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Joseph Kim
I'm Joseph. I'm 22 years old, and I just graduated from UCLA so I'm about to embark on the adventure of my life. So I invite you to join me on my excursion throughout Europe. If not, atleast The Killers, Kanye and Eric Clapton will be in my pocket.jkiddy
Travel Blog Posts
August 19th 2007
Amsterdam. What a unique city. When I first got here last week, I kept on saying to myself, “how does this city function?” It seemed like everyone just smoked pot all day. Well, I want to begin by apologizing for not writing in a while. First of all, the site that I use, travel blog, had server problems and about ¼ of all users’ blogs written were lost! I lost more than half… fortunately, I saved them all on Microsoft Word so that when I get back to LA, I’ll be able to upload them again. Secondly, I was in Amsterdam, haha, it’s not easy finding a computer around here. Lastly, I borrowed a book from Dan: Deception Point by Dan Brown, the same author as Da Vinci Code, and I was hooked. The very first ... read more
July 31st 2007
I’m sitting in a laundry mat in Paris. Why? Haha, because yesterday I really had to urinate so I went into a bar and used a broken urinal. Let me explain. I finally got sick…I was able to avoid all the ill persons in Florence, but I finally caught the bug; so I’ve been drinking tons of water which has caused my urinary system to act abnormally. I was dumb enough to try to flush it which caused it to splatter sewage water all over me. And my first instinct was to protect my camera instead of running away, then again, I was still unzipped. Other than that minor incident, this has been my favorite city as of yet. Hey, doing laundry gives me time to write this blog. Paris is BEAUTIFUL. Paris is the MOST ... read more
July 25th 2007
So I missed another bus which in turn caused me to miss my train from Bologna to Milan. So now, I’m just typing away in one of the waiting areas with my buddy, Cliff. It doesn’t even faze me anymore. And you must realize, that I do a lot of planning (like elaborate excel spreadsheets of exact arrival/departure times and buying tickets well in advance, I spend more time doing this over anything else) but I’ve learned something about life; as much as you try to control different areas of your life, there are some things that just are up to fortune, whether you believe in it or not. In the beginning of the trip, I would get really upset about missing trains and how unreliable buses/taxis/trains (they have strikes ALL the time) can be at ... read more
July 22nd 2007
Journal Entry #11 July 22, 2007 So today is Sunday, and like every other Sunday, everything in Italy is closed. EVERYTHING. Well, except the supermarket. But unlike every other Sunday, today is my last full day in Firenze… It’s sad. I’ve really come to love this place. So I haven’t kept up with my journal largely due to the lack of internet connection and also to finals. Throughout the term, I was complaining about how much work we had, how much reading we had, how we didn’t have time to visit stuff, but I sucked it up and did the work and in the end, it truly paid off. I’ve learned so much about art, the Renaissance, other people, the Italian culture… I’ll enlighten you about each. Art: Something I’ve always wanted to appreciate, but ... read more
July 17th 2007
Tuesday July 17 11:04 a.m. I’m sitting in class right now, we’re actually on a break. Either I’ve gotten used to this place, or there hasn’t been anything monumental in the last week or so. However, we did go to Venezia on Friday and Saturday, and that was amazing. It was like an outdoor theme park but it wasn’t a façade. That’s what I’ve noticed in this country, the buildings are beautiful both on the OUTSIDE and INSIDE, not any of that Vegas bull. I’m not sure if I can say the same about the people, but the art and architecture are jawdroppingly amazing. The cool thing about Venice is that there are no cars, no scooters, and Thank God NO bikes. Just people jumping from island to island (I think we walked over 4 ... read more
July 10th 2007
July 10th 5:51p.m. I just stopped by the Baptistery by the Duomo after class, and I was blown away. I’m finally beginning to understand what Firenze was about and why it’s renowned for its art pieces. All that complaining about the coursework has been starting to pay off as some of the stuff we do in class is applicable to what we see in this city. The Baptistery is amazing; the Gates of Paradise created by Ghiberti (which have been moved to the Museo) are just the beginning. Inside the octagonal dome are frescoes unlike any other. I guess it really isn’t a fresco, but more of a mosaic. Nevertheless, simply amazing. The huge depiction of Jesus is breathtaking, and the stories can be appreciated by anyone. I wish my friends and family members could ... read more
July 6th 2007
Friday 7/6, 9:22 a.m. Il Palio I’m taking a train right now from Firenze to Pisa as I type. We’re actually on our way to Cinque Terre, the Italian Riviera which is supposedly more amazing than the French Riviera (anything Italian is better than anything French, j/k), and we’re stopping by Pisa to take pictures because according to others, there really isn’t much to do there. This whole train riding thing is something new to me, and there have been a few close calls. Our apartment is about a 15-20 minute walk from the train station, and we’ve been arriving at the station about 5 minutes before departure. And we’re usually sweating and out of breath. So on Monday, it was the Palio in Siena. IL PALIO. I’m not sure of the English translation, but ... read more
June 30th 2007
Roma Joseph Kim 8.51 p.m. June 30th I just enjoyed some homemade ravioli and some of that delicious wine that I bought in St. Gimignano; I simply cannot get over how awesome the food/wine is here. Anyways, we just got back from Rome (we squeezed 8 people into a hotel room with 6 twin size beds). Rome… is… umm… for me, was somewhat lackluster. If you’ve ever heard me talk about the Roman empire and how I believe it to be the ultimate civilization you’d know that I’ve wanted to see the Coloseum (the ultimate sports/entertainment arena, the Roman’s Staples Center) forever; I mean, that’s the reason I chose to study in Italia. Don’t get me wrong, the Coloseum, Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Roman Forum all had me drooling over how they ... read more
June 28th 2007
June 28th So today, we went on our first field trip to Siena. Beautiful! By far my favorite place we’ve been. There are rolling hills, grapevines, castles, churches, towers, great places to shop… It’s my kind of place. It’s less crowded and much cleaner than other cities as well. Lucky for me, I’m going back there on Monday for the Palio. What’s the Palio? It’s a huge horse race where the 16 (if I’m correct) villages of Siena race to see which village is victorious. It happens every July 2nd (supposedly, there are 2, but this one is the real deal, the one that people care about). There are actually 10 villages that race, and they are given a horse randomly; so basically, the outcome is known before the race even begins… NOT. The only ... read more
June 26th 2007
Tuesday 8.14 a.m. Florence (Firenze in Italian) is beautiful. It’s not like Venice-beautiful (based off of what I’ve seen because I haven’t been there yet) but it’s beautiful for the fact that it’s so rich in culture; at first glance, one might think that they preserve the city/culture for tourists, but it’s truly because Italians are ALL about culture. For example, the shops here are open at the oddest hours and for very limited amounts of time. I actually just came back from a run because I woke at 6 a.m. due to being bitten by mosquitoes and being a drunkard. But it was amazing. There was no one in the streets; in sharp contrast, there are people walking all over the place during the middle of the day. It seems like most of the ... read more
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