Across the US

       As humans, we were born with a curious mind. Curiosity is what empowers us to move forward. Curiosity is what creates opportunities and in turn, opportunities create possiblities. You have to replace your fear of the uknown with inquisitiveness and let yourself go. Curiosity is what got me here and it got me to travel across the United States in a train too. More than 7000 miles in 18 days. 

           In Europe it's very common to get a rail pass (the equilavent of an Amtrak ticket) and travel around Europe by train. This is what gave me the idea to travel this way throughout the United States. When I first read about traveling by train I learned that it's not as common in the U.S. as it is in Europe. And there are some differences between the EU rail pass and the U.S. rail pass (this just proved to make me want to explore this vast country even more.).  

           Even though during this trip I visited all of the biggest cities in the U.S. I have to say that there is no place like New York, it still remains my number one place in the world.  I'm sorry that I have to say this but I didn't like LA at all..it was a big disappointment.  But other than that, the whole journey was amazing. I was ready to feel a little uncomfortable since I had to endure two days on a train but that just helped contribute to the feeling of adventuring.   The trains were nice, nothing fancy, but comfortable enough.  As a phone addict I really missed the wifi but I think it was good for me to just enjoy the views and get to know fellow passengers. Something I found amazing was the fact that if I had been on a train for a day in Finland (and no one knew each other) it would have been a quiet ride, unless you had given every passanger a six pack of beer.. It's just how the Fins work. But here I was, in the U.S., with strangers who acted like we had known each other for years.  And that's what I love about Americans, they are so outgoing. 

         I really enjoyed San Francisco although it was a bit chilly there. I heard that it's always like that in San Fran.

   I visited a lot of places during this trip, but hands down, the most amazing place I visited, was the Grand Canyon.  You really can't appreciate how big it is until you actually see it with your own eyes. Words cannot begin to describe how beautiful it is.  I stayed in this small town near the Grand Canyon called Williams. Lovely place. After that I started working my way back to NYC.  

        I started my photography career as a street photographer so this experience reminded me of when I had just started  photographing images.  This was a personal project of mine that I enjoyed doing a lot. I did this for me, but also in the hopes of extending my resume, getting new ideas for projects, and providing you guys with some nice images. Hope you enjoy them!