Geneva...
Ahhh... when one thinks of Switzerland, many images come to mind... Clocks... Chocolate... Cheese... Banks... and Mountains...
Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland... Unfortunately for me... its raining outside, so it limits what I can do... simply because most of the tourist/fun awesome stuff to do is outdoors.
Geneva has some UN stuff, as well as a huge jet stream that shoots lake water ridiculously high into the air... apparently it was a swiss secret on how the water got propelled up into the sky... and then Saudi Arabia stole the secret... WATCH OUT EVERYBODY!! SAUDI ARABIA CAN NOW SHOOT US WITH WATER JETS... RUN FOR YOUR LIFE... AHH
Yesterday, when I arrived I was able to see it... apparently when it rains they close the jet stream.
So, what have I done since Ive been in Geneva??
Well, to be perfectly honest, i overestimated the city... I really thought that there would be a bunch of UN and Red Cross stuff to do... (Red cross HQ is in Geneva too)... Both museums are closed on Tuesdays...
I ended up waking up early, and going straight to the beach. Geneva has a gorgeous lake named after the city. From the beach you can see vineyards as well as really cool mansions that jut out from small hills that overlook the lake.
The funniest thing about the view from the lake was that there was a cell phone tower that they tried to hide as a tree... (Just like on the NJ Turnpike)
It was freezing... but I knew I had to go into the lake... I mean, I cant complain about water tempature in one of the most beautiful lakes in the world... I lasted a good hour or so before these pre-teens came and made alot of noise and ruined it for everyone else.
On a total side note, Im starting to realize why adults hate everyone who is younger then them... Teenagers think they run the world, and kept me up all last night running around the hostel... My god... Im turning into my parents.
At one point I almost started yelling at these German kids at the lake... they were indiscriminately throwing rocks into the lake... There was no gain, and someone could have gotten hurt... Jeez... I am my mother... hehe
So, after the lake... I had read about this cool Modern Art Museum in Geneva... So i decided to check it out...
I was looking at the map on the tram, and an older lady asked if i needed help... we started talking and she told me that there are apparently a bunch of chemicals in the lake i had just swam in... I had showered and tried to explain that to her... but i dont think the message was communicated...
She also told me she didnt like the museum....
After my experience there, I totally understood why an old swiss lady wouldnt like the museum.
I loved it.
Swiss artists are absoluetly nuts. It took me about an hour and a half to get through the exhibits.
At the beginning of the museum, the man working there told me that there was an exhibit that they had to warn everyone about... and that he had personally been affected by it... So, I figured it must be crazy if a guy working at a Modern Art Museum had an issue with it... It was.
On a side note:
I always hate modern art museums because im never sure if where I sit is part of an exhibit or not... Especially when you cant read the signs because they are in French, Swiss, and German... three languages I can only pronounce the names of.
There was an exhibit that was a small cave with no lights... one was a pitch black room that had the faint markings of hand prints on all walls. Pretty creepy...
A couple of other exhibits involved neon lights in weird positions, and fat clowns who looked sad.
The exhibit that was disturbed the man who worked there that I had met was NUTS...
I lasted about 2 minutes...
It was photos of a doctor doing really intense brain surgery on something that looked partly human and partly apeish... I cant describe it better then that.
From the museum I went to the UN... I saw the world famous broken chair...but security only let you get about 1000 feet away from the actual entrance... so i spent about 5 more minutes walking around... and then left.
So, now im sitting in the hostel, and looked at the weather for Barcalona... No rain, and a high chance of PARTYING... wooo... yes, im corny
Some other thoughts:
This has been the most expensive place ive ever been. New York City is cheaper. It cost me about 25 Swiss Francs for dinner last night, and ive tried to average about 10 per meal... ridiculous.
The Swiss are proud to be Swiss. They have their own currency, as well as their own electricity outlets.
I expected that the population would be somewhat similar to France, but in essence, Swiss people are a mix of basically every ethnicity... Walking down the street ive seen everything from Italian food to Dutch to Vietnamese, to Chinese, to Sushi, to Mcdonalds.
So far in every city ive been to, there have been three things:
Coke
McDonalds
Turkish kabob places (mostly halal food)
Somewhere, a Turkish guy is making a killing off of his food stands around the world.
There are two types of water, flat and bubbly... Kind of weird to state that I want flat water.
9 hours of trains tomorrow... but, alas! BARCA!!
Till then,
Zac
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Strasbourg
Hey Everbody,
If one were to compare Strasbourg to a city in the US, it would have to be something like Niagra or Syracuse.
Baically, it is a very small city on the border of another country with one huge attraction.
This attraction is a beautiful church thats right by the city square.
It looks like something out of a sci fi novel, complete with pillars and etchings of figures from the past.
I was originally planning on staying there for three nights. I lasted two, and decided that I had done everything besides seeing a zoo and botanical gardens, which I figured I could see in NYC at any point.
I did eat a food that started with the letter q. This had to have been a first in the life of Zac Gorman.
Can anyone guess what it was?
QUICHE! Apparently a french delicacy, it was pretty good. I ended up finding a small restaurant on the river that cuts through the heart of the city. It was quite beautiful. It was near a street called Rue de Coq... Cannot make that one up.
I am currently in Geneva, and plan on seeing a couple of mueseums and swim in Lake Geneva... it looks gorgeous.
In other news:
On my travel day from Amsterdam to S berg, I had about 7 or 8 hours worth of trains. During this time, I read alot, and tried to overhear if anyone was speaking English.
I heard a woman speaking English, so I asked if I could join her.
That was my first mistake.
Within minutes she told me she was seeing her god son in s berg. Cool, I thought... though I am not Christian I can respect someone who goes out of there way to care for someone else.
Then it happened:
"Zac, do you believe in our lord and savior Jesus Christ?"
FUCK... not one of these people... For the next half hour, I debated how long I could last... on one hand I was speaking English to someone, but on another it was a woman who would not let go of converting me.
I lasted about 20 minutes before I told her my mother was calling... at this point she asked if she could give me a book to think about my religious beliefs. I apologized and told her I had no more space in my luggage... after a little more back and forth, she understood I did not want the thing, and told me that she would pray for me.
That was the most exciting thing that happened on the train.
Some thoughts:
Everything shuts down in France on Sunday. I had lost my dob kit, and was lucky to find a supermarket that sold "Doushe"...hehe... among other soaps and hair products.
The French love to dine. What I mean by this is that it can take up to an hour to get food, and most of the time you have to ask for a dinner menu. This was tough in broken English-French-Spanish.
I had forgot to mention this, but my South Korean friend from Paris told me that he knew about Syracuse through the Political Science Program... Go Figure
People I met:
I met a few British people... they were nice, but the only thing worth noting was that one guy had quit his job in order to go travelling for 4 months... thats very awesome in my book.
This morning I met two Danish guys who were travelling together, and ended up taking two trains with them From S-berg to Bale and Bale to Bern... I may be seeing them in either Munich or Vienna, only time will tell.
Other then that, if you ever want to take a day trip in France, I would head to S berg... you can do it all...
Next Stop... BARCA (in two days)
Have a great summer wherever you are,
Zac
PS... Thanks for all the emails of support for the blog, I really do appreciate it
If one were to compare Strasbourg to a city in the US, it would have to be something like Niagra or Syracuse.
Baically, it is a very small city on the border of another country with one huge attraction.
This attraction is a beautiful church thats right by the city square.
It looks like something out of a sci fi novel, complete with pillars and etchings of figures from the past.
I was originally planning on staying there for three nights. I lasted two, and decided that I had done everything besides seeing a zoo and botanical gardens, which I figured I could see in NYC at any point.
I did eat a food that started with the letter q. This had to have been a first in the life of Zac Gorman.
Can anyone guess what it was?
QUICHE! Apparently a french delicacy, it was pretty good. I ended up finding a small restaurant on the river that cuts through the heart of the city. It was quite beautiful. It was near a street called Rue de Coq... Cannot make that one up.
I am currently in Geneva, and plan on seeing a couple of mueseums and swim in Lake Geneva... it looks gorgeous.
In other news:
On my travel day from Amsterdam to S berg, I had about 7 or 8 hours worth of trains. During this time, I read alot, and tried to overhear if anyone was speaking English.
I heard a woman speaking English, so I asked if I could join her.
That was my first mistake.
Within minutes she told me she was seeing her god son in s berg. Cool, I thought... though I am not Christian I can respect someone who goes out of there way to care for someone else.
Then it happened:
"Zac, do you believe in our lord and savior Jesus Christ?"
FUCK... not one of these people... For the next half hour, I debated how long I could last... on one hand I was speaking English to someone, but on another it was a woman who would not let go of converting me.
I lasted about 20 minutes before I told her my mother was calling... at this point she asked if she could give me a book to think about my religious beliefs. I apologized and told her I had no more space in my luggage... after a little more back and forth, she understood I did not want the thing, and told me that she would pray for me.
That was the most exciting thing that happened on the train.
Some thoughts:
Everything shuts down in France on Sunday. I had lost my dob kit, and was lucky to find a supermarket that sold "Doushe"...hehe... among other soaps and hair products.
The French love to dine. What I mean by this is that it can take up to an hour to get food, and most of the time you have to ask for a dinner menu. This was tough in broken English-French-Spanish.
I had forgot to mention this, but my South Korean friend from Paris told me that he knew about Syracuse through the Political Science Program... Go Figure
People I met:
I met a few British people... they were nice, but the only thing worth noting was that one guy had quit his job in order to go travelling for 4 months... thats very awesome in my book.
This morning I met two Danish guys who were travelling together, and ended up taking two trains with them From S-berg to Bale and Bale to Bern... I may be seeing them in either Munich or Vienna, only time will tell.
Other then that, if you ever want to take a day trip in France, I would head to S berg... you can do it all...
Next Stop... BARCA (in two days)
Have a great summer wherever you are,
Zac
PS... Thanks for all the emails of support for the blog, I really do appreciate it
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Amsterdam
Hey Everybody
Somehow I tricked a French computer into typing with an American keyboard... so, the letters aren't right on the keyboard i'm currently using... just my luck...
Right now, after a very long day of travelling, I am in Strasbourg... a small French city on the border with Germany... apparently I can ride a bicycle over the border... Crazy...
Enough about that... This post is to discuss Amsterdam...
Amsterdam is chaos.
Let me repeat that...
Amsterdam is CHAOS.
A city where roads appear out of nowhere, a city where people can drive on any form of transportation available (car, bike, moped, tram, smartcar, truck... etc), a city where there is literally no street signs, and hey! if you are at a intersection and want to change your decision on which way to turn, JUST BACK UP AND SWITCH DIRECTIONS.
Oh yeah... marijuana is totally legal. As is prostitution.
I'm not going to lie and state that I sat in my hostel all three nights. I figured the best way to experience the city was to join the community of revelers who seemed to never let the night end.
The first thing I did once I arrived was go to Wok and Roll, basically a chinese noodles place where you pay for different toppings.
The first person I spoke to can be a catalyst for my adventures in Amsterdam. He was/is a professional graffiti artist from Brisbane, Australia. He apparently is known world wide as a train yard artist. In other words, he breaks into the train yard at night with other artists and they tag the trains with their symbol. It's highly illegal, and if he gets caught, he'll technically fall under a terrorism charge from breaking and entering a train yard.
On another note, he showed me some pics of his tag (basically his symbol), it was orange and blue, and really awesome.
He recommended that I went to this specific bar that was known to have good music and good grafitti all around. To be perfectly honest, I Spent most of my time at that bar.
The first night was great too. I ended up meeting these three guys from Turkey who were all around 20ish. We discussed how law is different in the US compared to law in Turkey. The class system is still in place in Turkey, and they made it seem that the poor were in a totally different class then them. It was kind of disturbing how they talked about the people below them, but it was also incredibly interesting to find out about a social system totally different then anything I was used to.
As the night went on, we ended up hanging out in Dam Square, a really beautiful plaza that is in the heart of the city. We made tentative plans to see each other the following night, but, like most things in Amsterdam... it never materialized.
The second morning I decided to be active and rent a bicycle. A friend of mine told me that there were fields and farms that surronded the city, and that it was no more then a 15 minute bike ride.
Boy, either he was the fastest bike rider of all time, or he is full of shit.
I ended up getting really lost. If you've ever been to Amsterdam, you know that the streets all look the same and they are all spelt: "AArdkjngdfsjn"... I ended up in some seedy industrial zone, and after realizing that I was looking at signs pointing back to Amsterdam I realized I was totally lost. My bike also decided that whenever I turned, the seat would turn. Thus, I'm riding around lost in Amsterdam on crazy streets with a broken bike... I rented the bike for 24 hours, i returned it within 5...
That day I met Raj and Alberto. Raj was from London and was taking a short vacation to Amsterdam. He is an economist who is full of great ideas for businesses. Alberto was a student between his undergrad and Graduate studies who was living in Amsterdam for a few months. The three of us randomly met at a bar.
I spent the afternoon with them, and then the three of us seperated. We talked about politics, striking, and other matters of business. We had a grand time.
The following day, I stayed in my hostel mostly, simply because I was pretty worn out from the night before. Alberto had introduced me to friends of his who I ended up running into at another bar. We got drinks, discussed music and hung out.
I did end up finding an awesome bar named "Doors"... at one point they were playing Dub Side of the Moon by Easy Star All Stars... it's basically a dub version of Dark side of the Moon.... I was in heaven
some thoughts:
One of the most international cities in the world. THere is a huge international population. I met residents from Italy, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, and Austrailia.
It seems that most countries today have some type of upper middle class. Even Turkey, a country based on class, there is the wealthy and then an upper middle class. It seemed that the majority of tourists who were there came from either upper middle class or a richer class.
After a few days, Amsterdam really takes a toll on one's body. The constant partying gets you tired really quickly, one needs to sleep alot.
That's it for now...
Love all of you,
Zac
Somehow I tricked a French computer into typing with an American keyboard... so, the letters aren't right on the keyboard i'm currently using... just my luck...
Right now, after a very long day of travelling, I am in Strasbourg... a small French city on the border with Germany... apparently I can ride a bicycle over the border... Crazy...
Enough about that... This post is to discuss Amsterdam...
Amsterdam is chaos.
Let me repeat that...
Amsterdam is CHAOS.
A city where roads appear out of nowhere, a city where people can drive on any form of transportation available (car, bike, moped, tram, smartcar, truck... etc), a city where there is literally no street signs, and hey! if you are at a intersection and want to change your decision on which way to turn, JUST BACK UP AND SWITCH DIRECTIONS.
Oh yeah... marijuana is totally legal. As is prostitution.
I'm not going to lie and state that I sat in my hostel all three nights. I figured the best way to experience the city was to join the community of revelers who seemed to never let the night end.
The first thing I did once I arrived was go to Wok and Roll, basically a chinese noodles place where you pay for different toppings.
The first person I spoke to can be a catalyst for my adventures in Amsterdam. He was/is a professional graffiti artist from Brisbane, Australia. He apparently is known world wide as a train yard artist. In other words, he breaks into the train yard at night with other artists and they tag the trains with their symbol. It's highly illegal, and if he gets caught, he'll technically fall under a terrorism charge from breaking and entering a train yard.
On another note, he showed me some pics of his tag (basically his symbol), it was orange and blue, and really awesome.
He recommended that I went to this specific bar that was known to have good music and good grafitti all around. To be perfectly honest, I Spent most of my time at that bar.
The first night was great too. I ended up meeting these three guys from Turkey who were all around 20ish. We discussed how law is different in the US compared to law in Turkey. The class system is still in place in Turkey, and they made it seem that the poor were in a totally different class then them. It was kind of disturbing how they talked about the people below them, but it was also incredibly interesting to find out about a social system totally different then anything I was used to.
As the night went on, we ended up hanging out in Dam Square, a really beautiful plaza that is in the heart of the city. We made tentative plans to see each other the following night, but, like most things in Amsterdam... it never materialized.
The second morning I decided to be active and rent a bicycle. A friend of mine told me that there were fields and farms that surronded the city, and that it was no more then a 15 minute bike ride.
Boy, either he was the fastest bike rider of all time, or he is full of shit.
I ended up getting really lost. If you've ever been to Amsterdam, you know that the streets all look the same and they are all spelt: "AArdkjngdfsjn"... I ended up in some seedy industrial zone, and after realizing that I was looking at signs pointing back to Amsterdam I realized I was totally lost. My bike also decided that whenever I turned, the seat would turn. Thus, I'm riding around lost in Amsterdam on crazy streets with a broken bike... I rented the bike for 24 hours, i returned it within 5...
That day I met Raj and Alberto. Raj was from London and was taking a short vacation to Amsterdam. He is an economist who is full of great ideas for businesses. Alberto was a student between his undergrad and Graduate studies who was living in Amsterdam for a few months. The three of us randomly met at a bar.
I spent the afternoon with them, and then the three of us seperated. We talked about politics, striking, and other matters of business. We had a grand time.
The following day, I stayed in my hostel mostly, simply because I was pretty worn out from the night before. Alberto had introduced me to friends of his who I ended up running into at another bar. We got drinks, discussed music and hung out.
I did end up finding an awesome bar named "Doors"... at one point they were playing Dub Side of the Moon by Easy Star All Stars... it's basically a dub version of Dark side of the Moon.... I was in heaven
some thoughts:
One of the most international cities in the world. THere is a huge international population. I met residents from Italy, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, and Austrailia.
It seems that most countries today have some type of upper middle class. Even Turkey, a country based on class, there is the wealthy and then an upper middle class. It seemed that the majority of tourists who were there came from either upper middle class or a richer class.
After a few days, Amsterdam really takes a toll on one's body. The constant partying gets you tired really quickly, one needs to sleep alot.
That's it for now...
Love all of you,
Zac
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I've been to London, I've now been to Paris... but, no... I have not seen your underpants (Paris part 2)
Hey Everybody
I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Paris: The keyboard is funny; they decided to move all the letters and symbols, i feel like a grandma typing.
Over the past few days i have met some great people. The hostel i was staying at offered a free walking tour around Paris. On that tour i met a Malaysian doctor who lives in Dublin, as well as a South Korean army vet.
After the tour, we decided to go to Montmarre. If you can imagine it, basically all of the buildings in paris are no higher then 4 or 5 stories. Montmarre is a section that is on a hill that overlooks all of Paris. There is a beautiful church (my favorite in Paris) that is on the very top of the hill. What a sweet view.
Some other highlights:
I went to the Rodin mueseum. This is where "The Thinker" is. It was in a sculpture garden that is in a nice part of Paris.
I went to the opera house where the Phantom of the Opera takes place. While there, I was able to snag a poster of the show from the day. It's pretty awesome.
I was able to meet with my friends father for dinner at an unbelivable steak place. After dinner, I walked down the Siene to see the Eiffel Tower at night. It was a beautiful night; the sky was pink as the sun set in the west.
Overall thoughts of Paris:
There seem to be two classes, the wealthy and everybody else. There are more beggars then i thought there would be, and they are aggressive beyond belief.
The French love their dogs. Most of the time, a person will hold their dog in the metro rather then let the dogs paws touch the ground.
I enjoyed the city, but have had mixed experiences with actual French people. A french person told a group I was with that we were selfish because we did not know any other language... SOOOO STEREOTYPICAL!
I would come back, but I would need to be with a lover of sorts... haha... It seems that no one is single in the whole city.
Some other cool things:
I traded a US dollar for 1000 South Korean dollars. My south korean friend Shin also gave me a pair of chopsticks that are pretty sweet.
That is all for now, I had to book a late train because I didnt know i had to reserve the seat... there are worse things in life then being stuck in Paris for a few hours
Next Stop; Amsterdam!!!!
Zac
I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Paris: The keyboard is funny; they decided to move all the letters and symbols, i feel like a grandma typing.
Over the past few days i have met some great people. The hostel i was staying at offered a free walking tour around Paris. On that tour i met a Malaysian doctor who lives in Dublin, as well as a South Korean army vet.
After the tour, we decided to go to Montmarre. If you can imagine it, basically all of the buildings in paris are no higher then 4 or 5 stories. Montmarre is a section that is on a hill that overlooks all of Paris. There is a beautiful church (my favorite in Paris) that is on the very top of the hill. What a sweet view.
Some other highlights:
I went to the Rodin mueseum. This is where "The Thinker" is. It was in a sculpture garden that is in a nice part of Paris.
I went to the opera house where the Phantom of the Opera takes place. While there, I was able to snag a poster of the show from the day. It's pretty awesome.
I was able to meet with my friends father for dinner at an unbelivable steak place. After dinner, I walked down the Siene to see the Eiffel Tower at night. It was a beautiful night; the sky was pink as the sun set in the west.
Overall thoughts of Paris:
There seem to be two classes, the wealthy and everybody else. There are more beggars then i thought there would be, and they are aggressive beyond belief.
The French love their dogs. Most of the time, a person will hold their dog in the metro rather then let the dogs paws touch the ground.
I enjoyed the city, but have had mixed experiences with actual French people. A french person told a group I was with that we were selfish because we did not know any other language... SOOOO STEREOTYPICAL!
I would come back, but I would need to be with a lover of sorts... haha... It seems that no one is single in the whole city.
Some other cool things:
I traded a US dollar for 1000 South Korean dollars. My south korean friend Shin also gave me a pair of chopsticks that are pretty sweet.
That is all for now, I had to book a late train because I didnt know i had to reserve the seat... there are worse things in life then being stuck in Paris for a few hours
Next Stop; Amsterdam!!!!
Zac
Saturday, June 19, 2010
I've been to London, I've now been to Paris... but, no... I have not seen your underpants (Paris part 1)
Hey Everybody,
One of the main missions of this trip is to meet people from all over the world. Ideally, this would lead to great friendships that would last a lifetime. Maybe, I conjectured, I would one day go to their homes and experience their culture.
Ironically, everybody in my ten bed room at the hostel in Paris is from the US and (I guess internationally) Canada. Fuck! That goal hasn't been reached.
Many of you may be asking, "What the heck has Zac been doing in Paris?, I'm so excited to find out!!" I would imagine the majority of you really could care less, and are reading this blog because it's something to do. Either way, here's what I have to report
I am nearing the end of my second day. I spent the first day walking around the Eiffel Tower. It's as awesome as it looks in the pictures. It seems to be the only thing over 5 stories in the whole city. I didn't go on top, simply because I thought it would be a waste of time. Either way, it was gorgeous. As I was walking around the area, I noticed a few things. There seems to be a pharmacy every 10 feet. This either means the French are sick all the time, or they are drug addicts. I hope the latter.
Today, I did the Louvre, the Arc de Triumph! (I feel that after the word triumph! there should always be an exclamation mark), and I did Notre Dame.
Some recommendations:
If you ever find yourself at the Louvre, get lost. I'm dead serious about this. The first thing I did was find the Mona Lisa. This was because I knew that the Mona Lisa was there. After I left the Mona, I literally stumbled upon some of the most famous paintings in the world. Granted, I have only seen them in books and movies, and have no idea what there name is or who made them, but I recgonized them, which wouldn't have happened if I had followed the map.
Notre Dame was great. The inside is gorgeous, but don't do the audio guide. It was pretty boring and there were no signs on when to listen to what. The best thing about Notre Dame is to climb to the top of the towers. It's 800 steps in total (so about 400 going up), but you do feel like quasimodo, especially if you have a hump.
People I've met:
In my dorm room I met these two guys from Virginia. They both lived on farms, and one lived on about 1000 acres of land. I spent a good hour grilling them on how a farm works, just because I haven't really met anyone who had lived on a farm.
I met a family from Virginia who moved to France 3 years ago. I did the towers tour with them. They were with a family from Boston that were pretty cool. It turned out that the mother of the family from Boston graduated from Syracuse. I guess they are right when they say that you can meet alumni all over the world.
I have a few more days in Paris, and then it's off to my favorite city, Amsterdam.
I hope all is going well for everyone.
Zac :)
One of the main missions of this trip is to meet people from all over the world. Ideally, this would lead to great friendships that would last a lifetime. Maybe, I conjectured, I would one day go to their homes and experience their culture.
Ironically, everybody in my ten bed room at the hostel in Paris is from the US and (I guess internationally) Canada. Fuck! That goal hasn't been reached.
Many of you may be asking, "What the heck has Zac been doing in Paris?, I'm so excited to find out!!" I would imagine the majority of you really could care less, and are reading this blog because it's something to do. Either way, here's what I have to report
I am nearing the end of my second day. I spent the first day walking around the Eiffel Tower. It's as awesome as it looks in the pictures. It seems to be the only thing over 5 stories in the whole city. I didn't go on top, simply because I thought it would be a waste of time. Either way, it was gorgeous. As I was walking around the area, I noticed a few things. There seems to be a pharmacy every 10 feet. This either means the French are sick all the time, or they are drug addicts. I hope the latter.
Today, I did the Louvre, the Arc de Triumph! (I feel that after the word triumph! there should always be an exclamation mark), and I did Notre Dame.
Some recommendations:
If you ever find yourself at the Louvre, get lost. I'm dead serious about this. The first thing I did was find the Mona Lisa. This was because I knew that the Mona Lisa was there. After I left the Mona, I literally stumbled upon some of the most famous paintings in the world. Granted, I have only seen them in books and movies, and have no idea what there name is or who made them, but I recgonized them, which wouldn't have happened if I had followed the map.
Notre Dame was great. The inside is gorgeous, but don't do the audio guide. It was pretty boring and there were no signs on when to listen to what. The best thing about Notre Dame is to climb to the top of the towers. It's 800 steps in total (so about 400 going up), but you do feel like quasimodo, especially if you have a hump.
People I've met:
In my dorm room I met these two guys from Virginia. They both lived on farms, and one lived on about 1000 acres of land. I spent a good hour grilling them on how a farm works, just because I haven't really met anyone who had lived on a farm.
I met a family from Virginia who moved to France 3 years ago. I did the towers tour with them. They were with a family from Boston that were pretty cool. It turned out that the mother of the family from Boston graduated from Syracuse. I guess they are right when they say that you can meet alumni all over the world.
I have a few more days in Paris, and then it's off to my favorite city, Amsterdam.
I hope all is going well for everyone.
Zac :)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
I'm leavvving... on a jet plane... :-)
Hey Everybody,
After countless hours of preparation and even more countless hours of arguing with my parents, the flight leaves tomorrow at 3:55pm from JFK. I will be flying into Amsterdam (which is my second stop), and then taking a second flight from Amsterdam to Paris. I should arrive in Paris around 9am local time.
From there, I will begin my journey with 3 years experience of French (6th-8th grade). To this day, I have no idea why I picked French as my language in middle school. All the cool kids took Spanish, the smart ones took Latin, and the really weird ones took Mandarin. From my experience, I remember how to say "I need to go to the bathroom" which of course was vital in order to leave class for long expanses at a time.
I would like to thank everyone who has given me advice on places to go and things to do. I have a rough itinerary planned out. The plan is as follows:
Paris
Amsterdam
Strasbourg
Geneva
Barcelona
Nice
Luzern
Munich
Salzberg
Vienna
Venice
Florence
Rome
If you know of any great or awesome things to do in any of those locations, please either comment below, email me at either zhgorman@syr.edu or zhgorman729@gmail.com.
On to Paris baby!
Can't wait to eat some baguette!
Zac
After countless hours of preparation and even more countless hours of arguing with my parents, the flight leaves tomorrow at 3:55pm from JFK. I will be flying into Amsterdam (which is my second stop), and then taking a second flight from Amsterdam to Paris. I should arrive in Paris around 9am local time.
From there, I will begin my journey with 3 years experience of French (6th-8th grade). To this day, I have no idea why I picked French as my language in middle school. All the cool kids took Spanish, the smart ones took Latin, and the really weird ones took Mandarin. From my experience, I remember how to say "I need to go to the bathroom" which of course was vital in order to leave class for long expanses at a time.
I would like to thank everyone who has given me advice on places to go and things to do. I have a rough itinerary planned out. The plan is as follows:
Paris
Amsterdam
Strasbourg
Geneva
Barcelona
Nice
Luzern
Munich
Salzberg
Vienna
Venice
Florence
Rome
If you know of any great or awesome things to do in any of those locations, please either comment below, email me at either zhgorman@syr.edu or zhgorman729@gmail.com.
On to Paris baby!
Can't wait to eat some baguette!
Zac
Sunday, June 13, 2010
T Minus 3 Days
Hey Everybody,
On June 17th, 2010 I will be flying into Paris, France. From there, I have 6 weeks to get to Rome, Italy. I am using this blog as a platform to highlight the best parts of the trip. Sitting at my computer in New Jersey, it's easy for me to say that I will update this blog daily while traveling. In reality, I hope to blog at least 3 to 4 times a week about where I am, what I am doing, what I am eating, and most importantly, who I have met.
I will be backpacking by myself for the overwhelming majority of the trip. I plan on sleeping in hostels and using couchsurfing.com For those that don't know, couchsurfing.com is a website where complete strangers let you sleep in their homes for free. It's kind of crazy, but then again, that makes it more cool.
I have some tentative plans, such as meeting a cousin in Vienna for the world's largest AIDS convention, meeting with a friend of mines father and family for a meal in Paris, and meeting another friend from school in Amsterdam.
If you, or if anyone you know is traveling in Europe please please let me know, I'd love to meet up and discuss how crazy it is we are in Europe.
Other then that, if I didn't get to say bye to you, I apologize, and I'll see you in August
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Zac
On June 17th, 2010 I will be flying into Paris, France. From there, I have 6 weeks to get to Rome, Italy. I am using this blog as a platform to highlight the best parts of the trip. Sitting at my computer in New Jersey, it's easy for me to say that I will update this blog daily while traveling. In reality, I hope to blog at least 3 to 4 times a week about where I am, what I am doing, what I am eating, and most importantly, who I have met.
I will be backpacking by myself for the overwhelming majority of the trip. I plan on sleeping in hostels and using couchsurfing.com For those that don't know, couchsurfing.com is a website where complete strangers let you sleep in their homes for free. It's kind of crazy, but then again, that makes it more cool.
I have some tentative plans, such as meeting a cousin in Vienna for the world's largest AIDS convention, meeting with a friend of mines father and family for a meal in Paris, and meeting another friend from school in Amsterdam.
If you, or if anyone you know is traveling in Europe please please let me know, I'd love to meet up and discuss how crazy it is we are in Europe.
Other then that, if I didn't get to say bye to you, I apologize, and I'll see you in August
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Zac
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