I’m not going to sit here and glamorize anything. But, being on the road ain’t all that bad. Just ask my friend Andrew Harrison.
My friend Anna laughed at me earlier today when she read our train tickets. Anna lives in Cataluña, a region in northeastern Spain that speaks Catalan, and where Spanish is a second language. I've known Anna since 1992 when she, along with several dozen of her high school classmates, came to our high school in NY on a two week exchange program.
I had told her the day before when we arrived that we were taking the train from Barcelona to Milan, and that Steph and I had our own overnight private cabin. Because she reads Spanish better than me, she actually knew what the entire ticket said, and a private isn't what we had reserved.
Much earlier on, while preparing the trip, Anna had fairly wisely recommended to me for us to fly to Milan instead of taking the train. It’s her terrain, and who would know better how to travel in Europe than a native. The prices of trains and planes were surprisingly similar. And seeing as how ‘being on the road’ really isn’t the same as flying, we, in the end, chose to go by rail.
As complicated as the Barcelona metro and train system may be perceived to be, we managed it without a hitch. We were leaving from Anna’s village, a house located about forty five minutes north of Barcelona centre and connected by trains. Other than our packs and some extra camera equipment, the only true obstacle in the way to finding the Estacion de Francia (other than having the internet beforehand to get directions) was whether or not I could properly communicate in Spanish.
At this point we are somewhere in France, about half way there, and this train is flying.
Keep the faith.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Traveling Koreans
Last summer in Rome Steph and I shared a room with a very unfriendly Korean. I figured it was an isolated incident, and that that particular girl was just not in the mood to be nice and outgoing. That is until earlier today. Maybe it's me and my unfriendly ways, or maybe I'm beginning to see a trend.
How could I not notice that this person was Korean? Many of our friends in Korea might agree that we could spot Koreans easily, or at least try to tell the difference between Korean people and, say, Japanese or Chinese just for the fun of it. We have an idea how they look and act by now because we live there amongst a nation of them. Personally it may be easier at this point to pick out a Korean from the crowd than just about any other nationality, and this is not necessarily because of their confidence. Maybe it's their lack of confidence that makes them easier to spot.
Instead of going over the particulars, lets just say I tried to strike up a friendly conversation with the young traveler today by speaking in Korean in the common room of the hostel in which we were staying. Anyone see a problem with that? (plz tell me if you do!) If I were Korean I'd welcome such a conversation opener. Why not, it isn't like the Korean language is the equivalent of English in the world.
Anyway, she shut me down, showing very little interest. I even told her I lived in Korea, and she barely smiled. What more could she expect from someone in Spain? How many non-native Korean people do you think have said 'Hello, How are you?' in her native language (안녕하세요?) since she's arrived in Spain to greet her? I even smiled.
Korean people with a social complex: loosen up a little. Some of us are simply trying to be friendly. Speaking with others can be a good thing, and you may actually learn something.
Or, maybe I got the whole thing wrong, and some travelers are just unfriendly.
Keep the faith.
PS- As a side note, I believe it wouldn't hurt the Korean government to consider altering (and/or adding to) the national public school curriculum some courses in life skills. Some may find subjects like 'sociology' or 'psychology' to be fascinating. And beneficial.
How could I not notice that this person was Korean? Many of our friends in Korea might agree that we could spot Koreans easily, or at least try to tell the difference between Korean people and, say, Japanese or Chinese just for the fun of it. We have an idea how they look and act by now because we live there amongst a nation of them. Personally it may be easier at this point to pick out a Korean from the crowd than just about any other nationality, and this is not necessarily because of their confidence. Maybe it's their lack of confidence that makes them easier to spot.
Instead of going over the particulars, lets just say I tried to strike up a friendly conversation with the young traveler today by speaking in Korean in the common room of the hostel in which we were staying. Anyone see a problem with that? (plz tell me if you do!) If I were Korean I'd welcome such a conversation opener. Why not, it isn't like the Korean language is the equivalent of English in the world.
Anyway, she shut me down, showing very little interest. I even told her I lived in Korea, and she barely smiled. What more could she expect from someone in Spain? How many non-native Korean people do you think have said 'Hello, How are you?' in her native language (안녕하세요?) since she's arrived in Spain to greet her? I even smiled.
Korean people with a social complex: loosen up a little. Some of us are simply trying to be friendly. Speaking with others can be a good thing, and you may actually learn something.
Or, maybe I got the whole thing wrong, and some travelers are just unfriendly.
Keep the faith.
PS- As a side note, I believe it wouldn't hurt the Korean government to consider altering (and/or adding to) the national public school curriculum some courses in life skills. Some may find subjects like 'sociology' or 'psychology' to be fascinating. And beneficial.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Facebook, and ‘The Social Network’
I picked up a 2-pack of Time magazines in the Tokyo airport on our way to Europe recently to tide me over the 11 hour flight to Copenhagen. The magazines were wrapped together, back to back in clear cellophane with covers facing out on either side. The current front cover (Aug. 1 & 8 2011 issue) was titled ‘Traveling Through Islam’. The back magazine was an old issue from 27 Dec. 2010/03 Jan. 2011 titled ‘Person of the Year’.
It’s a good thing I missed this issue 8 months ago. In Dec. 2010, I had already decided that I was going to have a website built, but in reality knew very little about the web. I had hired a small firm to begin building it in Oct. of that year, and had been working with one individual from that company mainly on the design.
Fast-forward to today, and I’m on my second web coder/designer. He’s a thousand times better than the first (he may even be reading this), and the website is getting closer to being fully operational. And, in the 10 months leading up to now, I’ve learned more about the web than I had in the previous 10 years.
One thing I’ve learned is that the web we all currently know today is still what some people consider a cold place to navigate. Outside of Facebook and with only a few exceptions, we visit
websites all alone, without any real person to interact with. Increasingly this is changing I find, as I've had live people ready to chat with me when attempting to purchase a server for the site from companies offering the service. Facebook in seven short years has fully transformed the way we communicate with each other online. Companies are hot in pursuit to change this, but the present availability of technology still doesn’t fully support experiences on the web such as fully functional virtual reality.
The social web seems to be the wave of the future. Creating a social experience on my website will be the biggest challenge early on. Making high quality content without a plan of distributing it across the web properly and efficiently to those who are interested in it is like being dead in the water before you’ve crawled out of it.
Innovative ideas are one thing, but a solid, well-written business plan is another.
Keep the faith.
It’s a good thing I missed this issue 8 months ago. In Dec. 2010, I had already decided that I was going to have a website built, but in reality knew very little about the web. I had hired a small firm to begin building it in Oct. of that year, and had been working with one individual from that company mainly on the design.
Fast-forward to today, and I’m on my second web coder/designer. He’s a thousand times better than the first (he may even be reading this), and the website is getting closer to being fully operational. And, in the 10 months leading up to now, I’ve learned more about the web than I had in the previous 10 years.
One thing I’ve learned is that the web we all currently know today is still what some people consider a cold place to navigate. Outside of Facebook and with only a few exceptions, we visit
websites all alone, without any real person to interact with. Increasingly this is changing I find, as I've had live people ready to chat with me when attempting to purchase a server for the site from companies offering the service. Facebook in seven short years has fully transformed the way we communicate with each other online. Companies are hot in pursuit to change this, but the present availability of technology still doesn’t fully support experiences on the web such as fully functional virtual reality.
The social web seems to be the wave of the future. Creating a social experience on my website will be the biggest challenge early on. Making high quality content without a plan of distributing it across the web properly and efficiently to those who are interested in it is like being dead in the water before you’ve crawled out of it.
Innovative ideas are one thing, but a solid, well-written business plan is another.
Keep the faith.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Coming Back Home
Zarautz is a special place in Spain, and not because I said so or anything like that. And not because I lived here for a summer in 1996, and not because this is where I gained a significant portion of my Spanish speaking ability, either.
It's also not special because I feel like I'm home when I'm here. I realized it was special yesterday evening when we took a wrong turn on the highway about 2 hours from here.
After a two hour drive from Zarautz, we arrived in Santander, and spent the afternoon getting to know the city. Lovely place. I highly recommend it if you have the means. Since this city is also located along the north coast, I figured it wouldn't be very different from The Basque Country. It appeared similar to San Sebastien/Donostia, but felt unique because, for one, there was no Basque language written anywhere. We actually quite enjoyed the place, especially along the harbor.
We left for a place called Comillas around 7:30. Also located on the coast but as a much smaller town further west. I wanted to show my Stephanie a place that houses the Capricho de Gaudi, an apparently special building designed by Antonio Gaudi in the 19th Century. With the sun not about to fully set until 10pm, we figured we could lose. That is until we took a wrong turn south.
We, instead, ended up in a place called Reinosa, in the mountains. Other than the fact that we were in the middle of Spain and everything looks different, if I didn't know better, and judging from the character of the place, it could have been anywhere in middle America that's feeling the crunch of the economic crisis.
We took one of the longest back roads I've ever been on to drive from Reinosa back to Bilbao, to eventually get back to Zarautz.
Keep the faith.
It's also not special because I feel like I'm home when I'm here. I realized it was special yesterday evening when we took a wrong turn on the highway about 2 hours from here.
After a two hour drive from Zarautz, we arrived in Santander, and spent the afternoon getting to know the city. Lovely place. I highly recommend it if you have the means. Since this city is also located along the north coast, I figured it wouldn't be very different from The Basque Country. It appeared similar to San Sebastien/Donostia, but felt unique because, for one, there was no Basque language written anywhere. We actually quite enjoyed the place, especially along the harbor.
We left for a place called Comillas around 7:30. Also located on the coast but as a much smaller town further west. I wanted to show my Stephanie a place that houses the Capricho de Gaudi, an apparently special building designed by Antonio Gaudi in the 19th Century. With the sun not about to fully set until 10pm, we figured we could lose. That is until we took a wrong turn south.
We, instead, ended up in a place called Reinosa, in the mountains. Other than the fact that we were in the middle of Spain and everything looks different, if I didn't know better, and judging from the character of the place, it could have been anywhere in middle America that's feeling the crunch of the economic crisis.
We took one of the longest back roads I've ever been on to drive from Reinosa back to Bilbao, to eventually get back to Zarautz.
Keep the faith.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Red Light District
For much of the afternoon I had been checking out the scene from the window of our guesthouse while I worked. It wasn't even necessary to get up from my desk chair to look down out the low ledge of the window frame. A simple glance away from the computer screen was all it took to see the single door entrance to a building across the street that was flanked with neon red on both sides. We were apparently staying within a portion of the Red Light District in Amsterdam.
I had decided to make use of my time, drawing on the city's energy if you will, and the cozy 2nd floor accommodations we happened upon with decent wireless internet fit perfectly into the plan. The window from our place had a perfect view of long windows lit up all day long across the street in red florescent, and with workers in them.
Earlier in the day, amongst the women I had been watching from our guesthouse, at least one of them was definitely a female. She wasn't terribly attractive from what I could see, gut protruding a bit as should stood there in a dark-colored bikini. The other one to her right was also tall, carried a large frame, had tits, and a nice lump in her speedo g-string that she kept readjusting.
Noticing the unique line of organized (and quite) gainful employment occurring there throughout the day, I found myself becoming curiously interested in their line of work, which I soon learned was standing in that window, and playing the numbers game. And, you wouldn't believe how much play these two got from men even if you had witnessed it yourself. One of them wasn't even a female..
I got the feeling, if only for the briefest of moments, what Ancient Greece may have been like, where no line went uncrossed when it came to sexual desire.
Keep the faith.
I had decided to make use of my time, drawing on the city's energy if you will, and the cozy 2nd floor accommodations we happened upon with decent wireless internet fit perfectly into the plan. The window from our place had a perfect view of long windows lit up all day long across the street in red florescent, and with workers in them.
Earlier in the day, amongst the women I had been watching from our guesthouse, at least one of them was definitely a female. She wasn't terribly attractive from what I could see, gut protruding a bit as should stood there in a dark-colored bikini. The other one to her right was also tall, carried a large frame, had tits, and a nice lump in her speedo g-string that she kept readjusting.
Noticing the unique line of organized (and quite) gainful employment occurring there throughout the day, I found myself becoming curiously interested in their line of work, which I soon learned was standing in that window, and playing the numbers game. And, you wouldn't believe how much play these two got from men even if you had witnessed it yourself. One of them wasn't even a female..
I got the feeling, if only for the briefest of moments, what Ancient Greece may have been like, where no line went uncrossed when it came to sexual desire.
Keep the faith.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Saturday at the Eiffel Tower
Ah, Paris. A city where love is always in the air, and the average French woman is a hottie. (even the MILFs!)
But the Eiffel Tower on a Saturday? Don’t do it! Resist the urge!
One of the largest tourist destinations in the world is also the most watched, suffocated, and overrun. I don't consider it ‘romantic’ when literally hundreds of men, mostly of African decent, won’t leave you alone trying to persuade you to buy the cheapest Eiffel 'junk' you’ve ever seen in your life.
And, at what’s supposed to be its finest hour is nothing more than an opportunity for French government to get in the way.
Yes, you may drink red wine in the park throughout the afternoon and into the evening as trickles of sunlight shine through the thunderous tower beams. But don’t expect to be alone. Cops watch your every move. And definitely don’t try to pee in the bushes -- they’ll come after you, and attempt to issue a ticket. Trust me on that.
And yes, thank goodness public transportation operates well into the night as scheduled. But don’t expect a smooth entrance into the subway at ‘Trocadero’. Mobs of tourists shuffle through their travel bags as they line up to purchase tickets at metro machines in which they are still somewhat unsure how to operate. Unfriendly security and Paris police stand right by the turnstiles ready to issue tickets to anyone attempting to ride the trains for free.
Eiffel Tower on a Tues. has got to be more enjoyable than this.
Keep the faith.
But the Eiffel Tower on a Saturday? Don’t do it! Resist the urge!
One of the largest tourist destinations in the world is also the most watched, suffocated, and overrun. I don't consider it ‘romantic’ when literally hundreds of men, mostly of African decent, won’t leave you alone trying to persuade you to buy the cheapest Eiffel 'junk' you’ve ever seen in your life.
And, at what’s supposed to be its finest hour is nothing more than an opportunity for French government to get in the way.
Yes, you may drink red wine in the park throughout the afternoon and into the evening as trickles of sunlight shine through the thunderous tower beams. But don’t expect to be alone. Cops watch your every move. And definitely don’t try to pee in the bushes -- they’ll come after you, and attempt to issue a ticket. Trust me on that.
And yes, thank goodness public transportation operates well into the night as scheduled. But don’t expect a smooth entrance into the subway at ‘Trocadero’. Mobs of tourists shuffle through their travel bags as they line up to purchase tickets at metro machines in which they are still somewhat unsure how to operate. Unfriendly security and Paris police stand right by the turnstiles ready to issue tickets to anyone attempting to ride the trains for free.
Eiffel Tower on a Tues. has got to be more enjoyable than this.
Keep the faith.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
It's seriously not a joke: The bicycle culture in Amsterdam ROCKS!!! Hands down one of the coolest things to participate in when visiting this city.
Three summers in a row here now for me, seen them bicyclers ride to and fro, and finally this year made it happen for Steph and I. Didn't grow up with heavy city riding on a bike like this before, mostly due to childhood experience on lightly traveled suburban streets in western New York.
All sorts of people ride in Amsterdam.
This is a shot from outside our 3 day 'home' within the red light district limits. I'm calling it home anyways, that's what it certainly feels like with a kitchen like this. Feels good, and it doesn't feel like any home I've ever lived in before.
Paths for bicyclers have been constructed parallel with roads, and natives with practice and momentum fly by you while you're riding at any moment on grocery getters. They also don't hesitate to offer advice under their breath as they pass you if you're 'not situated in a good place to stop'.
This city is as completely set up for urban bike riders as a city can be. Livable cities such as these deserve more credit than I suppose they receive. Amsterdam provided one of the most convenient city traveling experiences I've ever had.
Keep the faith.
Three summers in a row here now for me, seen them bicyclers ride to and fro, and finally this year made it happen for Steph and I. Didn't grow up with heavy city riding on a bike like this before, mostly due to childhood experience on lightly traveled suburban streets in western New York.
All sorts of people ride in Amsterdam.
This is a shot from outside our 3 day 'home' within the red light district limits. I'm calling it home anyways, that's what it certainly feels like with a kitchen like this. Feels good, and it doesn't feel like any home I've ever lived in before.
Paths for bicyclers have been constructed parallel with roads, and natives with practice and momentum fly by you while you're riding at any moment on grocery getters. They also don't hesitate to offer advice under their breath as they pass you if you're 'not situated in a good place to stop'.
This city is as completely set up for urban bike riders as a city can be. Livable cities such as these deserve more credit than I suppose they receive. Amsterdam provided one of the most convenient city traveling experiences I've ever had.
Keep the faith.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)