Firenze

We leave Florence this morning for Milan. Here are some pictures from our three days here.

OBAMA

Just got the news here in Italy about Obama picking Biden. Although I was not very impressed with the choice at first, I must say that Biden is growing on me. (And anything is better than McCain in office.) Here they are together asking for your money. Go figure.

WTF?

We've been trying to figure this one out. We have two waste receptacles in our bathroom here at our luxurious hostel in Firenze. It just doesn't seem right. Is the one on the right:
a) A Footbath
b) A Bidet
c) Your Mom

You decide.

Europe...So Far

Since I have a really good (free) wireless connection here at the hostel in Florence and because we're taking it easy after the train ride from Rome earlier this morning, I've decided to upload some of my pictures from the trip so far. I will be uploading more on Facebook once I get to Edinburgh.

So here goes:
When I think of Zurich, the one adjective that comes to mind is clean. Here's a view of the main river that runs through Zurich. The water was extremely clean and clear, and there are swans that swim up and down the length of the city. We met up with an expat who was telling us that they actually hire someone here to go around and pick the litter out of the water with a rowboat. But she was also a little bit crazy, so I don't know if I should believe her. In any case, Zurich was a very nice city--clean streets, great language, and clocks all over the place. Our hostel was admittedly shady, but everything worked out and we stayed for cheap in one of the most expensive cities in the world. (C'mon 12 euro for a Big Mac Meal?!)


On to Venice. Here's a view of the Grand Canal from the main bus terminal. The city really is remarkable. (And, yes, it sadly does look exactly like the Venetian in Vegas, which sorta ruined it for me). The city is full of narrow passageways and canals, and San Marco's was really unlike anything I've ever seen before. Unfortunately, we only had one night in Venice, three hours of which was spent wandering through the city trying to find Piazza San Marco, but it was all definitely worth it.

Finally to Rome, definitely my favorite city so far. This is a picture of the entrance to the Colosseum, which was packed. It was surreal to walk through the hallways and up the stone steps. And the nearby Forum and Palatine Hill were very cool as well. Where else can you trace the footsteps of Caesar?

One of the benefits to hostel-living is that you get the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Here we are last night at a pub in Rome spending some time with a couple of English travelers, an Aussie and someone who, ironically, went to school in Southern California. We spoke at length about how the American accent is nasally and ugly.

I will finish this midway-through-europe post with a picture of St. Peter's Basilica. Didn't get the chance to see the Sistine Chapel in person (because of the excessive line and cost), but was blown away by the inside of the Basilica.

I will be in Florence for the next three nights. Taking in all the museums and Tuscan food. Ciao...

Roma

We've now been in Rome for about one day and will be walking around the Colosseum and ancient city center today, taking in all the ruins and art. And besides the fact that it is over 90 degrees F here, the city is really something special. (I will post pictures and everything once I get to Edinburgh and can access a computer that doesn't have Italian letters on it.)

The hostel we're staying at is called Rome City Hostel and is a little out of the way, but really a great place. Last night, all 15 of us that are staying here sat down for homecooked pasta and wine made by our English host. After that, we all went out for drinks at a local pub. Coke and Amaretto with a French couple, beer and politics with a Brit and an aussie, and free food. Doesn't get much better.

Schweiz

Right now, I am sitting in a McDonalds in Zurich waiting for the rain to pass before we meet up with the last arriving member of our group as she makes it in on the late train from Paris. I've been in Zurich since 7 AM local time...that means 6 PM yesterday for Hawaii and 10 PM yesterday for the West Coast.

It's hard to believe that everything is real. I'm so used to seeing replicas at Disneyland and in Vegas, and seeing it in person is just surreal. Tomorrow, we hop an early train to Venice and will arrive after 8 hours.

It's started!

Packing & Leaving

While I'm packing up for Europe (that would be one carry-on and one 40 lb box for shipment), my sister and her family are simultaneously making the move into their new home. That means lots of boxes going to lots of places. It's been a bit chaotic. Tonight, I will be staying in a local hotel since all of their mattresses have been packed away and will probably be without internet access until I arrive at LAX or JFK early Monday. I will, however, be updating on twitter.

Can't believe it's all happening so fast.

Hopefully, this will help me. (Shout out to CS H. for this one.)

Edinburgh by the numbers

All from the most trusted name in news.

6.9 The Average December High Temperature (C)
0.9 The Average December Low Temperature (C)
1.0 The Percent of the Population That's Asian
463,510 The Population
426 Years the University of Edinburgh Has Existed
25,591 Students Enrolled at the University of Edinburgh
23 The University's International Ranking
1.86 Number of American Dollars to the British Pound
1 The Number of JK Rowlings Living in the City

Champion

This has nothing to do with Edinburgh or travel, but it's cool.

Kanye West "Champion Video" Official Directed by NEON from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Encouraging

Rain storms in Scotland are no big deal. The Scotsman says Fife got hit with 3 to 4 ft of rain. But there's no way they mean feet-feet, must be a conversion issue, right? Caley80's comment is right on. With weather like that, how could I not be excited...

EuroTrip

Things EuroTrip has taught me:
1) You can travel trans-atlantic for free if you agree to deliver a parcel for "Midnight Express."
2) Europe is the size of the Eastwood Mall. You can practically walk from England to Berlin. Or swim. (Wth is the Eastwood Mall?)
3) Mike is a chick's name in Germany.
4) If you run into Fred Armisen on a train, run.
5) You can't fit dignity into your money belt.
6) Make sure you know how to read the safe word.
7) Not all brownies in Amsterdam are "special."
8) Never go to Bratislava. Unless you only have $1.83 American left. And a death wish.
9) One word: Absinthe
10) Manchester United will save your life.
11) It's not cool to elect yourself Pope.
12) American movies are dumb.

Where In the World...

I like counting down. It's weird, I know, but anticipation is what keeps me going. Take, for instance, my annual, 4 month Christmas and Birthday (December 20, for the record) countdown clock. Whoever it was that sat next to me in AP Calculus and/or English will attest to my frantic scribbling of numbers from 150 to 0 in the top right corner of my planner, but I digress. Because this whole Europe trip has been heavy on my mind since March, a countdown has been a work in progress for some time. For the record, there are just about 5 days until I leave the US. For those keeping score at home...here's the itinerary:





August 20: Venice
August 21-23: Rome
August 24-26: Florence
August 27: Milan
August 28- Sept. 1: Barcelona
Sept. 2 - Dec. 20: Edinburgh





It's a world tour. I feel like the Beatles.

Downsizing.

Major breakthrough today on the packing front. Per a friend's suggestion, I will be traveling, living, surviving out of a carry-on bag for the first 2 to 3 weeks after I leave the states. In a word: streamlining. American Airlines (those greedy bastards) would charge me for a check-in anyway...and this way things won't get lost on the way from Los Angeles to Zurich. There's just too much that could go wrong. Needless to say, I will be cutting down on the crap that I thought I needed to bring. And taking lots of tiny bottles in ziplocs along. (One of many reasons I dislike terrorists. Why couldn't they have planned to blow up planes with 10th grade bio teachers or bowling coaches instead?) But I guess it's not all that bad...carry-on size is actually pretty big. According to American, that would be 45"measured linearly (height+width+depth < 45"). It also means, though, I will be FedEx-ing most of my crap over to Edinburgh, which is pretty pricey. A 10 kg (yeah, the metric begins already) box costs just about $200, or shall I say £100.

Who do I cheer for?

This is probably a pointless question to ask, but while I'm in Europe watching the Olympics who should I be rooting for? Going abroad will be confusing enough, but the Olympics adds a whole 'nother dimension.

I've always supported Team USA, and Japan will always be my team (It is, after all, the motherland), but what about the whole UK-Scotland problem. Apparently, the Sports Minister of Scotland recently contacted IOC President Jacques Roggi to contest the banning of all non-national team flags from sporting events--including Saltire Flags. The message: Scottish fans should have the right to celebrate their Scottish athletes with a Scottish flag despite the fact that, technically, they are UK athletes under the UK flag. It's a tricky situation. There's no doubt about that. But what does that mean for the casual Olympic fan like me?

Here's the article from The Scotsman.

Darroch Court.

A few weeks ago, I finally received word about where I will be living in Edinburgh for the semester (well, for the most part anyway--there will be a period in the beginning of chaotic movement from place to place). The building is called Darroch Court, and apparently is not so bad as far as University flats go. When the Pomona students were registering for accommodations, we were given the opportunity to sign up for the standard dining hall experience (which we were warned about by past students) or a self-catered option. Self-catered, from what I gather, basically means we are on our own food-wise. Yeah, Pomona will be giving us stipends to spend on our meals...but the preparation of those meals is (scarily) entirely up to us. And, there's not really a L&L nearby, so I'm gonna have to learn quick. A loco moco can't be that hard to make.

I will be living with 4 other students all of whom are going to be University freshmen with a good mix of nationalities. We all get single rooms in the flat and share a common living area and kitchen. I've read positive things about the complex, but I guess I can't really know until I get there.

First Stab.

So I set this up to keep everyone posted on the events in my life over the next four months or so. Plus, I'm trying to teach myself HTML (it's a slow and painful process), so this will give me the platform to do that.

I just finished my internship today, after about 11 weeks, at a company in downtown LA called BroadSpire. And tomorrow, I'll spend my last few hours working at the Pomona Office of Communications before calling it quits for the summer. Then, I have exactly 10 days to get my sh!t together before I pack up and ship out to Europe until December. It'll be a hectic next month or so as I make the transition, and I will try to keep as current as possible...but no promises.

The last time I had a blog was in the seventh grade. Xanga anyone? So, yeah, bear with me. Feel free to leave me as many comments as you want. On the content, layout, lameness, etc. And, again, this is a work in progress. I apologize in advance.

Under Construction

Excuse my dust. Html is driving me crazy.