Home Sweet Home
Written by Jacob Cass on Monday, July 21, 2008 – 9:00 am -
After nearly 2 months off traveling around Europe and Asia I am now back home here in Australia so a big g’day to everyone… hope you didn’t miss me too much :P!
Thank You
First off I would like to thank everyone for their support of JCD while I was away. I would like to thank the guest authors especially and those who joined in on the discussions as it is those who make JCD a better place.
JCD also managed to gain over 1500+ new subscribers while I was away so I also thank you guys for spreading the word, whether it be through social media or just word of mouth.
Back To Normal
Things are going to start getting back to normal meaning that I will be replying to all comments left on JCD (as I did before I left) however please be patient with me as I do have over 3000+ emails to sort through and business to catch up on as you could imagine, plus we just moved house and university started back today as well so it is pretty chaotic atm.
Anyway enough about that, here are some pictures and stories of my travels.
14 Countries in 44 days
Above you can see a map of some of the places that I visited on my tour and below is a list of the countries. All 14 countries were done in a time of just 44 days so it was pretty full on!
- England
- France
- Spain
- Monaco
- Italy
- Vatican City
- Greece
- Austria
- Germany
- Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Hong Kong
If you would like to read about exactly where I went and what I did I would recommend visiting the official Contiki tour page as it goes into much more depth there.
Highlights
To summarise 44 days and choose just a few highlights of my travels would not be fair as the whole tour itself was a highlight but to put it into perspective imagine partying everynight (yes, every night) and then having to wake up 5-7 hours later to explore a city and then doing this for 32 days straight… well you get the drift.
I also met a lovely lady from California too, however, I really don’t think we could have lived any further away from each other but such is life…
Anyway, enough about that here are some photos.
Photos
Want photos? Well I did have over 1200+ photos to choose from but here are a select 30 so as not to bore you :P. I actually also had about 200 more however my camera got stolen in Greece but luckily I had most of the photos backed up as well as travel insurance so I suppose it was not too bad. Anyway, enjoy.
The 46 of us who travelled around Europe together. I am at the very back.
Outside the Big Ben in London.
Posing in the good ol’ fashioned red telephone box.
Château Versailles, home to Louis XIV.
My second visit to this beautiful city.
Outside the Louvre, Paris.
Good times on the beach in Biarritz.
Enjoying a cold one outside Biarritz.
Posing on the French Riviera.
In Monaco (the world’s second smallest country behind Vatican City). This is outside Monte Carlo Casino.
The classic leaning tower of Pisa pose.
In Venice… it is extremely beautiful here.
Also in Venice with my mate James just before our Gondola ride.
The whole group outside the worlds oldest amusement park, Prater.
In a beer hall in Germany where I meet another Aussie with the same shirt as me.
In Switzerland with my ultra classy $2.95 Australian umbrella.
Setting up camp in the Swiss Alps.
Check out how low the clouds - we are half way up the mountain.
Posing inside the Ice Palace at the top of Jungfraujoch mountain, Switzerland.
Jump posing at the top of Jungfraujoch mountain, Switzerland.
Posing at the top of Jungfraujoch mountain, Switzerland with my mate, Jenna.
Inside a waterfall also in Switzerland. It really is quite beautiful there.
Inside a clog in Amsterdam just outside the clog factory. We saw how they were made.
Taking a ride in the countryside of Amsterdam.
Inside a club called the Church in London.
The Big Buddha in Hong Kong.
Tai O, a fishing town on stilts in Hong Kong. Quite amazing really. Pity it smelt like fish intestines everywhere.
Repulse Bay Beach in Hong Kong.
On top of The Peak in Hong Kong. A truly magnificent site.
Hong Kong in the day… the last day of my tour.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed that. As always I will answer any questions you may have.
Bon Voyage + A Sneak Preview For The Next 2 Months
Written by Jacob Cass on Thursday, June 5, 2008 – 8:00 am -
Tomorrow I leave for my super duper 44 day holiday / Contiki Tour around Europe and Hong Kong but never fear, Just Creative Design will be going full steam ahead during my time away. I have, with the help of you, made the blog self manageable for the time that I am away.
Sneak Preview
I have 12 EXCEPTIONAL guest articles and 2 of my own scheduled for you while I am away of which you can see a sneak preview of the headings below. Click here to subscribe to Just Creative Design so you don’t miss out!
- 10 SEO Rules for Designers
- Want to know how to design? Learn The Basics.
- Dudes and Dolls and Design Decisions
- A Guide On How Freelancers Can Compete Against Large Design Studios
- 6 Photoshop Tips and Tricks That You Probably Don’t Know About
- How To Spot and Work with Graphic Engineers
- A Passion For Paper
- FREE Lucky Dip Draw - Comment and Win
- An Ink Spot of One’s Own
- How to Talk to Non-Tech-Savvy Clients
- The Innovative One Page Resume & Portfolio
- 7 Female Graphic Designers That’ll Rock Your Socks Off
- Freelancers: Inspire Yourself, Vary Your Work Environment
- Designing An Accessible Website Without Losing Your Mind
Exciting huh?
Community Love
I am also going to be brave and leave comment moderation off and hopefully the community and authors will respond to each others questions while I am away. I just hope Akismet does its job, it has been pretty good so far - if you do notice any spam please email me using my comment form.
I will also be stopping by JCD every so often (maybe a comment or two) just to see how things are going and to catch up on important emails but this will be very limited - I am on holiday after all.
Anyway for now… over and out.
Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter
Written by Jacob Cass on Monday, April 7, 2008 – 10:46 pm -
Guess what this post is about! Yes you guessed it… Twitter!
I have noticed that about 90% of all twitter posts are pages and pages on end explaining what it is and the benefits of using twitter so I am going to keep this short for ease sake and get straight to the point of this post…
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
If you do not know what it is just sign up, it is the only way to get your head around it.
- You will find my twitter feed in the right sidebar of Just Creative Design.
- You will also find my Twitter feed in my facebook profile.
- While your on Facebook you can also join the Just Creative Design group.
- You can see all my other social media sites here.
Just incase you forgot… Follow Me On Twitter.
All about Jacob Cass (me) - Things you didn’t know
Written by Jacob Cass on Friday, March 21, 2008 – 2:22 pm -
After my post ‘30 Fonts that all designers must own‘ making the front page of Digg I received many new subscribers so I thought it would be a good time to let people know a bit more about me (Jacob Cass) - things that aren’t on my about page.
Just to recap for those of you who don’t know, I am a 20 year old bloke from Sydney, Australia who loves everything to do with design! I am currently studying Visual Communication (majoring in graphic design) at Newcastle University here in Australia and to pay the bills I freelance as a logo and graphic designer.
Now I will tell you some things that you wouldn’t have found on my about page or my personal photography post.
Passions & Friends
Obviously design is my passion however I do have a life outside of this life 
I love travelling, going to the beach, music, rugby, clubbing and generally just hanging around with friends. Mid year I will be travelling to 14 countries over Western Europe which I can’t wait for!
I would have to say hanging or chilling out with friends is something that I pay particular attention to. I have four main different groups of friends that I hang around with, that being school friends, university friends, sport friends and the friends that don’t fit into those groups so varying my life between these four groups of friends does keep me busy.
You can befriend me on Facebook and join the Just Creative Design group.
Below you can see my school friends (I am in the middle with the white and purple shirt on).
Music
My iTunes library consists of over 40gb of music so I can say I do have a varied taste in music. But out of that 40gb of music about 20gb is dance music. I mainly listen to electro house dance music. If you want to hear a sample and watch a very very very awesome video clip check out this video.
Some of my favourite artists are Jack Johnson, Muscles, The Presets and most artists that get onto Ministry of Sound compilations. Lets put it this way… I like most music.
Life
I actually live in two places in my life due to my parents being separated (when I was 10 but they are still both great friends). I live in Newcastle as well as in Sydney varying my life between these two place (about 2 hours drive apart).
My life at the moment consists of balancing time between Newcastle and Sydney, keeping in touch with friends, university and working as a designer.
Work
I wouldn’t really call it work as I love it so much but to pay the bills I freelance as a graphic designer as you would have picked up. If you haven’t already, you could check out my portfolio.
Below you can see where I work most of the time. Sorry about the poor quality of photos, they were just quick snapshots taken a short while back.
Parents
Something that not many people would have would be a father who is a magician. My fathers stage name is Phil “Trust Me” Cass and he is a comedy magician - you can check out a video of his work here. I actually did his graphics for his promo material which you can see to the right. Click to view it big.
My mother is an wedding and event planner who has her own business by name of Lenore K. She is very good at her job and if you ever need an event planned anywhere you know the lady! She operates in Newcastle and Sydney.
I am very proud of my parents.
Randomness
Birthday: 27th December 1987 - What to get a designer for their birthday?
Piercings: Used to have an eyebrow ring but none now.
Tattoos: None, not a fan.
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Favourite Colours: Black and White
I love icecream - everything about it.
I love anything sweet - I am the biggest sweet tooth you will find.
Favourite food: Roast Lamb.
I don’t watch TV very often (maybe 2 hours a week).
I watch rugby league and support the Broncos.
I have won 4 Australia wide design competitions promoting the awareness of the dangers of alcohol.
Is there anything else you want to know? Please ask!
Personal Photography from Fiji and Cruise and Plans For The New Year
Written by Jacob Cass on Thursday, January 10, 2008 – 12:38 pm -Well I have had a few people asking me for some photos from my time on holidays in Fiji and on a Cruise around the Pacific (New Caledonia - Noumea, Lifou, Isle of Pines) - I was a bit reluctant at first but after seeing David Airey’s post, I thought why not? If you read the captions beneath each of the photos, it describes the photos and you may also learn some things you didn’t know about me.
Other Places I’ve Been
If you have read my about page you will know that I love traveling and it may also interest you that I have visited these other places just in case you come from there…Belgium, Canada (British Columbia, Whistler, Blackcomb, Big White), America (California, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Las Vagas, Florida), Denmark (Copenhagen), England (London), Fiji (Nadi, Suva), Finland, France (Paris), Germany, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway (Oslo), Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sweden (Goteborg, Stockholm) & Vanuatu.
Future Plans
Around Easter, I am going to Thailand (with my mother and brother) and midyear, I am going on a 42 day camping trip by myself (through Contiki) and 29 other people I haven’t met, around Europe (England, France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, Greece, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium) and on the way back will be stopping in Hong Kong, China for 3 days.
Two weeks after I come home from that I will be going to Singapore for 3.5 months to study graphic design at Nanyang Technological University as I was awarded a AUD$3000 scholarship to study overseas. It’s going to be a big year. No longer going due to subjects not being valid for my particular degree.
If you have any stories from your travels (especially if they are from the places I have been) I would love to hear them.
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