Tumblr (3.0; @mattjwayad)http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/<p>In February of 2011, a close friend asked me: What would you want to do if you didn&#8217;t have a job? My response: Travel around the world using only my intuition as a guide.</p> <p><span>At that time, I was a Product Marketing Manager of Cloud Services, at Apple. That summer our team was reorganized so I took a severance package rather than another position within the company. </span></p> <p><span>At 1:30 am, July 4th, I set out on a trip of a lifetime. </span><span>There was no set itinerary or plan just thoughts of places and people I wanted to see. </span></p> <p>This is a chronicle of my trip around the world (which reads in reverse order). Where I was able to visit 16 countries and 35 locations, in 80 days. A trip I will never forget. </p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/46097607346http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/46097607346Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:14:37 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrwt4y7bj41qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><p class="p1">Day 80, made it! What an amazing learning experience. Thank you to all those I had a chance to visit, stay with, and meet on this trip. Also, thank you to everyone who followed me online. I could not have done this without everyone’s encouragement and support. I’m so grateful for all of you! San Francisco, California!</p></p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10511547158http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10511547158Thu, 22 Sep 2011 01:41:00 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lruqb2uSLo1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Stateside. Glad to see my friends and family here. Not home yet, though! New York, New York.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10468612154http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10468612154Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:45:00 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrs7pojd0m1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><p class="p1">Not Paris. Inside one spire of the High Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Mary. It’s the world’s tallest Catholic church, at 157 meters. Cologne, Germany.</p></p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10408157092http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10408157092Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:08:00 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrqm7wsciW1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><p class="p1">Oktoberfest 2011. Colorful and hip, the tent to be in for the world’s biggest fair attracting over 5 million people annually. Munich, Germany.</p></p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10375476967http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10375476967Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:26:00 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lro49wL3px1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Fred and Ginger. One of the nicknames for this “dancing” building designed by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunić, completed in 1996. Prague, Czech Republic.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10313101081http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10313101081Sat, 17 Sep 2011 09:03:32 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrmvk3CffB1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Charles bridge. A view from it. Prague, Czech Republic.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10287274901http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10287274901Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:03:47 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrkmepM07A1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><p class="p1">Still working. At 5 p.m., a trumpeter marks the time with music, the Astronomical Clock. After 601 years, it never looked better. Prague, Czech Republic.</p></p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10241090134http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10241090134Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:44:00 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrivugr3n01qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Almost 100. This German coffee institution has about 57 years on Starbucks. Frankfurt, Germany.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10205710384http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10205710384Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:13:28 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lri4pbtUg51qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>King stone. This 12th century castle sits above an idyllic residential town near Frankfurt. Königstein im Taunus, Germany.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10196283303http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10196283303Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:27:11 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrg9y5rn0X1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><p class="p1">Weight of the world. Atlas stands atop the Central Train Station. Frankfurt, Germany.</p></p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10158330642http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10158330642Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:25:00 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrd73mty361qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>New pyramids. The Louvre needed a modern entrance to handle its many visitors, voilà! Designed by architect I. M. Pei, completed in 1989. Paris, France.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10083344082http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10083344082Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:30:58 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrbspxZEJU1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Scenes from a Parisian restaurant. Paris, France.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10051224326http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10051224326Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:22:45 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrato7K1AD1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>View from new. Eiffel Tower, as seen from the modern buildings just west of Paris. Puteaux, France.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10029447621http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/10029447621Sat, 10 Sep 2011 04:45:43 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr8adhYzIq1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Calling postmodern. Pay phone in the mobile phone era. Paris, France.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9974907046http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9974907046Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:53:41 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr5wa25hwG1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Popular place. The busiest train station in Europe, Gare du Nord. Paris, France.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9921555701http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9921555701Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:54:02 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr4eqaTJ6v1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><p class="p1">Throwing hands. This statue, in front of City Hall, is thought to illustrate how the city got its name. Antwerp, Belgium.</p></p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9890192482http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9890192482Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:57:00 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr3mp9kTqt1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Diamond town. The country’s largest municipality. Antwerp, Belgium.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9874412931http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9874412931Tue, 06 Sep 2011 07:31:56 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr2fvt0WQe1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><p class="p1">Tallest tower. Completed in 1382, this Gothic-style icon took 61 years to build. At 112.5m, it’s Holland’s highest. Utrecht, Netherlands.</p></p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9846230071http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9846230071Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:07:00 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr070zLFAp1qm0m11o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Pearl earrings. So many girls, making Vermeer proud. Museum Night, 2011. The Hague, Netherlands.</p>http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9790038631http://mattjwayad.tumblr.com/post/9790038631Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:00:35 -0400