Not all who wander are lost...

I recently moved to Lyon, France for my second year of my MSc program. While my university in the Netherlands handled all my immigration paperwork this time I'm doing it myself. Word of advice...DON'T. Just find an agency to do your paperwork for you. It's such a convoluted mess that I am thinking I will just stay here once it's done, because I have spent so many hours dealing with it (legally of course). Let's go through the various paperwork items (for a student): Before leaving: VISA application in the US at the French Consulate 100E copy of birth certificate transcripts letter of attendance at French University Campus France paperwork Certificate Acceptance letter Payment CF Number OFII form (immigration form) passport certificate/proof  of housing proof of financial means for length of stay (300E a month minimum) Once in France: Part 1-OFII form mailed in to Immigration in your region: Copies of Passport with VISA OFII f...

J. F. Kennedy Space Center on Merrit Island, Florida. It's a place that, for me at least, conjures up memories of childish wonder and awe. A place of space travel, astronauts,  moon walks, and yes, Star Trek. I went back to those memories with a three-day, two-night mini vacation to Cocoa Beach. I would love to say that my childhood came alive again, but to be honest, while there were some interesting things at Kennedy, the overall feeling was one of age and sadness. It felt like a war memorial to the 1980s. The three and a half hour drive from Tampa to Cocoa Beach was uneventful on a Friday morning. We took the toll roads which significantly reduced the traffic and back tracking and only hit rain on the east-side of Orlando. Finding the Days Inn on Cocoa Beach wasn't hard, it's about half-way down the island on the waterfront, right at the Cocoa Beach Pier (5500 N Atlantic Ave, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931). The room had a microwave, coffee pot, refrigerator and a large...