thepismire

Joni+Son Save The Date

thepismire — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 06:13:41 +0000

Took some photos for a couple of friends for their save the date. They had so many good ideas that I didn’t have to do much creative thinking, but they let me flex some creative muscles as well (sorry I made you hike a little, Son). To explain the fridge pictures, they used the photos for magnets that they gave out for their save the dates. Good times you guys, and thanks for the awesome lunch. It was a Vietnamese place called Hot Pot City that was half hot pot, and half KBBQ in case you were curious.

See more here.

Game Of Thrones Season 3

thepismire — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 05:33:10 +0000

Europe Trip 2012 – Rome

thepismire — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 04:57:47 +0000

Our last leg of the trip was Roma. We dedicated 5 nights for this place because we knew we were in for a cultural explosion. There are just too many things to list out for this city, but I think we got most of it. Luckily, there was some celebration going on when we were visiting, so most of the sites had free admission! Also, this place also requires some reservations to see the places. Vatican Museum, and the more elusive, Borghese Gallery. The Borghese Gallery houses some of Bernini’s greatest works. This was probably my favorite museum of all. The Bernini statues were incredible. Sometimes, you forget that it’s stone. He was such a skilled artist that at certain parts of his statues, he was able to carve it so thin that it was translucent. St. Peter’s Basilica, wow. No words can describe this gigantic church. Awesome city! After this, it was a short flight back to Heathrow then off we went. I definitely do want to come back to Europe. Need to hit up Spain/Portugal, Eastern Europe, and also a Switzerland/Austria trip.

One last final advice for Europe if you are the type that likes learning and stuff. Do a little bit of research on the history of some places you go to. A lot of travel guides have some bits of it here and there, but it would be more rewarding if you knew the background of some of the sites you see. Also, for art museums, study up on art history, or for the famous pieces, try to learn about why it’s famous in the first place. It’s usually an interesting story, and makes you realize what the fuss is all about. Fortunately for me, my brother took a lot of art history classes, so he was able to explain a lot.

Europe Trip 2012 – Florence

thepismire — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 00:40:09 +0000

A quick stop to Florence on the way to Rome was next since one of our cousins lived there at the moment. Florence, being the birthplace of the Renaissance, has a few of the best museums around: the Uffizi and Accademia. Michelangelo’s David is at the Accademia. Other highlights of the city include the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo. David was amazing to see in person, and it still baffles me at how these artists were able to chisel people out of a solid piece of rock. If you do plan to visit Florence, most of their museums are by reservation ONLY, so make sure to get that taken care of beforehand. Supposedly, Florence has the best gelato. We tried it. It was good.

ISAIAH 55:10-11 (ESV)

thepismire — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:15:16 +0000

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

ISAIAH 55:10-11 (ESV)

The New VW GTI

thepismire — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:54:12 +0000

More HP. The line between VW and Audi is getting blurred. And 17″ rims? They decreased the stock size? All in all, looks good. Keep it up VW. DAS AUTO!

Via VW

Europe Trip 2012 – Venice

thepismire — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:34:03 +0000

On to Venezia. What a journey this was. The original plan was to take a nice overnight sleeper to Venice. But, the travel gods were not pleased with us that night. We needed to take a train from Salzburg to a transfer station. We did that with no complications, but then we decided to step on to the wrong train. We realized this about 30 minutes riding it. After confirming with the conductor that we were definitely heading the wrong direction, he just told us we should go back. So, we did. At the transfer station, we went to the ticketing office and found that we missed the last train to Venice. I did not like this realization very much. I’m one of those people that likes to plan things out in advance, and if something happens to deviate from the plan, I get upset. My brother is the opposite, so good thing he was there. After pacing back and forth, venting out my steam, we went back and found that another train is leaving for Venice, but we would have to head back towards Salzburg and wait there a few hours. And, we would have to buy tickets for that train somehow. So back to Salzburg. The next challenge was buying a ticket. All ticketing offices were closed, and there was no way I could buy one at a kiosk. We knew what we had to do, so we awaited our fate at McDonald’s. It was time to board our train, and in a desperate move, we kindly explained the situation to the conductor, making sure to explain every detail, and reminding him that we are basically stranded if we weren’t allowed on board. We finally asked if we can hitch a ride on his train with no ticket. We wait. The conductor looks up with a stern face and replies- “Sure!”. And that was that. No questions, no nothing. All he said was, if there’s space, take it. Thankfully, it was a late night departure and wasn’t as crowded. Thank the Lord! We got on, found a nice cabin, and layed down. But, it was THE most stressful ride to Venice. Every stop we made, we were worried we would be in someone’s assigned seat and would have to get up looking for empty seats. That never came. And that’s how Venice started.

Venice itself is unique, and there’s no other city quite like it, with the canals and all. The Doge’s Palace, people watching at Piazza San Marco, and the Rialto. All good times. One day is enough here.

Europe Trip 2012 – Salzburg

thepismire — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:34:34 +0000

Austria was a must stop on our trip, and we went with Salzburg because it just fit in better, location-wise, with our overall trip. Salzburg (literally “Salt Castle”) is best known for being the birthplace of Mozart and the Sound of Music. We spent 3 nights here, and it was a bit much. Not that I was sick of the place, but 2 nights and you should be good. Some highlights were walking down Getreidegasse (street in old town with tons of shops), biking around to all the Sound of Music locations (way better than the bus tours they offer and much cheaper), the Mozart chocolates, and having some monk brewed beer at Augustiner Brau. Salzburg was small enough where we didn’t have to use public transportation as it was only a short 15 minute walk to old town. I would say one of the nicer McDonald’s was here, and we took advantage of their wifi a lot. Thanks Salzburg!

Europe Trip 2012 – Munich

thepismire — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 03:34:03 +0000

From Paris, we hopped on a train to Munich and arrived to a pleasant snowfall. Just to note, we were getting around with a 4-country Eurail Pass that we bought beforehand. Deutschland! We were so confused when we first used their U-Bahn (subway) system. Where was the turnstile where you put the tickets in? So we just hopped on, and off we went. It was later when we found out that they abide by the honor system here where you validate your ticket at these small kiosks, but there is nothing to stop you from riding without it. But if you are ever caught without a validated ticket, you are fined. Good thing we found out after our first trip.

Besides that, it was such a nice city to be in. We attended the original Hofbrauhaus, where we shared enormous liters of Weissbier with some Austrians. Also, let me tell you about the German diet. It’s a diet that my appetite agreed with very much, consisting of beer (bier), bread (semmel) or pretzels (brezel), and sausages (wurst). That’s it! I love it! You just go up to a stand and pick your wurst, grab a semmel and eat WITHOUT putting them together like we do here in America. Take a bite of one, then the other. Repeat. And the beers. The glorious beers. Dachau was also nearby, which was one of the first Nazi concentration camps, and was very sobering to visit.

We also were able to take a day trip out to Castle Neuschwanstein (literally, new swan stone). This was Mad King Ludwig II’s pride and joy, and he dreamed about the castle first, fueled by Wagner’s operas. Built in the 19th century, castles were old news at this point, but Ludwig wanted it, and by looking at it you could tell it’s from imagination and fantasy. It is definitely not your most functional castle. The funny thing is that Ludwig was only able to live in it for a short while, until he was brought to a deposition by the government, and mysteriously died the next day, floating on a lake. Fun fact: this was what Walt Disney modeled his Sleeping Beauty Castle after.

I realized I didn’t take too many pictures from Munich, but you can see the rest here.

Europe Trip 2012 – Paris

thepismire — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 02:32:37 +0000

Paris was our second destination. First off, let me explain to you how we got there from London. We got on a bus, and all I knew was that somehow, someway, we eventually would need to cross the English Channel, and exactly how it happened, I would have never guessed. So after a few hours of driving towards the coast, we finally reach some kind of checkpoint. In my mind, I thought we were going to get off the bus, hop on a train, and go under through the tunnel. Or, get off the bus and hop on to a ferry, and cross over. So wrong. The bus driver announced that we would be going on a train, BUT he told us to stay seated. What in the world? The bus then proceeded onto some platform. That’s when I see this enormous train, and I’m thinking to myself, “No- no, that’s impossible”. But, the bus just gets closer, and closer to the train. Then at an opening, it drives inside and parks. WHAT.THE.EFF. My mind is blown to smithereens at this point, and I’m just flabbergasted. The bus drove in to the train. IN to the train. Like, inside of it. I was in a bus, in a train. What.

And then we crossed. Amazing.

So, Paris. The city of lights? I swear there are other cities that claim that too, no? My buddy Rick Steve’s told me that this city probably had THE best metro system, and he was definitely right. You’ll always be a walking distance away from a metro station. The museums here are just as great, and what can I say about the Louvre that hasn’t already been said. My brother and I spend a good 4-5 hours in there and still we weren’t able to see everything. We literally had to leave because we were getting tired of the masterpieces stored inside. The Louvre managed to spoil our taste for art. “Oh, another Da Vinci? BOORING”. Yea. For some reason, we were crazy enough to go to the Musee de Orsay in the same day. Our feet were killing us, but it was like Clear Eyes because this museum had some more modern pieces.

You probably could guess all the other places we went to, like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc. So I guess I’ll just point out my first time eating foie gras. The methods in obtaining this fatty liver is just atrocious, which is why I never tried it. But DANG it was so good! No wonder people overlook the senseless torture of these innocent ducks for a few minutes of savory pleasure. How quick the heart turns. Also, their baguettes are no joke.

In terms of the people, I was prepared for the worst. All the stories I’ve heard about the French (especially Parisians) and their attitude towards Americans was giving me anxiety as I explore the city. But, while I do agree that it wasn’t the friendliest city, it was a non-issue while we were there.

You can see the rest here.