Travel Journal Day 5

My friends are back in town! (well a few still aren't, but its a pretty good group back that are here)

So in celebration, we decided to have a French picnic in front of the Washington Monument (ala Eiffel Tower) complete with our tradition of kite flying.

In all of our planning though, the one thing no one thought to do was check the weather.

So of course as we are driving downtown, a HUGE ray of lightning breaks the sky open in front of us. We look at each other and decide to head to the art studio at school where we always used to spend our afternoons instead.

We decided it could be equally as French as the Washington Monument, we would just pretend we were in the catacombs in Paris! Not to mention the studio is in the shadow of the National Cathedral, which could be DC's Notre Dame, and the teacher to whom the studio belongs to is in France as I write.

After a toast to friends and new beginnings

(yeah, we're original)

we pigged out on our impressive spread.

By the time we had finished our picnic, the rain had seemed to clear out and the wind had picked up so we decided to head downtown again for some kite flying.

Of course by the time we got downtown and started flying the kites, the sky began to look like this...

and then it began to pour shortly there after.

So I danced.

My clothes were completely soaked, my face was dripping and the rain was coming down heavy around me but I just threw my hands up and ran, and spun around, and jumped, and twirled and everything else.

Why not?

Soaking wet, I returned to my friends who had taken refuge in front of the monument and were completely dry. But I enjoyed every minute of my time in the rain so I didn't envy them.

Unfortunately, most of my friends had to leave soon after.

Fortunately, I was able to spend the rest of the day, and night, with my friend who had just come back into town from Ireland.

Oh! Before I forget, here's the story of the meteor shower.

3:45 AM- I wake up. I notice that my parents are not awake. So it's just me to watch the show.

4:00 AM-I make myself a cup of tea and sit on my porch, eagerly looking for meteors.

4:15 AM- I come back inside and do a little research on the computer.

Here is what I learned: the full moon makes the sky too bright to see most of the meteors.

4:20 AM- Damn it I woke up this early and I WILL see a meteor.

4:25 AM- Is that a meteor? Nope...I'm just seeing spots.

4:38 AM-fuck it.

And that's all for today!

Travel Journal Day 4

After visiting cities all week, I decided that it was time to take a break and take a step back and venture into nature.

First stop was the Botanical Gardens. Smack dab in the middle of downtown and I never even knew it was there! Of course, my severe pollen allergies and my fear of bees have created an instinctual aversion to anything flower related so this is somewhat excusable. But after 5 years of allergy shots, I figured I could risk it.

I was a little bit jumpy at first seeing as there was a constant humming of some insect or another around me, and I did not want to relive the one encounter I had with a bee that did not end well for either of us. But, I stuck it out and was rewarded with this picture!

Satisfied, I hightailed it inside to this.

Now I know what Elizabeth Taylor must have felt like on the set of Suddenly Last Summer in Sebastian's garden. All that was missing was a Venus Fly Trap.

The tall, overbearing trees and gargantuan leaves completely enclosed me,

yet everything felt so open with the sunlight streaming through the branches.

It was a strange feeling.

There was also this aspect of strange...

I wonder who came up with that one.

Very funny.

But I have to say, it made for a pretty picture.

And so did these.

Faced with my fears again, I headed into the desert climate room. I was surrounded by cacti.

Concentrated on not falling, I VERY carefully made my way on the narrow path to the other side of the room. You would think it would be a slightly wider path with all the cacti and their threatening needles. I guess it is a slightly irrational fear, but it doesn't affect my day to day life... so I just deal.

Again I was rewarded for my bravery with this picture:

Now it was off to the National Arboretum.

Apparently, the only exhibit to see there at this time of year is the Bonsai tree exhibit.

I say this with no disappointment though because Bonsais are really something else. Some of the trees have been in training for over 400 years! It really is an art form.

I especially like the ones that look like little forests

But all I could think about then were fairies.

It also made me want to train a Bonsai tree. I will add that to my list of things to do.

As I made my way back to my car I stopped at a Koi pond. Replete with Koi of every size and color it was quite a sight. I even got to see two kiss! But my camera wasn't fast enough to catch it. That wasn't the real attraction though. As I was taking pictures of the Koi, someone decided to toss in some food to them. I was ill prepared for what ensued.

Complete and utter chaos.

If you've never seen Koi feeding, here is a video I found that pretty accurately demonstrates what I saw. The Koi went completely crazy! The bigger ones were getting on top of the smaller ones, thrashing outside of the water, splashing water everywhere, just completely insane. If you ever get the opportunity to feed Koi I would definitely do it.

But that's all for today. Now I'm off for an early night to prepare for an early rise. Apparently there's a meteor shower at 4 AM. Another thing I will soon be able to check off my to do list.

Check out my Tumblr for more pictures from today!

Travel Journal Day 3

Today's journey did not do the real Spain justice.

I guess DC is just too structured. Everyone is always rushing somewhere, the buildings are all straight with sharp corners, the sidewalks are empty and the streets are filled with rows of cars...It is complete opposite of what I remember Spain to be. I remember the streets were filled with people who walked all around me but never seemed to have anywhere to be. There were performers around every corner, and you could always hear music from somewhere, even in the silence. Even the architecture reflected my perception of the city as relaxed. The buildings curved, each one flowing into the next one, colored glass in the windows breaking up the harsh rays of the sun. Everything just seemed so arbitrary, carefree and better.

Of course this all seems too idyllic to be true.

Yet another reason why I need to visit Spain again.

Despite the chasm between the two cities, I decided to attempt to visit Spain in DC. But as I had suspected, there wasn't much to see. So I headed for the first sight of Spain, the New York avenue sculpture project. Inspired by Spain's very own Antonio Gaudi, Niki de Saint Phalle created these mosaic statues as part of an outdoor exhibit from the National Museum of Women in the Arts. It, of course, reminds me of Park Güell, one of my favorite places on this earth.

My favorites.

They are truly amazing.

After a leisurely walk around the median, I found myself a little bit inspired. Of course I was inspired by the mosaic aspect, but I also found myself realizing that I should embody the carefree spirit that I attributed to Spain. Why not dance in the middle of the street? These statues sure look like they are having a great time! Sometimes I just get a little bit lost in everything I forget to take a moment for myself.

Cheesy, yes. But who cares.

With a little more spring in my step, I decided to head to the National Museum of the American Indian, the only place with wave like architecture that I could think of in DC.

As much as I can't appreciate the inside of this museum, the outside is quite something.

Seeing as I couldn't come up with anything else that would do Spain justice, I decided to head to the art store. After all, Spain doesn't have a plethora of museums for nothing. Since I didn't have much time before my dinner reservation, I decide to keep it simple.

Inspired by Joan Miro this is my work in progress

It still needs a little color

But I had to make my dinner reservation so I headed off to Old Town Alexandria to La Tasca for some Tapas and Flamenco show!

The food was delicious, the dancing was beautiful, what more can I say? Unfortunately, I don't have much to show either.

Low light and moving subjects do not a good picture make. So here is the one half decent picture that I managed to snap.

(Of course, there are more pictures from today on my Tumblr so please check them out!)

I guess Spain is more about the culture and not so much about the sights. Maybe I was just looking in the wrong place all along. Maybe I can bring Spain to DC, or rather to my every day life...

This is getting a little too cheesy for me.

Travel Journal Day 2

My mom always tells me to expect nothing and I'll never be disappointed. After my adventures yesterday, this is a mantra I probably should have adopted.

Then again, I rarely listen to my mother; and so I went into day 2 of my travels with high hopes.

I was not disappointed.

Not only did everything I had planned exist, but I even got a friend to come along with me!

We started off our Italian viaggio (aka journey) with a "gondola" ride.

Ok, so it was paddle boats in the Tidal Basin.

Sure, you have to do the paddling instead of having an Italian man in a striped shirt serenade you as he takes you through venice; but frankly I find that being serenaded is just plain awkward, and when I visited Venice (for real), our gondolier had a rather large hole in his pants, in a rather unfortunate spot. The paddle boats proved to be a suitable substitute though as we leisurely paddled around for a while, talking and being serenaded by the sounds of mid day traffic.

All geographical impossibilities set aside, after a leisurely walk across an unidentified bridge, we ended up in Rome at the Pantheon. Here in DC though, we call it the Jefferson Memorial.

Seeing as neither my friend nor I are Thomas Jefferson enthusiasts, we took a few pictures, basked in the glory of the cross breeze, and promptly made our way back to metro for our next stop.

Back downtown, we had somehow managed to make our way back to Venice. We headed for Piazza San Marco, or DC's version- Freedom Plaza.

Unfortunately, there were no pigeons.

However, we were quickly distracted from theme when we discovered that the seemingly arbitrary lines were actually a partial map of L'Enfant's original plans for the downtown area of DC. Since the best, complete view of it is from above, and I'm rather short, I snagged this from google maps.

It all looks significantly more confusing from an aerial view.

Hungry from all the walking, we began our search for one of the plentiful Italian restaurants. But short on cash, we had to settle for pizza from A Slice of Italy Pizzeria in the food court. The only Italian thing about it was the name and the oregano sprinkled on the pizza.

But it was good, and cheap, so I wasn't going to complain.

Our day was winding down as we headed to Georgetown for our 2 final stops. In spirit of the Murano Glass factory, we took a water taxi (drove in the rain) and stopped in the Maurine Littleton Gallery.

I was blown away (no pun intended)

After spending a gorgeous hour in the gallery, we finally stopped in Georgetown Tobacco to see the Venetian Carnival masks. We were not allowed to take pictures. But that didn't stop us from eagerly peering through the glass cases at the wide variety of intricately detailed masks, wishing we had the funds to buy one.

And so our trip was finished. Satisfied with the success, we said our goodbyes and headed home.

I can only hope the rest of my travels are as wonderful as today.

For more pictures, please visit my Tumblr

Ciao!

Travel Journal Day 1

Today was the first day of my theoretical travels!

I decided my first stop would be Egypt. Pyramids, mummies, crowded outdoor bazaars, hookah...what's not to like?

Things got off to a shaky start

My first stop was the D.C Farmer's Market, which promised to be as close as I could get to the atmosphere of an Egyptian bazaar. However, upon arrival this is what I found...

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

This is not quite the hectic market I was expecting. That was until I discovered it is CLOSED on Mondays.

Deciding that I would not let this get my spirits down, I continued my trek onto my next destination, Khan el Khalili. Not quite the famous Cairo bazaar, but rather a more low key hookah shop. So I hop on the bus and follow my map down 7th st...

then back up 7th st...

and then back down one more time just to confirm the fact that...IT WASN'T THERE.

My spirits began to slightly d

r

o

p.

But not enough to send me home.

Next stop was the Egyptian mummies exhibit museum of natural history.

At least it was there.

Or rather part of it was there. As I soon came to discover, it was only a PREVIEW of the exhibit. This consisted of 2 small glass cases in a dimly lit back hallway. There was a mummy, a sarcophagus, some amulets and a refresher course in some 6th grade history, including this fun fact:

(I guess those new boots were worth the splurge.)

After a quick stop in the mammal hall in hopes of finding a Camel (I didn't) I decided to stop by the Freer and Sackler galleries since they were advertising ancient Iranian pottery. It's no Egypt, but I figured it was close enough to theme.

After a morning of disappointments, my luck had finally turned around. It turns out that Charles Lang Freer had traveled to Egypt to expand his personal art collection, which is on display in the Freer gallery!

Isn't it beautiful?

Of course I still had to see the ancient Iranian pottery.

Turns out they were very inspired by birds. Combining birds and pottery, this is definitely something I will be looking more into.

It was time to head to the Cairo Condominiums. This was more for the name than the sight itself,

but it was quite a sight.

It had gargoyles, carved elephant heads on the window frames, this arch entry, and intricate carvings. I was captivated. Which made it even harder when I discovered the architectural travesty that had occurred. Apparently when a building is deemed a historical landmark, only the facade is really protected, leaving the rest of the building in danger of this:

so sad.

But better this than no Cairo.

By this point I was starting to get a little hungry. As tempting as

the sign at Trio was,

I decided I would hold out for some good Shawarma.

So I began my journey to Columbia Heights, home of DC's Shawarma King. After missing my first transfer point, I decided to ride until the next one instead of backtracking. Turns out this was a good decision, and I ended up meeting the sweetest Peruvian woman who had just moved to DC. We had a nice conversation as she walked with me to the restaurant since she knew her way around the neighborhood better than me. She sent me off with a kiss on the cheek and well wishes for my future. I wish I had at least gotten her name.

But now, it was Shawarma time.

YUM

Tired, tan, and full of Shawarma, I began my 5 mile walk home. Sure I could have taken the bus, but why not explore a little more? Turns out there wasn't much to see, but I did pass enough time until I was meeting my friend for hookah.

(He's still working on his smoke tricks.)

And so my day came to a close. It wasn't quite the worldly adventure I had hoped for, but it was only the first try. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.

For more (and better) pictures check out my Tumblr !

The Beginning

I've been bored.

So far, my summer has consisted of the following:

1.

2.

In a weak effort to defend myself, most of my friends are out of town.

But now that summer is quickly coming to a close, I have decided I need to stop being so pathetic. Just because my friends are out of town, why I can't enjoy a day (or night) on the town by myself?

So I sat and thought about what I should do.

...

...

for a

very

long

time.

And then it hit me.

"If the mountain will not come to Mohammed...

then Mohammed will go to the mountain."

Of course my thoughts did not consist of any of those words. In fact, my idea is quite the opposite. It is better phrased like this:

"If I can not go to any of the places I want to visit...

then the places I want to visit will come to me"

huh?

Here's the gist of it:

For the next few weeks, I will be theoretically traveling "around the world" by visiting what I have deemed DC's version of the various countries, cities and regions I have wanted to visit (or revisit.)

Tomorrow marks the beginning of my travels!

I'll send you a postcard.