http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/ilchicag/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from ilchicag en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:07:40 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:07:40 +0000 I step outside on 3rd and Pine and before I can even turn the corner I hear Oh here comes the rain again I take one whiff of the air smell the heavy dampness of the Pacific Northwest and think Yeah I'm in Seattle. Of course while packing for this trip I kept checking the weather. Seattle's reputation for being a rainy city made the idea of bringing my rain boots attractive but as the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/blog-436809.html Actually it's not my last day technically. But it is the last day of fun. Tomorrow is full of taking students to the airport from 5 AM to 6 PM. So... I need to enjoy todayAnd I did for the most part. We went up to the Pali lookout but spent no more than 5 minutes there because it was so windy. Our next stop was at Kailua Beach which was also shortened because it was so windy which made the ai http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/blog-388011.html Today my group took a daylong tour of the west side of the island. Since O'ahu is quite a diverse island it was a nice break to get outside of Honolulu. While Honolulu and Waikiki are full of attractions and things to do I felt like I was getting a onesided view of what O'ahu is really like. Today was my much needed escape. We started out with a hour outside of 'Iolani Palace which is the onl http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/blog-387997.html Hanauma Bay is beautiful. And pristine. And really paradise within a paradise. We got to snorkel in the beautiful nature preserve and work on our suntans. It was really fun. Won't say much more I think the pictures speak for themselves... http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/Honolulu/blog-377879.html It's been a busy few days in O'ahu. Even though everything in Hawai'i is relaxed why hurry in the sun I've been keeping things at a high intensity level with work. Luckily I've still been able to get in a lot of fun time definitely perk of working in the leisure industry. Past few days' highlights include catamaran cruise on the Na Hoku II surf lesson in Waikiki fish tacos at Duke's Can http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/Honolulu/blog-376324.html Aloha from Hawai'iI'm here on the island of O'ahu actually on business. I've been here for a few days now but today is the first time I've been able to actually slow down a bit and take in some of the sights. Since I graduated from the University of Illinois I have been working for a travel agency that specializes in tours for foreign exchange high school students studying in the United States. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/Honolulu/blog-372211.html I am so good at the Boston accent. I can say it all clam chowdah Haavid Bawston. It's a beautiful thing really.Actually I'm terrible. In fact I am pretty sure my Boston accent sounds more Jamaican than Bostonian. But if I went to Harvard I think I could perfect it. And let me just say it I love Harvard. I want to go here for law school. Of all the places I've considered for law only Stan http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Massachusetts/Boston/blog-264895.html Well somehow I find myself back in New York. This time I'm here for some preliminary law school visitsmdashas I head into my final semester of undergraduate education this fall law school applications are all I'll be thinking about. So I thought I'd take my last spring break and go on a mini tour of the best law schools on the East Coast starting with New York University and Columbia Univers http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-257706.html Well my trip has taken a strange turn. Without getting too much into the details which potentially would bore you to tears I am both relieved and incredibly sad to say that I am on my way back to the States tomorrow. Since the last entry before the 'turn' the plan was to go back to Rome for a day before Keith left to go back to Chicago. I would stay in Rome for another day before flying out t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-239099.html Well I have climbed Mount Vesuvius. And I won't lie I feel pretty cool saying that. The volcano is the only volcano on mainland Europe to have erupted in the last century and owes most of its fame for the destruction of the cities Pompeii and Herculaneum back in 79 AD. But don't worry according to its main website the Park is closed while Vesuvius is erupting. Like most people I assume I hav http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Mount-Vesuvius/blog-232756.html Growing up as that dorky kid that read a lot I had a lot of books on subjects that nowadays I watch on the Discovery Channel or as a documentary on PBS on TV. My favorite one was a book about Pompeii. I used to dream about seeing Pompeii. In fact it's probable that Pompeii was my first desired destination of travel well Pompeii or EgyptmdashI had a book on King Tut too. I distinctly reme http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Pompei/blog-232755.html Wow. Rome is closed on New Years Day. It has shut down pretty much all but its heavily touristy areas and souvenir shops it seems. This fact may be an indirect result of most of the city's population staying up until 4 AM and beyond to ring in 2008. I'd want to sleep all day too if I saw the first sunrise of the new year however I was impressed with how clean the city was the next morning. The c http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-237178.html What a way to bring in the New Year. Because I really just want a place to upload my New Years fireworks photos this entry isn't going to be much else but fireworks and talk about how amazingly crazy New Years Eve in Rome was. And all we did was go out to the streets. We didn't go to any parties bars restaurants official concerts or planned gatherings. We actually didn't really know what was http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-232754.html Like I said yesterday I'm beginning to feel more at ease here. And I say 'at ease' for lack of a better phrase because I never feel uneasy per se here... it's just an adjustment even for a few days' time. The constant sightseeing not knowing anyone here but Keith being outside for long periods of time in the relative coldmdashit has all made me feel constantly on the go and just like an uber http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-231956.html One of the many problems I have with traveling is finding authentic local life. I think that a lot of it is due to the limited time I spend traveling but right now the it seems it's mostly in part due to the language barrier that makes me constantly feel like an outsider. I now have newfound respect to people back in America that can't speak English fluently. Today after visiting the Vatican we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-231954.html After a decent and much needed night's rest we were up and about for our first full day of Rome. And by full day I mean sightseeing and walking around Rome until we were tired and wanted a nap. We'd be outside until about 330PM when we'd return to the hostel for a siesta. At first I felt like taking a nap midday while I was in a city like Rome was a waste of my short amount of time here but I ju http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-231953.html CiaoI am really loving Italy. It's such an adventure everywhere we go. Especially trying to upload photos in an internet cafe. So far I haven't found one that has worked for me which is kind of disheartening but I'll live.Today has been long but quite wonderful. We woke up at 545 in order to get to the Vatican early enough without a long wait. Standing in line was something in itself. When we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Vatican-City/Vatican-City/blog-231487.html Wow I'm in Rome It's been a looong day though. I'm so exhausted. I barely slept on the plane for some reason despite being still so tired from not sleeping for the last few days. When we finally got to Munich we walked past first class and next time... that's the ticket. I didn't get much sleep at the airport in Munich either though mainly because of a high school group that was shouting all http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-231335.html I'm heading back to civilization in an hour It's about 1015 and we are heading back to our pickup point at 11001130 or so. We have a 100 pickup scheduled and as much as I have enjoyed this trip I can't wait to get back. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the last portage back up to the parking lot from Pickerel Lake. It's amazing how much I think I've grown in during this trip. I http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Atikokan/Quetico-Provincial-Park/blog-205006.html Woke up today in a whirlwind and only had time to down a cold cup of instant coffee before we were on the lake trying to beat the rain which we didn't and the wind which we didn't as we made our way back to the Quetico Park entrance. Yep we're on our way back home. In the rain. The rain did eventually ease up right around the time that we were shooting some rapids which was real thrilling a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Atikokan/Quetico-Provincial-Park/blog-204990.html