I'm back in Arcata, and a couple people (no names) have been bugging me to post more about my trip...so I will, but not now.
I don't have the internet at home, and the only place on campus with internet happens to be the same place where I work, and since we're only open limited hours before school starts I haven't had a lot of time to post.
I'm going to start writing at home on my word processor and I'll post an account of my trip around the U.K. sometime next week.
Since returning I don't think I've had to deal with too much culture shock. Just a couple little things have caught me off guard. I think shopping for food is probably the strangest experience of all. The quantities of food at the supermarket are so much larger than in Europe, and the expiration dates seem so much longer. In Finland, the milk only seemed to last for a week, but here milk seems to stay fresh for a month. It's a little scary actually. And American supermarkets are so much bigger, and there are so many varieties of everything that it's a little overwhelming.
The cashiers in the U.S. do so much more work too. In Europe they get to sit down, and they don't have to bag your groceries. In Germany and France they even get mad at you if you don't have exact change. Sometimes the friendly American banter is a little too much for me, but it always has been. I guess I just get a little too focused when I'm running errands.
Arcata has left me a little culture shocked as well. This city and its inhabitants are pretty weird, but that's part of the reason why it's so fabulous.
16.8.08
16.7.08
2-minute update
I'm in Scotland, the weather is lovely (for Scotland), and I'm flying back on the 21st. Everything is going fine, and I can't wait to fill in the gaps for all the days I missed.
5.7.08
Some photos, finally
Here are some photographic highlights of my trip so far. When I get back to California I'll put more up, and include some of the stories behind them. It was so hard to decide which ones to put up. I don't want to sound conceited, but I have so many great pictures that I can't believe it! Of course, I'm not the reason that these pictures are so good, it's the subject matter. When you photograph a place like Berlin or Paris, you can't really take a bad picture. Also, sorry in advance, but the pictures aren't in chronological order simply because it would take too much work.
Newly reunited, Hannah and I are working it at the top of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
The TV tower and the Berlin Wall.
The Berlin Wall again
Florescent rocks in Electric Lady Land in Amsterdam
Kilkenny, Ireland
The Cliffs of Moher, County Claire, Ireland
The Eiffel Tower
Arch de'Triumph
Seeing the Mona Lisa isn't as exciting as seeing other people see the Mona Lisa.
Desanzano del Garda, Italy
The Roman Arena, Verona, Italy
Kids Camp! outside Munich
Nuremberg
"Saxon Swiss" outside Dresden
East Berlin
Hannah in Venice
The TV tower and the Berlin Wall.
The Berlin Wall again
Florescent rocks in Electric Lady Land in Amsterdam
Kilkenny, Ireland
The Cliffs of Moher, County Claire, Ireland
The Eiffel Tower
Arch de'Triumph
Seeing the Mona Lisa isn't as exciting as seeing other people see the Mona Lisa.
Desanzano del Garda, Italy
The Roman Arena, Verona, Italy
Kids Camp! outside Munich
Nuremberg
"Saxon Swiss" outside Dresden
East Berlin
Hannah in Venice
The Blarney Stone
Since I last updated I have been to Kilkenny, which is a great city, Waterford (just for the day. I went to the crystal factory. It was pretty fabulous), and now Cork. I'm now checked out of my hostel, so I've been left to roam the streets/use cheap internet, until I go to the airport and fly to London.
Yesterday I made my pilgrimage to Blarney, where I kissed the famous stone. It's a lot harder than in sounds. First of all, it was raining quite a bit, so before I even got to Blarney I was soaking wet. Secondly, the castle is really scary. It's not really in the greatest condition, and where the Blarney stone is located is even worse. "Pilgrims" must lie on the ground, and then grab on to bars while a man, who I assume works for the castle, pushes the "pilgrims" over the ledge and toward the stone. I'm slightly afraid of heights, so it was particularly terrifying for me, but who really likes leaning backwards over the edge of an 800-year-old castle?
Here is yours truly demonstrating how it is done.
And here is the castle. If you look straight up, the open part with the bars is exactly what I was leaning over. I guess it's safe, but it was still scary.
Regardless, it's over now, and I can officially say that I have kissed the Blarney stone. Whether or not I'll be able to say that with a new found eloquence, we'll have to wait and see.
Yesterday I made my pilgrimage to Blarney, where I kissed the famous stone. It's a lot harder than in sounds. First of all, it was raining quite a bit, so before I even got to Blarney I was soaking wet. Secondly, the castle is really scary. It's not really in the greatest condition, and where the Blarney stone is located is even worse. "Pilgrims" must lie on the ground, and then grab on to bars while a man, who I assume works for the castle, pushes the "pilgrims" over the ledge and toward the stone. I'm slightly afraid of heights, so it was particularly terrifying for me, but who really likes leaning backwards over the edge of an 800-year-old castle?
Here is yours truly demonstrating how it is done.
And here is the castle. If you look straight up, the open part with the bars is exactly what I was leaning over. I guess it's safe, but it was still scary.
Regardless, it's over now, and I can officially say that I have kissed the Blarney stone. Whether or not I'll be able to say that with a new found eloquence, we'll have to wait and see.
29.6.08
Another 10 Minute Blog Post
I'm retracing my footsteps back to Dublin, but only for an evening. I'm leaving in the morning for Kilkenny, and Hannah is leaving for San Francisco. I'm sorry I still don't have any pictures up, but the hostel has that part of the computer blocked off. If any one is still looking at this thing a month from now, I'll have some time before school starts, and I should be able to get some of the 1,500 photos I've taken on here. Probably not all of them though.
Galway was amazing by the way. Really beautiful country side, and a cute city. We went on a tour of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher which was nice. The driver was a little nuts though. He did a low chuckle after every other word that reminded us of the Zodiac or someone similar.
"There's a yellow car ahead. He he he. A lemon car. A vivid lemon, he he he."
Tonight is the final game of Euro 2008, Germany vs. Spain. Obviously, I'm supporting Germany since I've been supporting them since the beginning...but if I don't get to the pub soon I won't be able to get a seat, so it's time to go. Wish Hannah a safe trip home...I'm going to miss her, even if we fight everytime we get lost (which is all the time).
Galway was amazing by the way. Really beautiful country side, and a cute city. We went on a tour of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher which was nice. The driver was a little nuts though. He did a low chuckle after every other word that reminded us of the Zodiac or someone similar.
"There's a yellow car ahead. He he he. A lemon car. A vivid lemon, he he he."
Tonight is the final game of Euro 2008, Germany vs. Spain. Obviously, I'm supporting Germany since I've been supporting them since the beginning...but if I don't get to the pub soon I won't be able to get a seat, so it's time to go. Wish Hannah a safe trip home...I'm going to miss her, even if we fight everytime we get lost (which is all the time).
25.6.08
Paris...
Getting to Paris was an adventure on its own.
Our flight from "Milan" aka Bergamo to "Paris" aka Beauvais, was at 6:30 in the morning. If your not familiar with Ryanair, this is pretty much standard for them. Since Bergamo is not the same place as Milan, it's not as easy to reach, meaning we had to take the 7:40 bus the night before and hang out at the airport until 4:30 AM when the check in counter opened. Red Bull is an amazing thing. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of people in the airport doing the same thing for different Ryanair destinations. But don't get me wrong, Ryanair is cheap (45$) if you're willing to put up with this kind of stuff.
When we arrived in "Paris," Hannah and I bought our bus tickets to real Paris and went outside. Suddenly, we realized that we forgot our checked luggage, and we had left the security area so we couldn't get back in. Luckily, the security area isn't very secure and we just walked back in, grabbed our bags, and left.
At 10:30am (yes, it was a 2 hour bus ride from "Paris" to Paris), when we reached real Paris, I was completely overwhelmed. Getting a ticket for the Metro was an ordeal, but soon enough we were on our way to the hostel.
After we left our stuff there, we went on the "free" tour of Paris, which wasn't as good as the "free" tour of Berlin, but still better than sleeping through one of our two days in Paris. Later, we went to the Pere Lachise (??? I don't have time to look up the name) Cemetery, where all of the famous people are burried, but we didn't have time to find any of them, since it closes at 6PM. We went back today and visited Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison. Even the graves of the non-famous are interesting though.
So, what else did we do today...well, we spent the morning in the Louvre, and yes, I saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de (di?) Milo, along with hundreds of other paintings and sculptures. The hype surrounding the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo isn't really justified. Yes, they're beautiful, but the whole museum is filled with beautiful paintings and scupltures that hardly any of the visitors go to because they're not as famous. Kind of like Venice. Everyone walks down the same streets, and if you go one street over you feel like you're the only person in the entire city, which is nice when you have to hide from the Venice police and eat a sandwhich like Hannah and I did.
We had a (legal) sandwhich at the Louve, and then walked down the Champs Elysee to see the Arch de Triumph (yet again, I'm not going to look up the spelling). Next was the Eifel Tower, and then back to the cemetery. We tried walking from the cemetery to the hostel, but it was so far that we ended up having to take a more indirect route on the subway. Oops.
About the Parisians being rude, I don't know. I haven't really interacted with them. This city is really stressful though, and certianly full of crazy people.
I'd love to write more, but my internet time is nearly up, and Germany is playing Turkey in Euro2008 right now, so obviously, that is my priority at the moment.
Tomorrow I'm off to the west coast of Ireland, and I can't wait.
btw: the spell check is broken, sorry
Our flight from "Milan" aka Bergamo to "Paris" aka Beauvais, was at 6:30 in the morning. If your not familiar with Ryanair, this is pretty much standard for them. Since Bergamo is not the same place as Milan, it's not as easy to reach, meaning we had to take the 7:40 bus the night before and hang out at the airport until 4:30 AM when the check in counter opened. Red Bull is an amazing thing. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of people in the airport doing the same thing for different Ryanair destinations. But don't get me wrong, Ryanair is cheap (45$) if you're willing to put up with this kind of stuff.
When we arrived in "Paris," Hannah and I bought our bus tickets to real Paris and went outside. Suddenly, we realized that we forgot our checked luggage, and we had left the security area so we couldn't get back in. Luckily, the security area isn't very secure and we just walked back in, grabbed our bags, and left.
At 10:30am (yes, it was a 2 hour bus ride from "Paris" to Paris), when we reached real Paris, I was completely overwhelmed. Getting a ticket for the Metro was an ordeal, but soon enough we were on our way to the hostel.
After we left our stuff there, we went on the "free" tour of Paris, which wasn't as good as the "free" tour of Berlin, but still better than sleeping through one of our two days in Paris. Later, we went to the Pere Lachise (??? I don't have time to look up the name) Cemetery, where all of the famous people are burried, but we didn't have time to find any of them, since it closes at 6PM. We went back today and visited Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison. Even the graves of the non-famous are interesting though.
So, what else did we do today...well, we spent the morning in the Louvre, and yes, I saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de (di?) Milo, along with hundreds of other paintings and sculptures. The hype surrounding the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo isn't really justified. Yes, they're beautiful, but the whole museum is filled with beautiful paintings and scupltures that hardly any of the visitors go to because they're not as famous. Kind of like Venice. Everyone walks down the same streets, and if you go one street over you feel like you're the only person in the entire city, which is nice when you have to hide from the Venice police and eat a sandwhich like Hannah and I did.
We had a (legal) sandwhich at the Louve, and then walked down the Champs Elysee to see the Arch de Triumph (yet again, I'm not going to look up the spelling). Next was the Eifel Tower, and then back to the cemetery. We tried walking from the cemetery to the hostel, but it was so far that we ended up having to take a more indirect route on the subway. Oops.
About the Parisians being rude, I don't know. I haven't really interacted with them. This city is really stressful though, and certianly full of crazy people.
I'd love to write more, but my internet time is nearly up, and Germany is playing Turkey in Euro2008 right now, so obviously, that is my priority at the moment.
Tomorrow I'm off to the west coast of Ireland, and I can't wait.
btw: the spell check is broken, sorry
19.6.08
Italia!
Yesterday evening we arrived in Italy by train from Munich. I don't think that I've written about Munich yet, and well, there isn't too much to say. The weather was pretty cold and rainy, so we just spent a lot of time indoors with Hannah's family, who we stayed with.
Luckily, the weather in Italy has been amazing. Today we went with my friend Barbara to Verona, where she goes to school, and we walked around the city while she took an exam. We met up with her later and had lunch, saw the arena, and also the Juliet House. Although, Verona is where Romeo and Juliet is set, everyone is pretty sure that this was NOT Juliet's house. It's just a really old house that has been turned into a tourist trap. There is some cool graffiti on the walls nearby though. In the afternoon we took the train back to Desenzano del Garda, which is a town close to Barbara's house. She lives in one of the small towns on Lake Garda, and the view from the second floor is absolutely amazing. From the front yard we can see a medieval castle. It's incredible.
What else? Well, I've had gelato three times since I've been here, and tomorrow we're going to Venice for the day. Love it!
Luckily, the weather in Italy has been amazing. Today we went with my friend Barbara to Verona, where she goes to school, and we walked around the city while she took an exam. We met up with her later and had lunch, saw the arena, and also the Juliet House. Although, Verona is where Romeo and Juliet is set, everyone is pretty sure that this was NOT Juliet's house. It's just a really old house that has been turned into a tourist trap. There is some cool graffiti on the walls nearby though. In the afternoon we took the train back to Desenzano del Garda, which is a town close to Barbara's house. She lives in one of the small towns on Lake Garda, and the view from the second floor is absolutely amazing. From the front yard we can see a medieval castle. It's incredible.
What else? Well, I've had gelato three times since I've been here, and tomorrow we're going to Venice for the day. Love it!
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