“If you guys were wondering how my thighs look, one’s really kind of swollen.”

-Ryan on a Skype call

I love markets. Not to buy, no, but to gaze at the local products, smell the unknown, find the unusual, photograph the contrasts and ask questions to local sellers. Otavalo was my realm, for one day.

J’adore les marchés. Non pas pour acheter, non, mais pour contempler les produits locaux, humer l’inconnu, trouver l’original, photographier les contrastes and poser des questions aux marchands locaux. Otavalo fut mon royaume, le temps d’une journée.

Working at Otavalo mercado de artesania

(more…)

Hey JS0 fans, I’m the new intern!

I’ve had an insatiable desire to travel my whole life. I’m still young, so it’s not like I’ve had many opportunities to see the world outside of print (i.e. travelogues and travel websites), but I’ve done what I can. I’ve traveled a large part of the United States and backpacked through Europe for a month during high school. I am not ashamed to admit that I’m slightly OCD about everything from organizing my bookshelf to what I’m wearing that day, so living out of a messy backpack scared me witless at first. It turned out that sleeping on trains in the close company of people I’d never met before, eating delicious food made on the street, staying in a sketchy hostel situated next to what I’m pretty sure was a heroin lab, and lugging around everything I would need for a month in a dirty sack on my back was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had, and I can only hope that I’ll be able to do it again soon!

My personal travel dreams: learn a Slavic language and travel through Eastern Europe, walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, and sail my own boat on a tour of the Mediterranean Sea. But besides travel, I love spending hours upon hours in used book stores; learning about history (specifically the 1930s through 1950s); collecting maps, globes, and postcards; making and watching documentaries; hiking in the beautiful scenery of the Pacific Northwest; baking cookies, cakes, and other sweet treats; following fashion blogs; and appreciating – sometimes attempting – photography.

Right now, I’m a college student, studying Geography, International Studies, and French. I’m home for the summer, and having been full to the brim with feelings of wanderlust and underutilized productivity, I can’t wait to start interning for Jet Set Zero!

“I wrote a song about you. It’s called Even the Devil Was An Angel Once.”

-Ryan, preparing to serenade me

Bucket List Success: #1 Ride bikes through the Italian countryside.    Nine more to go.  Stay close.

Look at those cute girls livening up a dreary Colosseum!

In response to our last minute request, A.C.L.E. granted Sarah and me a night in Rome between our Roccafranca and Lanuvio destinations. We had from 4pm Saturday until 1:30pm Sunday to experience one of the most culture-rich cities of both the ancient and modern worlds. 

I quickly began to feel like part of a rapid motion film montage. The trip began with a warm welcome from a “Free Tourist Assistant,” who approached us in Roma Termini station and recommended an 18 euro/night hostel. The trip ended with Sarah and me literally running through the Sistene Chapel.
(more…)

“Did you get her number?”
“No, but I stole her heart. ”

-Freddie, keeping his eyes on the prize

“Shoot a Travel TV Series” has been hanging at the top of my life list for a while.  Now that JS0 Italy is in production (pinch me) it’s time to attack a new list, the definitive JS0 Italy Bucket List.

Even the most ambitious bucket listers would find it difficult to narrow down all of the must-do experiences in a country as soul-feeding as Italy.  But we’ve managed to conjure up nine.  The 10th is up to YOU!

Send us YOUR ULTIMATE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE via Twitter @jetsetzero (include #js0italy) or via Facebook.  The best one wins a sweet Jet Set Zero t-shirt and the glory of watching me, Perrin, Sarah and Lynne attempt to carry out your awesome idea.

Time is ticking and we’ve only got one Italian summer to live out our weirdest and wildest dreams so without further ado, The Bucket List:

1.  Ride bikes through the Italian countryside ACCOMPLISHED

2.  Appear on the Italian news ACCOMPLISHED

3.  Cruise the canals of Venice ( Perrin & Sarah) ACCOMPLISHED

4.  Crash a Miss Italia pageant

5. Find and wear the ultimate Mumuu (Courtney & Lynne)

6.  Make pasta with an Italian grandma

7.  Sail the Amalfi coast

8.  Take a Nutella bath

9. Fit the cast in a vintage cinquecento

10.  ??? VIEWER VOTED ???

[Photo:  David]

Last Friday started out as most of my days do, waking up around 9 am, fixing some breakfast and deciding what to do with my life.  (more…)

“I got a haircut, got a book, got a wife. Not too bad for Thursday.”
“I got an ice cream.”

-Freddie and Amy Cao comparing their day