Ben Roscoe

Keep a diary of what you're hitting, what's frustrating you, and your goals.
RawSko
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Ben Roscoe

Post by RawSko » 10 Jul 2008 23:16

My trip has begun! Jamie and I landed in Amsterdam yesterday morning. We'll be here for another night, and then I was thinking about heading into France. (Jamie's still sleeping, so I haven't discussed the plan with him yet.) CALL TO FRENCH FOOTBAGGERS!! Anyone have room for 2 guys and their bags? Floor space is fine. We haven't made plans yet, so literally anywhere in or around France is good. We're hoping to eventually make our way down to Barcelona within the next week or two, so further south is better than north.

More to come!
I'm sending regular updates out to familly members back home, so I'm going to start posting those updates in this thread. However, who knows how consistent my internet access will be. We'll see!

I'm off to do some street performing (footbager routines). 8) :D
Last edited by RawSko on 16 Nov 2010 06:37, edited 3 times in total.
Ben Roscoe

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Post by max » 11 Jul 2008 01:28

Hey Ben,

if you want to contact French footbaggers go here:

www.footbag.fr/forum

Drop me a mil if you want to pop into Brussels (it's on the way to France).

Have fun!!
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Post by max » 11 Jul 2008 01:32

Drop me a mil if you want to pop into Brussels
or just a mail will do actually :)
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Post by Asmus » 11 Jul 2008 03:21

The Parisian footbaggers are really cool, great shredders and great hosts you should try to hook up with them!
And Paris is an amazing city that you definitely shouldn't miss anyways!
You should be able to hook up with them through the website Max sent you.
I was there last summer and it was a blast!

Enjoy your trip!

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Post by dazza » 11 Jul 2008 05:20

That dude's right . The french footbaggers are nice, generous crazy people with the hair to match :D and Paris is a must .
Make sure that you got enuff time and cash, the city is big and expensive.
if youre into art, do yourself a favor and visit "Centre Pompidou" .

Do Paris, but also make sure to head south to Marseille to shred it up with
one of europes rising stars - Jeremy M. - in the sunny south of france .


if you run out of destinations, come down to munich and contact me.
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Post by Darkshredder » 11 Jul 2008 06:21

I respect the hell out of Ben Roscoe for doing this. Furthermore, I would like to know more about this trip; why? how? and how far do you plan on going?
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Post by RawSko » 19 Jul 2008 03:41

Wow... lots to talk about. Haven´t had access to a computer since Amsterdam.

Jamie is feeling loads better, btw.

After exploring the important areas of Amsterdam and seeing (mostly) all it had to offer, Jamie and I hopped on a train to Brussels. I wasn´t expecting much from it... and so I was impressed! What a great place! We whent to a cool music festival (jazz/folk) and saw the giant Atom model; we ate waffles and chocolate, and drank Belgian beer. It was a good time! We also made friends with our Aussie room mates from the hostel -- hopefully we´ll meet up with them again later. Our second night in Brussels was spent sleeping in the train station. Jamie´s bag was stolen sometime late at night/early morning though. Crazy! But, luckily somebody who saw the thief chased him down and the incredible bulk and weight of Jamie´s bag prevented a succesful getaway. The bag got jetisoned, and the thief got away. We had only a few moments of panic, wondering where the bag was until one of the heroes brought it back. Anyway, when the train station opened, we got on the first train to Paris. Mistake!! Paris was rediculous. We both hated it. It stank, it was expensive, nearly everything was closed, and it was all but impossible to find our way around. I played footbag at the base of the Eifel Tour for a while and made about 20 euros, and then we tried to get out of the stinking chaotic mess that was Paris. We failed. The train station got the better of us and we wound up missing the last train. Luckily, I was able to get in contact with some of the Paresian footbaggers, and they set us up with some couch-space and a nice meal. Footbaggers are great.

The next morning we were awoken by the sounds of a parade! This was on July 14th. Fancy that, Mr. Taylor (history teacher). We woke up in Paris on the anniversary of the French revolution (or at least the celebration of it... I can´t remember...). Then (following the advice of a nice lady we met in line to buy our train tickets) we took the train to a little town called Millau. We saw the fireworks (awsome) and whent to the national-pride-parties and stuff. Fun. Next morning was kind of rough... but nevertheless, we did what we had intended to do. We set out for the bush. We packed our bags with some fruit, some jam, a few slabs of meet, six baguettes, and hit the road, following the river out of town. We walked for a few hours and then found that the terrain was becoming less and less passable. The time had come (inconveniently) to cross the river. There was no bridge. After stripping down, we wadded out into the river (coldest water of my life... I don´t understand why it was so cold) to see if we´d be able to carry our bags across. Luckily (I realise that I´ve used that word alot) some dutch river-people were paddling our way. We explained the situation and loaded our bags onto their little boat and they helped us cary the whole works across. The water was so cold, it made my lungs seize (sp?) up. Anyway, we made it across. After climbing out of the fifteen foot ditch (and after Jamie´s bag fell in the water) and emerging (clad in not but underwear) onto the highway, we set out for a sunny patch to dry off in.

Next, we started climbing the mountain that had been on the other side of the river, and about half-way up, we found some houses. Upon inspection, we found a tractor-driver who invited us to eat of his cherry bushes. But that wouldn´t satisfy! We wound up farming cherries with them for the rest of the day. The cherry farmer wound up giving us an extra house he happened to have available (an empty 5 bedroom house with 2 kitchens, two bathrooms, a basement, etc... nobody was using it at the time) and we slept there. Great view from our bedroom window! Next day, we wound back down the mountain to play in the river for a bit. We walked into the next town (I forget what it was called) and bought some more food, then we started back for Millau. That night, we slept on the river bank, on a tarp I had brought. We woke up only once when squirells were crawling all over Jamie to get at the last stale baguette we had forgotten hide. In the morning, we bathed in the river and walked back into Millau.

We bought more food and some train tickets to Barcellona (which would leave the following day) and we whent to bed. Now we´re in Barcellona! Jamie´s going to use the computer, and then we´re heading out for whatever the night might have in store for us.

(I don´t have my journal with me, so I may have left stuff out. If so, I´ll include it in the next update)

bye!
Ben Roscoe

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Post by Jdigges » 19 Jul 2008 09:55

your the man dude
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Post by Pengu » 19 Jul 2008 10:19

Yay Ben! Have a GREAT adventure. Stay safe and best wishes!
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Post by dan the man » 19 Jul 2008 19:45

wow, is all i can say :o
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challenge me!

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Post by HG » 20 Jul 2008 07:47

sounds like jamie gets screwed in every situation
JSACK wrote:alright well me and obara'bars, shredded our dicks off, since we are both in high school, obviously there is some sort of talent show

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Post by mc » 20 Jul 2008 08:26

hahah, great assessment, henry. that would be a sadly funny little note to the story if that's true....

Ben! keep it coming!!! keep us posted. great stories. Looking before you leap is cool, but some really off the wall shit happens when you leap before you look... looks like you guys are taking that approach a little bit here and there. can't wait to read more! good luck, buddy. best wishes. keep up that busking.
BRICK!

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Post by mosher » 21 Jul 2008 12:57

Go Ben!!!!!!!!! 8)

You're awesome and your attitude will take you far!
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Post by mtoolan » 21 Jul 2008 17:08

wow man thats awesome. touring europe like that has been my dream for a long time.
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Post by bdams19 » 21 Jul 2008 17:30

Barca rules! Be sure to visit all things gaudi (especially the park, which is featured in tony hawk if anyone remembers the barcelona level). There are lots of fun museums and places to go, and the night life is CRAZY if you guys are into that. Good luck, it sounds like your trip is going quite swimmingly (har har).
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Post by RawSko » 22 Jul 2008 07:38

Okay, I left off in Barcelona?



(There are no apostrophes on this key board)

We didnt experience much of the Barcelona night life. We couldnt get into the clubs, and it was expensive and hot and everything else, so we decided to go back to France the next day. There was a lot we missed and I kind of wish we had stayed longer. We had heard a lot of good things about Barcelona. Anyway, on the train to Toulon, France, Jamie and I met up with 2 Swiss guys and 2 girls from Texas. We all wound up hanging out in Toulon that night and going to the beach and stuff. The girls left aroun 6 in the morning, but the rest of us slept on the beach. The next morning we dragged ourselves back to the train station to find a better beach. We travelled with Patrick and Janna (the Swiss) into Nice, France. The station was called Nice Ville... it was pretty cool. Anyway, that beach was a lot rockier, but we wound up hanging out there most of the day anyway. There was also a jazz festival that night, which was pretty cool. Patrick did hand stands and juggled, so we wound up doing a lot of that over the course of the day. He also said that he had connections in the circus (not hard to believe) and that he would talk to his buddies to see if they would be active (and hiring) this fall. Fingers Crossed! Anyway, we slept on the beach in Nice that night. Janna and Patrick had introduced us to this new alternative to youth hostels: train station lockers. We left our bags in there and brought only what we needed for the day. That method has been great! The next morning, the Swiss headed home and Jamie and I continued into Levanto, Italie, in search of a sandy beach.

We found one! But... there was no place to stay for the night. We had to leave to a bigger city. We stored our bags in La Spezia, but later found out there was no beach! So, we took the train to Monterosso and slept there. Next morning, we decided that the beach in Levanto was better, so we took the train back. Our bags are still in La Spezia, but we plan on going back tonight to pack our day bags for tomorrow. Luckily, the train is basically free for short distances like this.



So, Jamie and I are in an internet cafe in Levanto, Italie. We plan on staying here to enjoy the beach for a few days. We need to slow down for a bit.



More soon!

bye
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Post by max » 22 Jul 2008 07:43

great write-up!
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Post by RawSko » 28 Jul 2008 07:07

Hopefully everyone gets this e-mail. A couple typos and missed spaces have sadly been keeping some of you out of the loop. Sorry.



I was half finished this e-mail earlier today, but the computer cut out on me. I´m starting over.



So, we got lots of sun on those southern post-cardish Italian beaches. Quite nice. We slept outside every night and never ran into any trouble, other than being asked to move down the beach a bit at one point. It was perfect though, with soft sand to sleep on, southing sounds of the ocean to lul us into unconsiousness, and free (though cold) showers to clean ourselves in the morning. There was a lot of metro sexuality in Italie... Mr Taylor would not have liked it. Plenty of pink shirts with popped collars, open shirts to desplay bare chests and thin chains, brand names, trendy hair cuts, and big sun glasses. A lot of money being spent in wierd ways...



When we were ready to leave, Jamie and I decided to head north, away from the heat. We were thinking Bern, Switzerland, but it was 10€ cheaper to go to Zurich instead. The train ride was incredible. The most beautiful scenery I´ve ever seen in my life. I can´t even think of anything that compares! [side note: I forgot to mention in my earlier updates that my camera was stolen in Brussels (sorry, dad) and that´s why there are no pictures. I´m hoping to replace it as soon as possible, but the opportunity hasn´t really presented itself... I´m on the look-out] I drew a picture in my journal, but everyone will just have to see Switzerland to understand what I´m talking about. Anyway, when we got to Zurich, we couldn´t find a place to stay. We bumped into a big group of Mexicans in a similar pickle, so we all whent out to a bar called Big Ben Pub. I forgot to tell the staff my name is Ben... I wonder if I would have gotten free drinks. But it was a fun night, and we all whent back to sleep in the train station for a bit. We hadn´t been asleep for more than an hour when the Swiss cops kicked us out. I fell asleep elsewhere and got the boot a few more times before Jamie and I wound up sleeping outside in the grass. It was too wet to stay for long though, so we wound up sleeping on the chairs in the tourist information station for a couple hours before starting the next day. We had been advised by a couple different sources to see Luzern, Switzerland, so we whent there. We stayed in a cabin at the campgrounds they had there, and it was surprisingly cheap compared to everything else in Switzerland. I did some footbag busking and made about 40 Swiss franks (which are similar to Canadian dollars). There was a blues festival that ran from 6pm to 10pm each night, and it was stuffed to breaking point with people right on into the wee hours of the morning. It seemed pretty stupid to have bands play for only 4 hours each night though... had something to do with some silly Swiss laws about music or noise after 10pm. The crowds were so dense that nobody could move around, so everyone just stood there all night, drinking 5.00frank cups of beer. The campsite was all but entirely asleep by 10 each night too... very little night life in Switzerland for anyone that couldn´t afford to spend a few houndred bucks on a few drinks. But! This was probably one of our most interesting adventures. We shared a room with Sonny Holliday. He has been performing close-up magic shows on the street for over 40 years. According to him, his skill level was such that he felt justified in comparing himself with ''some icons you might have heard of -- like Einstein, Picasso... and God.'' He also had a prostate problem, and thereby felt justified to pee into a coke bottle that he kept in the room. He started each day with ''a depth charge'' (a double shot of vodka and a bottle of beer) and he spoke often of his ever raging hormones. When we said we were from Canada, he said ''Oh ya, I just got out of Donn jail in Toronto not too long ago.'' He said that he got busted for not having a pass-port, but I´m almost sure there´s more to the story. He told us that when he got too old to whipe his bum, he would rob a bank, buy a big bag of cocain and baracade himself in a pent-house sweet in Las Vegas with a gun in his belt, just in case the cops cornered him, he would be able to blow his own brains out. He also showed us the best place to shoot one´s self in the head, if minimal pain was paramount. During our second night in Luzern, he was so drunk that he rolled around making barfing noises, groaning like he was dying, and dropping change everywhere ALL night long. None of us slept much. He asked us the next day ''I wasn´t making a ruckuss last night, was I?'' He wore the same thing every day. Tiny little blue shorts, water shoes, and (if he was going out) a flourescent green corssing-guard´s vest. Also, he never joked. Apperantly you can watch him on youtube. Sonny Holliday. The craziest man I have ever met (including all my grade 12 history teachers...). We also met some other crazy street performer named Anthony, and we asked him if we could travel with him for a while in his van (it was awsome! carpeted inside, with posters and maps and everything... oh man) but that wound up falling through. We hung out with a couple guys from California who were also sharing a room with us, and we explored the town over the course of the 3 and a half days we were there. Luzern was nice.



Now, we´re in Singen, Germany, and we´re getting used to more reasonable prices again. We tried hitch hiking today, but nobody picked us up. We´re trying to get further north, toward Luxembourg. I'm running out of time again though, so I'm going to head out. More to come soon!


-Ben
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Post by professor » 28 Jul 2008 11:53

Is this the guy you're talking about? Sonny Holliday?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UzEkV1U ... re=related[/youtube]
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Post by RawSko » 29 Jul 2008 02:24

Ya, that´s him. Prolly a few years ago... Totaly insane. He´s worse now though, without question. He was yelling at people and calling them ignorant monkeys as they were reaching into their pockets to get money for him. He´d tell them they know nothing about art and scare them off.

Anyway, Jamie and I are in Frankfurt now! FRANKFURT FOOTBAGGERS?? Some shred and a place to stay would be super super awsome.

Thanks guys!

edit: Oh ya, we´ll be here for at least 2 more nights. With a place to stay, we could maybe stay longer... or whatever works.
Ben Roscoe

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