Al

Ugh, we had to cancel the trip because they jumped the price on us at the last minute; it was going to be close to $500 for both of us. Considering that we’ll almost certainly run into a shark at some point just by accident while diving, this seemed to steep.

However, I did say I would do this or suck, so I’ll take my lumps: anonymous ladies and gentlement, I totally suck.

I went all the way to Ethiopia just to cross a few more of these off my list. Okay, there were a couple of other reasons, too. Here’s the updated list:

ETHIOPIA
Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela(Not as awesome as I was hoping they’d be)
Simien National Park(Pretty much the awesomest place I’ve ever been)
Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region(Very nice if you like old busted up castles and stuff, which I totally do)

FRANCE
Notre Dame (A little over-the-top, but I’ll take it.)
Seine (We took a lovely boat trip down the Seine that really allowed us to soak in just how freakin’ cold it gets in the winter.)

GREECE
Rhodes (Gorgeous!)
Acropolis (Very impressive.)

ITALY
Venice (You know, it’s kinda touristy and all, but it’s pretty awesome anyway.)
Historic Center of Rome (Man, there sure are a lot of Italians here.)
Historic Center of Florence (I loved Florence. It reminded me of Boston.)
Siena (A gorgeous town. I suggest eating at Antica Osteria da Divo, which has mighty fine food.)
Vatican City (You know what wasn’t as cool as I was hoping it would be? The Sistine Chapel. It’s kindof just a big room. It’s not even round! I was sure it would b round.)

UNITED STATES
La Fortalea (San Juan, Puerto Rico) (Meh – I could take it or leave it.)
Independence Hall, Philadelphia (Totally lame. Seriously. You know what else is lame? The Liberty Bell.)

So that’s…14! Not bad, right? Only 864 to go!

Holy crap, the end is (sortof) in sight.

Sometimes I feel like I’m cheating; David Macauley’s “Pyramid” and “Cathedral”, for example, only take about an hour each to read. (They’re kinda fun though.) But then I remind myself how many 500-page science books I’ve slogged through and I figure I deserve a break.

Also, I didn’t finish “Out of Eden”. You know what? That book sucked and I got through 200 pages of it anyway. I’m counting it.

Tip: I notice people noting how they kept track of the books they’ve read. I do it by reviewing each book I finish on the “Books iRead” application on Facebook; that way I keep track of the books I read, plus old girlfriends from high school who track me down are impressed by how intellectual I am. Double win!

(The “Books iRead” application is a little annoying, but it more or less gets the job done.)