My time off is dwindling down. Tomorrow I will board a cruise ship with my sisters and younger brother to sail around paradise. A vacation from all the running around Asia and Europe.
I am ridiculous. My life is ridiculous.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Good bye, Europe
Quick blog since I'm standing in an Apple store using the internet. I leave for home tomorrow. I am very tired. A month at times crawled by and at times flew by. It definitely doesn't feel like a month has gone by.
Some Amsterdam highlights
- They have a weird ticket system here where you get it stamped by zone. An alternative is to buy a pass good for a day, 2 days, etc. Yesterday I showed the driver my pass, and he winked at me.
- I was walking down a fairly crowded street yesterday afternoon. I see a woman walk outside what looks to be a pub. As she's about to dial her phone, an older man, maybe 65, dressed in a suit comes out of the same place and attacks her! He grabs her hair really hard and doesn.'t let go. A another man runs out to pull the guy off her. I had never wished more in my life to be able to understand Dutch.
- It hailed.
- Finding free internet.
See you soon!
Some Amsterdam highlights
- They have a weird ticket system here where you get it stamped by zone. An alternative is to buy a pass good for a day, 2 days, etc. Yesterday I showed the driver my pass, and he winked at me.
- I was walking down a fairly crowded street yesterday afternoon. I see a woman walk outside what looks to be a pub. As she's about to dial her phone, an older man, maybe 65, dressed in a suit comes out of the same place and attacks her! He grabs her hair really hard and doesn.'t let go. A another man runs out to pull the guy off her. I had never wished more in my life to be able to understand Dutch.
- It hailed.
- Finding free internet.
See you soon!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Un jour à Bruxelles
I have been and left Bruxelles since my last entry. I was there for about a day and half. And I think that was just enough time. The flight there was awful. The night before CNN was saying there would be delays up north because of crazy winds. My flight was on time and so I thought, "OK, maybe it's already passed." Ha! As we descend to land, the plane is rocking back and forth. A lot. All the way up to when we actually touch the ground. Everyone claps. I almost puked. This is the one time that I actually thought the plane might crash.
Bruxelles has the most confusing mass transit system I have ever used. And I've used many. There are trams and the subway. They look exactly alike but somehow are different. The maps are hard to read. Each stop has two names (one in French, one in Flemish) so I kept on thinking I had missed my stop. Through sheer luck, I managed to get to the hotel without getting lost. I would get on a tram/subway and just hope it was the right direction.
I walked around all day Sunday. Apparently Bruxelles is known for comics. It is where Tin Tin and the Smurfs were created. I went to the comic museum and a couple comic book stores. The weird thing is the comics weren't the conventional paper comics we know in the US. They were all hard covered, like a children's book. I also walked around to find cool murals painted all around town.
I also had the most amazing thing I have ever eaten, a Belgian waffle. They don't use batter, it's a dough. They cook it right there. It comes out hot and it has a glaze. I get strawberries and whipped cream on top. I eat it sitting on the curb and it was sooo decadent.
I wanted to buy some beer to bring home. Damn the whole ban of liquids on airplanes because I would have bought more but I can only fit so much in my suitcase. They have stores just for beer and beer paraphernalia but they mark it up. So being the cheapskate that I am, I went to the grocery store to see if I could get a better deal. And I totally did, like half the cost. As I'm waiting in line, I'm listening to my iPod. I feel a tap on my shoulder and it's the man standing in the line next to me. He looks like he could've been homeless but he was in a grocery store so I was confused. He points to my earphones and starts bopping. I immediately laugh and smile. And then try hard not to bop for the rest of the time I'm in line. That was embarrassing. Sometimes I forget people can see me.
I got into Amsterdam this afternoon. What a truly unique city. The canals and bikes everyone would be enough but then you throw in the occasional whiff of pot as I walk down the street. Crazy town.
Bruxelles has the most confusing mass transit system I have ever used. And I've used many. There are trams and the subway. They look exactly alike but somehow are different. The maps are hard to read. Each stop has two names (one in French, one in Flemish) so I kept on thinking I had missed my stop. Through sheer luck, I managed to get to the hotel without getting lost. I would get on a tram/subway and just hope it was the right direction.
I walked around all day Sunday. Apparently Bruxelles is known for comics. It is where Tin Tin and the Smurfs were created. I went to the comic museum and a couple comic book stores. The weird thing is the comics weren't the conventional paper comics we know in the US. They were all hard covered, like a children's book. I also walked around to find cool murals painted all around town.
I also had the most amazing thing I have ever eaten, a Belgian waffle. They don't use batter, it's a dough. They cook it right there. It comes out hot and it has a glaze. I get strawberries and whipped cream on top. I eat it sitting on the curb and it was sooo decadent.
I wanted to buy some beer to bring home. Damn the whole ban of liquids on airplanes because I would have bought more but I can only fit so much in my suitcase. They have stores just for beer and beer paraphernalia but they mark it up. So being the cheapskate that I am, I went to the grocery store to see if I could get a better deal. And I totally did, like half the cost. As I'm waiting in line, I'm listening to my iPod. I feel a tap on my shoulder and it's the man standing in the line next to me. He looks like he could've been homeless but he was in a grocery store so I was confused. He points to my earphones and starts bopping. I immediately laugh and smile. And then try hard not to bop for the rest of the time I'm in line. That was embarrassing. Sometimes I forget people can see me.
I got into Amsterdam this afternoon. What a truly unique city. The canals and bikes everyone would be enough but then you throw in the occasional whiff of pot as I walk down the street. Crazy town.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Auf Wiedersehen, Vienna
The fire alarm went off in my hotel last night at 12:30am. My thoughts and actions went as followed:
1. "Huh, what is that? Am I dreaming?"
2. "Crap, it's the fire alarm."
3. "Maybe if I wait a little bit, it'll just turn off."
4. (30 seconds later) "Ok, it's not going off. If it's a real fire, I should probably evacuate."
5. (Puts pants on, grabs jacket, puts on flip flops)
6. (Walk down stairs, there are groups of confused teenagers. I slip down the stairs, a teenage boy wearing a white, short-sleeved, mock turtleneck comes to help me up. He then locks arms with me and we walk down the stairs. We part after one flight.)
7. (Get to the ground floor and follow exit signs that eventually lead us to a courtyard.) "Balls. Where the hell are we?" ( At this point in the timeline, if it had been a real fire, this is where we all burn to death)
8. (Find another set of doors that lead us to the street.)
9. (Stand outside for 15 minutes. 4 fire trucks are at the scene. They turn off the alarm. We go inside and back to bed)
10. The End.
Brussels tomorrow.
1. "Huh, what is that? Am I dreaming?"
2. "Crap, it's the fire alarm."
3. "Maybe if I wait a little bit, it'll just turn off."
4. (30 seconds later) "Ok, it's not going off. If it's a real fire, I should probably evacuate."
5. (Puts pants on, grabs jacket, puts on flip flops)
6. (Walk down stairs, there are groups of confused teenagers. I slip down the stairs, a teenage boy wearing a white, short-sleeved, mock turtleneck comes to help me up. He then locks arms with me and we walk down the stairs. We part after one flight.)
7. (Get to the ground floor and follow exit signs that eventually lead us to a courtyard.) "Balls. Where the hell are we?" ( At this point in the timeline, if it had been a real fire, this is where we all burn to death)
8. (Find another set of doors that lead us to the street.)
9. (Stand outside for 15 minutes. 4 fire trucks are at the scene. They turn off the alarm. We go inside and back to bed)
10. The End.
Brussels tomorrow.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Guten Abend, Vienna
Well the good news is I have been able to trave around Europe for a month.
The bad news is the US dollar has just hit an all time low against the Euro. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I hate doing math and that is what I have to do every time I want to buy something because for every Euro, 1.5 dollars must die in its place. Not that that has stopped me. But you know, I stop and think. For 5 seconds. Before pulling out my credit card.
I thought for sure Vienna would seem like the whitest city I visit and oddly, I feel like there is more different kinds of people and different kinds of cuisine than Paris. I wonder how all these Asians ended up in the middle of this continent.
The bad news is the US dollar has just hit an all time low against the Euro. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I hate doing math and that is what I have to do every time I want to buy something because for every Euro, 1.5 dollars must die in its place. Not that that has stopped me. But you know, I stop and think. For 5 seconds. Before pulling out my credit card.
I thought for sure Vienna would seem like the whitest city I visit and oddly, I feel like there is more different kinds of people and different kinds of cuisine than Paris. I wonder how all these Asians ended up in the middle of this continent.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Guten Tag, Vienna
This entry will be a mish mash of thoughts.
While I was sitting in a random piazza in Rome, resting my feet, reading my travel guide, I see a street cleaning machine coming my way. I assess how close the machine will get to me and if I should move. My calculations told me I was ok. And then I watched it clean the cobbled street. I was question how clean it actually gets. It's like mopping your floor but you never change the water in the bucket. So you're basically moving dirt around. So I'm watching and as it's about to pass me, it spits out a dead pigeon right in front of me. I gag. Stand up immediately. And literally run off.
It's weird what brands translate to almost every place in the world. McDonald's. Louis Vuitton. Chuck Taylors. Rihanna. Tall boots (damn it). From snooty French to crazy Japanese to ugly Amercans. Every country I've been to thus far, I can find all these things. What is about them that everyone loves?
I arrived in Vienna this morning aboard the smallest plane I've ever flown on. Smaller than the plane I took to the tiny Greek island of Kefonia. Apparently not many people fly from Rome to Vienna. Since I couldn't check in until 2p, I took the metro down to downtown. I was prepared for colder weather but it has been sunny and warm all day. There are weiner carts everywhere. Tomorrow I will have one.
While I was sitting in a random piazza in Rome, resting my feet, reading my travel guide, I see a street cleaning machine coming my way. I assess how close the machine will get to me and if I should move. My calculations told me I was ok. And then I watched it clean the cobbled street. I was question how clean it actually gets. It's like mopping your floor but you never change the water in the bucket. So you're basically moving dirt around. So I'm watching and as it's about to pass me, it spits out a dead pigeon right in front of me. I gag. Stand up immediately. And literally run off.
It's weird what brands translate to almost every place in the world. McDonald's. Louis Vuitton. Chuck Taylors. Rihanna. Tall boots (damn it). From snooty French to crazy Japanese to ugly Amercans. Every country I've been to thus far, I can find all these things. What is about them that everyone loves?
I arrived in Vienna this morning aboard the smallest plane I've ever flown on. Smaller than the plane I took to the tiny Greek island of Kefonia. Apparently not many people fly from Rome to Vienna. Since I couldn't check in until 2p, I took the metro down to downtown. I was prepared for colder weather but it has been sunny and warm all day. There are weiner carts everywhere. Tomorrow I will have one.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)