As a tourist ...
Being a tourist is fun ! Seeing new places and hearing about its exsitence from a guide Or even reading about it in travel books makes it more fun! While we were touring around Europe , We were being showered on with plethora of information. Though I don't remember most of them :P there were few interesting facts that caught my attention and I gave a spontaneous 'Oh really!!!???' expression to the tour guide and the tourists. I would rate myself as one of the best tourists for the following reasons :
1)my reaction time becomes very short and my exclamations very loud !
2)I give good laughs for even the stupidest jokes the tour guides crack ...
3)I ask no questions and I buy any nonsense story that the guides throw at us !!
In short I am a Tour Guides' dream tourist :D
Ok !! OK !! Recalling the phrase "Self praise is no praise" and moving on ....
Fun fact 1
In Paris we got a chance to go on a bike tour around the city and we had a blast! Abhay and I were always loosing track of the group because abhay was too busy taking pictures while riding a bicycle and I always get lost in my own thoughst when I am on a two wheeler :D The tour guide had a hard time keeping all of us together.
So , here I present fun fact 1 : We went to the house where Jim Morrison died and our guide told us lot of things about his death which ofcourse even you all must be knowing. She revealed that all the Jim Morrison Fans consider this as the Makka Madeena and definitely visit once in their lifetime. After his death, lots of tourists used to come and ring the bell to get a glimpse of the place where he died and the occupants of the house got so frustrated that they removed the bell from the building :D ... She also showed us a poster opposite to the house which said this ....
:D hehe ...so its upto you to choose what to believe :)
Fun fact 2
This one is for all the Coffee lovers :)
Do you know why cappuccino is called cappuccino ?
The Capuchin order of friars were pivotal in bringing Catholicism back to Reformation Europe.The Cappuchin Monks used to wear a long pointed cowl known as cappuccino,derived from cappuccio, "hood". It is believed that the creator of this special beverage liked to name it 'Cappuccino' because a properly prepared cappuccino of espresso and steamed milk leaves a brown ring along the rim of the cup much like the edge of the monk's cowl. Interesting !!! And yeah , that reminds me of the amazing cappuccino I had in Italy. If you ever get a chance, please DO NOT miss to taste this amazingly tasty Italian cappuccino!! :)
Fun fact 3(not bad ! I never thought I will make it till here :D )
Well this one gives me a goosebump literally as it involves Rats and Ewwww , I just dont like rats !! I have no reason to give in particular .... I just for no reason get a chill in my body when I see them alive or even worse DEAD ! :( Anyway , gotta tell u this one... again in our bike ride @Paris , we were being taken to this street in Central Paris where there was a lovely restaurant at the corner and a Pest Control shop named 'Julien Aurouze and Co.' right next to it which has an attention-grabbing display festooned with dead rats. yes , you heard me right !! Btw ,Did it ring a bell in your head ? Remember Remy , an ordinary rat with extra-ordinary cooking skills ;) and his dad who shows him a pest-control shop exemplifying how humans treat rodents. huh? Did I hear 'Ratatouille' from the right corner!! You get the points... The creators of the movie 'Ratatouille' got the inspiration for this movie while sitting at this spot and even featured the shop in the movie. I witnessed Abhay and other tourists taking pictures of the shop from different angles while I stood stiff trying to hold myself altogther until the guide moved in the other direction. But if you are brave enough , it is a shop worth seeing. My notes tell me that it is situated somewhere between 'the Rue de Rivoli' and 'the Forum des Halles'(please dont ask me to prounounce it :D) but it will be nice if you do a google map search instead of trusting my navigational skills.
Fun Fact 4
Why do we call those crazy freenlancing photographers Paparazzi?
I don't know how much of it is true but here it is anyway ! We went to a place called Bernini in Rome where the roads were filled with Coffee shops and restaurants. Yeah , even we ate it over there and sadly parted away with 100 euros :( We later on came to know that lots of Hollywood stars used to come here often and an Italian Photographer with a surname Paparazzo used to hide behind the trees and take shots of the famous stars. Soon after, all the freelance photographers were being nicknamed as Paparazzi (plural of Paparazzo) and still being used even today ! :) Now If you google it , you will find a completely different story but since I found this one more interesting , I would like to stick to this one :D
Fun fact 5
If you will ever visit Rome , Monument of Victor Emmanuel is something hard to miss. It is a huge monument on the Capitoline Hill and what can't really go unnoticed are the two statues of the goddess of Victoria (Nike according to Greek Mythology) or Goddess of Victory riding on quadrigas. According to the Greek Mythology , Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer in the Titan War. You know where am I heading to, don't you? :) Yes , the famous sports brand 'Nike' name means 'Goddess of victory' and the logo represents the wing of the Greek Goddess in an abstract form :)
Fun fact 6
Ever wondered how creative and imaginative Walt Disney and co are? They are absolutely brilliant,Aren't they ! but a little tiny share of success must go on to King Ludwig's pocket as well :) Yes ! The famous Sleeping Beauty Castle or Cinderella's magical castle in Disneyland was modeled after the castle built by the King Ludwig in Germany. When I saw the castle with my eyes, I really felt that a Disney movie has come alive. It is very interesting to note though that we often think of animation as a world of imagination but in fact most of them have actually come into existence from the real world which means every imagination has a possibility of being real.
Fun fact 7
Did you know that Julius Caesar gave us the modern Calendar with 12 months? Originally there were only 10 months, running from March to December. The winter time didn't have any months. He added two more but one can figure out that there were just 10. how ? September is the 9th month but the word Septem means 7 in Latin and was the 7th month. Octo means 8 in Latin and was the 8th month. Novem means 9 and was 9th month and Decem means 10 in Latin and was the 10th month. The month July has been named after himself and thus July means Julius Caesar's month :)
Fun fact 8 :
"All roads lead to Rome"
The phrase means that irrespective of which path you choose to go, you will reach the same destination or the outcome would be the same. Then why this phrase specifically mentioned Rome? This is because of the exceptional construction skills of Romans.Their network of roads ,all of them headed to Rome, the Capital City.
I hope you had a good dosage of knowledge and enjoyed the 'did you know' post of mine
Well before we end this , please pay attention to this short disclaimer :)
"VISITORS WHO READ OR ARE GOING TO READ THIS BLOG ENTRY AND RELY ON THIS INFORMATION DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK. THE AUTHOR MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND RELIABILITY OF THE CONTENTS. IF THE READER HAPPENS TO FIND ERRORS IN THE FACTS , PLEASE BLAME THE TOUR GUIDES ACROSS EUROPE ;)"
Ciao
Being a tourist is fun ! Seeing new places and hearing about its exsitence from a guide Or even reading about it in travel books makes it more fun! While we were touring around Europe , We were being showered on with plethora of information. Though I don't remember most of them :P there were few interesting facts that caught my attention and I gave a spontaneous 'Oh really!!!???' expression to the tour guide and the tourists. I would rate myself as one of the best tourists for the following reasons :
1)my reaction time becomes very short and my exclamations very loud !
2)I give good laughs for even the stupidest jokes the tour guides crack ...
3)I ask no questions and I buy any nonsense story that the guides throw at us !!
In short I am a Tour Guides' dream tourist :D
Ok !! OK !! Recalling the phrase "Self praise is no praise" and moving on ....
Fun fact 1
In Paris we got a chance to go on a bike tour around the city and we had a blast! Abhay and I were always loosing track of the group because abhay was too busy taking pictures while riding a bicycle and I always get lost in my own thoughst when I am on a two wheeler :D The tour guide had a hard time keeping all of us together.
So , here I present fun fact 1 : We went to the house where Jim Morrison died and our guide told us lot of things about his death which ofcourse even you all must be knowing. She revealed that all the Jim Morrison Fans consider this as the Makka Madeena and definitely visit once in their lifetime. After his death, lots of tourists used to come and ring the bell to get a glimpse of the place where he died and the occupants of the house got so frustrated that they removed the bell from the building :D ... She also showed us a poster opposite to the house which said this ....
:D hehe ...so its upto you to choose what to believe :)
Fun fact 2
This one is for all the Coffee lovers :)
Do you know why cappuccino is called cappuccino ?
The Capuchin order of friars were pivotal in bringing Catholicism back to Reformation Europe.The Cappuchin Monks used to wear a long pointed cowl known as cappuccino,derived from cappuccio, "hood". It is believed that the creator of this special beverage liked to name it 'Cappuccino' because a properly prepared cappuccino of espresso and steamed milk leaves a brown ring along the rim of the cup much like the edge of the monk's cowl. Interesting !!! And yeah , that reminds me of the amazing cappuccino I had in Italy. If you ever get a chance, please DO NOT miss to taste this amazingly tasty Italian cappuccino!! :)
Fun fact 3(not bad ! I never thought I will make it till here :D )
Well this one gives me a goosebump literally as it involves Rats and Ewwww , I just dont like rats !! I have no reason to give in particular .... I just for no reason get a chill in my body when I see them alive or even worse DEAD ! :( Anyway , gotta tell u this one... again in our bike ride @Paris , we were being taken to this street in Central Paris where there was a lovely restaurant at the corner and a Pest Control shop named 'Julien Aurouze and Co.' right next to it which has an attention-grabbing display festooned with dead rats. yes , you heard me right !! Btw ,Did it ring a bell in your head ? Remember Remy , an ordinary rat with extra-ordinary cooking skills ;) and his dad who shows him a pest-control shop exemplifying how humans treat rodents. huh? Did I hear 'Ratatouille' from the right corner!! You get the points... The creators of the movie 'Ratatouille' got the inspiration for this movie while sitting at this spot and even featured the shop in the movie. I witnessed Abhay and other tourists taking pictures of the shop from different angles while I stood stiff trying to hold myself altogther until the guide moved in the other direction. But if you are brave enough , it is a shop worth seeing. My notes tell me that it is situated somewhere between 'the Rue de Rivoli' and 'the Forum des Halles'(please dont ask me to prounounce it :D) but it will be nice if you do a google map search instead of trusting my navigational skills.
Fun Fact 4
Why do we call those crazy freenlancing photographers Paparazzi?
I don't know how much of it is true but here it is anyway ! We went to a place called Bernini in Rome where the roads were filled with Coffee shops and restaurants. Yeah , even we ate it over there and sadly parted away with 100 euros :( We later on came to know that lots of Hollywood stars used to come here often and an Italian Photographer with a surname Paparazzo used to hide behind the trees and take shots of the famous stars. Soon after, all the freelance photographers were being nicknamed as Paparazzi (plural of Paparazzo) and still being used even today ! :) Now If you google it , you will find a completely different story but since I found this one more interesting , I would like to stick to this one :D
Fun fact 5
If you will ever visit Rome , Monument of Victor Emmanuel is something hard to miss. It is a huge monument on the Capitoline Hill and what can't really go unnoticed are the two statues of the goddess of Victoria (Nike according to Greek Mythology) or Goddess of Victory riding on quadrigas. According to the Greek Mythology , Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer in the Titan War. You know where am I heading to, don't you? :) Yes , the famous sports brand 'Nike' name means 'Goddess of victory' and the logo represents the wing of the Greek Goddess in an abstract form :)
Fun fact 6
Ever wondered how creative and imaginative Walt Disney and co are? They are absolutely brilliant,Aren't they ! but a little tiny share of success must go on to King Ludwig's pocket as well :) Yes ! The famous Sleeping Beauty Castle or Cinderella's magical castle in Disneyland was modeled after the castle built by the King Ludwig in Germany. When I saw the castle with my eyes, I really felt that a Disney movie has come alive. It is very interesting to note though that we often think of animation as a world of imagination but in fact most of them have actually come into existence from the real world which means every imagination has a possibility of being real.
Fun fact 7
Did you know that Julius Caesar gave us the modern Calendar with 12 months? Originally there were only 10 months, running from March to December. The winter time didn't have any months. He added two more but one can figure out that there were just 10. how ? September is the 9th month but the word Septem means 7 in Latin and was the 7th month. Octo means 8 in Latin and was the 8th month. Novem means 9 and was 9th month and Decem means 10 in Latin and was the 10th month. The month July has been named after himself and thus July means Julius Caesar's month :)
Fun fact 8 :
"All roads lead to Rome"
The phrase means that irrespective of which path you choose to go, you will reach the same destination or the outcome would be the same. Then why this phrase specifically mentioned Rome? This is because of the exceptional construction skills of Romans.Their network of roads ,all of them headed to Rome, the Capital City.
I hope you had a good dosage of knowledge and enjoyed the 'did you know' post of mine
Well before we end this , please pay attention to this short disclaimer :)
"VISITORS WHO READ OR ARE GOING TO READ THIS BLOG ENTRY AND RELY ON THIS INFORMATION DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK. THE AUTHOR MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND RELIABILITY OF THE CONTENTS. IF THE READER HAPPENS TO FIND ERRORS IN THE FACTS , PLEASE BLAME THE TOUR GUIDES ACROSS EUROPE ;)"
Ciao
posted by Consciousness at 1:03 AM
7 Comments:
Realllyy looved this one :) soo nice u finally got to experience all these which u wanted.. "which means every imagination has a possibility of being real.."
btw gregory peck loved Europe :P .. n names n origins are always such a fascination..esp. wen u cant find them on google..ironically sometimes its irritating wen u find everything on google thrs no mystery hehe..so i leave u with cupla more "fun facts" u wont find on google...most coming frm Medival Europe or pre world war I US..like why is an "Icrecream Sundae" called as such? When once a store guy(forgot his name) accidentally came out with flavored ice cream..it spread like such a rage that everyone was hooked on to it..ppl would just do anything for this new product- ..they would bunk office schools to que in front of that store to get a taste of that..even bunk sunday church sermons!!So the Preists banned Icecream on Sunday so that ppl dont bunk churches..to get around with that... the storekeeper innovated by adding a soda mix to that icecream and sold the product as "Sundae" and not icecream..n sold only on sundays..!!!Another one..when the brits came to India..they saw Indians eating 'Bhindi' which was not found in Europe...so to kinda belittle the Indians..as kissing a ladys finger was considered a mark of respect and gentleman manners in Europe..they caleed 'bhindi' ladies finger and would exclaim- "look..that Indian is eating a Ladies finger..how savage!!"...not onbly words but customs..like why do guys have shirt button on the rright side n not on the left side...coz in medival Europe..most ppl who used to wear shirt used to carry sword and were right handed..imagine quicky drwaing the sword had those big button been on left...!!!lot many things gushing up in my mind which i used to read as a child..but now gotta tune off..need to sleep n wake up as a machine day...whole 18 machine hours tmrw...btw..speaking of names.how did the name consciousness came abt ?? :P
And I loved Gregory Peck (still do! :D) .... btw , Thanks for such amazing stories :) I just love hearing such things and honestly , I don't like googling and reading them. I love it even if its not true but I hear from the locals about their beliefs than reading an accurate fact on google. Btw, 18 machine hours :O Seriously?? What do you do Ms Anonymous(Or may be its Mr):D The problem with the term anonymous is ....2 different individuals appear the same to me because they are anonymous.Blogspot should track IP addresses and mark each individual as Anonymous1, Anonymous2,....etc :D Anyway, talking about my name :) My name translates to "Conciousness" in English ! :)
Yup Chetna i know it translates to consciousness...n i know u loved gregory peck...n obviously u know me too i guess lolol.....but lets prolong this mystery indefinitely... whats in a name..nd all anonymous comments to ur blogs have been made by me till now... i am a fan of originality..will let u know wen some anonymous comment aint mine ..i guess that settles :)
Yah! It doesn't matter :) Stay anonymous as long as u like:D What matters is we exchanged sensible conversation which is so difficult to have these days!! Btw, I think I can figure out who you are or may be your writing style just resembles with the person in my head...... I once wrote to a friend of mine and didn't tell who am I , you can call it a prank mail and guess what! My friend caught me in a second for a simple reason. I have this bad habit of placing lots of dots between sentences. When I stop and think while typing an email , my hands dont stop:P So ideally anyone would place a fullstop and stop and think ... I , on the other hand, press dot and keep it pressed down till i am ready to start again .... (Lolzzz , I did that again!) So my mails end up being really long and horribly indented with all these messy spacing :D Its funny! Bad habits die hard :(
hehe...well not all anonymous comments to ur blogs r mine..but i guess u r right..one can get an inkling with the writing style n way thots are conveyed...my boss says his right hand is faster than his left..so every time he writes "coal" he ends up writing "cola"..lolol...so i know wen my boss is trying to seek anonymously..hehe..u know this art of handwriting study (caligraphy)will migrate to digital age..art of text writing study..do u believe just by reading a persons flow of thos his vocab the dots he presses we can identify a person like as in handwriting...btw just imagine one Anonymous saying to another Anonymous...hey Mr Anonymous that Anonymous comment is not mine!! so for sake of simplifying incumbentlu funny chaos i shall address my blog replies as "M"......for the sole reason that there aint no "M" in my name..too "Bond-ish" ? :) Yours Truely,
Oooo , someone is watching too many spy movies :D Well , I think I have a very distinctive and messy way of writing. You don't have to learn any art to identify its me :D!!! I try to keep things very simple in my life just like my blog. However, What I noticed in your comment is explosive usage of dots :D May be more than mine :P So, I am not so unique anymore I guess :) I don't think digital text can be as reflective about an individual's personality as the handwriting. I can imitate the style and pattern of someone's writing. Its not impossible! But I just cannot copy someone's handwriting. For handwritings , there is a simple rule : Doesn't matter if its Good or bad , its mine and I own it :) (Ofcourse there are people who are brilliant at imitating someone's handwriting as well but its a rare art) ... Btw , If your complete name doesn't have M , then my guess is absolutely wrong :)
Delighted to disappoint....there is no M in my complete name or surname...my style is also preety unique these days..i make lot of typos..so u see someone writiung like a kid but meaning greater sense(hopefuly!) its me...
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