In 2007, while I was living in Brasil, I finalized the documents necessary to request the italian citizenship by right of blood. Part of the process was to be a legal resident in Italy for at least 1 month. I looked at my great grandfather’s birth certificate and saw that he was born in Pontevico in 1893. I was curious to see the land where the blood that gave me the right to be European originated from, and that is where I decided to move to. I randomly contacted a death metal bass player who lived in that small town, and asked if we could have a drink together when I arrived, at the end of the year.
Several drinks later, I had my citizenship, a job as a roadie for a pop cover band (which allowed me to travel to around 60 cities in Italy during the 8 months I worked for them) and some good friends.
In 2008 I moved to an even smaller neighbouring village, where I rented an apartment big enough to host my mother. She lived with me for around 9 months, in which period she acquired her citizenship as well. During that period, I quit the roadie work, and started teaching English and Spanish.
When my mother moved back to Brasil in 2009 I moved again; this time to Cremona, the city of Stradivarius, where violin makers and musicologists make life interesting. After another 9 months I had some more good friends and I recorded a Death Metal album with the band Voyage.
During this time in Italy, I travelled as much as possible, not only inside the country: Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Slovakia, France, and a thrilling hitch-hiking trip in the summer of 2009: from Italy I went to the north of Germany (Wacken Open Air) and took 40 days to go from there back to Cremona, going through Kassel and Gottingen (Germany), Utrecht (Netherlands), Gent and Brussel (Belgium), Bayonne and Biarritz (French-occupied Basque Country), Bilbo and Donostia (Spanish-occupied Basque Country), Castelnaudary and Carcassonne (France). That is when I fell in love with Utrecht. Love at first sight. Like you wouldn’t think it’s possible.
Back in Cremona, I decided I had to go live there as soon as possible. I finished all my projects and said my goodbyes. At the beginning of 2010 I briefly visited Brasil for the first time since leaving it, and then moved to the beautiful city of Utrecht.
As it happens whenever you feel at home, all went well: great friendships, interesting stories and a couple of interesting jobs. After a couple of months, I found one that suited me perfectly: online customer service for a website that sells train passes.
While the need for traveling was not as intense, since I had found a place I loved and felt quite at home, the job allowed me to move as much as I wanted: all I needed was my laptop and internet connection to work. That is why during the 3 years I lived in Utrecht I visited most of western and central Europe: Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Not only did I travel for my own amusement, but some of these trips were for work: being basically a salesman, I needed to know the product my company sells. That meant they sent me around Europe to take notes and pictures of trains and train stations. Pretty hard to be luckier than that.
After 3 years ‘stationed’ in Utrecht (for a total of 5 years in Europe), the travel bug bit me hard again: I have started my journey in another continent. For the next months I will be travelling around Asia, and this blog will bring weekly updates and photos that I hope are interesting to you, my friends!
But know this: this weblog is not an exercise in vanity, nor a way to ‘keep in touch’. With this, I hope to infect you with my serious condition: my travel mania. Hopefully, this will inspire you to search for your own journey, as I have been inspired by other travellers and adventurers in the past.
Welcome to my Trip.
Some pictures from my latest trip in Europe:
Several drinks later, I had my citizenship, a job as a roadie for a pop cover band (which allowed me to travel to around 60 cities in Italy during the 8 months I worked for them) and some good friends.
In 2008 I moved to an even smaller neighbouring village, where I rented an apartment big enough to host my mother. She lived with me for around 9 months, in which period she acquired her citizenship as well. During that period, I quit the roadie work, and started teaching English and Spanish.
When my mother moved back to Brasil in 2009 I moved again; this time to Cremona, the city of Stradivarius, where violin makers and musicologists make life interesting. After another 9 months I had some more good friends and I recorded a Death Metal album with the band Voyage.
During this time in Italy, I travelled as much as possible, not only inside the country: Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Slovakia, France, and a thrilling hitch-hiking trip in the summer of 2009: from Italy I went to the north of Germany (Wacken Open Air) and took 40 days to go from there back to Cremona, going through Kassel and Gottingen (Germany), Utrecht (Netherlands), Gent and Brussel (Belgium), Bayonne and Biarritz (French-occupied Basque Country), Bilbo and Donostia (Spanish-occupied Basque Country), Castelnaudary and Carcassonne (France). That is when I fell in love with Utrecht. Love at first sight. Like you wouldn’t think it’s possible.
Back in Cremona, I decided I had to go live there as soon as possible. I finished all my projects and said my goodbyes. At the beginning of 2010 I briefly visited Brasil for the first time since leaving it, and then moved to the beautiful city of Utrecht.
As it happens whenever you feel at home, all went well: great friendships, interesting stories and a couple of interesting jobs. After a couple of months, I found one that suited me perfectly: online customer service for a website that sells train passes.
While the need for traveling was not as intense, since I had found a place I loved and felt quite at home, the job allowed me to move as much as I wanted: all I needed was my laptop and internet connection to work. That is why during the 3 years I lived in Utrecht I visited most of western and central Europe: Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Not only did I travel for my own amusement, but some of these trips were for work: being basically a salesman, I needed to know the product my company sells. That meant they sent me around Europe to take notes and pictures of trains and train stations. Pretty hard to be luckier than that.
After 3 years ‘stationed’ in Utrecht (for a total of 5 years in Europe), the travel bug bit me hard again: I have started my journey in another continent. For the next months I will be travelling around Asia, and this blog will bring weekly updates and photos that I hope are interesting to you, my friends!
But know this: this weblog is not an exercise in vanity, nor a way to ‘keep in touch’. With this, I hope to infect you with my serious condition: my travel mania. Hopefully, this will inspire you to search for your own journey, as I have been inspired by other travellers and adventurers in the past.
Welcome to my Trip.
Some pictures from my latest trip in Europe:
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
