Oh, The Places I Went: Palo Alto

So I decided I'd mix things up this week and do a "Places I Went" post, rather than a "Place's You'll Go" post, because it's Thanksgiving break, and I've been wearing the same pajamas and sitting in my bed for the past 48 hours, and I really don't feel like going anywhere! Anyways, this week's post is going to be on Palo Alto, which is one of my favorite places on Earth. I am actually from Palo Alto, and my mom works out there, so I visit a ton, but I still get psyched every time I visit. 

For those of you who aren't really NorCal people, Palo Alto is a town in the San Francisco Bay Area, probably about 30-40 minutes away from San Francisco. It is in the heart of Silicon Valley, so it is a very fast-paced and diverse place, very different from the town I live in now, Park City. 

Palo Alto on a map of the Bay Area.
Image Courtesy of: Google Maps

Besides being the hometown of James and Dave Franco, Palo Alto is probably best known for being home to Stanford University. Simply put, Stanford is bae. It is absolutely gorgeous, in a different way than any other school you'll ever visit. It has kind of a Spanish look to it, with a lot of those wavy red roofs and stuff. There's also a ton of nature and gorgeous outdoor art, all of which are really powerful and thought-provoking (and I am not an art person at all). My favorite thing about Stanford, though, is the people there; everyone you meet there is super smart and hardworking and nice, and it makes it a really cool environment to be in.

My friends, Sage and Audrey, and I in front of the
Memorial Church in the Quad at Stanford.

Another really fun thing to do if you ever visit Palo Alto is to go see Google. I did this a few summers ago when my friends, Sage and Audrey, and I went out to a volleyball camp at Stanford. The Googleplex is freaking awesome! They've got a huge cafeteria with FREE food for all their employees and visitors, they've got a slide in one of their office buildings and "nap pods" where employees can take naps during the day. They've got a ball pit, and six person bikes, and awesome booths to work at, and free massages, and a volleyball court, and a free garden, and everything is touchscreen and shiny and rainbow! 

Sage, Audrey, and I on one of the six person
bikes at the Googleplex. 

One of the "offices" at the Googleplex.
Kind of makes me want to quit everything and
become a genius computer programmer.
Image Courtesy of: Abduzeedo

Another thing I love to do when I go out to Palo Alto is visit University Avenue. University Avenue is basically Palo Alto's Main Street. It is home to a ton of really neat (but usually kind of expensive) restaurants and shops. Just walking down University Avenue, you'll see different types of restaurants you probably didn't even know existed, like Siamese, Peruvian, and Caribbean (this place is super good). I swear there's also like twenty-two ice cream places on University Avenue, and all of them are amazing!

University Avenue at night. One of my favorite
things about University Ave is that they have Xmas
lights up year long.
Image Courtesy of: Poeschko

Palo Alto is a really fun town home to an amazing group of people and unique activities. If you are ever near the Bay Area, be sure to stop by Palo Alto; its pretty dang fun!

Ethiopia: An African Utopia*

*Before I say anything else in this post, take a second to appreciate that nice rhyme in the title there. It may or may not have required a rhyming dictionary, but it is by far the best rhyme I have made all week.

Ok. Now back to Ethiopia.

Ever since I went to a killer Ethiopian restaurant down in Salt Lake, I have wanted to travel to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a pretty boss place. Most people don't really ever consider African countries as a travel destination, unless they are in to service work or safaris, but as I've looked into it, Ethiopia has a lot of fun and different experiences for tourists.

One thing I really want to do in Ethiopia is feed hyenas. Natives of the city of Harar, known as "hyena men," have tamed hyenas here for centuries and call them out by name to feed them from their own mouths (meaning the hyenas are literally eating out of their mouths)! Hyena men will often ask for volunteers and teach foreigners how to feed the hyenas, as well. You can watch a pretty cool video of this here.

A hyena man in Harar feeding a hyena.
Image Courtesy of: Globe Spots

I don't cook. Ever. It drives my parents insane how all I eat comes from the freezer, a restaurant, or their time and effort. In all honesty, I actually enjoy cooking; the maybe five times in my life I have cooked have been pretty enjoyable. The problem is I have absolutely no cooking skills and even less time (yes, I am aware that is in the negatives, and, yes, that is accurate). However, one day I will have time and lazy kids like me, so I will have to get some cooking skills, and what better place to do so than an Ethiopian cooking school!

Lalibela Cooking School is a well-known cooking school located in Lalibela, Ethiopia, where students can learn how to prepare authentic Ethiopian dishes. You can learn how to make injera (like a sourdough crepe) and curries and vegetable dishes. The classes are a little bit expensive, but hopefully with my future time and lazy kids will come a little bit of moola, if you're smellin' what I'm steppin' in.

Students and teachers after a class with a meal prepared at
Lalibela Cooking School.
Image Courtesy of: Food for Life

If I ever go to Ethiopia, I also want to visit Omo Valley. Omo Valley is located in Southern Ethiopia, where much of the country's "African" wildlife live. It is home to hippos, lions, gazelles, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and all that jazz! Another thing in Omo Valley that sounds really interesting is their native people. The Omo Valley is home to about 200,000 people belonging to eight different African tribes. It is one of the only places on Earth where you can find people who are untouched and unaffected by the modern world and global culture. I think it would be amazing to see how life for these people is without any influence from the rest of the world whatsoever.

Children of African tribes living in Omo Valley.
Image Courtesy of: Wild Frontiers

Ethiopia is a fascinating country home to amazing opportunities. Although many people often overlook this amazing country as a travel destination, it has many unique and enjoyable activities for travelers. So next time you are looking for a place to go outside your usual trip to the beach or Boston or wherever, consider Ethiopia.

Away to Taipei!

This summer, as I mentioned in my about page, I went to a nerd camp in Baltimore and made a bunch of friends from all over the world, and one of the really good friends that I made lived in Taipei. Taipei is one of the biggest cities in the world, bigger than L.A. even, but when Kavya (my friend) first told me she lived in Taipei, I thought she was referring to some little Czechoslovakian village or something. To be clear, Taipei is not a little Czechoslovakian village. It is on the island of Taiwan, which is kind of its own and country and kind of not, and also, at the same time, kind of part of China and kind of not (I'm still a little fuzzy on that part). Anyways, Kavya started telling me about Taipei, and I thought it sounded really cool, so ever since then, it's been on my "Dream Vacations" list.

For any other people out there who maybe are little bit confuzzed about
the location of Taipei.
Image Courtesy of: Hackpad

Taipei 101 is the third tallest building in the world, and (get this!) it is in Taipei and has 101 stories. So far, the tallest building I have ever been in is the Empire State Building, which is 417 feet shorter than Taipei 101. The Empire State Building was pretty dang cool; it had an awesome view and gave me that tingly-kind-of-nauseous-but-not-really feeling in my stomach just looking down from on top of it. I can only imagine what standing on Taipei 101 would be like! To make it all even better, Taipei 101 is home to a six-story mall and two observation decks with 360º panoramic views!

No... It doesn't stand out at all!
Image Courtesy of: ArchiTravel

Inside Taipei 101 Mall
Image Courtesy of: Distro Home

One thing Taipei is pretty well-known for is their night markets. Night markets are common fixtures in Taiwan where you can go to buy food, clothes, and cool but totally useless crap you don't really need (e.g. a solar-powered dancing cat toy). To be honest, just looking at pictures of the night markets, they look a little bit tacky and touristy and crowded, but I might as well go for a little while I'm there, just to see what the hype's all about. (Did I say that right?) Plus, I'll never turn down a chance to buy food! Taipei is also famous for having awesome street food (a whole separate thing from the night markets), so I'd want to try a taste of that while I'm there, as well.

Shilin Night Market, the biggest night market in Taipei.
Hopefully some of those signs say "horse," "well," "child," or "woman,"
because those are the only words I can read in Chinese!
Image Courtesy of: Taipei Hostel

Finally, every year, Taipei holds an amazing festival called the Lantern Festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Gorgeous lanterns are hung up around the Taipei Expo Park, and there are usually fireworks, too. (And who doesn't love fireworks?!) In the last few years, the Lantern Festival has added some high tech touches; they have made some really elaborate and colorful dragon lanterns and a pretty dope Snoopy one, too. I would LOVE to go to Taipei during the Chinese New Year (usually around late January/February) to be able to go to the Lantern Festival.

Sky lanterns being released at the Taiwan Lantern Festival.
I'm not too sure how safe it is to send a bunch of firey candles
into the sky, but YOGTTTLFO (You Only Go To The Taiwan
Lantern Festival Once).
Image Courtesy of: Taiwan.net