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GoshJosh02
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Name: Joshua
Country: United States
State: Illinois
Metro: Champaign-Urbana
Birthday: 7/26/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: Awkward conversations; Playlist-making; Over-the-top, emotional worship; Addiction to television shows; Comic books
Occupation: Student
Industry: Business
Message: message me
Member Since:
12/5/2003
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| So, the quick decline of Xanga (and blogging, in general) in my realm of friends is quite alarming. It's as if people have like... real jobs and real lives, now. But don't worry, I've still got my priorities straight. Since my last update.... (six months ago), a lot of life changes and experiences have occurred. Here's the first of five top big 'experiences' for 2007.
5. For my last spring break, ever, I went to visit my brother in Singapore. The city-state is infamous for it's strict government, but props to public canings, because it was also one heck of a clean metropolis. Here's a quick photographic rundown of my time there.
The Esplanade. Abe and I saw Rachael Yamagata at this concert hall. It's one of Singapore's most distinct and recognizable sites...
...Partly because it's modeled after one of Singapore's most famous fruits -
The Durian Fruit. The fruit is actually banned from the subways because when it's cracked open, it smells like a rotting armpit. Yum-oh.
I also got to hang out with Abe's friends from church. That's April and Andy, below.
We ate at this Indian Restaurant. It was an amazing meal up until the end, when I saw a huge mouse hop across the floor. I started to gag a little, so I went to the bathroom. When I opened the door, I discovered a bloody pad in the toilet.
And, what would a Josh Sung trip be without a multitude of touristy ventures - ranging from...
...a trip to the much over-rated Singapore Aquarium
to the kid-oriented Night
Safari. I would have more pictures from the zoo, but there was no flash
photography allowed. However, had I broken the rules like the person I googled this picture from, you would see me nervously standing next to this...
...a bat, like the one above, that was LITERALLY the size of cat. A cat with wings hanging upside down.
Towards the end of my break, Abe and I flew to Cambodia, home of the famous Angkor Wat temples, and even more importantly, the home of Maddox Jolie-Pitt.
Although there were no Angelina sightings, here's a montage of some pictures Abe took while we were in the temples of Siem Riep.
  
These ruins used to be the center of Hindu and Buddhist religion (depending on who was in power at the time). But now, they're more famously known as the ruins that Angelina Jolie skimped around in in Tomb Raider 2.
We also visited the Minefield Museum, a sobering look at the continuing destruction caused by the Khmer Rouge communist regime only a few decades ago.
  
Overall, the trip to Singapore and Cambodia was definitely a sweet experience, and a great way to spend my last Spring Break!
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| And finally, six months later, my Europe update concludes. Here is my last top three for Paris.
-Top Three Disappointments-
Now, I thought Paris was an amazing city, but spending ten days there, you're bound to run into some disappointments. Here are some of the major ones... -
St. Chappelle
When John and I went to this church (which Rick Steve's gave his highest rating), I was expecting something grand along the lines of Notre Dame. Instead, what we found was this small building, awkwardly placed right in the middle of the Supreme Court building.
The church is famous for its gothic architecture, as well as its stained glass windows, that scale to the ceilings of the church. It also used to house the supposed Crown of Thorns that Jesus wore at the crucifixion (The church was only one-third of the cost that it took to obtain this crown). Here are some snapshots.
 
Impressive right? Ehh, not really. The stained glass was beautiful - but due to renovations, the fact that half of the church borders another building, and some cloudy weather, it was incredibly dark and difficult to depict the biblical narrative.
Plus, the *supposed* crown of thorns was relocated to Notre Dame, and can't even be seen at the St. Chappelle anymore.
Moulin Rouge
This once thriving center for the Bohemian lifestyle is now just a glorified strip club - 'glorified' because its around $125 for the dinner and show to see ladies shake their boom booms. I think I'd rather just rent the movie and pocket the $125.
Sacre Coeur
This basilica is located at a pretty high elevation, in the area that the French film, Amelie, was filmed.
It's infamous for its street hagglers who pretend to want to be your friend, tie these friendship bracelets around your wrist, then demand a hefty sum of money. John and I thought it as pretty obvious what they were doing, and were telling Red's friends how naive someone has to be to fall for it... in which case, Red's friends flashed their friendship bracelet-adorned wrists at us. Aw-kward.
The church is equally famous for its sweeping panoramic view of the city. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty crappy the day we went, and the view was pretty drab.
It would probably be more impressive on a nice day, but crappy weather and the long trek it took us to get there pushes this sight onto my list of disappointments.
And finally, what would a concluding update about my trip to Europe be, without a Top 3 on places I would want to check out in the future!
-Top Three Places to See-
Disneyland Paris.
The amusement park was a quick trip outside of Paris, and I definitely had plenty of time to check it out. Unfortunately, nobody else really thought it was that appealing. I mean, c'mon, how can you resist a French-ified version of Mickey and Minnie? Maybe Abe will go with me, if I visit him in Paris in the winter.
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Amsterdam
We ran into the same problems with Amsterdam as with Disneyland Paris. Nobody wanted to go. But I mean, how can you say "No" to legalized marijuana, prostitution, and canals, galore? Maybe another time.
Greece
This country really wasn't on my radar, but my cousin is going to be STINTing there next year, so it gives me a huge incentive to head back to Europe and visit!
Any other suggestions on what to do, the next time I take a visit back to Europe? | | |
| Here is another update, as my summaries of Europe begin to wind down.
-Top Three Foods-Being on a budget, my highlights for food are pretty sad in Paris. Forget the five-course meal at some snooty French restaurant, here are my top three foods to get by on a college student's budget in Paris. -
Here's John, Red, and I flashing our quiches for the camera.
These became our morning staple, and would usually have to tide us over until dinner (Our idea of 'budget eating' was dangerously close to becoming an anorexic's dream diet).
 
Bread and Cheese.
After John left and while Red was in class, my budget eating became even more frugal. I started just buying a baguette and some brie cheese at the local bakery and grocery store beneath Red's apartment. But don't pity me just yet... I mean, no one can argue with spending only $1.50 for breakfast and lunch.
 
 
Rollifornia
Red prided himself on discovering this restaurant, which was a few blocks down from his apartment. The owners knew him by name, and he was unabashedly a walking advertisement for this place. It was a little pricey, but when you're only spending around $2 for breakfast and lunch, you can splurge a little at night, right?
This place served sushi-esque food. The "esque" is thrown in there, because it doesn't really serve your typical sushi fare. Instead, the menu included items like bulgogi rolls and avoided serving any raw fish items. Even though it would have made more sense to check out a French bistro, I thought this place was probably one of the better eateries in our trip to the Paris area.
-Top Three Things that I have a Deeper Appreciation for-
- Photography.
Towards the end of my time in Paris, I had pretty much exhausted all the major tourist sights and attractions. So, to fill my time, I began to explore the various arrondissements (that's French for 'districts'... so cultured, I know).
While doing that, I accidentally stumbled across a branch of the Jeu de
Paume (the contemporary art museum in Paris ), that was having an exhibition of photography by Joel Meyerowitz. I had originally planned on going to the main museum, but it was closed for renovation, so I was excited to have stumbled across the sister site.
Here are some photos of his photos. I know... ironic, right? Some I took at the gallery, while others I found online.
 
  
I know very little about photography, but I really enjoyed this exhibition. His photos of people really captured distinct feelings and messages, while his photos of random scenes create this surreal, idealized environment. I think it would be really fun to make a living off of simply being aware of these 'picture' moments. I did a little research on Joel Meyerowitz and found out that he was the only photographer allowed in after the 9/11 attacks to photograph Ground Zero. In other words, he's a pretty big deal.
After the Jeu de Paume, I saw some signs for another photography exhibit that was free at Hotel de Ville (Paris' City Hall). The exhibition was of Robert Doisneau, a famous French photographer, who captured random moments of Parisian life. Here's probably his most famous.
- Architecture.
Now, Red is a crazy architect major, so we were bound to get a crash course on some architecture around Paris. Here are some sights that Red highlighted to us.
 
Some snapshots of the National Library, from the bridge over the Seine. Red had to study this site for one of his class projects, so he brought us here to get a glimpse of it. The Library consists of an underground portion (like the Undergrad at the UofI, as well as four L-shaped towers, which are supposed to imitate open books.
The former American Center, turned French Museum of Cinema. It's designed by Frank Gehry, of Seattle's Experience Music Project eyesore, and Chicago's Millennium Park pavilion fame.
 
The Musee du Quai Branly. Designed by another famous architect, Jean Nouvel. One of Red's teachers played a major role in the development of this project. The museum is supposed to collect non-Western artifacts and exhibits, and the architecture attempts to create this pre-historic feel.
Almost as much fun as seeing all these buildings was attempting to be architecture snobs, like Red. John and I would pretend to know a lot about all the sites that we were seeing. "Notice the subtle gothic influences on the Eiffel Tower. You can tell the architect was heavily influenced by modern thought as well as structures from the Mesozoic Era."
It was pretty fun, until we ran out of 'influences' to list off (we could only think of Gothic and Modern), and maybe annoyed Red a little, when he started yelling at us heathens to stop.
- Red.
And I not only have a deeper appreciation for Red for putting up with our architecture blasphemy, but also for balancing John and my visit to Paris, along with some huge projects, on top of his sister and her friend visiting, all in the same time frame.
You could tell Red had a lot of stress to deal with.
To get a glimpse of all the shenanigans that Red had to deal with, here are a few shots of us out with Red's sister and her friend, and some of Red's architecture buddies.
 
Top left: A shot of the street where the bars were located. Top Right: Red and I, showing off our manly drinks. Bottom: Red, Dana, Jami, and I.
After a few more drinks, Red's architecture friends got a little too into it. Here's the progression.
They start dancing to the local band playing, and this old guy decides to join in.
Red's really sweet friend, Shera, maybe had one too many drinks, and starts getting a little too flirtatious with the old, creepy (and disturbingly sweaty) guy.
And the night ends with us cutting out early, and escorting Shera
back home. Unfortunately, a mix of inhibition-reducing alcohol and Shera's small bladder resulted in...
...Shera going number one behind a set of trashcans in the middle of the street. You can tell she had a really full bladder.
All in all, it was a pretty entertaining night, and the entire trip gave me a glimpse of all the wild things that Red is put through.
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| Beyond the museums, we also had plenty of time to check out some major monuments and sights. Here's a run down of my favorites. - Top Five Favorite Monuments & Sights -  Eiffel Tower Obviously, right? What would a trip to Paris be without scaling to the top of this giant "eyesore"? It was built for the World's Fair back in the late 1800s, and it was rumored to be so poorly received that the architect killed himself (Mr. Wikipedia says: Not true). Here are a few snapshots from the Eiffel Tower, when we visited it at night.  John, me, and Red's freshly-picked nostrils.
Red chose to chill at the bottom and eat Parisian hot dogs, while John and I headed up.  John and I, at the top. You may be wondering "How do I also get lasers to shoot out of my right nostril?" Well, the trick is to be so cold that you're unable to hold your hand still for more than a few milli-seconds. This can be obtained by escalating 1,000 feet above ground, then exposing yourself to 100 mph winds and a huge temperature drop of 30 degrees, in the middle of the winter. Voila! Despite the frigidness, it was pretty cool to experience a bird's-eye view of Paris at night.    Notre Dame Cathedral
The cathedral was pretty amazing. Although, after going to St. Paul's in London and St. Peter's in Rome, it was hard to be too impressed by the building. However, John and I were still able find ways to entertain ourselves. Here's us a few blocks away from the church.  Here's John running through a gathering of pigeons.  We seem to have an odd obsession with pigeons. The original attempt was to snap the picture as the birds were fluttering every which way, but the end result just makes John look like he's about to drop kick a pigeon. This is the main door of Notre Dame. It depicts Christ as Judge, determining those who go to Heaven and those who go to Hell. But, what was more important was... 
. ..John and I had a few good laughs banging on the door yelling "SANCTUARY!" We were pretty entertained by this, until a priest opened up the door and invited us in. Then, it was just a little bit awkward. Here are a few shots inside.    Deportation Memorial
This memorial was dedicated to all the French citizens forced into concentration camps during World War II. It was a pretty moving sight, that really involved the casual observer. You enter it by descending a long flight of stairs, to arrive at this open area, with high, looming walls and spiked bars, acting like a cage.  The idea is to bring you into the environment that the Jews would have been in - trapped, and only able to see the skies above.
Next, you take a few more steps down into this narrow room. In it, they have a tomb of the unknown deportee, as well as a hall of 200,000 individual lights...  ..."Dedicated to the living memory of the 200,000 French Deportees sleeping in the night and the fog, exterminated in the Nazi concentration camps."
As you walk out, the sign overhead reads...  ..."Forgive, but never forget." It was a pretty sobering experience, and brings you back to the reality that these atrocities occurred just a little more than a half-century ago.  Versailles PalaceAnd finally, Versailles Palace - former home of the Sun King, Louis XIV, but more importantly, the on-sight location for the filming of Sofia Coppola's poorly received Marie Antoinette. To think, I was able to wander the same halls that Kirsten Dunst wandered. Wow. Red is studying abroad for the entire year in Versailles, and his school is actually located in the former palace stables, located right across the street from this landmark. John and I stayed with him while we were visiting, and commuted into the city during the day. However, his apartment is literally a ten-minute walk from the palace grounds. Pretty cool. I'll avoid boring you with the history lessons, and just let you skim through the multitude of random pictures I took of the palace and gardens.       
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| So, my last week of college is pretty much wrapping-up. I feel like I should probably update on all the shenanigans going down in my final days here at UofI, but I am adamant about finishing up my Europe update. I guess I'll be forever relegated to updating this Xanga, a few months late. Anyways, after four packed days in Rome, we headed out early in the morning to make our way into Paris. We took another early morning flight on RyanAir, and arrived in Beauvais, a small town about an hour outside of Paris (It was a lot cheaper to fly through here, then directly into the city). However, being such a small airport, security was pretty lax. John and I walked in, without anyone checking our passports or stamping us in. Ahh, sooo different than the United States. After an hour shuttle ride, we finally met up with our friend, Red, in... - PARIS -
Paris was definitely my favorite city in our trip to Europe, probably because I spent 10 days exploring and absorbing the full spectrum of Western culture. Since there is so much to cover, we'll do Top Fives this time around. - Top Five Museums -
Obviously, Paris has its share of amazing museums. I bought a three-day museum pass and am pretty certain that I got full use of it. Here's a breakdown of my favorites. 
The Louvre.
Of course, what would a trip to Paris be without a visit to the ever expansive Louvre, more importantly known as one of the critical settings of The DaVinci Code? The former royal palace houses art from antiquity to the mid-1800s. We spent a solid three hours there, and only covered one of the three major wings! Here are some shots from our trip to the Louvre
 
 
Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pictures of the paintings, so all I've got to show you are snapshots of the glass pyramid and statues.
However, had I been highly unethical, I would have had some of these snapshots (bootlegged care of Google Images)
 
One really cool thing about having all these artworks in one museum is that you can see the evolution of art over the centuries. In this case...
  
You can see the growth from these stoic figures, to something really idealized, to statues that are really emotive and more 'real'.
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Musee d'Orsay
The Orsay picks up where the Louvre left off, capturing art from the mid-1800s on. This was probably my favorite museum - going from the conservative art that we found in the Louvre, to realism, and holding the largest collection of impressionist paintings in the world.
 
 
Musee de l'Orangerie
The Orangerie houses continues with more impressionist paintings. Most of the art housed here is pretty mediocre. However, the part that really puts this museum on the list is its huge collection of Monet's water lilies studies. These paintings literally wrap around the entire room.
   
Ghetto Panoramic.
You're also able to get close up to these painting, and see the detail of each brush stroke and color.
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Musee Rodin
The Rodin Museum collects many of Auguste Rodin's major works. I never really thought that much for sculpture, but seeing it up close, I get why these pieces are so famous - they really emote feeling and presence. Here are some snapshots of my favorites -
 
 
Clockwise, from upper-left: The Gates of Hell. It's pretty intense, and from it, inspired a lot of Rodin's most famous works; Me, contemplating The Thinker; The Kiss. I think this is my personal favorite; and the Three Shades.
Almost as impressive as his works is the drama of Rodin's life. Apparently, Rodin had a young mistress, who also served as his apprentice. Rodin eventually ended the affair, refusing to leave his wife. The mistress, Camille Claudel, sculpted The Age of Maturity, the work below...
...which depicts an old man, walking away in the arms of an older woman, with a young girl grasping on to his hand. Talk about a blatantly obvious meaning. Now tell me this doesn't sound like a 19th century episode of Grey's Anatomy!
Centre Pompidou
Paris's major modern art museum. The building itself was a little confusing. First off - all of the internal steel structure is exposed. Second, the center not only contains a museum, but it also a theatre, library, and cultural center. I was thoroughly confused for a good half hour, trying to figure out where the actual museum was.
Anyways, after finding it, I thought the museum was pretty cool. There were a few Warhol and Lichtenstein pieces that I recognized. Some that I was really impressed by. But to be honest, some modern art is a little over my head sometimes (or maybe it's just too pretentious), so I'll just leave you wth some pictures that I took.
 
 
 
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