The biggest differences that I noticed right away were: temperature and air quality. It is warm here! It is averaging 60 degrees and sunny every day. I wore at t-shirt and shorts one of the first days and got a lot of weird looks from the the locals who are dressed about the same as the people in Iowa right now. The European habit of smoking hits you right off the plane. EVERYONE here smokes. I caught more second hand smoke walking to my apartment than I have in the last year. A city with 2.7 million people also has a little bit of smog. So needless to say I ended up with a lung infection right away.
For most of the week I felt like crap and didnt do much. Classes came and went similar to at home. They are just filler for the weekend adventures!
Training is off to a rocky start here:
Pool: wow finding a pool is a pain. Once I found one I had to get something similar to a sports physical to even join and swim. So far I have been in the pool once.
Biking: It has been fun. I have been out 4 times now and it is definitely an adventure. It is very nerve racking riding on some of the small crowded streets but oh well! Here are some riding pics I have taken so far:
Running: There is a huge park: Villa Pomphili which is about 10 minutes from my apartment. It puts most American parks to shame. It will be home to many awesome runs to come. There is also a good path along the river that is great for running.
Due to not feeling well this past week I have not had a chance to see too much but that will soon change!
Oh, and I know you were wondering how expensive it was to fly my bike over here. Well, I had one suit case and the wheel and frame bag all checked. I only got charged $55 total for 3 checked bags. WOW. I easily saved a few hundred dollars by using the Ruster Sports Hen House bike case. It is a great investment for anyone who plans on flying.
Thats it for now but lots more to come!
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