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thefridayfive. These looked like fun questions, this time.
1. Have you ever stayed in a hostel? If so, where? Did you like it? If you haven't stayed in a hostel, would you?
Yes, several times. I visited Northern Ireland as a teen and stayed at two different hostels in Belfast, one in Derry, and one in a place called White Park Bay. The one in Derry was my favorite. It was in this huge old house with a bunch of smaller rooms. One of the main public rooms had a bunch of cushions and low chairs to sit on, and one of those big iron radiators. I spent a lot of time sitting right next to that and drawing, and chatting with a couple of the people who ran the place. They were from all over Europe.
I also stayed at one in the town of Glenwood, Colorado, and that was possibly my favorite hostel I've ever stayed at. It was three separate buildings, with a cute little courtyard between them where some friends and I played wallball for a while. The building we were in had a nice little kitchen and a bunch of cushions on the floor that we spent a lot of time hanging out on, and the main building had a public room with some various game boards, a couple of record players, and boxes upon boxes of records. We spent a bunch of time in there too, listening to different ones. The hostel was right in the middle of town, too, and Glenwood's a great place.
2. What is your favo(u)rite airport that you've been to? Why?
Clinton National, in Little Rock, probably. People are nice, and it's only twelve gates. I've spent a lot of time hanging out in that airport.
Keflavík International Airport in Iceland is also very cool.
Despite the fact that it's the second largest in the world and somewhat intimidating because of it, I'm also fond of Denver International. Gotta love an airport with a giant blue demon horse outside its entrance and multiple webpages of conspiracy theories about it.
3. What is the best museum you have visited on vacation?
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Natural History Museum, and Museum of Modern Art in NYC. I did nothing but visit museums on that trip. At the time, the MOMA was hosting Starry Night. I remember wandering through a gallery and turning around and it was right there. I'm not even the biggest Van Gogh fan, but it was so cool to see.
The Science Museum and Natural History Museum in London were also both amazing. The architecture alone of the Natural History Museum is worth seeing, and some of their taxidermy specimens are spectacular. They've preserved as best they can some of the earliest specimens ever sent to the museum, so some of them are a couple of centuries old. It was really cool to see. And they had an elephant bird skeleton. Loved that.
Honorable mention to the glassblowing museum, outside of Seattle. They had a glassblowing studio where you could watch people work, and that was very, very cool.
If it counts I also quite enjoyed the aquarium in Melbourne, Australia. They had a preserved colossal squid.
EDIT: Oh god I forgot the Desert Museum! The Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ. Part museum, part zoo, a bunch of amazing displays about local ecology and culture, tons of native wildlife, lectures about all of the above. . . I got to meet a barn owl and a couple of harris' hawks there. Some of my faves.
4. Have you ever made friends while traveling whom you keep in touch with on a regular basis?
Sadly not anyone I've stayed in touch with, but I've definitely made friends. I got quite friendly with the people who ran that hostel in Derry, and there were a couple of guys staying at the hostel in Glenwood that I really hit it off with, and we hung out for a couple days. I remember I had a little sketchbook I was hauling around at the time, and one of them wrote a really lovely, poetic message in the back of it for me. I probably still have it somewhere.
Honestly, I'm pretty introverted, but making brief friendships on trips is one of the joys, for me. People are interesting and have a lot to say. I met a couple from Texas at Mesa Verde, and hung out with them while they talked about struggling with the altitude. I met a woman in New York who shared her umbrella with me, and we chatted about both being from out of town. I talked for a while with the owner of a little Iranian grocery in Seattle about all sorts of things. I ended up working as volunteer stage crew for a production of Les Mis in Illinois once, and got on really well with the stage director. Ran into him again months later at a Jethro Tull concert five states away.
5. Have you ever had a conversation with a seatmate on a plane?
Definitely. It hasn't happened in a while, but I've had fun with it in the past. I used to draw on planes a lot, and it was always fun when somebody commented on that.
thefridayfive. These looked like fun questions, this time.1. Have you ever stayed in a hostel? If so, where? Did you like it? If you haven't stayed in a hostel, would you?
Yes, several times. I visited Northern Ireland as a teen and stayed at two different hostels in Belfast, one in Derry, and one in a place called White Park Bay. The one in Derry was my favorite. It was in this huge old house with a bunch of smaller rooms. One of the main public rooms had a bunch of cushions and low chairs to sit on, and one of those big iron radiators. I spent a lot of time sitting right next to that and drawing, and chatting with a couple of the people who ran the place. They were from all over Europe.
I also stayed at one in the town of Glenwood, Colorado, and that was possibly my favorite hostel I've ever stayed at. It was three separate buildings, with a cute little courtyard between them where some friends and I played wallball for a while. The building we were in had a nice little kitchen and a bunch of cushions on the floor that we spent a lot of time hanging out on, and the main building had a public room with some various game boards, a couple of record players, and boxes upon boxes of records. We spent a bunch of time in there too, listening to different ones. The hostel was right in the middle of town, too, and Glenwood's a great place.
2. What is your favo(u)rite airport that you've been to? Why?
Clinton National, in Little Rock, probably. People are nice, and it's only twelve gates. I've spent a lot of time hanging out in that airport.
Keflavík International Airport in Iceland is also very cool.
Despite the fact that it's the second largest in the world and somewhat intimidating because of it, I'm also fond of Denver International. Gotta love an airport with a giant blue demon horse outside its entrance and multiple webpages of conspiracy theories about it.
3. What is the best museum you have visited on vacation?
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Natural History Museum, and Museum of Modern Art in NYC. I did nothing but visit museums on that trip. At the time, the MOMA was hosting Starry Night. I remember wandering through a gallery and turning around and it was right there. I'm not even the biggest Van Gogh fan, but it was so cool to see.
The Science Museum and Natural History Museum in London were also both amazing. The architecture alone of the Natural History Museum is worth seeing, and some of their taxidermy specimens are spectacular. They've preserved as best they can some of the earliest specimens ever sent to the museum, so some of them are a couple of centuries old. It was really cool to see. And they had an elephant bird skeleton. Loved that.
Honorable mention to the glassblowing museum, outside of Seattle. They had a glassblowing studio where you could watch people work, and that was very, very cool.
If it counts I also quite enjoyed the aquarium in Melbourne, Australia. They had a preserved colossal squid.
EDIT: Oh god I forgot the Desert Museum! The Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ. Part museum, part zoo, a bunch of amazing displays about local ecology and culture, tons of native wildlife, lectures about all of the above. . . I got to meet a barn owl and a couple of harris' hawks there. Some of my faves.
4. Have you ever made friends while traveling whom you keep in touch with on a regular basis?
Sadly not anyone I've stayed in touch with, but I've definitely made friends. I got quite friendly with the people who ran that hostel in Derry, and there were a couple of guys staying at the hostel in Glenwood that I really hit it off with, and we hung out for a couple days. I remember I had a little sketchbook I was hauling around at the time, and one of them wrote a really lovely, poetic message in the back of it for me. I probably still have it somewhere.
Honestly, I'm pretty introverted, but making brief friendships on trips is one of the joys, for me. People are interesting and have a lot to say. I met a couple from Texas at Mesa Verde, and hung out with them while they talked about struggling with the altitude. I met a woman in New York who shared her umbrella with me, and we chatted about both being from out of town. I talked for a while with the owner of a little Iranian grocery in Seattle about all sorts of things. I ended up working as volunteer stage crew for a production of Les Mis in Illinois once, and got on really well with the stage director. Ran into him again months later at a Jethro Tull concert five states away.
5. Have you ever had a conversation with a seatmate on a plane?
Definitely. It hasn't happened in a while, but I've had fun with it in the past. I used to draw on planes a lot, and it was always fun when somebody commented on that.