2 of the Top 10 on Maxim "Its Go Time"

So I'm browing thru my May 2006 issue of Maxim Magazine, and in the article about Places to go now for the perfect vacation - women, booze, and adventure. Well low and behold of their 3 European destination, I already have plans on spending time in 2 of them. Check out what they have to say.

TALLINN Estonia

Say “tere” to Europe’s latest party capital.

BABES

More than half a million lava-hot Scandinavian tourist women will flock to the city this year in sexy blonde hordes. You can also hunt for locals, including future Eastern European supermodels and the talent in a medieval lesbian stripper show in Tallinn’s old center, Toompea. Half the fun is saying it.

BOOZE

Tallinn’s old town is jammed with bars like Club Hollywood, filled with drunk tourists sent by Tallinn Pissup (tallinnpissup.com), a travel agency that’ll point you to great local beers and the aforementioned lesbo gig, described by one guy on the company’s Web site as
“a 10 out of 10.”

BANZAI!

Tallinn Pissup will hook you up with activities that are borderline illegal in your town, like occasional demolition derbies and firearms training at Dr. Death’s Military Academy. “Between the guns, women, and nightlife, it’s a weekend I’ll never forget,” says Ben, 24, another oddly delirious visitor.


BARCELONA Spain

And you thought the city’s first three letters were a fluke.


BABES
It’s not like we’re ready to push American girls to the curb. But there’s something about hangup-free señoritas who party till five in the morning that we can’t get over. “It is common to have one-night stands here,” notes Laia, 26, one of the first female Barcelonians we talked to. “Many young people still live with their families, so there’s no place to go. Cars are very popular.”

BARS

Your all-night crawl begins at Bar Marsella (011-34-93-422-7263), reputedly the city’s oldest drinking joint and a must-try absinthe den. With tons of places to pound sangria, Las Ramblas, the crowded pedestrian tourist promenade, is home to a cleaner circus of trouble-seeking European women. But go to Danzatoria (011-34-93-211-6261) for a crop of angels who send sinners directly to heaven.


BANZAI!

Featuring 99,000 rabid fans at Nou Camp, Europe’s most maniacal soccer grudge match—FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid—is as frenzied in the stands as on the field. If whiny futból players in kneesocks don’t impress you, jump out of a plane on the Costa Brava, Europe’s best skydiving training ground. Skydive Empuriabrava (011-34-972-45-0111) welcomes first-timers…with release forms.




I will be in Tallinn for 3 nights, June 1st thru June 3rd. Very much looking forward to it, as i've heard nothing but good things about the Baltics. It will be midnight sun time, so no worrying about partying till the sun goes down as it wont go down at all, 20+ hrs of daylight everyday in June. I have never been to Estonia and i'm sure it will live up to my simple expectation of cheap beer.


Barcelona is schedule for a 2 night jaunt of June 19th and June 20th. Also looking forward to this as there is a World Cup game of Spain vs Tunisia taking place on the 19th, and i'm sure the whole country will be watching and should be a blast. I've been to Barcelona before but I was a young lad, and not able to partake in the nightlife, not this time as it will be party till the sun comes up.


Just for the record the other european city Maxim listed is Moscow, Russia, and while i've been lucky enough to visit there in 1990 pre-communism, now you need a visa to goto Russia and in simplicity of this trip, i'm only going places I can show up at the border with my passport and be like "Yo! lemme in!!"

The Tickets have arrived

This is what feels like the trip is real. First it was the arrival of my plane ticket(one-way to Helsinki via London... I guess i'll make it back to the USA eventually).. Well yesterday morning the bell rang and it was DHL with a lovely yellow enevelope with the tickets inside. They are very green, which is just as fitting considering how much i paid for them(400+ Euros) and what they are going for on the resale market now(600 bucks a game).

Now the cool thing are the conditional tickets for if the USA dont make it out of the first round, look like they can be picked up 2 days in advance at any ticketing center in Germany. I was initally all worried about them only being available for pickup the day of that game in that city. And with the schedule up in the air as to where the game is going to take place and who is playing in it, that was going to be a traveling nightmare, but no longer.

Once the USA team is announced on May 2nd, it will again be another step to feeling more real like this trip is happening. Till then I got my travel books and still some planning to get done!