happy to be greeted by friendly/suspicious US customs agents, who independently accused each of us of being potheads and smuggling drugs back into the US. alas, we had to give up our contraband.
we really knew we were home when the big, jolly black dude burst out laughing upon seeing jordan do his hardcore dance.
philly!!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Home from Rome
Hello again.
To let you all know. Josh Veit, Matt Curtis, John Bninski, and me, Jordan R, are all back safely in the USA. It was quite a blast. We hit up Rome, saw the Colosseum, all of the Imperial Fora, the really great art museum (what's its name? Bernini, Rafael, etc.)
Pub Crawls are not cool.
There will be a more interesting finishing post later tonight.
Jordan
To let you all know. Josh Veit, Matt Curtis, John Bninski, and me, Jordan R, are all back safely in the USA. It was quite a blast. We hit up Rome, saw the Colosseum, all of the Imperial Fora, the really great art museum (what's its name? Bernini, Rafael, etc.)
Pub Crawls are not cool.
There will be a more interesting finishing post later tonight.
Jordan
Monday, June 8, 2009
Venice - home of water and tourists
Venice is a pretty remarkable city. For those of you who don't know (I didn't know), Venice consists of a cluster of small islands with footbridges interconnecting them. Literally no streets, just waterways where streets would otherwise be, which makes navigating the city pretty slow. Even between the five of us we managed to make wrong turns and get off track multiple times while we were wandering about. If only we still had our resident directions expert, Mr. Josh K. Carroll, but alas, our dear fellow left us for the States about five days back.
The ride into Venice was beautiful. Terry Wang and I climbed to the highest level of the cruise ship as it rolled into the port, and from there we could see most of the city since Venice doesn't have many tall buildings. It was weird seeing the waterline right up against the bases of the buildings. Many appeared to be abandoned, since it probably doesn't take much for the water level to rise a few inches and flood lower stories.
We quickly realized that Venice is almost entirely a tourist city. Soooo many tourists. I think Terry's hand guidebook said that the actual city population is around 60K, but there must have been another 20-30K tourists crawling about as well. Kinda annoying, but then again, we're part of the problem so look who's talking. Jordan and I took full advantage of the demographics and played a few games with our unsuspecting fellow tourists. Whenever we noticed a pack of American sightseers, one of us would run ahead to the nearest shop or intersection. As they approached we would try to "sell" them something or otherwise attract their attention using a combination of made-up Italian words, wild gesticulations and the aggressive acosting technique we learned from the street vendors in Istanbul. We were usually ignored.
Another crowd pleaser, which received more positive feedback, was to pick out a bunch of American tourists walking in the opposite direction as us. As they approached, we'd make eye contact, shout out "High-five for AMERICA!" and then throw out an overly-enthusiastic high-five. Most people got a kick out of this one, as did we.
As for the "real" tourist stuff, I mostly have to defer to Terrbear (our favorite nickname for Terry); as usual he left us in the dust and managed to visit 5 museums over the course of 4 hours.
We did manage to make it to one musuem, Academia, and our 1.5 hour stay testifies to the fact that we quite enjoyed it. Get this: not only did Jordan enjoy it, but he stayed an extra half hour because he like it so much. Now that I've built up the suspense, Academia is home to the work of Venician artists from the 14th to 17th centuries (if my memory serves me right). As expected, almost all of it was religious/Catholic, which is usually a huge turnoff for me. But, unlike the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Academia boasted a variety of different styles and subject matters which kept us all pretty interested. Exhibit cards with explanations of the subject matter and some history around the painting also greatly enhanced the experience. One of the coolest painting was this maassssive piece that spanned a 60'x30' wall, depicting...ummm...something religious having to do with one or more of Mary, the Crucifiction, some saints being martyred or something like that.
In other news, John Bninski's list of nicknames has grown once again. The latest addition comes from John's former Spades partner, Jordan. While the two of them were playing against Matt and I, Jordan started calling John "Johnny Appleseed." By round two of the game, it was shortened to just "Appleseed." And by round four, even that was too much of a mouthfull and Jordan was simply referring to his partner as "Seed." Lol. John's other nicknames include "Technical John," "Logical John," and my personal favorite, "Hour-long John."
Well, the guys are finally rollin out of bed. I probably don't need to say this, but "the guys" doesn't include Terry - he was of course up at the crack of dawn to hit the sites. Gonna check out the statue of David at the Galeria, and then head to Rome later this afternoon.
- Josh
The ride into Venice was beautiful. Terry Wang and I climbed to the highest level of the cruise ship as it rolled into the port, and from there we could see most of the city since Venice doesn't have many tall buildings. It was weird seeing the waterline right up against the bases of the buildings. Many appeared to be abandoned, since it probably doesn't take much for the water level to rise a few inches and flood lower stories.
We quickly realized that Venice is almost entirely a tourist city. Soooo many tourists. I think Terry's hand guidebook said that the actual city population is around 60K, but there must have been another 20-30K tourists crawling about as well. Kinda annoying, but then again, we're part of the problem so look who's talking. Jordan and I took full advantage of the demographics and played a few games with our unsuspecting fellow tourists. Whenever we noticed a pack of American sightseers, one of us would run ahead to the nearest shop or intersection. As they approached we would try to "sell" them something or otherwise attract their attention using a combination of made-up Italian words, wild gesticulations and the aggressive acosting technique we learned from the street vendors in Istanbul. We were usually ignored.
Another crowd pleaser, which received more positive feedback, was to pick out a bunch of American tourists walking in the opposite direction as us. As they approached, we'd make eye contact, shout out "High-five for AMERICA!" and then throw out an overly-enthusiastic high-five. Most people got a kick out of this one, as did we.
As for the "real" tourist stuff, I mostly have to defer to Terrbear (our favorite nickname for Terry); as usual he left us in the dust and managed to visit 5 museums over the course of 4 hours.
We did manage to make it to one musuem, Academia, and our 1.5 hour stay testifies to the fact that we quite enjoyed it. Get this: not only did Jordan enjoy it, but he stayed an extra half hour because he like it so much. Now that I've built up the suspense, Academia is home to the work of Venician artists from the 14th to 17th centuries (if my memory serves me right). As expected, almost all of it was religious/Catholic, which is usually a huge turnoff for me. But, unlike the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Academia boasted a variety of different styles and subject matters which kept us all pretty interested. Exhibit cards with explanations of the subject matter and some history around the painting also greatly enhanced the experience. One of the coolest painting was this maassssive piece that spanned a 60'x30' wall, depicting...ummm...something religious having to do with one or more of Mary, the Crucifiction, some saints being martyred or something like that.
In other news, John Bninski's list of nicknames has grown once again. The latest addition comes from John's former Spades partner, Jordan. While the two of them were playing against Matt and I, Jordan started calling John "Johnny Appleseed." By round two of the game, it was shortened to just "Appleseed." And by round four, even that was too much of a mouthfull and Jordan was simply referring to his partner as "Seed." Lol. John's other nicknames include "Technical John," "Logical John," and my personal favorite, "Hour-long John."
Well, the guys are finally rollin out of bed. I probably don't need to say this, but "the guys" doesn't include Terry - he was of course up at the crack of dawn to hit the sites. Gonna check out the statue of David at the Galeria, and then head to Rome later this afternoon.
- Josh
Friday, June 5, 2009
Boaty Boat
Hello world.
Here is the fastest summary every of our trip so far -
1. 24 Hours in London, National Gallery, British Musuem, Local bars
2. 4 days in Ireland, island of Galway with forts and cliffs, Guinness tour, great hostel and local bars, little poker
3. 2 days in Hamburg - stayed with couchsurfers who were members of a leftist resistance group, checked out local culture, took a boat tour of the port, went to the beach, played some poker
4. 2 days in Berlin - JC and I broke it down germantechnoindustrial style in this weird venue and got our grrove on. Pub crawl and great walking tour with focus on history of germany and berlin
5. 3 days in Istanbul - crazy taxi cab drivers that wanted to steal all of our money, great hostel with an even greater front desk lady (Burgu), beautiful views and the Hagia Sofia (1400 year old cathedral). Cool bazaar, and GREAT dance club for me and JC. Met a lot of cool friends, but also feared for our lives (sort of haha)
6. 1 day in Thessilonica - Checked out the local sites and eateries, cool city
7. 1 day in Athens - Saw the Acropolis, ie; the Parthenon, Temple of Dionysus, couple museums, and sheer awesomeness
8. 2 days in Aegina, Greek island - scooters and too much fun. Nothing like renting scooters for 15 euro each and booking it around a medium sized island. Great vacation from our vacations. Mad beach time and good sunburns
9. Crazy ride to get on this boat - 1 hour boat to a 3 hour bus to this 31 hour boat to Venice
10. We are ON A BOAT! haha
I've had a lot of very stimulating thoughts from this trip. I will not go into detail, but here are some things that have affected me -
1. History has been transformed in a product that is sold, and has become an activity that every tourist demands and consumes. Part of me is disgusted by this, and part of me appreciates that people are willing to pay to educate themselves about the past.
2. There are sometimes abnormal tendencies of other tourists to seek out "old things" and "city sites" even when the things and sites are mundane and boring. While some of the things we have visited have been extremely stimulating and thought-provoking, some of the sites and musuems have been less interesting than playing chess with a 6-year old.
3. This vacation is absolutely wonderful, despite the fact that I have no idea where I am going to be in 3 monthes.
4. The guys that I am with are outstanding dudes. John Bninski knows the entire dictionary and political situations of most countries. Terry Wang has seen every musuem in every city and also met every person in each city we visited. Matt continues to amaze me with random knowledge about varied things from the Old to Middle to New Kingdoms in Egypt to expansive knowledge of film. Josh Carroll seemingly has a great grasp on what's hot in music, with a specific focus on electronica. Josh Veit has been a amazing social glue and regenerative spirit so that, even with inevitable conflict, he maintains a cool demeanor and helps us cool down. I've been able to get a more detailed grasp of the character of these men, and while they are obviously not perfect, they are certainly extraordinary and if you don't know these guys in depth, you should pursue it because they are worth it. Also - they've had a lot of patience with me on this trip as sometimes I can be a bit unbearable and I appreciate it a lot.
5. I miss home a lot. I've eaten tons of American food and dishes while I'm over here, but it isn't the same.
6. It's stupid how many people speak English in these countries. If you know English and not a lick of another language, you could easily do 90-95% of Europe with only little disadvantage. We have been continually blessed (albeit sometimes shafted in hilarious ways) with people who speak English that help us find bus stations, hostels, restaurants, and ticket counters. Awesome.
7. The dollar isn't doing well against the Euro, especially when the minimum wage in some of these countries is 8.75 euro/hour. Goodbye, recent poker winnings.
/
8. Italy will be cool. Did I mention I can't wait to get back to Philly?
Here is the fastest summary every of our trip so far -
1. 24 Hours in London, National Gallery, British Musuem, Local bars
2. 4 days in Ireland, island of Galway with forts and cliffs, Guinness tour, great hostel and local bars, little poker
3. 2 days in Hamburg - stayed with couchsurfers who were members of a leftist resistance group, checked out local culture, took a boat tour of the port, went to the beach, played some poker
4. 2 days in Berlin - JC and I broke it down germantechnoindustrial style in this weird venue and got our grrove on. Pub crawl and great walking tour with focus on history of germany and berlin
5. 3 days in Istanbul - crazy taxi cab drivers that wanted to steal all of our money, great hostel with an even greater front desk lady (Burgu), beautiful views and the Hagia Sofia (1400 year old cathedral). Cool bazaar, and GREAT dance club for me and JC. Met a lot of cool friends, but also feared for our lives (sort of haha)
6. 1 day in Thessilonica - Checked out the local sites and eateries, cool city
7. 1 day in Athens - Saw the Acropolis, ie; the Parthenon, Temple of Dionysus, couple museums, and sheer awesomeness
8. 2 days in Aegina, Greek island - scooters and too much fun. Nothing like renting scooters for 15 euro each and booking it around a medium sized island. Great vacation from our vacations. Mad beach time and good sunburns
9. Crazy ride to get on this boat - 1 hour boat to a 3 hour bus to this 31 hour boat to Venice
10. We are ON A BOAT! haha
I've had a lot of very stimulating thoughts from this trip. I will not go into detail, but here are some things that have affected me -
1. History has been transformed in a product that is sold, and has become an activity that every tourist demands and consumes. Part of me is disgusted by this, and part of me appreciates that people are willing to pay to educate themselves about the past.
2. There are sometimes abnormal tendencies of other tourists to seek out "old things" and "city sites" even when the things and sites are mundane and boring. While some of the things we have visited have been extremely stimulating and thought-provoking, some of the sites and musuems have been less interesting than playing chess with a 6-year old.
3. This vacation is absolutely wonderful, despite the fact that I have no idea where I am going to be in 3 monthes.
4. The guys that I am with are outstanding dudes. John Bninski knows the entire dictionary and political situations of most countries. Terry Wang has seen every musuem in every city and also met every person in each city we visited. Matt continues to amaze me with random knowledge about varied things from the Old to Middle to New Kingdoms in Egypt to expansive knowledge of film. Josh Carroll seemingly has a great grasp on what's hot in music, with a specific focus on electronica. Josh Veit has been a amazing social glue and regenerative spirit so that, even with inevitable conflict, he maintains a cool demeanor and helps us cool down. I've been able to get a more detailed grasp of the character of these men, and while they are obviously not perfect, they are certainly extraordinary and if you don't know these guys in depth, you should pursue it because they are worth it. Also - they've had a lot of patience with me on this trip as sometimes I can be a bit unbearable and I appreciate it a lot.
5. I miss home a lot. I've eaten tons of American food and dishes while I'm over here, but it isn't the same.
6. It's stupid how many people speak English in these countries. If you know English and not a lick of another language, you could easily do 90-95% of Europe with only little disadvantage. We have been continually blessed (albeit sometimes shafted in hilarious ways) with people who speak English that help us find bus stations, hostels, restaurants, and ticket counters. Awesome.
7. The dollar isn't doing well against the Euro, especially when the minimum wage in some of these countries is 8.75 euro/hour. Goodbye, recent poker winnings.
/
8. Italy will be cool. Did I mention I can't wait to get back to Philly?
We're on a BOAT!
Against all odds, we managed to catch our boat from Patras, Greece to Florence, Italy at 12 am this morning. Keeping with our practice of just barely catching rides we should otherwise miss, we rushed to an 8:00 bus in Athens that would take us to Patras, only to find that it was sold out. So we caught the 8:30, knowing full well that the three hour ride would be cutting it super close to the 12:00 departure of the ferry. Not only that, but we were told that you are supposed to arrive 2-3 hours in advance to board the ferry, but that definitely wasn’t happening. Fortunately the whole 2-3 hour thing was likely the advice of a hyper-prepared, uber-careful old granny, so we played it cool and just strolled aboard the ship ten minutes before the berth, no big deal.
Spent the evening hanging out with these four LDS (Mormon) peeps who are on a six-week eurotrip. Upon learning that they all go to BYU, I was surprised to find out that one of them grew up in Jersey, and she and Matt have many mutual friends. Hung out at the bar until late playing spades while enjoying some great Hefeweizen. I'm a fan.
The boat is the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to a cruise ship. Eight decks open to passengers, on-deck pool and hot tub, three bars, disco dance floor, slot machines, and even these bizarre submarine/lifeboats. For only 40 euro, we’re livin it up. Sleeping last night was definitely not too comfortable (40 euro price includes your choice of carpeted floor or cushioned dining booth for sleeping arrangements) but since we’ll just be chillin all day on the ship that should be remedied shortly. The ride lasts 30+ hours, meaning two nights and a full day aboard.
Quick recap of the last few days:
Writing this in a Word document without Internet, so I gotta go find a signal. I’ve been wandering around trying to find a location with both a decent wireless signal and power outlet access for more than 30 minutes now, and i'm getting a bit miffed. Paid 14 euro for 24-hr internet access, and we gotta get our dollaz worth, so I’m off to search again.
- Josh
Spent the evening hanging out with these four LDS (Mormon) peeps who are on a six-week eurotrip. Upon learning that they all go to BYU, I was surprised to find out that one of them grew up in Jersey, and she and Matt have many mutual friends. Hung out at the bar until late playing spades while enjoying some great Hefeweizen. I'm a fan.
The boat is the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to a cruise ship. Eight decks open to passengers, on-deck pool and hot tub, three bars, disco dance floor, slot machines, and even these bizarre submarine/lifeboats. For only 40 euro, we’re livin it up. Sleeping last night was definitely not too comfortable (40 euro price includes your choice of carpeted floor or cushioned dining booth for sleeping arrangements) but since we’ll just be chillin all day on the ship that should be remedied shortly. The ride lasts 30+ hours, meaning two nights and a full day aboard.
Quick recap of the last few days:
- Greek Island of Agina. Never seen water so blue before. Rented hotel from cute little old couple for 16 euro a person with beachfront view. Rented mopeds for 8 euro a person. Awesome.
- Athens. Terry saw everything in sub-10 hours. The rest of us were content to visit the Parthenon and a few other sites.
Writing this in a Word document without Internet, so I gotta go find a signal. I’ve been wandering around trying to find a location with both a decent wireless signal and power outlet access for more than 30 minutes now, and i'm getting a bit miffed. Paid 14 euro for 24-hr internet access, and we gotta get our dollaz worth, so I’m off to search again.
- Josh
Ex-post post: Arriving in Athens three days ago
It’s 6 am. Just rolled into Athens from Thessalonica via a sleeper train. Six guys crammed into one sleeper room; pretty tight quarters. Some of us slept.
Found a hostel, 20 euro a night. Not bad. No wireless internet, though. We’re really roughin it.
Terry Wang is a machine. The rest of us are eating free breakfast and then going to bed, but Terry Wang ignores such pleasantries. He’s off to break a Guiness Record: most museums and historical sights visited in a 14-day period. Right now he’s at 56.
It’s 7:30 am. Free breakfast just started. I’m going to eat, and then maybe pay 3 euro to use the internet.
It’s 7:45 am. Bedtime.
Josh
Found a hostel, 20 euro a night. Not bad. No wireless internet, though. We’re really roughin it.
Terry Wang is a machine. The rest of us are eating free breakfast and then going to bed, but Terry Wang ignores such pleasantries. He’s off to break a Guiness Record: most museums and historical sights visited in a 14-day period. Right now he’s at 56.
It’s 7:30 am. Free breakfast just started. I’m going to eat, and then maybe pay 3 euro to use the internet.
It’s 7:45 am. Bedtime.
Josh
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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