part II
OK so as I promised I'll try to show you some curious things about America in general. I mentioned earlier about the diversity which distinguishes this country. Time for a little presentation of the most popular things, places, people etc. Let's start from Bagel:)
Bagel - In NYC you can find it everywhere, it's as famous as hot dog. New Yorkers eat them either plain or with cream cheese and smoked salmon from Nova Scotia, Canada called Nova Lox. What is the most interesting thing for us is that bagel was invented in Cracow. Apparently some young baker accidently stuck his finger in some dough. I think I don't have to tell you guys that it's kind of bread roll with a hole in the middle. It's kind of popular thing in Poland too..I think.
Central Park - also very popular, but this time it is a place in NY. This great park in the centre of big city is the main attraction not only for tourists, but also or especially for people who live there permanently. It occupies an area of 700 acres and was opened in 1857. It is some kind of escape for inhabitants of this really crowded city.
What is worth mentioning is that this is completely artificial creation. Before that, very long time ago there were there big swamps, very disliked place by Americans. And one more time we can find there some Polish accent. Near the Turtle Lake we can find a monument of Wladyslaw Jagiello on a horse. I heard it was created especially for the Polish pavilion on some international exhibition organized in NY. But because of second world war it couldn't return to Poland so King Jagiello Monument Committee gave it to NYC.
'Elvis left the building' - everybody knows the king of rock and roll. But maybe not all of you know this phrase. First time It was it used by the manager of Elvis after the concert when the audience didn't want to leave the place of a show given by this great artist. Soon it became a catchphrase usually used when you missed the highlight of some event.
John Doe - it's not name of a real person:) it's like Jan Kowalski in Poland. It can be any male whose identity is unknown or must not be revealed. If we want to talk about a woman in that way we would use Jane Doe.
Miranda Warning - this phrase you probably heard hundreds of times: ' You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you.' These are words read by US police officers to every person under arrest. In each state it sounds a little bit different but there are things which have to be said. Name of this practice comes from the name of Ernesto Arturo Miranda, a kidnapper whose right to remain silent was violated.
Route 66 – a legendary American road, opened in 1926, led from Chicago to Los Angeles. Fifty nine years later it was removed from maps and replaced by a highway system. But parts of this road still exist, they're marked as 'Historic Route 66'. It's now kind of icon and it has its own section in the National Museum of American History.
if you're interested enough:) check this out:
http://www.logo24.pl/Logo24/1,85827,8068324,Route_66___Droga__ktorej_nie_ma.html
Greyhound – a carrier, Americans say it's the cheapest one. I had an opportunity to travel with them and I wouldn't say it is that cheap but maybe it depends on where you are from. The Logo of this carrier is very popular, simply running greyhound, you probably have seen it many times. The company serves over 3,700 destinations in the US, Canada and Mexico. However, it doesn't have a good reputation, mostly because of bizarre drivers and clapped out buses. ..I can say this statement it's not so far away from true:)
Maybe there is a thing I didn't mention and you would like to see or try in U.S?
Have you ever travelled with the Greyhound? Do you share this opinion about it?
Could you imagine what things Americans would find attractive in Poland?
sources:
http://www.used-buses.net/bustypes/greyhound_bus.asp
http://holidays.syl.com/en/hotel/2713/Route+66+Motel/
http://www.logo24.pl/Logo24/1,85827,8068324,Route_66___Droga__ktorej_nie_ma.html
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ReplyDeleteThere are few things that I would like to see as well, but you haven't listed them yet (maybe in a third part:) ). Grand Canyon Colorado. That's a first place on my list. Yellowstone park - while its exist because I'he heard that after few years it is not going to survive. There are also hundreds of Fun Parks - the biggest ever. And definitely that will put on a first place. Then I would go for a few days to Palo Alto - personal stuffs :)
ReplyDeleteNever have an opportunity to travel with Greyhound. But if I planed a trip to US, I wouldn't count any carrier services at all. I would prefer to rent a car and pass all States on my own. AS I've heard that's the worthiest way of traveling actually the most exhausting and quite expensive but... who cares, I'm not going to do it tomorrow.
Could Poland be attractive to Americans? Yes, it is. As far as I know because of dissimilarity to their homeland. They love that peaceful Polish days and of course girls. But, similar to us, they couldn't live here for a long.
Car rental is very good idea..pitty I don't have a driving license, but of course to visit all states and see many great places in U.S, this is the best way to do that.
ReplyDelete..and just wondering why Palo Alto?:) never heard about this place. You don't have to tell I'm just curious as always:))
As Tomasz, I would love to see some wild areas of USA. I'm sure there is much more places like this than just Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. I'm not interested in the cities, but maybe that's because of my poor knowledge about them.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to USA so I didn't have opportunity to travel with Greyhound and I have no opinion about it.
Your last question is hard to answer when you don't know real Americans. I suppose that as in other parts of Europe we have a lot of old cultural heritage that could be interesting for them, because that's something they don't have.
Traveling the road 66 it's one of my dreams, but if I have visit US I would like to see everything that You and Tomasz mentioned;)
ReplyDeleteI have never travel with Greyhound.
Do you think that Americans know where is Poland? or even what is it?:P
I found two maps of all the world- as Americans see
http://zb.eco.pl/shared/upload/wiedza/ekomapy/swiat_wedlug_amerykanow.png
http://c.wrzuta.pl/wi3752/1356f504000a640647b213bf/mapa%20świata%20według%20amerykanów?type=i&key=3XH5fiKzCJ&ft=f
What do you think about it:P??
But for seriously, they can find ours monuments, completely different culture (and different hamburgers :D)
The first thing that comes in my mind is of course the Statue of Liberty. I guess this is the equivalent for the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw or the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned earlier I haven't been in the U.S.A. so I haven't travelled with the Greyhound, but probably I would give it a try. :)
I think there are a couple of things that Americans would find attractive in Poland. The first thing that comes in my mind are beautiful polish girls. :) That's something they will never have in the US. :)
i have never travelled in a greyhound but i have even more interesting experience - it's called PKS. amazing, sincerely. I sure would like to do the Route 66 in a convertible, really fast, with Springsteen on:) Great:D
ReplyDeleteOf course i would like to taste American burger. Also i would like to take part in one of their alcohol games at the parties. They are not drinking as in Poland, they are playing for example table tennis and looser is drinking. Also i would like to travel in some muscle car through all country. Also what i would like to try is flight on paraglide over great canyon.I think that on place i will find a lot of attraction. It would be great to watch match of superbowl or baseball match. Monstertruck races seems to me also exciting.
ReplyDelete1. Not really. Maybe I would like to go to Microsoft's, Apple's or Google's headquaters.
ReplyDelete2. Unfortuanately I never had opportunity to use Greyhound services, however I think if I had money I would rent a car or use plane or a mix of both.
3. I think that americans can find polish food attractive, in my opinion would they eat tastes like a piece of .... US also is a country with a very long diostances to every places. In Poland everything is relatively close. My brother need to go over 50 miles to nearest shop and as far as I know most people live like that.
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ReplyDeleteI would like to visit some other places in America than those you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteThere are many, most of them I take from movies, what I must admit. America is a big country, larger than Europe. Therefore it is not a strange thing that there's a lot of interesting places to visit.
I think Americans are primarily visited the old villages, old castles. All that is older than America, which as we know it is a young country.
1. California beaches, basketball courts in Bronx (New York), Las Vegas casinos. That's the gist of it I guess :)
ReplyDeleteLike I said before, I've never been to the USA, nor did I hear about the Greyhound. It does sound familiar though :)
I believe that they would find our attractive woman the most attractive ;) As we all know, Americans are pretty knowledge-less in terms of cultural heritage, so I guess it wouldn't be the main attraction for them in Poland. That leaves us with cuisine and a long tradition of drinking alcohol beverages which they would certainly enjoy :)
s4480 oh god I like this link! hehe, very funny:) I guess it's some truth in that though, during my trip to the U.S I met many Americans who knew very well where is Poland. I think it's just depends, however many of them don't know a lot about our country if they know about it at all.
ReplyDeleteand about what Tomsi wrote that you would like to try american burgers, I have to say I was never big fan of burgers before that trip. I hardly ever ate this in some fast foods in Poland. But when I was in NY I suddenly understood why most of Americans eat that almost everyday. Burgers there, taste just GREAT they're really delicious! ignoring of course these from Mc.. After I came to Poland someone asked me what from american traditional cuisine I liked the most..I remember only these burgers!:) especially that the rest of the courses come from Europe and Asia:)
if someone wants a recipe for awesome NewYorker Burger let me know;)
ReplyDeleteI want!! I know that you can prepare for the world's best meat balls!!
ReplyDeleteSo, certainly American burgers are also delicious!
We plan with the sister, a trip to the U.S., the flight to Florida and the journey through the most states - in our opinion:), on the New York City and later return to Polish.
Certainly we'll buy some cheap car, which later after getting to New York City, sell, or we'll let it in good hands:)
USA, in my opinion are no longer a paradise such as once, there is no longer so many are willing, to spend your life there. Dollar exchange rate continues to fall, and criminality is growing ...
The only one thing I really would like to see in USA is Yellowstone. I find it fascinating. I imagine that such a intimate contact with nature, wilderness is an incredible experience.
ReplyDeleteWell... something interesting?
I think that all of the countries offer something interesting for foreigners. I am sure that Poland is also very attractive.
Wow... This part of your presentation was great... I couldn’t stop reading about Route 66 and just like s4480 I consider it to be one of my biggest dreams. It would be amazing to take a ride through a dead road across the whole United States.
ReplyDeleteI have found so much advice on the Internet on how to plan such a trip and I’m sure it would be an amazing experience for any adventure seekers! The linked website is also full of other advice and interesting facts. We can find information about renting a car there. When choosing the right company it’s worth to remember that better and more expensive rental points usually offer higher class cars, not only the cheap ones. Sometimes it’s worth to pay a few dollars more and get a Ford Mustang instead of a Toyota Camara.
There is one more thing I found interesting - bumper stickers. These are very popular in the States. People stick them on their cars and interact with other drivers. On every sticker there is a catchy sentence, which encourages people to hunk their horn if they agree with it. I reckon it’s an interesting activity for rush hours :)
You can find a few examples here:
http://poietes.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/bumper-stickers-mania.jpg
I would really like to see the Majove desert for a while. Also I wonder if there is a possibility to go through Route 66 on a motorbike. The road seems to be difficult and dangerous, but it would be fun to try to do it that way.
For those who are interested in such a trip, here is a documentary I found on the topic (it's only the first episode, but if you like it I can find another one or two.)
http://vimeo.com/4804636
Personally, I’m a great fan of the Southwest part of United States, the one which can be seen in Tarantino movies or in the early movies starring John Travolta. I would also like to visit Colorado, Nevada, Texas, some National Parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, or Redwood and maybe find myself in Alaska – just to try something different. Something that I’ve fallen in love with after watching Into the Wild movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LAuzT_x8Ek
If you ask about Greyhound services, I’ve never traveled with them, but I have some memories connected to a Greyhound bus station in downtown LA. It was my last 12 hours in the US. I went to a Greyhound station to check how far it would be to take a trip to a small city, far away from LA to see a friend of mine. Unfortunately there was no buses going to Kingsburg and I’ve decided to travel with a complete stranger. While I was waiting on the bus station, an old Mexican guy approached me and offered to give me a lift. It's was an amazing and possibly dangerous adventure but I don't want to elaborate too much, what matters is I managed to get to Kingsburg and back to LA safely and in time for my plane. The memory of that day will stay in my head for a very long time. That's why I remembered the Greyhound brand.
From other interesting things in USA, I would definitely reccomend already mentioned baseball matches. I attended an LA Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals match. I still have no idea what the game is about but in reality it looks much better than on movie and is an unforgettable experience! Has any of you seen a baseball match live? What's your opinion?
When it comes to Polish attractions for Americans, I'm sure Europe is just as exotic to them as USA is to us. If I were to take someone to show something interesting in Poland I think I would choose Wieliczka, Krakow and Polish mountains during the summer.
well I had a ticket for a baseball match, but unfortunately we couldn't get there with my friends because of the weather. I was devastated, I wanted to see it so badly but what can I do .. maybe next time..
ReplyDeletehowever I can say that I've seen many times kind of substitute of baseball match in Central Park:) it's actually very popular among Americans to play baseball with their friends or family members, it's main attraction of their free time, and looks fun!