe it was just the hostels I was staying at. Half the time they just didn't have it or it was broke, most of the time it cost $10 an hour if they did have it working, and then it was so locked up I couldn't touch the USB ports to put pictures up.

Anyway, went through Netherlands/Holland, spent another weekend in Germany for a concert featuring "Within Temptation", and then headed into France for the past 2 or so weeks. And now I'm in Spain. I've seen sooo many chateaus and castles and have taken soooo many pictures. So, I'll try to put them up as fast as I can. Part of the delay has been trying to figure out a way to keep from scrolling up/down on the tall pictures. So... I've shortend them. Now they are smaller than I want, but, no more scrolling. And the widescreen photos are still about the same size. If any of you want copies of the full size images, just let me know.

And, for a couple points of interest: had a great time in Förste Germany; Thanks Dennis and Tobi!! It was great meeting you! See you in America some time? And thanks to my buddies at SCAD Lacoste for a fun visit! I'll have pictures of all this up soon hopefully.

And now I'm off to the UK for my last month. Heading home September 16th at long last... 8 full months of world wide traveling.

 

July 15:
Copenhagen, Denmark

Ok, haven't updated for a while. But, I finally left Germany, the land of castles and no internet! Anyway, finally have Ludwigsburg up, and added Heidelburg as well. Ludwigsburg originally had 150 some pictures, so, I brought that down to a mere 50 for you guys. Other than that, I still have about 2 weeks of Rhine valley castles and such to put online. As far as design, I'm liking the Castles interior and exterior more so than the Royal Palaces. And figures, I normally can't seem to take pics inside the castles. Anyway, till next update!

 

June 30:
Heidelburg, Germany

I've got a lot of pictures to put up. So, here's most of them. I still have to put up Ludwigsburg, as that was a HUGE palace and I ran out of time. It was a mile long of hallways and rooms that I went through. And, with about 1 or 2 pictures a room, that was about 160 pictures. Maybe more. Anyway, that should be up sooner or later.

Current stats: visited two friends Viktoria and Roland in Rosenheim Germany. I met them in Guatamala, so I had to visit them in their home country. Thanks guys!! And for castles... well, theres been a few, and they're so awesome!! Some are a bit smaller than I would have imagined, but, still really cool. Most of the best castles say no pictures on the inside. The insides are really nice too. Anyway, heading up to the Rhine valley now for many many more castles. Oh, and I'm aiming for a youth hostel in a castle, how cool is that?!

 

June 21:
Erfurt, Germany

Quick update. Moving fast through Germany. Not fast as in trying to get out, but fast as in not sitting in one place for too long... theres just way to many castles to see! I kinda skipped the Venice update for now, as I wanted to put up the armor museum first. There were soooo many armors there, and free to take pictures! Right now I'm in Erfurt for the night, and heading to Eisenach for a castle, then passing through Munich and landing in Rossenhiem tomorrow to meet some friends I first met in Guatamala. Should be fun! Then Neuschweinstein castle! Then back up the west of Germany for the castle conquest! Overall, Germany seems like a really cool place. Very scenic, and very accessible by trains... though I've only been here 2 days so far. Finally medieval timeline stuff to see. Oh, and summer solstice it would seem, longest day of the year... plenty of light to explore.

 

June 14:
Venice, Italy

Finally caught up on 2 weeks of pictures... that takes soooo long. Vatican pics are the largest upload yet, at 92 pictures. Thats more for Tonio and other sculptors like us who want to see museum works though. Anyway, headed off to Vienna today... I think. Should be putting up my recent 2 days in Venice soon. Other than that, uh, Italy was cool. I think I like Rome the best... cheapest of the visited locations. Plus, lots to see. Overall, Italy was nice, and there's still so many other places to see, like Pompei, Naples, Capri, Siciley... but I can visit later after this trip. I don't plan on going it alone next time though.

 

June 13:
Venice, Italy

After a day in Venice, I've seen most of it. Theres actually not much to see besides a bunch of churches. The city seems to be heavily touristy, and very expensive. Plus, its more of a romantic place for couples. So, not much for me to do traveling alone. Fortunately, I only booked 3 nights. So, I'll be headed... well, not sure yet. But, somewhere north. Maybe Vienna I'm thinking. As for pictures, two more sets of Rome uploaded. Next update should be Florence.

 

June 12:
Venice, Italy

Wow, its been 2 weeks since my last update. Soooo many pictures. Its going to take a while to put all these up. Been so busy taking pictures of churches, famous buildings, museums, sculptures... and so much more. But, I figure I better start putting up some of these photos. Right now I'm in Venice, and should be here for my last few days of Italy. Then moving somewhere north. So, for now, I've sorted through about 500 pictures, and put up about 90 for you guys. Till next time...

 

May 29:
Rome, Italy

Wow, actually in Rome! Capital of the ancient empire... thats pretty cool. But, I just got here around 11pm, so I'll have to see it tomorrow. Took an overnigt ferry from Greece to Italy... then missed my train to Rome. So, I wasted $23 on a ticket, and got here much later than I wanted. But, the problems with traveling... so just keep moving. Anyway, rather excited. So much to see here. Headed for Florence and then Venice later. For now, here's the pictures of Corinth. Unfortunately I missed Mycanae and Olympia... very mad about that. Transportation in Greece is very sporadic... a car is well worth the money.

 

May 26:
Athens, Greece

Back in Athens... plans got a bit messed up. I really really wanted to go to Meteora and see the monasteries built atop giant columns of rock... but the trains of Greece are... well... not very helpful. Anyway, I'm back in Athens now, and heading to Corinth and Mycenae tomorrow. Then Ancient Olympia, and finally heading to Rome in 2 days I think.

But, as for Mount Olympus, just put up the full picture set. The last ones in the set, from the top of the mountian... are just AMAZING!! The resolution is just so sharp... and the views are so impressive. Definitely worth the climb. I think they are some of the best pictures I've taken yet.

 

May 25:
Litochoro, Greece

Finally updated with Greece!! Wow, thats a lot of pictures, and quite a lot of hours to put them up. I didn't finish with Olympus though, as its 4am now, and I don't want to sort through 300 pictures. So, I put up a temporary .zip folder for you to get an idea. I'll put the rest up later in a few days, probably by that time I'll be in Rome. Other than that, here is most of Greece that I've seen, such as the Acropolis, the surrounding ruins, Temple of Poseidon, and Delphi. Plus, I got a haircut too! Its been 1 full year, so my goal is complete, and its haircut time. Hope you enjoy the pictures. And, for Olympus, you'll have to download them and right click and extract them for now.

 

May 23:
Litochoro, Greece

Stayed in Athens for about 1 week. Lots of fun. Now I'm headed up Mount Olympus today. Only 9,000 or so feet high... can't be that bad for 'Sugar Blade' or so I was called on the trail. Just put up the Summer Palace picture from China, and should be putting Greece up when I come down from Olympus. Maybe I'll see the Ancient Gods up there?!

 

May 15:
Athens, Greece

Here in Athens Greece now, finally in Europe at long last!!!! Europe is so amazing!! I went through the Acropolis yesterday, and then I'm off to a few more areas around greece... Delphi, Corinth, Mycenae, Meteora, Sparta maybe and Crete hopefully. Its sooo much fun to actually stand with all these ancient BC era strutures I've read about in history books for years. Ah, Eurpoe seems to be everything I've imagined and more. A little pricy... but sooo worth visiting!!

As for China, I made it out safely. I did feel the earthquake all the way in Beijing the day I left. Overall, took lots of photos, and visited a few places. Didn't like China much though. People there are only nice if they think they can scam you or make money off you. Japan was ssooooo much better. Japanese people are polite, considerate, and very helpful... quite the opposite I found in China. Oh, and they spit all over the streets. And its dusty too. But, they do have skyscrapers and the usual modern city dwellings. But anyway, I'll have the last of the China pictures up soon, when I figure out how to re-number my pictures (after 9,999 they went back to 0001, and I already have a 0001). So, Athens photos should be up soon.

 

May 2:
Tokyo, Japan

Putting up pictures of Miyazaki now, and my extra day in Kyoto. The pink chapter has pretty much ended now, and everything is green. Had fun, learned a lot of Japanese, and even went to an english class... how easy is that?! But, now I'm back in Tokyo, and leaving May 5th for Beijing. I want to go shopping and sight seeing... but right now I'm feeling really sick. I think Shige got me sick the last day I was there. But, sleeping on a 12 hr ferry ride with waves, and then taking an 8 hr bus ride really doesn't help either... as I didn't sleep well. Anyway, hopefully I'll be better soon. Got me some Tylenol (all in Japanese writing) and I'm starting to feel a bit better. But still... my last 4 days in Tokyo, and I'm sick. uuhhh...

 

April 18:
Miyazaki, Japan

So, I'm in the Miyazaki prefecture now, on the southern island of Kyushu. I should be here for a week or so, staying with a Japanese friend I met in Hawaii. Learning lots of Japanese. Got me some kids (almost baby like) books to try and read. Shige said he read the book in 5 minutes... while I only got one sentence in that time. Anyway, putting up some pictures of my last half day in Kyoto. I had a visit to Inari, and there were soooo many orange Tori gates. They supposedly keep out demons. Lots of stairs too.

 

April 13:
Kyoto, Japan

I was going to run around Kyoto one last day... but I headed out for Himeji castle instead. I figured, if its going to rain tomorrow, I'd rather see Himeji in the sun, even if it costs me more in transportation. So, here's Himeji castle, one of the oldest and best preserved castles from the early years. And, I got to go inside with a full spread of pictures!

 

April 12:
Kyoto, Japan

Just put up days 6 and 7, which were the manga museum and Nara, then day 8 which was western Kyoto. Two days left here and still so much to see... but, I can return later to Japan. Lets head off to the southern island of Kyushu for a week and a half. Fewer picture updates down there, as there's less to see... I think. Its a lot of work to put that many pictures up!

 

April 10:
Kyoto, Japan

Big day yesterday. Went through the interior of the Imperial Palce and the Sento palace, then the Heian shrine gardens, Shoren-in temple, Kiyomizu temple in day and night, and a few others. I Probably walked about 10-15 miles... as it saved on transportation cost, and you get to see more as you walk. But then it started raining on the way back... Anyway, saw most of eastern Kyoto now. But there are still so many more shrines to see.

 

April 8th:
Kyoto, Japan

I think I'm taking too many pictures. I just uploaded about 75 more. Maybe I should just be more selective. Anyway, it rained most of day 3, so I basically put up day 4's pictures. This set includes many more Sakura trees along the Philosophers Path, then the Silver Pavillion and several other shrines. So, here's what I just saw today while you were sleeping.

 

April 7th:
Kyoto, Japan

Great weather Sunday, but woke up a bit late, and knowing that it was still a weekend, figured everything would be closed. Apparently just the big stuff is closed though; like the Imperial Palace. So, I wondered down the streets checking out the small stuff, and eventually made it to the Golden Pavillion around sunset... so it looks really golden. Then I checked out a few more shrines, as some seem to stay open all night. Japan is so safe!

 

April 6th:
Kyoto, Japan

So, I went to Nijo Castle and the Kyoto Imperial Palace Gardens... but not the actual Imperial palace itself, because I wasn't able to get tickets... and didn't realize till later that it was because it was a weekend. So I'll have to go back. As is, in one day I probably took about 150 pictures!! Thats more than my day in Tikal. And thats just ONE day. So, I narrowed it down and put up about 50. Unfortunately I now have to go back and type descriptions for each... but I figure you guys may enjoy it better with comments. Oh, and I through up some hostel pics and friends I've met (so you know its safe and not like the movie) and I put the anime fair pics and more Osaka pics. Lots of new stuff, enjoy!

 

April 5th:
Kyoto, Japan

Just put up some Osaka pictures. And having arrived in Kyoto now, I realize how BIG it actually is. There are soooo many shirines!! Thus, I extended my stay from 5 days to 8 days. And, in anticipation of how many pictures I'll be taking, I'm going to do daily updates, as several updates of 50 pictures each is easier to go through than one update of 500... cause there are a lot of shrines here. In contrast to Tokyo being the high tech city... Kyoto has all the old history. You'll see.

 

March 30th:
Tokyo, Japan

Ok, so, I haven't been updating that frequently. I originally figured I'd update as I went from location to location... but in this case, I'm still in Tokyo after 3 weeks. So, lets break it up with what I have so far. The Japan upload is mostly Tokyo and surroundings, while Nikko was a shrine area. And, I'm going to try something new, but it'll take a while, so I don't know if I'll continue. I'm going to try and put descriptions by most of the pictures. And thats about it for todays update. Oh, and the comment section works now.

 

March 10th:
Oahu, Hawaii

Well, leaving for Japan in the morning. So, the final Oahu pictures of Hawaii are now up. Spent about a week and a half here, between Honolulu and Waikiki. Great place! Definitely plan to return. Not sure which island, but probably a few. The upload this time has about 86 pictures I think. Quite a few. Photography is pretty fun, but really expensive if you get the big stuff. Anyway, next update: JAPAN!!

 

March 7th:
Oahu, Hawaii

So, updates haven't been as frequent as I thought they'd be. Hawaii is GREAT though, and its hard to find time, or free wi-fi to upload. Finally have plane tickets to Japan too! I leave March 10th, and should be there for almost 2 months. Plenty of time to learn the language I hope. As for picture stats, this should about do it. All previous images are up from day 1 till now. I'll put up Oahu images when I'm about to leave... or am in Japan. I switched to ex-large images, so you can see more of the detail now. Still much smaller than the original camera images, so if you'd like a higher resolution picture, just ask. And I guess thats about it. Hawaii is by far my favorite place right now. Either due to the language (English) or for the 1st world status (no trash on the streets or people begging for money). Not sure when I'll have videos up... that could take a while. Most of them aren't that interesting anyway... just a bunch of scenery scans. Alright, till the next upload... in JAPAN!!

 

February 24, Hawaii

It's been quite a while since the last trail update. But, I finally have my laptop with me, so now to put up pictures from the 8gb I've taken thus far. As for stats, I'm in Hawaii now, and been here for the past week. The average temperature is around 80, clear skies, pleasant breeze, and the colors are so vivid. Hawaii is awesome! But, I guess thats it to report for now. I should have a whole bunch of pictures going up, once I figure out how to organize them. But, they should be so much easier to view now that I have photoshop, which I didn't have while on the trail.