I made the Nick’s International Adventures blog into a book title Off the Beaten Path. This book includes all of my travel stories in Europe and Morocco while going to school at Bocconi University in Milan when I was not travelling. Even if you have read the blog, the book has loads of additional content including my Christmas time cruise through the Panama Canal, bonus essays by Matt Reeves and Desmond White, and rankings that vary from best country to visit to the world’s best food. Buy a copy today.

Get the book directly from the publisher or buy on Amazon:

Book of the Week: Hot Commodities by Jim Rogers

Jeremy Saltzberg is a guest host on this episode. Nick and Jeremy discuss the Fed rate hike, the mess in Greece, and lower lending. They also cover how financial institutions operate and their incentives for recommendations.

Book of the Week: Pass the 65

In this episode Nick and Anthony talk about more advanced patterns in technical analysis such as wedges, triangles, and island reversals. Anthony will break how these trends forecast future price movements. Also we go over news stories such as the iPad, troubles with Toyota, and dubious economic indicators.

Book of the Week:
The House of Rothschild by Niall Ferguson

Book of the Week: The Master Swing Trader by Alan Farley

Book of the Week: The Bond Book by Annete Thau

Dear Readers,

With all the experiences I have had and lessons I have learned, I have decided to publish my story into a book. It will be a hybrid combination of a travel guide and a novel and if you liked these posts, you will love the book.

The main addition to the book edition of Nick’s International Adventures will be my upcoming adventures through Central America and the Panama Canal. There is no reliable internet on my ship, so I will save those times for the book.

The book will include all the posts uploaded on the internet along with some completely new European bonus posts and content that I did not include in my posts along the way. It will also feature a variety of appendices, from country reviews, to travel advice, and some writing from the perspective of other people featured in the book. I will also rewrite the entire book to improve its literary quality.

Last, but not least, I will add some more pictures that I took along the way including pictures of myself, because I did not feel like sharing my identity on the Internet.

The book should be released sometime in early 2010. It depends how long it takes to find a publisher (or in the worst case scenario, I will self publish it). I cannot announce a specific date, but the goal is to get it out there by March. I have not decided on what I will title the book (not Nick’s International Adventures), but if the readers have any suggestions for a title or bonus content, please comment on this post.

-Nick

Unfortunately I had to sit towards the back of the plane. During the beginning of the flight I talked to Pennsylvanian man in the export business about travel, European economics, podcasting, and generation theory. I have learned from my four months overseas, wherever I am, that the best way to have a positive conversation about travel. Anybody with an ounce of culture, loves to talk travel and has something interesting to say about where they have visited. This topic can also segway to almost anything and can present positive aspects of yourself without sounding like you are bragging. For the rest of the flight I watched Madagascar 2 which ended up being funny like the first one. I then spent the rest of the eight hour flight writing and editing this book.

Country #13 United States of America

I landed at JFK airport feeling grateful to be back in North America. It felt good to be back in the states, but this was in reality the halfway checkpoint. Customs were easy and they did not even care that I declared food products. Since there were no other place to get a cheeseburger, I ended up going to McDonalds again for lunch. When I get back to California, one of the things I want to do is eat a good quality cheeseburger, but it had to wait at JFK. My phone now worked again so I called my family and some of my friends during the layover. I then waited at the terminal to find out that my flight was delayed thirty minutes. We finally boarded the flight around 4:00 eastern, and I sat at the very back on the plane. This flight was agonizingly boring. I could not sleep on the plane do the vertical seat and both my computer and iPod died halfway through the flight. American Airlines also played a stupid teen movie called Bandslam that I did even bother to watch along with NBC sitcoms which I disliked as well. I do not understand hoe people watch TV outside of live events. It’s very predictable and not entertaining. The only television programs I watch are sports, Glenn Beck, and the occasional documentary on the History Channel. Then at 7:10 PM Pacific, I landed in LAX, and my long day of travel was over.

Destination #23 Newport Beach/Greater Los Angeles, California

Even though the flight took off nearly an hour late, I landed in LA twenty minutes early. I power walked through the gates. I then grabbed my luggage and found my mother and my brother waiting for me at their car on the side of the curb. It was great to see my family again and back home. However, my time at home will not last for long. Within four days, I will board a cruise ship to the Panama Canal. The idea of Christmas on a boat will be strange, but exciting as well. Until I embark to Panama, I am just going to catch up some business and enjoy my brief return to Newport Beach. This book is about my international travels, so I will spare you the details (I may add it to the book if requested).

I then left the classroom knowing I had aced the test. My stomach grumbed and I decided to go pick some calzones. I ordered two freshly cooked calzones and paid for the, by grabbing a handful of change out of my pocket and placed the change on the counter with authority. With my drawer filled with worthless one, two, five, and ten cent coins, I counted up my coins and stuffed the coins into my jacket for the next morning. Some exchange students (along with me) were impressed that I was able to make something out of small pocket change.

After lunch I continued studying for my upcoming more difficult finals. When I did not feel like studying, I read two books that my Uncle Recommended me called Generational Dynamics for Americas Future and GD for Historians. The author explains that a neo-Malthusian population program, along with lost wisdom from previous veterans of war and economic crisis. As a result, one of these “crisis periods” occurs approximately once every eighty years (human lifetime). What spooked me out about these books is that the next crisis war is expected to occur with fifteen to twenty years. Although there are some flaws with his theory, the author makes a compelling and grim point on the predictable causes of historical events. The book also explained how long term trends can help supplement technical analysis for stock market timing.

However, the most intriguing part of the book is my introduction to the concept of singularity. Technological singularity is the idea that since computing power doubles every eighteen months, there will be a point between 2020-2050 where computers will be smarter than humans and produce even smarter machines that they were. The author then explains the science behind it which makes it seem possible, but my philosophical views on the definition of intelligence and consciousness make me skeptical. Singularity began to dominate my imagination and I ended up finding a terrific idea for a science fiction novel. I realized with my ability to write this novel length book in such a short time, I actually have the discipline to write books and will begin my side venture as a novelist when I return to UC Santa Barbara.

As the week went by, it was getting closer to my highly anticipated return to America. I can’t wait, but I still have to focus on my studies. Straight A’s while traveling across Europe and Morocco is a pretty productive semester. I occasionally get distracted by Tiger Woods related humor and reading about geopolitics, but I hit to the grindstone and eventually finish studying. Bocconi sent me a pleasantly surprising e-mail that I get a four hundred euro deposit back from my rent. I retrieved my money from the bank, and try to acquire dollars, but a fifteen cent bid-ask spread was too pricy. I also had my last meals of my favorite Italian dishes. I went out for pizza margherita bufala, gelatos, and fresh pasta. My favorite dish of the weeks a combo of rigatoni Bolognese (tomato meat sauce) and carbonara. I spent an evening walking around downtown for the last time. Milan goes all out with Christmas lights and I saw various light shows and decorations around the duomo and the Galleria Vittoria. My second midterm ended up being easier than expected and I aced that one as well. I get the best feeling in the world when I just feel certain that I did well during a critical situation. This enjoyment comes most often when I just own a test or from intense competition (such as Diplomacy). No emotion in the world feels better than winning, especially winning big. Unlike drugs and alcohol, I can relate to how people enjoy gambling, but I personally like to actually accomplish things through my efforts rather than put my money and life to chance.

Snow covered the city while I walked to my last final exam that Thursday. Only two hours until I’m free to go. I go into the test a little more uneasy. From studying all economic theory from Aristotle to Keynes I knew the gist of the material, but not every detail. When I received the test, I knew how to answer every questions, but for some questions, I did not have the precision in my essays as I would have liked. Depending on how tough the professor grades, I could have gotten either an A or a B. I left the test feeling good about being done, but anxious about ruining my potentially perfect semester.

After the test, I relaxed and watched some movies and said good bye to Chi. I wrote an appendix, but felt to lazy to finish the section. I planned on going out to a nice restaurant I went to the first day I arrived, but when I went to retrieve my cash, the safe locked me out again and I had to sit and wait to get it fixed. It was probably caused by mistyping the code, but I was frustrated about missing my dinner. I ended up picking up another bufala pizza, and then tried to go to sleep for an early morning. During the night before exciting events such as traveling, I always have problems falling asleep.  This was no exception as I stayed up long enough to only get a few hours of rest before a long trip home.

The weather has plunged consistently in the 30’s. Snow will be arriving starting Sunday and I’m not looking forward to it. The cold weather has also made me more sleepy and hungry as now I always want to eat. I have to restrain myself to save money and calories.

Speaking of money, the FOREX has been trading in my favor for the first time due to Greece’s default risk. The euro is down from 1.51 to 1.46 dollars per euro in one week. Too bad I have no reason to withdraw money and will actually have to convert some euros back to dollars on a dollar uptick.

I have finished up my groceries, so I am going to treat myself my last week here and go enjoy authentic Italian food for the rest of the time here. It will be a while before I return to Italy and the food has been one of the best bright spots of my travels. I’m also fortunate that I’m done with grocery shopping is because my fridge broke down a few days ago. It’s the only place in the dorm that is not cold.

Usually I do not care about tabloid related stories, but the Tiger Woods shenanigan has piqued my interest. I always thought Tiger Woods had character, but  I guess not. It is amazing how far he has fallen since I saw that news flash of the car accident on the news in Cannes. It seems like another mistress or two, a lost sponsor (I really like the Gatorade Tiger drink, oh well) plus some strange thing at his house happens daily. To be honest, I find this whole Tiger debacle to be hilarious and it may become the next Mike Piazza joke.  Other news in sports I have noticed are the ten game winning streak of the Lakers (my favorite sports team),pathetic Pac-10 basketball, and the ridiculous decision to have Boise State play TCU in the Fiesta Bowl (at least let them play a BCS conference champion).

For the past few weeks I have been counting down my return to America (even though it will be short lived). There is a laundry list of things I want/need to do before the next leg of the international adventures (the location[s] I reveal later to keep readers in suspense). I need to visit my father for Christmas, cut my hair, talk about American sports (including Tiger woods jokes), politics, and financial markets, play some tennis at the tennis club with my sisters, get my Swiss passport, make my Euro adventures into a book for a Christmas gift, play golf, eat some BBQ, Mexican food American snacks, and more of my non-Italian favorites, catch up with my friends and family, see the Newport Beach boat parade, watch the Lakers/bowl games, play some video games with my brother, go swimming, and experience warm weather. Basically I want to get back to doing everything I wanted to do for four months that I have been unable to do in Milan (except the beach which I will be able to at my next destination) along with some errands. I just hope I can get it all in there in a little over four days.

Right now I’m just going to lock down and finish my studying. Straight A’s and traveling around Europe is not too shabby of a fall quarter. There will most likely be nothing notable happening between now and when I fly back to the US, but I will have some supplementary travel guide post coming including how to spice up your travels by mixing up your modes of transportation and the best ways to save money while in Europe.

I then reached the base of the hill again and crossed the road to visit the Acropolis museum.  The Acropolis museum had the largest collection of Greek statues I had ever seen and a lot of the old friezes that were torn off the Parthenon during the Byzantine and Ottoman eras. I then walked towards the temple of Zeus. However, once I reached there, I realized it was same place as the Olympic grounds I visited on Friday night. It had been long day and I grabbed a pork gyro for lunch. The gyro would have tasted good if it was not for the mayonnaise like sauce that made it taste terrible.

I turned around to go hike around the national park adjacent to the Acropolis. It contained a forest filled with authentic Greek plant life and some nice hiking trails along cliff top views of the city. Historical sites in the area included the prison cell of Socrates, and old Greek theater, an observatory the hill of the muses with a philosopher’s monument, and the Pynx the world’s first monument to democracy and common meeting place for Greek politicians. I hiked there for an hour while listening to some jazz and R&B on my iPod.

Since the day was not over I realized I had time to hike Mount Lycabettus (technically a hill only 980 ft.), which I saw at the dead end. It stood on the other side of town so I was able tour the outer neighborhoods of the city along the way. I got lost a few times, but I finally reached the base of the hill. I took the short cut of steep path that cut through pieces of the longer path that encircles the hill. I was able to climb up the mountain quickly, but speeding through the climb wore me out. The summit was white marble cap with an Eastern Orthodox shrine, a bell tower, a massive Greek flag, and a trendy restaurant slightly below. After shooting some pictures I sat at the summit and watched the sun set behind the Acropolis. There is something about hiking that gives you a sense of accomplishment. I like the feeling of being on top of the world that I get when looking down at the scenery below from a high place. Similar to the view from an airplane, the world looks like a much more peaceful place as the chaos below is disguised by the altitude.

Beginning my descent to dinner, I walked down the less risky path to avoid tripping in the dark. I reached the city, but something was odd. The only people on the street were policemen. This was not like your normal police. It was like an army equipped with gas masks, large shields, and a cavalry of large armored vehicles patrolling the streets. This large police presence made me feel uneasy and I when walked towards the center of town, it turned into a war zone. I saw bus stops and trash cans torn down, broken glass over the sidewalk and the university building filled with anarchist symbols and graffiti on the columns that spelled out the word ‘resist’. I felt I thrust into a war zone. I then saw the police confront a gang with emo like garb and one of the cops was suspicious of me as a member of the gang. I ran to the other side of the street to get out of the scene. I then took some pictures, but the police then came to interrogate me. I found out that it is illegal to photograph the police, so I deleted pictures with them in it and went on my way. As I left the scene, I felt a little less tense, but what kind of country lets it capital city deteriorate to a state of regular riots, trash on the streets,  a stray dog problem, and crumbling buildings. It is Mediterranean Mexico.

After returning to the hostel, I first tried to write my blog post. I grew tired of staring at the screen and wrote some a summary on my note pad. I then decided to spend my last night in Athens back at the rooftop bar. I met a UC Berkeley alum named Vikas. We chatted about travel and other stuff and then I went up at the rooftop bar and talked to some new hostel mates. The strange thing about hostels are that 90%+ of guests are from Anglosphere countries (US, Canada, UK, Aussies, etc.). I then went to get a midnight snack a Greek place with the group. I tried some Greek feta cheese and it was delicious, but the Greek kebab was terrible. Greek food is probably the most unhealthy tasting food in the world. I feel like I am giving myself a future heart attack when I take a bite of a gyro or a souvlaki I then left to get some sleep. The next morning I woke up, checked out and wrote this massive post. As soon I finished writing, it was time to go to the airport and I returned to Milan.

A loud car alarm woke me up at 7:30. I tried to sleep a little more, but a hostel mate kept ranting to his friend about how we so drunk that he got lost inside his own hostel. So I got up and dressed at 8:00 AM and began my day.

Breakfast was simple and meager, a few small slices of bread and fruit juice. after shaving and flossing my teeth (could not bring toothpaste on the plane), I headed off on my walk of history.

The first stop was Hadrian’s library. The nice thing about touring the ruins on Sunday is that all the monument and museum entrances were free. I walked around Hadrian’s Library for a little while and moved onto the Roman Agora. The Roman Agora was Athens center of commerce and trade during the reign of the Roman Empire. Looking how much little of what previously was downtown remained it made think what Wall Street would look like two thousand years from now and if tourists would go visit the ruins of the NYSE. The Roman Agora stood at the base of the Acropolis hill, so I began my ascent up to the Parthenon.

Areas surrounding the Acropolis are littered with preserved history. My first detour was visiting a Byzantine/Ottoman public bath that was now preserved as a museum. This museum was rather dull, so I walked through it quickly. As I climbed further up the hill, I made a wrong term and headed to a dead end in a residential area. While at the dead end I saw a mountain higher than the Acropolis in the city limits. It had  what looked like a church on the top and a large flag and would have made a good climb if I had time.

I turned around and ran into the Ancient Agora. I was given a large bottle when I sick yesterday, but I did not drink very much of it so I kept it for my current hike. However, it grew annoying lugging around when I was not thirsty and when taking pictures. So, I dropped off my water bottle at the entrance of the Agora and explored the area. The Ancient Agora was the downtown of the Athens in the classical Greek era. However, other than roads, all that is left is rubble. The only freestanding buildings that remained were an old hilltop temple, a Byzantine church build one thousand years later (600 AD), and a newly built museum featuring a variety of Greek artifacts. I walked around the park that where the origin of democracy took place and viewed the old Greek pots, coins, and statues that were held in the adjacent museum.

Heading back to the entrance, I picked up my untouched water bottle and ventured onward. At the base of the Acropolis plateau stood a solid stone hill known as Aeropagus hill. This was a great site to get a picture of the Acropolis and also a historical site where Saint Paul converted the first Greeks to Christianity.

I climbed down the hill and finally reached the Acropolis plateau. The first site there was a large amphitheater known as Herod’s theater. I then walked up the steps through the temple of Athena-Nike. After that I reached a Parthenon. It was significantly larger than expected and was an impressive sculpture. However, the fact that it heavily supported and covered with modern scaffolding took away from its luster. I then walked down the steps to see another minor temple in the area.  A large Greek flag pole stood nobly on the north edge of the plateau as well. I then decided to sit at a ledge on the wall of the plateau and relax. I thought about the legacy of the Greeks and Parthenon as a stark reminder of mortality and the fact there will be a time in the world when I die like the ancient Greeks. While Rome is the eternal city, Athens is a like a funeral ground for the Greek civilization. I then hiked down the east side of the Acropolis and saw some more structures and visited the theater of Dionysus. The funny thing is the seats at the 2,500 year old amphitheater are more comfortable than lecture halls of Bocconi.

Friday night I tried to fall asleep, but I couldn’t. As I was trying to rest, my stomach start to bloat with pressure. Then it grew stronger like boiling pot trying to thrust out water. I also began to heat up and profusely sweat. Then all the sudden, I felt like a had to vomit and hopped off the bunk and ran to the toilet. I vomited four fifths of the food in my stomach until I could finally control myself. I thought it would be done and I went back to sleep. After being semi-awake for two more hours, I my stomach felt upset again and I the rest of my food was thrown up. Some other people saw me at the toilet that night and asked me if I was OK. I said I was fine, but asked for some water. I drank a few sips of the water and tried to go to sleep. The after taste of vomit is the worst taste imaginable (except maybe squash) and it bothered me throughout the night. However, an hour later, I had to throw up the water I just drank. I felt horrible, excessively warm, sick. and tired. I was not going to go to Delphi in this condition, so I turned off my alarm and went to sleep.

I woke and still only felt about forty percent. I rested and listed to a Peter Schiff podcast and the cleaned up and got dressed. It was pouring buckets of rain outside and I was still feeling the affects of food poisoning. I decided not to eat anymore Greek food period and not eat anything at all for breakfast or lunch. However, instead of sitting in bed, I decided to at least be productive on this sick day. I did a lot of the studying and downloaded a bunch of ebooks before my one hour of internet expired. I then finished two thirds of my finals studying and decided to some reading. My reading speed even surprised myself as I finished three books on Saturday: F.A. Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt, and The Accidental Investment Banker by John Knee. In the late afternoon, I drank some water to test my stomach. My stomach churned a little, but I did not have to vomit. I was hungry after not eating all day so I found an Italian restaurant and ate some hollow spaghetti with bacon and marinara. It tasted great, but I lacked an appetite because of what happened Friday night. It was still pouring outside and I did not feel well enough to go out. For the rest of the night, I decided to do more reading and pre-write some e-mails and other projects I need done when returning to Italy (and internet access).

I woke up too early again for my flight and ended up at the easyjet gate one hour early. The plane ride was smooth as I watched more of Niall’s documentary and read a little of a finance book that Roman lent to me.

At 2:15 Athens time, I landed in Greece. The airport was modern, yet it was strange to be a first world country that does not use the Latin alphabet. At first, the Greek text looked very foreign and misaligned, but then I realized most of the differences in the lettering are common symbols I see in math classes and the walls of frat houses. Eventually I could even read some of the signs (still did not understand them though).

The next trek was the metro and it ended up being the longest subway ride in my life. After 40 minutes I got to the center of Athens, by my hostel. I checked in and dropped off my stuff and began to explore the city.

My first impression of Athens and Greece is quite negative. The city resembles a strange blend of Milan and Marrakesh, taking the negative qualities of both. Other than train stations, government buildings, and churches, the city is dilapidated like a third world country. Pot holes and chipped off pavement is on every sidewalk, there are piles of trash sitting in the middle of squares and walkways, buildings are in varied conditions from decently stable to more ruinous than the Parthenon. What’s strange is that the interior of the buildings are actually modern and renovated, but look hideous exteriorly except for a few shopping pedestrian streets. The most common shops seemed to be Greek versions of footlocker and army surplus store nearly every block in the southwest side of town. It is also quite common to see swat trucks and policemen carrying shield as if a riot can up rise at moment. The economy may also be worse in Greece, because I saw a lot of a vacant retail and office spaces. Broken glass was also a common sight on the sidewalk.

I then ate a chicken soulvaki for lunch. It was tasty and reminded me somewhat of Portuguese food. Food is not cheap in Greece, as it was 10 euro for about 6 euros worth of food. I then went on a walk; I first went through a flea market with various shops which reminded me of an upscale Moroccan souk. Then I saw the former grounds of the Temple of Zeus, which where two Orthodox churches currently stand. I walked by the churches, and then headed the other direction. I strolled through some mainstream shopping streets which were busy due to Christmas. I then reached the parliament building where the changing of the guard was displayed. I ventured further right on that street to reach a neoclassical building that was labeled a Congress, but had an art gallery inside: strange. I then visited the ruins of the ancient Olympic site, which were just a few standing columns. Out of nowhere, it started to pour rain. I went under an overhang to check where I was, when an old Greek man asked me the time and some things about myself and my father. I then found a place in the Plaka district for dinner. I ate some lamb and sat in a relaxing couch while eating. I then headed back to the hostel while getting lost on the way.

That night I went up to the rooftop bar of the hostel. A cool thing about Athens, is that the ruins are brightly lit up at night and can be seen from just about anywhere in the city. The view of the Acropolis from the hostel roof was great. I met some people from Chapman studying abroad and talked a little bit with other people staying at the hostel before I went to sleep. I had an early journey to Delphi tomorrow.

I am now also back in class. Due to public holidays next Monday and Tuesday. I only have two school days to go before final exams. On Wednesday, it was the first time I returned to my history of economic thought class since I ditched both classes during Thanksgiving week. I did not miss much and heard great news that class was cancelled on Thursday. His class is very boring and the most boring class I had since Asian American studies freshman year (yawn).  It is not really his fault as the history behind the theory of marginal utility does not even interest those who care about either economics or history. Now about only half the class shows up to lecture and that has relieved my guilt somewhat for ditching last week. Tomorrow I am going to Athens Greece, so I am excited for that.