Thursday, April 28, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Working on my itinerary...with the help of Rick Steves.
I love that guy. Have you ever heard of him? He's America's favorite travel expert - a normal, average Joe American like us who knows more about traveling Europe smartly than anyone else I've ever heard of. His platform is maintaining a tight budget while sucking out as much life, character, and experience from Europe as you can - while staying safe, happy, and healthy.
I got his book, "Europe Through the Back Door" (2010 edition) for my birthday and have literally read every single page from the front cover onward. I'm barely on page 77 and I already have 15 sticky tabs marking pages that hold information I found particularly interesting or informative (or both).
For instance, Rick wants me to travel 4-6 weeks through Central and Southern Europe with nothing more than the clothes on my back and a 9 x 22 x 14" bag. Airline carry-on size.
I about had a heart attack when I read those dimensions, and I think I laughed out loud. Obviously I know I have to be frugal and extremely picky when it comes to packing, and I knew it would have to be a smallish bag, simply for the sake of convenience...and my back. But a carry-on-sized bag ONLY?! For that long?!
I would have continued laughing if Rick hadn't included pictures of his bag and its contents - everything he traveled Europe with for 8 whole weeks. Plus his justification of the bag size, and the packing list. Proof that it can be done. The man is a magician.
As a woman, I'll have to improvise a bit and stray from that master packing list slightly, but I know already I will be going the whole trip sans makeup, hair products, perfume, and jewelry. Deodorant, a small bottle of shampoo, a bar of soap, washcloth, toothbrush and toothpaste, brush, nail clippers, and tweezers will be my only bathroom. I'm no cosmo girl, but this will be a challenge! LOL
Anyway, I'm reworking my itinerary now and making alternates to accommodate possible tighter budgets (since the trip will be so soon after moving into a new apartment with Bjorn, my bank account will be QUITE depleted). I figure since I'll be over there for at least a year (and I'm starting to think it will be more like 2-3...) I can always see the sights I don't see this time around at another time. Not that I want to sacrifice the integrity of this particular trip, though! It's my post-graduation self-discovery adventure.
If I had all the money and time in the world, I'd want to see the following:
All of Europe (and Great Britain).
LOL okay really...
Great Britain -
England (especially London)
Scotland
Ireland
Europe -
Germany
Poland
Hungary (Budapest)
Czech Republic (Prague)
*Austria
*Switzerland
*Italy (Florence, Rome, Milan, Naples, Sicily!)
*Greece
Turkey
Spain
France (countryside chateaux, the big city lights of Paris again, and Normandy)
Norway
Denmark (Copenhagen)
Sweden
Finland
As you can see, I'm particularly interested in the Mediterranean area, Switzerland, and Austria. (I have a friend in Vienna, too!) It's hard to prioritize, but at the bare minimum I want to see Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. From Zurich straight down to Crete.
I don't just want to see the capitals. I want to see LIFE. People, culture, arts, history...everything that gives Europe its character, its flavor, its spirit. I am so intrigued and enchanted by it - I'm entirely under its spell and I have no intention of waking up from it.
So let's see how well I do "prioritizing"...or I can just try to win the lottery, and see it all in one go. ;)
*Don't forget to follow the actual blog for my backpacking trip: http://www.beckyonthego.blogspot.com. You can "follow" with any Google, Yahoo, or Twitter account, and sign up for email updates to your inbox. Once the trip starts, I will only update that blog, not here!
I got his book, "Europe Through the Back Door" (2010 edition) for my birthday and have literally read every single page from the front cover onward. I'm barely on page 77 and I already have 15 sticky tabs marking pages that hold information I found particularly interesting or informative (or both).
For instance, Rick wants me to travel 4-6 weeks through Central and Southern Europe with nothing more than the clothes on my back and a 9 x 22 x 14" bag. Airline carry-on size.
I about had a heart attack when I read those dimensions, and I think I laughed out loud. Obviously I know I have to be frugal and extremely picky when it comes to packing, and I knew it would have to be a smallish bag, simply for the sake of convenience...and my back. But a carry-on-sized bag ONLY?! For that long?!
I would have continued laughing if Rick hadn't included pictures of his bag and its contents - everything he traveled Europe with for 8 whole weeks. Plus his justification of the bag size, and the packing list. Proof that it can be done. The man is a magician.
As a woman, I'll have to improvise a bit and stray from that master packing list slightly, but I know already I will be going the whole trip sans makeup, hair products, perfume, and jewelry. Deodorant, a small bottle of shampoo, a bar of soap, washcloth, toothbrush and toothpaste, brush, nail clippers, and tweezers will be my only bathroom. I'm no cosmo girl, but this will be a challenge! LOL
Anyway, I'm reworking my itinerary now and making alternates to accommodate possible tighter budgets (since the trip will be so soon after moving into a new apartment with Bjorn, my bank account will be QUITE depleted). I figure since I'll be over there for at least a year (and I'm starting to think it will be more like 2-3...) I can always see the sights I don't see this time around at another time. Not that I want to sacrifice the integrity of this particular trip, though! It's my post-graduation self-discovery adventure.
If I had all the money and time in the world, I'd want to see the following:
All of Europe (and Great Britain).
LOL okay really...
Great Britain -
England (especially London)
Scotland
Ireland
Europe -
Germany
Poland
Hungary (Budapest)
Czech Republic (Prague)
*Austria
*Switzerland
*Italy (Florence, Rome, Milan, Naples, Sicily!)
*Greece
Turkey
Spain
France (countryside chateaux, the big city lights of Paris again, and Normandy)
Norway
Denmark (Copenhagen)
Sweden
Finland
As you can see, I'm particularly interested in the Mediterranean area, Switzerland, and Austria. (I have a friend in Vienna, too!) It's hard to prioritize, but at the bare minimum I want to see Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. From Zurich straight down to Crete.
I don't just want to see the capitals. I want to see LIFE. People, culture, arts, history...everything that gives Europe its character, its flavor, its spirit. I am so intrigued and enchanted by it - I'm entirely under its spell and I have no intention of waking up from it.
So let's see how well I do "prioritizing"...or I can just try to win the lottery, and see it all in one go. ;)
*Don't forget to follow the actual blog for my backpacking trip: http://www.beckyonthego.blogspot.com. You can "follow" with any Google, Yahoo, or Twitter account, and sign up for email updates to your inbox. Once the trip starts, I will only update that blog, not here!
Dogs & cats
I love animals, and I love that we live in a place far enough away from the bustle of the city that we can enjoy birds, squirrels, bunnies, cats, dogs, and yes, even coyotes.One of the neighborhood cats gave birth in our shed a few weeks ago, so now we have a bunch of kittens in residence! I got a few pictures today, but most of them were shy and I didn't want to scare Mama, so I'll get more later.
And then our beautiful Copper (who's getting old! :() And Cricket, who was, ah, mid-yawn. I knew she was secretly a demon.
Monday, April 18, 2011
More pictures...
I took another walk around campus yesterday, since it was a quiet Sunday and no one was around, and took advantage of the warm day to photograph flowers, bees, and another squirrel who loved my sunflower seeds. He was quite amusing.
"I'm gonna get you, little flower. You evil little fiend."
"I'm gonna sneak up all stealthy-like."
"I think someone's photographing me...must not lose concentration."
"Get ready, haunches up, focus on the target, aim for the kill..."
"Do you mind?
"I'm gonna get you, little flower. You evil little fiend."
"I'm gonna sneak up all stealthy-like."
"I think someone's photographing me...must not lose concentration."
"Get ready, haunches up, focus on the target, aim for the kill..."
"Do you mind?
Friday, April 15, 2011
On a happier note...
I got a new camera for my birthday (thank you, Uncle Pete!) and am so far in LOVE with it. The zoom is absolutely incredible: 35x optical means WAY close-up beauties. Plus, if you engage digital zoom, you can be up in someone's business like you can't believe.
Among the camera's other features are: face detection, blink detection, zoom-framing assist, intelligent contrast correction, vivid color (pure color enhancer), and motion detection technology coupled with the optical image stabilizer and 1/3600 shutter speed makes for clear, sharp pictures even when the subject is running.
In other words, it's amazing. It has 14.1 megapixels so the quality is insane, and that pure color thing is crazy - the pictures seriously pop. The face and blink detection are super cool - the camera will alert you if someone's eyes are closed or blinking, and auto-focus and snap the picture (if you engage that control) when everyone's eyes are open and they're smiling.
It sounds like you don't have to do much to get a good picture - and basically, you don't. But it also allows for a hell of a lot of control and manual adjustment to get funky and dynamic pictures that are otherwise impossible with other cameras.
Anyway, here are just a few samples that I've gotten so far (I'm going to explore some more this weekend):
Sampling of the zoom capacity:
1) No zoom; landscape shot of the Oviatt Library at CSUN
2) 30x zoom (notice it's not at max!) on the flag flying atop the library
Another zoom sample...
1) No zoom; landscape of the "park" in the middle of campus
2) Zoomed into the far left branch sticking out from the tree
Then a black and white landscape:
And then CSUN's unofficial mascot, the squirrel. LOL these buggers are everywhere on campus and I swear they're plotting our demise:
See - he's ready to pounce.
And my favorites - the moon! It didn't take much work to find the right setting to pick up the details of the surface, while my old camera couldn't even get a close-up white sphere despite hours of manipulation.
I can't wait to experiment some more - especially with concert photography, my absolute favorite kind. There's so much to learn on this camera and I feel like I can really expand my skills. Yay!
Among the camera's other features are: face detection, blink detection, zoom-framing assist, intelligent contrast correction, vivid color (pure color enhancer), and motion detection technology coupled with the optical image stabilizer and 1/3600 shutter speed makes for clear, sharp pictures even when the subject is running.
In other words, it's amazing. It has 14.1 megapixels so the quality is insane, and that pure color thing is crazy - the pictures seriously pop. The face and blink detection are super cool - the camera will alert you if someone's eyes are closed or blinking, and auto-focus and snap the picture (if you engage that control) when everyone's eyes are open and they're smiling.
It sounds like you don't have to do much to get a good picture - and basically, you don't. But it also allows for a hell of a lot of control and manual adjustment to get funky and dynamic pictures that are otherwise impossible with other cameras.
Anyway, here are just a few samples that I've gotten so far (I'm going to explore some more this weekend):
Sampling of the zoom capacity:
1) No zoom; landscape shot of the Oviatt Library at CSUN
2) 30x zoom (notice it's not at max!) on the flag flying atop the library
Another zoom sample...
1) No zoom; landscape of the "park" in the middle of campus
2) Zoomed into the far left branch sticking out from the tree
Then a black and white landscape:
And then CSUN's unofficial mascot, the squirrel. LOL these buggers are everywhere on campus and I swear they're plotting our demise:
See - he's ready to pounce.
And my favorites - the moon! It didn't take much work to find the right setting to pick up the details of the surface, while my old camera couldn't even get a close-up white sphere despite hours of manipulation.
I can't wait to experiment some more - especially with concert photography, my absolute favorite kind. There's so much to learn on this camera and I feel like I can really expand my skills. Yay!
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