Hitting the Road - Pac-Man Style

Recently, the most awesome google April Fool's "Joke" was released - the ability to play Pac-Man on google street view.  If you haven't seen this yet, you are missing out.  Just go to maps.google.com and click on the little pac man icon on the lower left.  It's tons of fun, and I hope it never goes away!

Recently, Wired released an article that showed the "best" places to play Pac-Man.  Check it out.  Several people criticized the article (in the comments that followed) saying that the google street views were limited only to 5 cities, like New York, Boston and San Francisco.  Commenters said that "hipsters" thought that these were the only cities that they knew to exist.  Some of the maps they came up with (like Boston Commons) were pretty good.  But I knew...

... I could do better.

So, without further ado, my top 10 places to play Pac-Man on google street view.

10. Stockholm, Sweden

Some of these lanes are remarkably hard to get.

9. Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France

Quick, make a decision!

8. Istanbul, Turkey
It's easy to get lost in the maze of roads in real life.  Even easier in Pac Man.

7.  New Delhi, India
The big traffic circles may be fun - but they are perfect places to get cornered by ghosts.

6. Veendam, the Netherlands
This map may, in fact, be impossible.

5.  Barcelona, Spain
You'll need some finely timed navigation skills to clear out this intricate circle.

4.  Dijon, France
That three lane traffic circle, near to the ghost-spawning grounds, is evil.  Just evil.

3. Mykonos, Greece
Those twisty, bougainvillea lined streets may be beautiful, but they are also perfect places for Pac-Man and his big, fat mouth to get stuck.

2.  Trogir, Croatia
True to past experiences, Croatia offers a challenging video gaming experience, as well as a horrifying driving experience.  The streets don't quite line up, so often you get stuck as a ghost bears down on you.  Terrifying, just like in real life.

And the Number 1 place to play PacMan....

1.  Wales
This is by far the most challenging Pac Man map.  It may not look like it - but this little area to the right of the ghost-spawning location  is nearly impossible to get.  It's mostly because the ghosts go around and around the little triangle at the top.  The only way to get in there is to either turn the ghosts blue, or wait at the traffic circle and lure them out, one by one, then go in.  I have yet to succeed.

Wanna play?  Just click on the links and give it a try.  And for anyone who can beat any of these maps - take a screenshot of your cleaned up map and I'll give you a point.  No time limit!

A Sign like No Other

Driving through Europe is very different from driving through the United States, and each country has given me a unique perspective of what driving is all about.  Especially France,  which we attempted to navigate several times.  So, I present "Road Signs you would never see in the US".

First, we start with France:

No parking: anywhere, ever.

Lanes spontaneously disappear, reappear, merge, and head to oblivion.

An example of two adjacent highway sign in France.  Signs like these are typically over the highway and list every possible town the highway will go to, and you are expected to read them while plummeting down the road.

While a similar one in the US reads:

Traveling around Europe, we see other interesting signs.

Italy:

London:

Scotland:

Switzerland:

Germany:

 the Vatican:

Pope gets Right of Way

Wales:

Road may suddenly disappear and reappear

And pretty much all of Europe:

Castles and Cream Tea

Our last stop in Wales was Cardiff.  Much more metropolitan, it was a lot tougher to drive in the car on the right (oh, I mean left!) side of the road, and the GPS kept telling me to drive down pedestrian roads and onto loading docks. 

Eventually, we abandoned the car and continued our exploration on foot.

Walking the streets of Cardiff.

We visited Cardiff castle, a menagerie of castles that were glued to one another over the centuries. 

Detail of the beautiful clock tower.

When I was at the castle, I was recruited into their military.  Hey, the helmet was a bit big for me, but I took my job very seriously. 

Especially when my husband started mouthing off.  I had to put him in the stocks.*

The keep, placed on the top of a green hill.  The "pathway" leading to it is the remains of an old wall.

We climbed up to the top of the keep, and saw the view over Cardiff.

Looking down at the castle grounds.

Inside the keep.

Looking down within the keep.

Inside the grounds of the castle.

A beautiful room in Cardiff Castle.  A point if you can name this room and it's purpose.

The library, filled with beautiful old books.

Outside, Bram meets a giant stone kitty, and makes friends.

We stop and get some cream tea!  Yum!  Bram does it right by eating scones, thick cream, and tea.

Our trip to Wales is over!  What an adventure.  We head back to England on the UK trains.

* Footnote:  This is not really true.  My husband is nothing but sweet.  :)

The Best Place on Earth

After coasteering, Bram and I appreciated the truly amazing Welsh coast.  Lonely Planet called it the best place to visit in the world.  I can believe it - there are few places in the world that I've been to that are more incredibly awe-inspiring beautiful.     

 Walking along the coastal path, we come across some ruins.

 

Overlooking the sea.  The squarish cliff used to be a quarry for slate, and earlier in the day, we jumped off it during our coasteering.

Green fields on the cliffs across the bay.

Sheer cliffs that drop into the sea below.

I'm happy.  The view is so incredible!

We head north, to a archeological site where settlements from the Iron Age have been found.  

Again, Bram has fun meeting the natives.

There was a garden that had some of the plants that were used thousands of years ago.

Thistle:

 and who knew that marshmallows grew on trees?

Archeologists have pieced together evidence for how people lived in the Iron Age.  These round houses have thatched roofs made of sticks.

Inside one of these houses, it's quite cozy.  A fire burns at the center, surrounded by benches made of tree trunks, and around the perimeter are beds.  A point if you can guess the year when this "Chieftan's House" was built.