Veronica Min ENGL015

For our last destination, I would like to introduce Victoria Falls!

Victoria Falls is located in Africa and is also one of the Seven Natural Wonders. It may seem like a random place, but I have wanted to go to Africa in the future, so I decide to post this week’s blog about Africa. The title of this post, Mosi-oa-Tunya, is another name of Victoria Falls which means, “Smoke that Thunders”.

Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. The height of the falls is 108m and its elevation is 885m. This big falls is located in several countries, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Most travelers visit Victoria Falls through Livingstone, Zambia or Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. There is a trail that you can walk and see the falls. One tip of visiting to Victoria Falls is you should bring umbrella and rain coat because even if the weather is nice, it would look like it is raining and storm coming when you walk or stand near the falls.

There are several activities that you can do! For sky related activities, there are helicopter tour and bungee jumping. If I can visit Victoria Falls, I would do bungee jumping! For water related activities, there are canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. You can also do horseback riding, tour elephant safari, and explore the town nearby the falls.

I hope you find interest in my traveling posts!

Since we are exploring Europe, let’s continue our journey. This week, we will go to Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich is the largest and the capital city in Switzerland. Therefore, there are so many places to visit, but we will explore just one of them.

I would love to go to Sprungli, which is one of the big bakeries in the city. There are variety of pastries and chocolates. Sprungli is well known for Luxemburgerli macaroons that many people around the world visit the store to try them. Luxemburgerli macaroon is a small burger looking dessert that whipped cream or chocolate ganache or other flavors in the middle like “meats”. You can get put those in a pink box, 16 maximum. Despite the small size of the macaroons, the price is very expensive. Yet, most people say it’s worth it. One tip for eating Luxemburgerli macaroons is that it would be better to eat as soon as possible to eat in the good condition (when it’s crispy not chewy and stale). If you are not in mood for sweets, the bakery has sandwiches, quiches, and meat pies which I also love.

Of course you can explore so many places. There is Old Town that historic part of Switzerland. Also, there are around 50 museums in Zurich itself that even if you are not a big museum goer, you may find something interesting in one of those museums. If you want to have a break from the crowd busyness, you can enjoy the nature which is about ten minutes away from the city.

Have you watched a British drama called Sherlock?

I first watched it last year and I fell in love with it! After all, I watch the same episodes over and over again whenever I have time. When I watched it, I not only got excited because of the story and actors, but also of the background or setting of the drama. I want to go to England badly because I love rainy weather, and Harry Potter movies and Sherlock make me want to go there!

Where Sherlock take place?

Mostly, it takes place in London. London is a big city in England that many people all around the world travel. I’ve always wanted to visit!!

Mentioning of Harry Potter earlier, let’s go to Warner Bros Studio in London! It is located North-West of London. Since the movies are famous all around the world, it would be good to buy tickets a month ahead. Inside of the studio, there are clothes (like cloak), Hogwarts model, pictures of actors and actresses, etc. There are café and picnic area to take a rest from the big crowd.

England contains many historical buildings and statues as well as authors (for instance, Shakespeare and Charles Dickens) that there are many museums that you can check out! There are British Museum, Charles Dickens Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe, etc. You can also visit Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives. Of course you cannot go inside, but you can see the beautiful scenery!

I love eating so I am excited to think about eating something new! In England, probably you guys know that fish and chips are pretty common. Not only that, but you can try other food as well! Here is a link that you can check out~ http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/07/what-to-eat-in-london-olympics-british-food.html

If you are a big fan of soccer, then don’t stay in London! Go other places to watch the game! The atmosphere would be crazy and enthusiastic just like during the football game in America. If I ever get the chance to watch the game, then I would stay in London to watch Queens Park Rangers game because one of my favorite Korean soccer player is in that team!

There are so many things you can do in not only London, but also in England in general so I hope I get to visit everywhere someday. Personally, I want to go to Tower Bridge at night just to relax. I think it looks beautiful!

How many of you want Spring to come right now? I AM!! Although Winter is my favorite season, I can’t wait to be in warmer weather. I wish I can be in California, enjoying the Sun!

The other day, one of our classmates, Bryan Ryder, commented about his trip to La Jolla which is located near San Diego, California and two hour drive from L.A. so I decided to explore more about it.

What come to your mind when you think about California? I imagine myself being at the beach in the sunny day.

La Jolla beaches are wide that each part has different characteristics. Most popular beaches are Windansea Beach, La Jolla Cove, La Jolla Shores, and Black’s Beach (Order from South to North). There are many people, especially families with little children, around La Jolla Cove and La Jolla Shores because those are good places to swim, play with sands (for children), surf, and snorkel. There are several parks such as Kellogg Park and Scripps Park that many people can seat around and enjoy the Sun.

Oh! There are many seals at the beach enjoying the sunshine as well!

The other parts of La Jolla beaches have good sceneries that many couples take wedding photos and walk around peacefully. However, those places may not be good for the kids because some areas are clothing-optional.

If you are not a beach person, then you can go hiking or golfing, or visit the parks (which I mentioned above-Kellogg Park, Scripps Park, and Cuvier Park). Also, there are several Art museums and galleries that you can check out too! There are many aesthetic events around in La Jolla so if you ever get the chance to visit, you can check out the calendar!

http://www.lajollabythesea.com/calendar

I hope you enjoy the “trip” to Gangnam in Korea.Well, today’s destination is in Korea again. We will tour one of the popular tour places, Jeju Island! It is located in the south of Korea. Jeju Island is the biggest island that many people travel for a short break, especially students from middle and high schools .

[The two statues (made out of stones) are representing Jeju Island]

There are two ways of going to Jeju Island: the air plane or the ferry. I only took the flight when I went to Jeju Island with my friends last year.  It took around 1 or 2 hours from Kimpo airport which is located near Seoul (North part of Korea). If you want to take the ferry, then it would be a longer journey, but I personally think it would be just as fun as taking the plane. The furthest is from one side(North) to the other(South) which would take twelve hours. Sometimes, it could be overnight trip that there are rooms for the people to sleep.

What can you do when you arrive to Jeju Island?

Jeju Island is a natury place that the scenery is so beautiful.  There are walking paths called Olle Trails that the people can walk next to the beach (not always!) and enjoy the views. There are twenty different sections and each section takes around 5 to 6 hours. Therefore, you can easily stop whenever you want. You don’t have to finish one section of the trail, but it’s relaxing and awesome just looking at the views that it wasn’t hard to finish one section. When I walked with my friends, there weren’t specific signs for the direction, but there were the red strings hanging on the branches or something else that marked the way. It was pretty cool and fun to look for the strings. There is no specific place to start walking, but anywhere. I haven’t walked the whole trails so I would like to walk a new section if I get the chance to visit again!

If you are not a nature person, then you should try riding a horse or an ATV! I rode a horse when I first went to Jeju Island with my family (I was in elementary school). It was fun, but it was really hard for me to even stay seated. I would definitely want to learn how to ride horses! I rode an ATV when I went to the island with my friends. We rode at the shore of the beach on the nice sunny day so it was really fun. There were bumpy path that some of my friends were stuck, but no one got injured.

If you don’t want to be too active, then you can go to the several museums. There are varieties of museums but the top ones are Trick Art Museum, Teddy Bears Museum, and Shinyeoung Cinema Museum. I have never been to all of those museums but those are in my traveling list that I would love to go in the future.

Although Jeju Island is not huge, there are many things to do if you look carefully:) Oh! One tip for the trip is bring windbreaker jacket because it is REALLY WINDY!