Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Boston or, just a few days to go...

I can't believe it... my year of exploring the world is nearly at an end. I have just 8 days to go before my flight to Switzerland. It makes me sad that this brilliant experience will so very soon come to an end. Enough of the sadness already though, there is enough time for stuff like this in the coming days.

After 10 days in NJ and NYC I have landed in Boston. I am here mainly because I didn't want to head straight up to Montreal from NYC. I am heading there at all because my flight to Switzerland leaves from Montreal. I am really looking forward to get back to Montreal. It's one of my favourite city's in the world!

I have to say I am having a really good time in Boston. I really like this city. The weather is great and I love the feel of this city. On my first day here I did a trail through the city called the freedom trail. It leads past buildings and places important to the independence war. To be honest I didn't care much for the history but the trail leads you through great parts of the city and is an easy way to see a fair bit of Boston.

I really love how the city manages to combine an "old town" feeling with modern city building. The thing I love most about Boston is the fact that there is a park stretching right through downtown. it's like a green belt, an oasis in the middle of the city. Somehow Boston manages not to feel like a super busy big city. Quite a change from my Manhattan experience.

At the moment I am keeping to myself. I do speak a bit with the folks that share the room with me but beside that, I don't think I have spoken to anyone in the hostel. I am doing a lot of reflecting about the past year and think a lot about my future. I guess it is finally time that I think about my future. One thing I am really looking forward to, is, getting my hands on some proper hardware to edit my pictures to a standard that I can approve of. Yes yes my pics are not bad but I can see so much potential in them. They could be so much more with the proper tools at my disposal.

I also have a little project in mind that I will tackle with a dear friend of mine. More about this when I get closer to finishing it.

just a few more posts my friends and this blog is history. Enjoy it while you can.

hugs to you all

some old building

you really can't get lost following the trail

old and new

old and new again

just old this time

old and new

bunker hill

jamestown

the skyline is not very flashy but I like it.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

NYC

Greetings from NYC

The last few days have been amazing. That is if you ignore the fact that I have been nursing the worst cold in the history of mankind. Whenever I think it's about to go away, it comes back to kick me in the nuts. And it keeps showing new moves. Fever, then running nose, then sore throat, then cough, then back to fever and running nose again, etc, etc. Still, my time here is precious and there is no time for lying around in bed.

The more I see of NYC the more I like it. Especially today was a very revealing day. I walked from Battery Park to Ground Zero, on to and over the Brooklyn bridge, through Chinatown, by little Italy and ended the day in SOHO. It was a truly epic walk and I enjoyed every moment of it.. although my feet tend to disagree.

I am starting to think that this will be a trip to see Manhattan and not NYC. I highly doubt I have enough time to see Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.. what a shame.. guess I will have to come back!

I am staying just outside of NYC though and getting to and back from NYC is always a bit of an adventure. Public transport to NJ is not really that easy to understand. There are multiple buses from multiple companies that seem to go to the same place but not the same stops at the same place. Add irregular departure times and grumpy drivers to that and you got a really confusing situation... well at least for me. So whenever I get back from NYC, I just hop on a bus that I think will take me where I need to go and see what happens. Usually I end up walking for at least 30min cause I got off to early, too late or completely in the wrong place. I kinda enjoy it though, lets me explore the area around the hotel ;).

ah I have so much more to tell.. being shown around NJ and NYC by a great guide. Seeing NYC from the window of a premium apartment on the 35th floor, tasting all kinds of different foods and more but I'd never get done with this post. So for now.. enjoy the pics.

stay cool .... and if you happen to have a job in IT in NY for me.. let me know ;)
tried to go for timless look...yay or nay?

View from Brooklyn Bridge

St.Paul Chapel, much more impressive than ground zero

no idea :D

more timelessness

id give a lot to have an appartement with a few like this

Appartement 1 Block from times squar? yes please!

View of Manhatten from Jersey City

Friday, April 29, 2011

Kaua'i

Aloha nr. 3

Today I am going to talk about Kauai and maybe a little bit about photography.

Last Sunday, Francis and me flew to Kauai. To explore and conquer! Have we explored? Yes, but we spent many hours on the beach as well. Have we conquered? Well, not really.

Kaua'i is called the "garden island" and it really is. Lush greens whereever you look! What I really like about this island, is the fact, that it is not as touristic as Maui or Oahu. Yes there is some tourism here, but you still get a sense of seeing things that not many people do. Again as on Maui, we rented a car. This time it had to be something that shouts "AMERICAAAAA" in your face. So we got a Ford Mustang. Wohoooo!

I have to admit that Francis and me have quite different opinions on what we want to see and do. While Francis enjoys the beach a lot and wants to do all kinds of stuff involving water, I am more about seeing the interior of the island and tend to avoid any stuff that has to do with water (No that doesn't mean I don't shower). Still with compromises (as a good Swiss should be able to make) we make it work. Usually we go see something for my taste and then spend the rest of the day at the beach. I don't know exactly how Francis feels but for me this works perfectly.

The thing that fascinated me the most so far, must be the Waimea Canyon. Considering the size of the island, this thing is huge! I couldn't get enough pictures. I posted a lot of them on the blog for your viewing pleasure. I know they are far from perfect but should give you some sense of what it meant to stand up on the ridge, looking down. I did see the Grand Canyon when I was younger but I was more impressed by this one.. maybe I don't remember the Grand Canyon that much?

Right now, the only thing left on the list that I really want to see, is, the Na'Palli Coastline. I wanted to do it today but for various reasons this didn't work out. I will try again tomorrow. It has to work out tomorrow because sadly we are leaving Kaua'i on Saturday and I am flying on to Vancouver on Sunday. I am staying in Vancouver for just one night before I head on to Anchorage Alaska.. yeah baby, so freakin excited!

I can't believe that my 3 weeks in Hawai'i are almost at an end. I am a bit sad because I didn't get around to see "big island". Oh well, that leaves something for next time. After more of a low key and relaxing visit in Fiji, Hawai'i was full of adventure and new experiences. The people I met here were so great and I think I have gained a few friends for life! Thank you my brazilian and american friends!

I know it's a long way from home my fellow Swiss people, but if you ever have the chance to travel to Hawai'i, do it!

Considering today's pictures;
I tried to do some basic post processing without spending to much time on each one. I know (again) there are quite a few things I should fix before putting them online but seriously, I just spent 2+ hours for this post and ran them through 3 different pieces of software. I think I am putting quite enough effort into this ;). I promise to edit the pics again when I am at home and if anyone is interested, I will put the best one's online.

hope you enjoy the pictures, didn't fall asleep while reading my thoughts, stay healthy!

I know, not really the wisest choice for a car buuuuuuuuuut it had to be!
Just a randome shot of the islands interior
North Shore
used to be in colour.. about as much post processing as it will get this week
cool driving along here.
Waimea Canyon!
Simon at Waimea Canyon.. ain't he a cool cat?
more Waimea Canyon
a tiny bit of the Na'Palli Coast. Bloody clouds were in the way!
Waimea Canyon the third.
A sunset is always worth a picture.
Today's adventure involved some sand, the ocean, a towel, a book and not much else.
Francis, doing what he likes to do best... doesn't he look happy? I think he does!